kellar

Mr. Camp and Mr. Smith,



I am not exactly a newbie when it comes to firearms having been around, handling, and shooting them most of my 70yrs of life. However, I have only started to get serious with them when I purchased my Browning Hi Power about a month or so ago.



After reading most of the posts on your Forum, and most of Mr. Camp's aritcles on his web site, I notice that nothing, or very little is said about cleaning and oiling firearms. Now I know there are many good products on the market, and that most of you "pros" have your favorites and favorite techniques, and that a discussion of these might open that "can of worms". However, I still would like you and any of the other people who read this to tell me what you think is the best way to clean and oil a firearm, especially my Hi Power.



At present I am using Militec-1 to oil, WD40 to clean (which I think may be a no no), and REM oil to wash away the WD40. I recently bought a can of BREAK-FREE, but have not gotten around to trying it.



All comments on this subject, and any advice given are welcomed, and much appreciated. Thanks.



Bert

pgm

Hi Bert,



I try to shoot jacketed bullets primarily (exclusively in the BHP), and I have always had good luck with Hoppes #9 for cleaning, dry patches in between, and then a light film of Hoppes Lubricating Oil, Outers Gun Oil or Rem Oil. I think I'd stay away from the WD-40. Mr Camp covers the cleaning (more technique than chemicals) of the BHP in great detail in his book (available on his site www.hipowersandhandguns.com). If you are new to the BHP, I would sure check out his publications.



Good luck and welcome,



PGM

kellar

Thanks PGM. I did order Mr. Camp's guide on disassembling the Hi Power, but have not ordered his book yet which I plan on doing soon.



Oh, I use Shooter's Choice and/or Butch's Bore Shine to clean my 257 Weatherby and my other rifles' bores.



Bert

Chris Stephens

Hi there Keller,



Sometimes I am amused when reading instruction manuals for all the firearms I own that there seems to be so little attention paid to the actual cleaning and maintaining of the manufacturer's products. The best autoloader instructions that I have read come from the S&W 3rd generation owners manual.



As a matter of fact, they all seem pretty generic.



We all have our favorite cleaning and lubrication techniques which seem to vary as wildly as a recipe for our favorite dish.



Mine, right now, is to dissemble the firearm, clean the bore, breech face and interior surfaces with Hoppes #9. Scrub where necessary with a nylon brush. I have been using Hoppes #9, Butches Bore Shine, or Kroll's Oil to clean the barrel fouling out of the barrel. I let the barrel rest at least thirty minutes to "leach out" any fouling after the initial soaking with solvent, and run patches until they come out of barrel clean.



I lube the slide rails of the frame/slide with one drop of Militec or Hoppes oil on each side. I put a drop of oil on the Barrel Hood, End of the Muzzle where it contacts the barrel bushing and one drop on the barrel cam slot.



I reassemble the pistol and wipe down with an oil impregnated rag.



I do not use WD-40 for anything on firearms except removing cosmoline on Mil Surp firearms. It does not have the anti static qualities of other lubricants and tends to attract dust and powder residue. Please note that this is my opinion only.



I would enjoy hearing other member's cleaning techniques. I could use some new ideas!!!



Chris

Stephen A. Camp

Hello. I use Hoppe's on the bore and then patch it dry and oil lightly and then dry. I lube with Militec oil and use either CLP or Rem-Oil on exterior surfaces.



Best.

kellar

Thanks all.



I stopped by my gundealer/gunsmith yesterday to "shoot the bull" a little. In our conversations I asked him what he used to clean his guns. His reply was Paint Thinner. He stepped inside the door to his work area and brought out a gallon bottle about half full of just plain old Paint Thinner bought at Lowe's to show me.



Any comments on this?



Off hand I don't see anything wrong with using it. I guess this man is satisfied. I think he has been gunsmithing 20+ years.



Bert

Stephen A. Camp

Hello. I suspect that it cuts the powder residue quite well. I don't know for sure but I'd think it might also act as a degreaser so if using it in the cleaning process, I'd be sure to oil the surfaces to prevent rust/corrosion.



Best.

Josh Smith

Hi Kellar,



I make it more complicated than it perhaps needs to be.



I first run solvent through it. Then, really hot water. I get all the parts clean.



Then I take my fiance's blowdryer and set the pistol in front of it for say, half an hour. Well done, not medium rare.



While it's still hot, I oil it. I let it cool and then wipe away the excess oil. I use Gunslick on the rails.



Takes a couple hours, but it's very thorough.



Josh <><

__________________

Chris Stephens

Hi there Keller,



In response to your gunsmith using paint thinner, I suspect that it would work well on some finishes, but not all, i.e. works well on blued metal parts or stainless steel guns.



I have made up my own bore solvent/gun cleaner that I researched on the internet called "Ed's Red Bore Cleaner". One of the ingrediants is Mineral Spirits and I keep my epoxy painted FM Argentine well away from the stuff. Another ingrediant is Acetone, which is not good for finished wood surfaces.



Just my thinking and opinion.



Chris

kellar

carolinaman,



I know that if I ever did use it I would be super careful, and not use it on just any surface. One thing for sure I would remove any wooden handles, etc..



Bert