I remove nipples from cylinder, rammer from barrell assembly, and toss it all into a tub of hot, soapy water.
Scrub with an old toothbrush, lathered with Ivory soap. I like Ivory because it floats and I can always find it.
The frame gets a good wiping with damp patches and Q-tips (in the tight spaces, then a quick dry with a small cloth.
Short lengths of pipe cleaner make short work of the nipple channels. Once clean, shove a round toothpick into the nipple cone for a handle, so you can hang onto it while scrubbing fouling off the threads and body with a toothbrush.
A patch pumped through the bore removes most fouling Only occasionally is a bore brush needed to remove lead.
About 98 percent of black powder fouling is water soluble. No wonder water does such a good job.
The bottoms of chambers can be quickly cleaned with a Q-tip, after working a patch back and forth.
A lathered toothbrush gets into the cutouts for the nipples and the rear of the cylinder. Don't forget to run a patch down the cylinder's central hole.
I do much of the scrubbing with the part under water, to float away any fouling. About half of black powder remains after firing, as fouling. I much prefer washing in water to get it all. Otherwise, with wiping, you often just push fouling into tiny crevices where it may cause rusting.
That said, I scrutinize the frame while cleaning it with a damp cloth.
The barrel, rammer, cylinder and nipples get a hot rinse and then popped into the oven at it's lowest temp, about 150 degrees. Leave the oven door propped open a bit, to allow moisture to escape.
Remove after 15 minutes, coat with olive or canola oil. Frame too. Reassemble, with a little oil on the nipple threads to make their removal easier later.
Eventually, I have to completely disassemble the frame assembly to get to all the accumulated fouling and crud.
I live in the desert, where humidity is low, so I'm not too concerned about rust inside the action. If I lived in a damp place, I'd disassemble the action, clean and reoil each time.
I don't like WD-40. It becomes a sticky or hard varnish over time; seen this myself.
I use a mix of beeswax and olive oil to make a soft grease for lubricating the innner action (hammer, trigger, bolt, etc.). Grease shrugs off fouling far longer than oil. Oil will get cooked and blown off quickly from firing.
Been shooting cap and balls since about 1970. The above method has worked for decades for me, without a hint of rust.
Scrub with an old toothbrush, lathered with Ivory soap. I like Ivory because it floats and I can always find it.
The frame gets a good wiping with damp patches and Q-tips (in the tight spaces, then a quick dry with a small cloth.
Short lengths of pipe cleaner make short work of the nipple channels. Once clean, shove a round toothpick into the nipple cone for a handle, so you can hang onto it while scrubbing fouling off the threads and body with a toothbrush.
A patch pumped through the bore removes most fouling Only occasionally is a bore brush needed to remove lead.
About 98 percent of black powder fouling is water soluble. No wonder water does such a good job.
The bottoms of chambers can be quickly cleaned with a Q-tip, after working a patch back and forth.
A lathered toothbrush gets into the cutouts for the nipples and the rear of the cylinder. Don't forget to run a patch down the cylinder's central hole.
I do much of the scrubbing with the part under water, to float away any fouling. About half of black powder remains after firing, as fouling. I much prefer washing in water to get it all. Otherwise, with wiping, you often just push fouling into tiny crevices where it may cause rusting.
That said, I scrutinize the frame while cleaning it with a damp cloth.
The barrel, rammer, cylinder and nipples get a hot rinse and then popped into the oven at it's lowest temp, about 150 degrees. Leave the oven door propped open a bit, to allow moisture to escape.
Remove after 15 minutes, coat with olive or canola oil. Frame too. Reassemble, with a little oil on the nipple threads to make their removal easier later.
Eventually, I have to completely disassemble the frame assembly to get to all the accumulated fouling and crud.
I live in the desert, where humidity is low, so I'm not too concerned about rust inside the action. If I lived in a damp place, I'd disassemble the action, clean and reoil each time.
I don't like WD-40. It becomes a sticky or hard varnish over time; seen this myself.
I use a mix of beeswax and olive oil to make a soft grease for lubricating the innner action (hammer, trigger, bolt, etc.). Grease shrugs off fouling far longer than oil. Oil will get cooked and blown off quickly from firing.
Been shooting cap and balls since about 1970. The above method has worked for decades for me, without a hint of rust.
