doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cleaning the Locks and Receiver

yes!.....$4.99 @ Canadian Tire

That is good information - I have used Easy-Off on dirty engine parts, but never thought about using it on guns.

I have used carburetor cleaner for years, it's a bit pricey now, about 30.00 a gallon. No mixing or fiddling needed just soak the part for a few hours, rinse it with water blow dry and oil. It won't hurt normal finishes on metal but I wouldn't drink it or get in in my eyes. It works so well that there must be something wrong about it besides the price.

Jim

James, I used carb cleaner before but I like this stuff better, I works really fast and it's easier and cleaner to use and probably more enviromentally friendly than all those other solvents that might end up going down the drain


CJ

Mr. Opacak,
What would your suggestion be if you took the locks off to clean but did not want to take apart or what about a boxlock that you take partly apart and don't want to go further. Lets say a Parker hammerless that you have the stock and trigger plate off. I know guys would like to clean them up a bit but are afraid to take them completely apart. Would you use the oven cleaner but maybe boil it?

I'm going to jump back in here, and I'll bet Mr. Opacak will agree with me. Not every gun owner is equipped with the proper hollow ground screwdrivers, pin punches, spring vises, etc. to do a complete and proper disassembly. Even experienced folks have trouble with the cursed L. C. Smith top lever spring. In these cases, a 90% cleaning is much better than a 100% cleaning with lost or damaged parts and screws. I really like Mr. Opacaks' tip to use oven cleaner, and being a blackpowder shooter for decades, I know very hot water won't hurt the metal parts of guns with proper drying and re-lubrication. I think we should approach our gun care and repair like a Doctor following the Hippocratic Oath..."first do no harm", and know our limitations. Even a master stockmaker would be wise to leave evgraving to a real engraver.

Just to add a bit here as I too am a confirmed Easy Off user.
I've found that it works better if the surface you're treating is warm but not hot mind you. I usually do this type of work outdors and being located in the SW means getting parts warm isn't a problem. This is a little OT but Easy Off is the best product I've found for getting oil out of soaked gunstocks. It will even work on the most miserable old military stocks.
Jim

Builder,..I tend to agree with Keith, if your gun only requires partial cleaning then something like varsol would do,..you don't want to get this stuff and water in someplace that you might not get out,... this is what I would use on a gun with 100 years of crud on it, anything that requires a partial cleaning is probably clean enough to just be oiled and left alone.
I know guys like to tinker but the tinkerers are the ones that we as lovers of fine old guns curse under our breaths when we see fine old Parker with buggered screws
I'm sorry if this is not what you wanted to hear but I don't want to send out the wrong message
Like Keith said,... Even a master stockmaker would be wise to leave engraving to a real engraver.

Italian SXS. I know it works on wood as well but since I have no way of knowing how deeply it's absorbed by the wood to perhaps be released later on to the metal I rather not use it

CJ

C. J.
I can only give you a partial answer here and it's inre. to oil soaked military stocks. Actually part of the problem with these is cosmoline and it was common to lather surplus rifles in it before they were put into long term storage. I have restored rifles caked with this goo and suspect that they had been in this state for decades. Easy Off just seems to boil this right out of the wood. I have also used several washes with mineral spirits as a final cleanup. My usual procedure to refinish a military stock is to then use multiple coats of tinted oil.
Many stocks that I re-finished years ago show no residual effects from this treatment that I can detect. I don't know if there would be any problems with a re-finish other than oil as I rarely use anything else.
Jim

Thank you for your advice CJ and Keith I like to work on wood only and I am reasonably good at it. When I remove a stock I often have the trigger plate off and a pin or two removed with some parts that I know I can get back together. I clean any parts I remove but I also have some access to the guts and usually try to clean it up a bit even though the gun functions well already. That is the reason for the question. If I need to take a gun completely apart for cleaning or repair I send it out to a gunsmith. Although I just retired, my specialty is building new homes. I am not a gunsmith nor machinist and I have seen what nonprofessionals can do to a house so I can imagine what I can do to a beautiful old gun.