dirty gun, can of breakfree... what do i do?

[shadeone]

ok, i dont want to screw anything up when cleaning my gun for the first time...

there is aprox. 800-1000 rounds of wally world white box through it and i would like to get it clean again (im a little OCD when it comes to clean things ;) )

i know im supposed to spray some breakfree (or other cleaning solution) on all the areas where moving parts contact the insides of the receiver like the bolt, etc... but how much are we talking? like coat the hell out of it, just a tiny shot? does breakfree make all of the powder residue come off of the bolt face? should i scrub with a toothbrush or something?

and i have a 9mm barrel wire brush thing, what do i need to do in order to avoid damaging the barrel while cleaning it? i also have a giant bag of those barrel swab square cloth looking things... does breakfree work good in a barrel? would soaking the swab in some and then running it through the barrel a few times with a rod work good? should i leave any breakfree in the barrel or keep swabbing until completely clean?

how about the exterior of the gun? i have the parkerized vector finish on it but have never done anything to prevent rust from forming, and thankfully nothing has because i keep it stored in a customized samsonite briefcase in a somewhat humidity controlled area of my house... but what steps should i take to prolong the life and looks of this beauty?

i know this is a lot of questions and probably some very simple answers await me, but i just want to make sure im doing everything right so i may continue to have years of enjoyment out of my favorite toy ever! :D

shade

[po]

Opinions vary. I would just wipe it out good with a cloth dampened with CLP and then let it dry. If you have some of those $4.95 nylon dental picks, maybe clean the nooks & crannies so you sleep a little better. Don't be too aggressive with the bore. Swab it wet with CLP, hit it with a bronze or nylon brush, then swab wet again. Hit it with a dry patch. Then annoint it very lightly with CLP again before you re-assemble.

Also, before you re-assemble, put a dot or two of CLP on any shiny spots that appear to be bearing surfaces.

At 800 - 1000 rounds I wouldn't go crazy with the cleaning. Clean it, but don't sterilize it. Don't over lube it.

That's my opinion, but when you ask that question around here it's like asking which region has the best barbecue.

-- po

[johnnywitt]

For the barrel, use Sweet's if it is really badly copper fouled, or Hoppe's Benchrest copper solvent if its just normal fouling. For the receiver you can use Hoppes #9 to clean out the crap and then lubricate with Militec-9 and TW-25 grease. I put a very thin coat of Militec in the inside of the receiver and then hit the bolt with the TW-25 grease very sparingly. CLP works good on the mags. You need some of the dual ended nylon brushes and some Q-tips and pipe cleaners. Also, a bronze toothbrush and bore brush and a good Dewey rod with the jag that comes with it. I don't use CLP in my barrels. YMMV.

[tommygun2000]

:thinking You sound like you've never cleaned a gun before.

Strip the thing, spray, brush, wipe and swab, just like any other gun.

[shadeone]

first gun was a POS leinad pm11... never got enough rounds through it to clean it before i sold it... second gun was the current mini uzi pistol. so, yes, this is my first time cleaning a firearm and i want to do it right :)

shade

[sofltodd]

I usually run a patch covered in solvent through the barrel and let it sit while I strip the lower off the receiver and do the receiver cleaning.

If you want to be OCD about it you can take the grips off the receiver and then spray the receiver inside with CLP and let it drip out. I give the inside of the receiver a through wipe and respray with CLP to ensure all the grit is out. Sometimes it's necessary to take out the rear buffer as crap will build up around it. I don't remove the grips and buffer every time I clean but once every 3 months or so to give it a quarterly scrub.

I use a brush to clean the crap off my feedramp and dental pics to remove the buildup behind the feedramp. Dental pics may be necssary to get the buildup from the nooks and small spots around the trunion (big round hole in front of gun where barrel sticks out of). If you use carb cleaner or breakfree with a straw spray thing on it you should be able to flush a lot of crap from the trunion area so dental picking might not be needed.

At this point I run a tight patch on a jag through my barrel which has been sitting a while to see what kind of fun stuff comes out. I then run a second patch through to see how much more comes out. If it's dirty still I will run a brush through it a few times and another patch and then put another solvent soaked patch through and let it sit again while I clean the lower.. I repeat the solvent patch, brush , clean patch until clean.

The lower:
Remove the plastic grips so they do not get eaten by carb cleaner/ clp or solvents. I usually spray clp into my lower and then set it upside down to drain... I repeat until happy. I use cue-tips to clean out the remaining crap and dental pics if there are tight areas. Every few months I'll run a CLP soaked rag trough the magwel followed by a dry rag.

I usually leave a light coat of clp on the inside of the gun when done and wipe the exterior with a lightly oiled or clp covered rag.

Of course the other side of the whole cleaning scenario is to get an ultrasonic cleaner. You can dissasemble the gun and put the parts and receiver in the cleaner... when done you can dry the receiver off and then oil it lightly with CLP it should be pretty much spotless. You can run a patch through the barrel a few times and you should be done...

[shadeone]

great posts!! exaaaaaactly what info i needed! thanks guys! :)

shade