doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Gun Cleaning (Quick Efficient)

I have decided it is time for a major "spring cleaning" of my whole collection. Quite a few shotguns. When I usually clean a gun it takes a while. I like to get pretty detailed and use tooth brushes and different solvents and the like.
But, now I would like to do a fast but reasonably thorough job to the bunch.
Would anyone care to suggest tools or products or techniques to clean a bunch of guns in a hurry?
Regards, Jake

I use boresnakes, gunscrubber (for tuff stuff) and a good old Tee-Shirt with CLP on it to wipe it all up with. On internal workings I like to spray a bit of RemOil on it. I guess it depends on how dirty they are to begin with.

After each use I clean mine prior to putting them back in the safe. If they remain unused for any length of time, chances are they will just need to be wiped down and have some wax re-applied.

I don't use a bore solvent anymore, after seeing many a double with loose ribs. A lead disolving solvent will attack the solder joints of a double if repeatedly used and allowed to come in contact with the solder joints, usually this means the muzzle and the the first foot of the ribs that it wicks into.

I've been using RemOil as the bore solvent.

For bore brushing, I put a bronze brush on the end of a fuzzy fleece rod (Bore Runner), spray the bore with RemOil, give it a few minutes, then run the brush equipped fleece rod a few times.

I also use RemOil to clean the action on papertowel wipes or with a small brush.

Sounds resonable...I've been using Ballistol.

The quickest way I've found to clean a bunch of guns is to clean them before a bunch of them get dirty.

I clean my guns immediately after use and this is usually several guns per week. I also clean/maintain at least a few of the rarely fired ones each week which means every one of them gets at least an annual cleaning. That way I'm never facing a monumental cleaning task.
Jim

Can't argue with that, Joe, nothing like doing five or six, particularly if there's a rifle in the mix.

My equipment for shotguns. Two cheap three piece rods. One has bore brush of appropriate dia. wrapped with 4 ought steel wool and handle removed so can be chucked in cordless drill motor. Other has handle and bore brush about which I wrap generic kleenex double or triple folded to fit particular bore and or chamber (tight or loose fit). Old Oral B 30s and cheap generic Q-tips. Put Ed's Red on everything that cleans or gets cleaned. Put Rig, vaseline and 3-in-1 mix, or Garand Plastilube depending on what's sitting there on everything that moves in contact after cleaning: not just the hook and pin but sides of the lugs, sides of the slot in the bar, rotary bolt slots, noses of sliding bolts, every surface of rotaries I can get at with the lever tripped, sides of extensions and extension slots and piercings, face of the breech wall, contacting radius of the ejectors or extractor, knuckle of bar and rule joint of forend. Little dab will do ya but I think it needs spreadinging around until everything is greasy. Before the lubing, my view is that if kleenex or Q-tip comes out black, it's still dirty. Cotton from Q-tips is not the best thing going because it can get caught on sharp tips and corners or recesses and linger in there but I look over this as it's such a neat little mini-swab.

jack

I second rabbit's use of two or more rods. Lose too much time changing accessories on a single rod. One rod with bronze brush, second with brass jag. I wet the bores with a ballistol and water soaked patch over the jag. Then I scrub with couple of patches over the bronze brush. Finish with patches over the brass jag and finally a CLP patch on the jag. The jags aren't available from modern cleaning rod suppliers. Go to the muzzleloader suppliers and get 12,16 and 20gauge jags, rifle caliber jags for the smaller guages. Might have to spin the brass jags with a drill against carbine paper to get the exact size for bore fit with patch - this is easy enough to adjust. I never have figured out how they expected a slotted tip to clean a shotgun bore. Light CLP wipe on the exterior and she is clean.

A medium pressure air line with a rubber tipped blow gun is handy at the bench for a quick dusting of bore residue and exterior dust on hunting guns. Getting the first layer of dust off without wiping helps to minimize fine scratches in the finish. Also good for getting crud out of the bolt area and interior receiver nooks and crannies on pumps and autos, before going at it with swabs and Q-tips.

Chuck, what solvent dissolves lead? I have a couple that will attack copper, but none will do anything to elemental lead. Some might act like a penetrating oil and get between leading and underlying steel such as a leaded revolver forcing cone, but that is not a solder joint.

OB

OB,
good question. I'm guilty of passing along heresay. I didn't really research it when I first decided not to use solvents on my doubles. Some others here years ago mentioned an issue with weakening the solder joints with "lead solvents". I am not sure if there are indeed solvents that actually work on lead, but they certainly advertise them as lead removers. Also, would a "copper solvent" act on the tin/lead alloy?