There was a topic running a while back about cleaning guns. And a product called Break free CLP came up and had nothing but praise, so I decided to try it out. I will have to say that it is an awsome product. I highly recomend you try it if you havent yet. You can pick it up @ WalMart now for about 4 bucks (really cheap for the unbeatable quality product).
I also wanted to ask all of you how you clean your guns? If any of you have any tricks or tips to help get those hard to reach places without dissmantling your firearm.

Thanks,
Knifeboy

Howdy Knifeboy. I tried breakfree after grimel recomended it, it is good stuff. There is a solvent called SWEETS that is one of the best copper solvents i have ever used that stuff is potent and stinks but it does a number on copper. If you try sweets don't use a bronze bore brush use a nylon brush and oil the barrel when your done try it, you will be shocked at what you thought was a clean barrel

BreakFree has been one of my mainstay lubricants/protectants for years. I use it to protect my dies,barrels,sizing bushings and anything I want to protect from rust.

In addition to BF,of course Kroil for everything from removing powder residue to kill'n wasps!

Bore cleaners include Butch's,TM and Shooters Choice.

Shooters Choice and Sinclair bolt grease on the lugs and cocking ramps.

Lighter fluid not only cleans parts, but leave behind a very light oil perfect for trigger hing pins without collecting dirt.

Monsanto Hi-pressure silicone grease does wonders making bolts and shotgun actions work slick as snot. Spread a small amount over the friction areas and wipe it off. The micro silicone particals inbed the metal and any of the suspension grease that may be left behind is stable to -40F. Perfect of cold weather guns.

A Sinclair Action cleaning tool is 30 bucks well spent to get the crud out of the locking lug recesses. Soak the swabs with Kroil(better buy a gallon!), wipe out the recesses, dry with a clean one and re-grease.

Shotgun swabs from 410 to 12 ga. with Kroil (better buy two gallons!) works perfect to clean chambers and a clean swab to dry them. Afterwards just wash'm and their good to go again. They also are good to clean out bolt bodies and reloading dies.

Bolts and triggers should be disassembled,cleaned and lubricated at least once a year or more under normal use. Spray cleaners like Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber will get a lot of crud out of a trigger out in a pinch,but they remove oil and grease so remember to lubricate them ASAP.

Mother's Back to Black works to clean and protect recoil pads,white line spacers,grip caps,lens covers etc. without making then slippy. It doesn't have to be black material to work, they just call it that. What you have left over from your guns, works great on the faded plastic trim on your car and truck, its intended purpose!

Unfortunately,bolts,triggers,lever guns ,pump and semi actions are almost impossible to clean a lubricate properly without being disassembled. Learning how to do it not only keeps your firearm in top working condition, but also gives you a better understanding how everything works. Ya never know what it may lead to like buying lathes,milling machines,making parts,stocks,reaming chambers,making dies............

Bill.

Spent a long time in the Australian Army (Infantry) and have used a number of different cleaning products. We used to use Break Free but went away from it because it was thought that it may have caused some screws etc to work free under vibration (not an engineer so I can't be sure if this is a fact). We now use Nycolube 127. It isn't as versatile as BF in the cleaning department, but it is a damn fine lube. Sweets is another product that is used by some "specialists" (and those that know the value of this product, like me) and is second to none for cleaning copper deposits from the bore. The rest of us use Jib Solvent, but it is nowhere near as good as Sweets.

As for cleaning in nooks and crannies, I use a product called BrakeKleen. It is designed to clean crap and corruption off vehicle brakes. It is an awesome solvent but strips EVERY little bit of grease and oil from whatever it touches (it also turned the grips of a mate's CZ75 9mm pistol white, oops). Another good product is Scotch 700 Adhesive Cleaner and Solvent. It also strips EVERY bit of oil and grease. I have used both of these products on rifle actions and pistols and they remove all of the grunge like dirt, grease and carbon. Ensure you apply a quality oil to all parts after using these products.

I have "modified" a couple of toothbrushes to use for cleaning as well. Trimmed the bristles down to about 3mm on both and removed the bristles leaving only two rows on one of them. Also did a bit of reshaping of the head shape to suit. Great for tight spots, and as cheap as well.

Hope this is of value/interest to all.

Vince

Howdy. Welcome to huntingnut vince sit long and talk much

To clean a shotgun thoroughly, I bang the stock on the pavement a couple of times and then tap the end of the barrel on the pavement. This shakes off all the dried on mud and blood. Then tie it (securely) to your roofrack and go in a drive-through car wash. Should there be any visible residue inside the barrel, a good blowing out with the lance on a pressure washer gets it (120bar minimum). If it's a semi auto then make sure you pull the bolt back first, break a double barrelled gun or you'll get an eyeful! Spray everything with WD40 after first wiping all metal parts with any handy piece of paper - street bins are a useful source, especially in the vicinity of Wendy's/Mc Donalds as then the grease on the paper does away with the need to oil. Finally, remember to throw it safely into your favourite closet and put a "DANGER - GUNS" post-it note on the door to stop children getting them out and playing with them. Remember, BE SAFE!

Thanks for your kind words Joe. I'm not much of a talker, but I will most certainly sit long and listen. Listening is a damn fine way to learn from those that have more knowledge and experience. At 53 I'm still a youngun' and have much to learn. In fact I reckon when I know it all and have nothing left to learn its time to pack it all in cause in reality I'm kidding myself. LOL

Delboy, thanks for the shotgun cleaning tips, they sound effective. In particular I like the idea of the pressure cleaner....should do the trick nicely, and I bet its quick and easy. Must give them a try next time I come back from a hunt.

Cheers all.

Nice to have you with us Vince, don't be a stranger now - will you?
PS. I don't REALLY use a pressure washer............... I've got a bit of half inch iron gas pipe that I shove down the barrels, p/w's make too much mess in the kitchen. All the best, Del.

Folks, keep in mind the biggest advantage of BF CLP is it is a cleaner, lubricant, and preservative all in one. I like it because I do NOT have to remember what did I lube this rifle with on the days it's sloppy, cold, and wet. On those same sloppy days, I don't need a lot of time to clean/lub/preserve it. All done in one step at the campground (and I won't forget/blow off one part).

It works very well for what it does and has a bajillion uses around firearms. I've also been known to use Wilson's Gun Grease on my auto pistols.

Grimel hit the nail on the head, this stuff makes for a great all around gun cleaner, lubricant, and rust preventer. I love it.
I really want to say thanks for the other posts as well. I really like all the insights and good ideas you guys have. I now have some other ideas for special cleanings.

Thanks guys,
Knifeboy

Break-Free CLP is a great product,if you talk to anybody at Glock Inc. they will tell you they almost exclusively use BF CLP for everything. I used to use Break-Free CLP,but have recently switched over to M-Pro 7 CLP due to the fact it is non-toxic,bio-degradable,non-carcinogenic etc.

I can clean My guns in the house and not be very worried about My 5yr.old son being around it and my Wife doesn't complain about the smell or the hazardous chemicals.

I have been really pleased with the M-Pro 7 line and would highly recommend it.The Hoppes Elite line is essentially the same product and Pantheon Chemical company makes both of them.

Break Free for me also, for everything on a gun.
For my barrels, I use Butch's Bore Shine
Does a great job on lead and copper, and if you happen to sniff it too much, you really don't care if you shoot well or not.

Eric

I use only gun cleaning and lubricating products on my guns...Breakfree is an automotive parts cleaning product and not a gun cleaning product. Therefore I will not use it. Infact in all the years I have worked in the diesel and automotive repair industry I have never used breakfree. I doubt that I will start now. I have used Hoppe's products and a few others. For deep cleaning I use a kerosene solvent with lanolin added. My guns are scrupulously clean and function flawlessly. By The Way...Sweet's products are quite good aslo.

Knifeboy, I recently read an article in a gun magazine about gun cleaning. The writer said if it's not MOA you are looking for, then an occasional bore cleaning is all that needs to be done. He said he cleaned his bores after 500 + rounds were fired through it or when accuracy became questionable. I also subscribe to that thought. I clean the actions often, oil often, wipe often...but, clean the bores only when performance has gone down. When has that been noticed by me, never! I don't shoot in competition so MOA is not of interest to me. I do shoot skeet & trap competitively and keep my shotguns clean to avoid problems while competing...but, the only attention I give to bores is to the chokes which build up with some crud from so many wads passing thru them.

Don't get me wrong though, I do inspect the bores, and keep them oiled.

Keep it coming...

Heck I might only shoot one round and I go and field strip the rifle/shotgun, clean up the action and then clean the bore and reassemble it.

Is that too much ??

As for cleaning/oil products I use Hoppes Elite now. Used to use Hoppes No. 9 & their regular oils.

Dimitri