Clean a gun with gasoline?

[cannonfire]

Does anybody do this? I've never heard of it before but I'm reading a book about SF missions and the writer says about the SF guys after doing CQB drills "...the soldiers cleaned their guns in gasoline in a big red aluminum gun bath..." I've seen gun baths before but I always thought it was full of chemicals. Could she have meant a petroleum based solvent?

 

[Don H]

Somehow I can't see the military officially opening itself up to that sort of liability; fire/explosive safety issues, carcinogens, etc. Having said that, however, back during WWII my father and those in his unit on Saipan used aviation gas to clean their rifles, but those were very different times.

 

[Willie Sutton]

Hate to admit it <sigh>, but I've used gasoline for years to clean both aircraft parts and guns. It's a great solvent and is universally available anywhere. With that said.... outdoors only and use extreme caution.

Like Chuck Yaeger once said: "It can be done, but I wouldn't recommend it for anyone but myself".

I bet that in the field that many soldiers have used it in the past, and will do so in the future.


Willie

.

 

[ScottRiqui]

"Nitro's for racing, alcohol's for drinking, and gasoline is for washing parts."

 

[cannonfire]

With that said.... outdoors only and use extreme caution.

I guess I should have finished the sentence but the container was in the corner of a room

 

[Willie Sutton]

"I guess I should have finished the sentence but the container was in the corner of a room"


Probably a parts washer, like those used to clean engine parts. Often kerosine is used as the solvent. They have lids that have a thermal fuse that automatically drops the lid if they catch on fire. Would not surprise me to see gasoline added to the mix in austere environments.

 

[Oysterboy]

We used naphtha to wash parts in auto shops.

 

[screech8710]

I've heard gas was good for cleaning off packing grease.

 

[MLeake]

I've heard of kerosene in such use, but not gasoline.

Anybody working with such liquids should become intimately familiar with flashpoints.

 

[Mal H]

Exactly.

It's done, that's obvious. But, it is extremely dangerous due the very high volatility of gasoline as opposed to almost any other solvent you can use.

No matter how many folks say, "I used/use it all the time" doesn't make it any less dangerous or any less of a totally bad idea.

 

[Casimer]

I wonder if the writer mistook kerosene for gasoline. Kerosene is often mixed with a red fuel dye for marking purposes.

 

[natman]

Gasoline is an excellent solvent, but it's ridiculously dangerous to use compared to other equally excellent solvents. Use something else.

 

[checkmyswag]

We used to use brake parts cleaner but never gasoline.

 

[Sparks1957]

Sure, it will work. But why take the risk when there are far less volatile and potentially dangerous alternatives?

 

[treg]

Diesel fuel and kerosene work almost as good as gasoline but much less flammable.

My Uncle recently referred to some "gun cleaner" as a bottle of the worlds most expensive kerosene.

 

[4V50 Gary]

The answer is yes but don't do this at home.

Edited to add gas is too expensive to use as a cleaner.

 

[Tombstonejim]

Crap we cleaned all our guns and aircraft parts with av gas/JP4 in Nam. You use what you have. Yea just run down to the corner and get some solvent or gun cleaner. The closest store was probably 5000 miles away. Av gas and gasoline works great for cleaning mini guns ect you just got to lube the heck out of em after you use it.

 

[Skadoosh]

Gasoline is an excellent solvent/cleaner. And a little goes a long way. I take appropriate precautions and have safely used gasoline for years.

 

[MLeake]

Flash Points

To simplify, Flash Point is the temperature at which a fuel produces sufficient vapor to ignite if exposed to a spark. The lower the flash point, the more volatile the fuel.

Here's a link to the flash points of many different fuels:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/flash-point-fuels-d_937.html

Note that diesel fuel has flash points ranging from 100-130F; kerosene, from 100-162F; napthalene 174F (although naptha fumes can harm eyes and lungs, so exercise caution). The Navy bans JP-4 from ships; JP-5 was designed with a higher flash point (140F) for shipboard use, due to the greater hazard fire poses at sea.

In contrast, the flash point for gasoline is -45F. At any temperature where a human can survive without extreme winter survival gear, gasoline will ignite if a spark is introduced.

Compare that to JP-5: one can toss a lighted match into a bucket of JP-5, and not only will the fumes not ignite (assuming temperature is less than 140F), but the liquid JP-5 will extinguish the match.

People may use gasoline as a solvent, but that doesn't mean it's a good idea.

Gasoline can linger on the body longer than one might realize, too, and those fumes remain volatile even in low concentrations. Here's a case from last month:

http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/sideshow/man-dies-accidentally-drinking-gasoline-salsa-jar-then-224208413.html

 

[m.p.driver]

Yes we'd do it in the Army,outside in the yard,big stainless steel pans and a toothbrush.