Spring Cleaning and maintaining our treasures...

[CZ]

This is a wide open subject and we all have our pet methods and do's and don't s  I would like to share my "Spring cleaning ritual"  It is not the only cleaning my guns get but, it is the minimum amount of cleaning they ALL get...


Each spring I have what I call "Spring cleaning" every year May be January or February (so I remember) every gun I own is pulled out of where ever it is being stored.  For some this process might take a week or two...

 I field strip them looking for any unusual wear, rust or broken parts. On some firearms I will disassemble trigger groups and other intricate assemblies if they need it.  If you do not know how to do this either learn or don't do it.   Be very careful if you go this far.   

Cleaning can be as simple as running a cleaning patch and oiling patch through and wipe down everything and reassemble. With some it may be a complete bore cleaning to get out built up copper.   On others I might spend more time cleaning out every nook and cranny.  AR s have a lot of those places to get into.  A lot of these little places if a little dirty will not affect anything. (It is an OCD thing for me)

I wear rubber gloves when doing this work to keep the chemicals, lead and grime off my hands. It also keeps finger prints and body salts off the surfaces so when I am done cleaning it is spotless.

 I use different oils depending on each gun.  If I know I wont be shooting it I use a good rust preventive on it.  I like rig for long term storage and if I decide to shoot it later I will just clean it off first.   If it is likely to be used more often then regular oiling or lubrication practices will be preformed with quality gun oils.

 I sometime notice my storage methods might modifications giving better protection for some guns more than others. This can be a good learning time to improve storage of some heirlooms that will be passed on to grand kids.. I am lucky enough to have a couple guns my great grand father bought in the 1800s to pass on to my grand kids who will own them 200 years later... I want to be a good steward of that history.
 

Hopefully this will spur some constructive learning posts and not combative arguments of my lube is better than yours..  If it is better then something else then back it up with real world reasons. 

If it is something bad like WD-40 then explain.   WD-40 when it is applied over and over again it accumulates and dries first as a gunny deposit and later it will harden off like varnish and cause moving parts to stop moving. Or in some cases actually leaving that varnish like finish on exposed receivers and barrels.  As a gunsmith in the past I made a lot of money cleaning and fixing old guns with varnish from WD-40 and other lubricants. 


OK, Guys add your wisdom...

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]

[JarheadAZ]

I would only add that with the price of Borescopes coming way down, it could make sense to look into getting one.

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=teslong+rifle+borescope&crid=1YP97FVBNO5EU&sprefix=teslong%2Caps%2C231&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_5_7

Greg

[Ballistic Therapy]

I clean my guns every time I shoot them.
Not just once a year.

As far as the WD-40 stories go. If you clean your guns regularly and after every time you shoot them there is nothing wrong with WD-40.
I have seen people clean and lube guns with WD-40 for well over 50 years and have never seen the problems everyone on the internet talks about.
As a matter of fact , I never even knew about the supposed problems until the internet was invented.

[AZ Husker]

Amazingly Guncrafter Industries recommends WD30.

[5632]

Never herd of WD30.

[Clifffalling]

When i deep clean...it gets stripped... full monty. Any carbon and other gunk comes off with the help of break free blast off, lead , copper remover etc. Then into the ultrasonic. Depending on the finish, might have simple green, dawn detergent soap, or just water.  Then into clean rinse water, compressed air at 100psi, then the dehydrator to dry for a few hours. Lastly, a coat of rem oil or clp where needed. I use silicone socks and vci bags for longer storage. 

[usmc5811]

Never herd of WD30.

The word is 'heard'.

[RJ]

oh crap, knew i was forgetting something, so you're supposed to clean them

[patkelly4370]

I fondled mine while on furlough in April.

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

[coelacanth]

If its getting used or carried its getting field stripped and cleaned regularly.  If its riding in the truck or on the tractor that counts as regular use even if its not being fired regularly.  Rust prevention varies depending on the circumstances but I'm starting to have a good feeling about Hornady's One Shot.  Its not bad as a lube either if a dry film works for that application.  Some things are better run wet ( 1911's and a few other things ) and those get a product called Slipstream STYXX. 

Don't overdo it.  The more you handle stuff the more it shows.  Milsurps are built for it and are hard to hurt but your Colt Officer's Model Target, Heavy Barrel from the 1930's is going to eventually start showing high edge wear on that gorgeous bluing.   That's why my stuff is all shooter grade at this point because, at this point, I have little use for something I can't use without killing its collector value.  YMMV.   

[rjinaz86323]

Just for clarification Guncrafter Industries recommends WD-40 for cleaning, not for lubrication.

[CZ]

I clean my guns every time I shoot them.
Not just once a year.

As far as the WD-40 stories go. If you clean your guns regularly and after every time you shoot them there is nothing wrong with WD-40.
I have seen people clean and lube guns with WD-40 for well over 50 years and have never seen the problems everyone on the internet talks about.
As a matter of fact , I never even knew about the supposed problems until the internet was invented.

Some of my guns either do not have ammo made for them anymore or may not be safe to fire but, have a lot of sentimental value to me. I have several that have not been shot in years if at all so I like doing to once a year cleaning either way.  I guess I have way to many to get around to firing them more often at my age I have decide to start giving some away to family friends and grand kids so I wont have to clean them all... 

I am sure as often as you clean yours they will be fine.  All my experience with WD was from 40 or 50 years ago I can't say I ever read it on the internet.  My observation as a gunsmith in south Florida was that WD and other types of household oils would often dry out over the years most of those guns were at least 30 to 50 years old normally something that was in grandpas closet and maybe oiled every few years and the people with them decided they wanted to shoot them... 

[anm2_man]

The humidity down in south Florida is always quite high vs  what we see in the Desert here in Arizona even during monsoon season.  Plus in Florida you have to deal with a higher salt content in the air being surrounded by salt water. 

My spring cleaning means to transfer into Dillon 100 round blue boxes the ammo that I would normally leave in a .30cal cans when I'm shooting out in the desert.   They won't let me back up my pickup behind the indoor lane that I'll be shooting at most of the summer months until fall.       

[5632]

For your information I will share a product that is far better and not comparable to WD-40.  It is not only water repellent, a corrosion inhibitor, outstanding penetant, and lubricant but the greatest rust stopping product I have ever experienced.   And made for guns.  It is called GIBBS.  You can find it on Amazon.

Spray a half piece of raw steel and leave it outside up to a year if you want and you will ask yourself why it is not rusted to death.

[Lynyrd]

Just for clarification Guncrafter Industries recommends WD-40 for cleaning, not for lubrication.

That's because it isn't a lubricant.

[rjinaz86323]

that's exactly why I wanted to clarify it since some were implying using it as a lubricant

[JarheadAZ]

History of WD-40: https://www.thoughtco.com/wd-40-1992659

WD-40 and guns; concerns: https://smartguncleaning.com/wd-40-clean-gun/

Technically, WD-40 won't harm guns. What it will do is attract dust, and that dust will combine with the oil residue. In dry environments, it all dries out and binds moving parts.

When I took over maintenance of the VFW's eight ceremonial M-1 Garands in 2016, I encountered this trait for the first time during annual strip/clean after Memorial Day volleys. I had come from a distinctly different climate. The combination of oil residue, dust, heat, and time had/has rendered firing pins into immobile objects unable to initiate primer ignition even when pounded by the M-1's massive hammer; not just one of them, but each and every one of the eight. In this respect, the conglomerations were indistinguishable from ancient Cosmoline.

I soak the assembled bolts with a mixture of odorless paint remover and isopropyl alcohol for about 24 hours, then detail strip them and attack the firing pin channels with wire core bristle brushes. After four years of this, I'm finally getting to the point where the gunk appears to be removed. Maybe.

Elsewhere on the rifles I am slowly gaining headway at removing the varnish that's been accumulating for an unknown number of years other metal parts.

The gentleman who did maintenance prior to me is a dear friend, a fellow Marine 80 years old. To this day he swears the praises of WD-40, recounting how after detail stripping and cleaning the rifles, he would saturate the barrels and other parts with WD-40 just prior to reassembly and storage for another year.

He swears by it, I swear against it. I leave him to his beliefs. The rifles are currently given a wipe down with Lucas Gun Oil, wiped dry, and the contact areas as lubricated with Lubri-Plate; as per the US Army Field Manual FM 23-5.

Greg

[RJ]

theres so many different method, material , and snake oils to protect a shooter, a lot depends on enviroment, some work well in four seasons, some don't , some work well in extreme heat, some don't , some work when humidity is thick enough to cut it with a knife, some dont.
One should have a whole shelf or shelves dedictated to the samples of what can be used. and then revert back to .....................................good luck with it, some need lubricated before and during heavy use, some do not like lubricant, ....................so each will have its own milage, best to know your shooter and know what it likes to make you and it perform better.
jmo
Rj

[Ballistic Therapy]

Just a little FYI.
If you clean your guns once in awhile WD-40 won't hurt a thing.
I think there are more people that believe what they read , then there are those that have actually been there.

[ArizonaGunOwners.com]