mechanic's choice ----brake cleaner?

[shoebox1.1]

i read on another thread someone used brake cleaner to clean their BP pistol.........."I took the grips off and sprayed about a half a can of brake cleaner into every crack and crevise then dryed it with towels let it dry for a few hours". i work on cars for a living and i love brake cleaner!! i get it free from work. cleans most anything and doesnt leave a residue. it might be petroleum based? but if the gun were dried after and some sort of lube was used would it work? i kinda would have thought more folks would have already posted comments in the past. would make a great in between loadings cleaner at the range.

 

[arcticap]

I've never tried it but others have reported that it removes stubborn deposits.

 

[LEE3370]

I have been using brake cleaner for cleaning guns for a long time. Started on 22s. I was looking for something to cut the crud out of a 10/22 that hadn't been cleaned for years and shot a lot. I took it apart and the bolt looked like it was molded in crud. One can of cleaner and all the parts looked like new (except worn).
I buy a lot of old blackpowder revolvers (used replicas) just to repair and play with . Some of them are in pretty dirty condition when I get them.
To completely clean one of my blackpowder revolvers, I remove the cylinder, the grips and trigger guard so I can get to all the cracks & channels and flood it. The cleaner even cleans out around where the hand runs up through the frame.
It will take off all the crud, but not rust.
You can get a big can of it at Wal-Mart for around $2.00.
After it drys, I spray it with WD-40. You have to get oil everywhere because the cleaner takes off all the oil everywhere and the hard to get to places will rust.
WEAR GOGGLES, BURNS LIKE FIRE IN THE EYES. I wear glasses and it still got in my eyes.
Hope this helps,
Lee

 

[marcseatac]

I came across brake cleaner while cleaning an SKS rifle. I tried mineral spirits and it works on the cosmolene but still left a film. I tried acetone It worked pretty good but when it dried it still felt sticky. Mostly just moved the cosmolene around when it evaporated the cosmo was still there. I also tried denatured alcohol, same thing. Brake cleaner works!

I was talking to a gunsmith I trust about brake cleaner and he told me that the commercial gun cleaning systems that gunsmiths use are one and the same as brake cleaner. Same thing!

The new thing is ultrasonic cleaning, you put the gun into a bath and the ultrasonic waves clean the gun. You don't have to take the weapon apart. Law enforcement has been adopting this method. Some gunsmiths also offer this service.

Now for black powder, either would work and does! In another thread I mentioned silicone spray lube. That's the one in the yellow can. It does have petroleum distillates but mostly as a carrier. Being an aerosol spray can the distillates carry the lubricant and then evaporate leaving just the lubricant. Silicone is fairly inert. I've used it on ski bindings for years and always loved the way it busted ice out of bindings and chased the water out of the recesses in the bindings. It hits water and it almost seems to boil. It never hurt the plastic or the teflon pads or even the painted graphics on the bindings. Good stuff!

The purists use the crisco and beeswax and olive oil and that's great. I've had good results with my method. I wouldn't use brake cleaner everytime I cleaned the gun, just when it really needs a good cleaning and then I only use it on the frame. I use the cabelas muzzle loader lube in the barrel and cylinder chambers.

Mostly I wash the pistol in soap and water and then finish with silicone spray and the Cabelas ML lube and a good anti sieze lube for the nipples. Generally.

If it gets really dirty I wash it in soap and water to rid the gun of the perclorates and salts then I do the brake cleaner, the silicone spray and the Cabelas ML lube.

And I've been doing this on my ML rifles also. The break-action guns cannot be taken apart anyway, so it becomes a method of necessity.

 

[4V50 Gary]

Stay away from WD-40 as a lubricant. It leaves a film and given time, the film will build up and disable the function of some parts.

 

[LEE3370]

sorry i posted that,
it works for me and i thought i would pass it on.

 

[Etienne Brule]

The best for me om everything: firearms, revolvers, smokeless, BP,...

1 - Break Cleaner : no deposit (except on wood or varnished stock)

2 - Ballistol everywhere: no rust.


http://www.ballistol.com/


Etienne Brûlé....... the first "Coureur des Bois "...........................

 

[Mike1951]

You can get a big can of it at Wal-Mart for around $2.00.

I've been checking several of the local Wal-Marts for brake cleaner.

Last time I bought, they had the large cans of Gunk brand for $1.88 ea.

Only one had any brake cleaner and it was CRC for about $3.

Can anyone confirm whether Wal-Mart still carries a cheap brand?

Mike

 

[LEE3370]

Howdy Mike1951
I have been buying Primis Brake Cleaner for $1.99 a can at Wally World, but I was in there yesterday and like you found out, now they now have CRC in big cans and it is around $3.00 a can. That still beats the $8 something for a small can of cleaner at the gun shop.
Lee

 

[sanson]

I let some acetone hit a plastic part by mistake and it melted

 

[CU74]

Wd-40

I don't want to discourage the folks who use WD-40 as a "general lubricant" around the house and shop, but it's NOT a good firearm lubricant. The WD stands for Water Displacer, and it does contain SOME lubricant - that's why your door hinges don't rust or squeak after a shot.

I use it 'cus it's handy and it's a rust preventative that also happens to have some lubrication properties. Read the last sentence - it is NOT a Lubricant that has some Rust Preventative properties. I DO NOT use it on my firearms, (or anything else I value highly) as a Lubricant.

Yes, it's handy. Yes, it will work short term. But it's just not a gun lube.

 

[Nortonics]

GM Top Engine Cleaner has been a tried & true gun cleaner (carbon removal) in the bench rest discipline for quite some time. Here's an article from 6mmbr.com:

Bore Cleaning Methods & Products

Kills carbon nicely, but does not address other fouling such as lead or copper though.

 

[Mike1951]

I stopped at a different Wal-Mart and bought six cans of the CRC.

Later, at yet another store, I found a cheap brand, Super Tech, 14.5oz, for something like $1.85 can, so I bought a dozen.

Some stores still have cheap brake cleaner.

Mike