OT: What kinds of solvent do you guys clean your guns with?

SkagSig40

SkagSig40

Joined
Feb 1, 2001
Messages
2,671
Just wondering what you guys use to clean your guns. I just bought a little Henry lever action .22 and it says not to use Gun Scrubber. I have been using Gun Scrubber in some of my other Guns with no problems so I'm wondering why Henry says not to use it as they give no reason why.

Anyone know of a good solvent that cleans guns of powder/build up and leaves a rust protective coating? I also use Birchwood Casy Bore Scrubber,what do you think of this perticular one?

Also anyone know if Kleen Bore TW25 B High Tech oil is a good gun lube? Thanks!
 
Break-Free CLP works well. A .22 doesn't need too much cleaning. I never use a brush on mine. The barrels are soft. Just use a patch with Break-Free for the bore. A rag with Break-Free will clean and protect the rest of the gun.
 
I've been using Ballistol on everything lately from knives to guns to bicycles to cars. its great stuff, cheap but man it smells like sweaty socks!!:eek:
 
Another vote for Break-Free. Look around at the next gun show you go to thats where I find it.
 
Hoppes and sometimes Breakfree. If corrosive ammo is used Windex with ammonia,followed byWD40 and Hoppes , oil. I love my guns.
Have you guys checked out thehighroad.org?

My handle there is Makdaddy03.
 
I've been useing Tuf-Glide and Break Free CLP, I haven't had the gun long enough to measure the effectiveness of this combo, but in theory at least it should kick ass.
 
Gun Scrubber got a major reformulation a few years ago to elliminate the CFCs from it. They totally changed the product, but the package stayed the same, they didn't even put "New and Improved" or anything.

Benchmade used to recommend it for their folders and I used it. Then, one day, I got a new can and tried to clean out one of my AFCKs and the stuff attacked the spacer. I called BM and they confirmed that the new formula Gun Scrubber is much more agressive and will attack plastics and other finishes. They no longer recommend it.

I've heard of it taking the paint right off of sites. Gun scrubber is fine on metal, but watch it on plastics and other materials. And a lot of guns today have some non-metalic parts, so be careful with that stuff.

Some time ago, a friend was all excited about this new gun cleaner he had found. He said it smelled really strong but really cleaned well. I took one whif and knew what the active ingredient was: ammonia. It just about knocked me backwards. At one of the ranges where I occationally shoot, there's a big pump bottle of some blue liquid soap in the bathroom. The sign cautions to use just a small amount. The stuff works great. It takes the residue right off of your hands. So, I asked what it was. The answer: Dawn Dishwashing Soap. The key ingredient in Dawn Dishwashing Soap that makes it the only dishwashing soap powerful enough for bachelor cooking is actually ammonia. So, I got to thinking? Why not Windex. It's cheap, you've already got a bottle of it around the house, it doesn't smell bad, it doesn't leave your hands smelly, and it's got plenty of ammonia in it. So I tried it and it works great. Why pay for all of these expensive potions when ordinary Windex does the trick.

Follow up with Militec-1, and you're done.
 
What are you firing corrosive ammo in?

Me I have A Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant 7.62X54R That loves the corrosive stuff. Believe it or not it is the most accurate in my rifle.Feel free to PM or E-Mail me if any one wants to talk guns.
 
Originally posted by coldsteel03
What are you firing corrosive ammo in?

Me I have A Finnish M39 Mosin Nagant 7.62X54R That loves the corrosive stuff. Believe it or not it is the most accurate in my rifle.Feel free to PM or E-Mail me if any one wants to talk guns.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if I am firing corrosive ammo. In my pistols I use stuff like Winchester, PMC?, or whetever Wal Mart sells for plinking in .40, usually good quality stuff made for plinking.

The only ammo that might be corrosive would be Russian surplus 7.62x39 or the S&B 7.62x39 I fire in my AK47. It is the only cheep ammo for plinking in bulk.
 
Hoppes #9.

I found out about "New and Improved" Gun Scrubber the hard way. It discolored the grips on my Ruger Mark II.
 
Another vote for Breakfree. I have yet to find a better lubricant and cleaner. For corrosive ammo I also use ammonia.

SkagSig40, I have found Russian 7.62x39 to be mildly corrosive. I run a patch with ammonia down the bore of my AK when I shoot a lot of the Russian Surplus fodder.
 
Normally, I just grab what falls to hand. That could be Hoppes, CLP-Breakfree, WD-40 and the like. (I never liked Gun Scrubber because of the smell.) I've never really had the heavy copper colored fouling that some guys get in their rifles, but then, that's more of a sign of a rough barrel.

I do use cast bullets almost exclusively in my handguns, both pistol and revolver. I do get some leading, especially in a newer gun. I've never needed a Lewis Lead Remover, but I have had to scrub sometimes.

What works the best here is putting a little strand of Nevr-Dull on a jag and swabbing the barrel. It seems to push out the lead and make the rifling shinier. It seems to lead less after that.

Also, don't over-clean your guns. Most good rifles have been damaged more from cleaning than by firing. Bill Jordan once remarked that he had a .375 Mashburn that he NEVER cleaned.
 
breakfree, our dept armorers swear by it. While I'm not sure on this fact, I believe that this came out on top in military tests.
 
Hoppes No.9 "Nitro" for the bore, BreakFree CLP for most other cleaning tasks, and my lubricant is FirePower FP10, AKA Shooters Choice FP10.

BreakFree excels as a rust preventative, I swab my clean bores with it to prevent corrosion. I also use it on my uncoated carbon steel knife blades. It's an ok cleaner and an ok lube also, but it's not as good at those tasks as solvents or lubricants dedicated to only those purposes. The military likes it because its pretty good at everything and it beats carrying 3 or 4 different bottles around.

As required I'll use a copper solvent on precision rifle barrels, usually every 200-300 rounds.
 
I generally use Hoppe's #9, dig the smell, followed by Break Free CLP however just recently I tried some M Pro 7 Bore Cleaning Gel. I'm going to purchase some of the gel to add to my cleaning bench as it works very well.

What I really like about the gel is that it is thick enough to stay in the bore without running out. When I use solvent I like to do the solvent step first then let it sit for 10 minutes or so while I clean the rest of the gun. This dwell time allows the solvent to do the hard work for you.

clic pic
 
Ed's Red for everything except dissolving copper fouling, Sweet's 7.62 for that.

For a lube I use Breakfree, Mobil 1 0w30 sometimes, Remington DriLube sometimes.
 
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