Un-gumming 617 action

[choombak]

I have searched everywhere, but did not find any reliable information, so finally thought of starting a new thread. Over the course of two years or so, the internals of my 617 have gummed-up - it appears froglube made its way inside the revolver and slowly gummed up the internals.

So far I have tried using a soft brush to remove the crud, but it still remains in several unreachable areas in/around the hammer and trigger action. I have break-free CLP, powder blast, and hoppes no. 9. Any guidance or experience will be very helpful. I am not inclined to disassemble the action in its entirety, but am okay taking off the side-plate to clean. Thank you.

 

[amazingflapjack]

Non marking brake parts cleaner.

 

[mattallamerican]

soak it in kroil or pb blaster

 

[Mike SC Hunter]

Or take the grips off and soak it in a pan of diesel fuel. The blow out with an air gun.........

 

[one eye joe]

IF YOU DECIDE TO USE AN AEROSOL CAN, BE SURE TO WEAR SAFETY GLASSES. BRAKE CLEANER SHOULD DO THE TRICK, BUT REMOVE THE GRIPS FIRST.....

 

[Kernel Crittenden]

Ditto Kroil.

 

[Tom S.]

The Break Free you already have should work just fine. You might get lucky removing the the stocks and spraying it in that way, but personally, I'd remove the side plate to visually make sure everything is clean, then relube with light oil. Let this be a lesson to all about Frog lube.

 

[kbm6893]

Pop the side plate and remove the cylinder. Wear gloves and eye protection and blast in there with non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Do NOT cock the hammer with the plate off. Spray inside the cylinder yoke. Use the straw to get in the right spots, and then follow up with compressed air. Couple of drops of oil and reassemble the gun. Plenty of YouTube videos showing the correct way to remove plate and put it back on.

 

[Pisgah]

My favorite method of addressing a gunked-up revolver, and one that is quite effective, is to remove the grips and immerse the gun in a pot of boiling water with a drop or two of Dawn dishwashing detergent. A few minutes of this and decades of hardened gunk will float out. Rinse with clear boiling water. The heat will dry the gun rapidly, so be ready to re-oil everything as soon as it's dry.

 

[H Richard]

In that situation I would completely disassemble the gun and scrub it clean with brake & Parts cleaner and a toothbrush. Then properly lube it with CLP, and throw away that Froglube. It's only good use is the slide rails on a semi-auto, if then.

 

[choombak]

Thanks fellas! Several ideas here that I'll work on in the course of next few days. I plan to take photos before and after, in hope it helps someone down the line. I'll update the thread about this cleaning experience.

 

[BoCash]

Came about a pre model 18 from 1953 recently, oiled and put up in Gold Box over the years. Was so gummed-up that the latch would not push and cylinder would not turn. It had NO turn line so I was careful as could be.

Removed grips and sprayed Engine Degreaser into all openings and followed up with Powder Blast. Allowed gun to sit barrel-up overnight. Repeated process the next day.

Voila'.............. was able to open cylinder and cock the gun several times before putting it back up with a light coat of Rem Oil on the outside.........only.

The process resulted in the faintest of turn-lines, but I feel better about what I did. This gun has not been and will not be fired................too nice. I have several others I don't mind shooting.

Y'all be good, Bo

 

[gwpercle]

Auto parts store, good old school carburetor cleaner in a spray can. The stuff is formulated to remove built up crud and varnish from carbs. Keep it off wood stocks and plastic....might affect them.
I've had the same gumming problem with Break Free CLP , Remoil seems to be less gumming , just apply sparingly to innards.
Gary

 

[TAC]

Soak over night in a pan of mineral spirits.

 

[choombak]

Finally got around to cleaning this weekend. "Brakleen Chlorine Free-Brake-Cleaner" cleaner did the trick. Got it from my local Walmart for $3 or thereabouts.

Here is what I did:
1. Sprayed/drenched the action two or three times at intervals of 15 minutes each.
2. After air drying for another 15 minutes or so, I then ran q-tips to pick up remaining debris.
3. Dabbed a q-tip in Hoppes oil, and lightly coated the action (specifically the moving parts). Rubbed the q-tip on other areas in/around the action.
4. Wiped the action with a clean cloth, to remove excessive oil.

Thanks everyone who helped me! This is an awesome community.

Here is how it looks after the cleanup:

 

[gnystrom]

That is a great lesson on the use of Frog Lube. I too used it on revolvers and never had a problem but unless it was used very sparingly, it will gum up the gun. ( I have returned to conventional gun lubricants)
One way to get the heavy deposits of Frog Lube to start flowing is to heat the gun with a hairdryer and it will liquefy and much of it can be removed with a cloth. FL is an effective lubricant but if it is applied heavily and the excess not quickly removed, it can become a real problem. FL also does not mix well with any other lubricants so it is one or the other.

 

[StakeOut]

When I take possession of a new gun I always remove the grips then disassemble it and soak it in K1 kerosene for a few days before lubing with synthetic lubes like Rem Oil and M Pro 7 Gun Grease.

I've also used a soak in Marvel Mystery Oil.

I would never use things like WD40 that will turn into a chewing gum like gunk.

 

[Marine Corps Air]

I'm glad that this strategy solved your problem. The simple solutions are usually (always?) the best solution.

Two years ago my Model 19 would not work (could not pull the hammer back) in the single action mode. A great friend of mine is a gunsmith. He recommended that I purchase the Jerry Miculek DVD "Complete Revolver Disassembly/Reassembly" and start studying. He later came over and we worked that Model 19 over, big time.

After removing the screws he removed the side plate by tapping on the butt. It popped right off. Then he carefully removed all of the internals and cleaned it thoroughly with either carbeurator or brake cleaner. I can't remember which one. During the reassembly process he checked all of the parts for metal burrs. If any existed he gently (lightly) used an India stone to remove the burr, then applied one small drop of oil at all of the pivot points.

When he was finished, my Model 19 now runs better than it did when it was new, sans the metal burrs.

Then it was steak dinner time for my great friend, and a $100 contribution to his gun budget on top of it!!!

Being an older American, I still have to do reruns of Jerry's DVD. The mind is a terrible thing to lose!

 

[Tyrod]

Frog Lube should only be used to lube frogs.

 

[Mumbly-Peg]

Frog lube is getting a pretty bad rap, here!

It's great at preventing corrosion. I think the product does itself a disservice by calling itself "lube".