just wondering is it necessary to break down to the mechanism to completely clean a BP revolver?gunsmith I aint.i am mechanically inclined,however,I hesitate(even with exploded views)to do more than remove the trigger guard.am I scared,or should I leave the internals alone?
cleaning 1858 remington type revolver
- Thread starter robert bw
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Treestalker
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If you learn to take the Remington apart, and learn to 'stone' the internal bearing surfaces, you will no longer fear disassembling your revolver. For cleaning the gun it is not necessary to detail strip it every time. just remove the trigger guard and spray the insides with solvent, then lightly oil the bearing points. About 1 or 2 times a year, strip it completely down and detail the innards. You will find the Remington is a very well designed and reliable gun. Be sure to lubricate the arbor with a good grease after cleaning. George.
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The cylinder and grips is as far as I go.
As I recently said in a similar post about cleaning black powder revolvers I do not take the gun apart much further than the cylinder and (in the case of the Colt) the barrel.
These, and all of the external surfaces need to be totally clean.
The light traces of fouling that may find their way into the lockwork won't cause a problem if they have been coated with oil.
With this in mind, when I've finished cleaning the exterior, the cylinder, barrel and frame I spray some gun oil into all of the slots in the receiver.
That includes the slots for the hand that rotates the cylinder, the cylinder stop and the trigger slot and the lower area of the hammer.
Maybe twice a year I totally disassemble the revolver, clean everything and oil or grease all of the interior surfaces and parts.
These, and all of the external surfaces need to be totally clean.
The light traces of fouling that may find their way into the lockwork won't cause a problem if they have been coated with oil.
With this in mind, when I've finished cleaning the exterior, the cylinder, barrel and frame I spray some gun oil into all of the slots in the receiver.
That includes the slots for the hand that rotates the cylinder, the cylinder stop and the trigger slot and the lower area of the hammer.
Maybe twice a year I totally disassemble the revolver, clean everything and oil or grease all of the interior surfaces and parts.
treestalker said:
Very wise words that should be heeded. My very first experience with a bp/ml gun was a Remington kit I purchased from Dixie Gun Works. I had zip previous gunsmithing experience but found the kit easy to assemble following the provided diagrams. Once assembled it operated just awful :shake: There was no need to tell me parts needed stoning so I took it apart again and filed and stoned all shining/rubbing surfaces I could find. Did this several times and the process went faster and faster each time. Once that was done I sprayed it completely with WD-40 and cleaned again. When that was done I lubed all the moving parts with good gun oil. When finished, I had me a genuinee replica .44 cal. Remington revolver gun that actually worked. Wish I had kept it.
Billnpatti
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Here's a you Tube video on how to disassemble and clean your revolver, This is part 1 of 2. After you watch part 1, you can find part 2 and it will give you the rest of the story. It is a great pair of videos and you will find that the disassembly of your revolver is not as big of a bugaboo as you might have imagined.
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui5uXl33n8g
This is part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzs3xYeTERc
Part 1
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ui5uXl33n8g
This is part 2
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wzs3xYeTERc
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I agree that it is good to know how to disassemble your revolver and to thoroughly clean and inspect it from time to time...
But the more you tear it apart and put it back together, the sloppier it becomes....
But the more you tear it apart and put it back together, the sloppier it becomes....
AZbpBurner
54 Cal.
Not sure what is supposed to get 'sloppy' from frequent disassembly. I have the 1861 Navy my Dad got back in 1969 & I've disassembled, cleaned & reassembled it every single time it's been fired. And in the past 47 years it's been fired & cleaned more than the rest of my other revolvers combined.
Yet there's nothing worn or sloppy about it. It still locks up as well as the day Dad brought it home.
Of course, a properly fitting set of screwdrivers is essential, and the Remington is easier to disassemble than the Colt.
Yet there's nothing worn or sloppy about it. It still locks up as well as the day Dad brought it home.
Of course, a properly fitting set of screwdrivers is essential, and the Remington is easier to disassemble than the Colt.
Billnpatti
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I don't often shoot my Remington but when I do, I put quite a few shots down range with it. It comes home mighty dirty and in desperate need of a good cleaning. I completely disassemble it and put all of the parts that will fit into the basket into my ultrasonic cleaner for about 20 minutes. Then I finish cleaning and oiling them in the traditional manner. I know you are going to ask why I use an ultrasonic cleaner if I am just going to clean all of the parts in the traditional manner anyway. Well, here's the deal, the ultrasonic cleaner gets all of the heavy dirt off and the final cleaning is just a lot easier and faster. The ultrasonic cleaner get the parts pretty darned clean but not sparkling "like new" clean the way I want them. So a few minutes of touch up is the way I finish up cleaning my revolver before putting it away for another few months of rest before the next outing. I use gun screwdrivers on my screws and I don't try to over tighten them (just snug is enough) so they are not buggered up and I see no excessive wear as a result of my fanatical complete breakdown cleaning procedure. But, that is just me and others may have a different cleaning procedure and have different results due to frequent complete breakdown and cleaning of their revolvers. My way certainly isn't the only way, it is just my way and it works....for me, anyway. :hatsoff:
Larry Akers
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I will do a complete tear-down and cleaning of my revolvers after every shooting session--even if its only one shot. C&B revolvers are not complicated machines but are very simple with few parts. You don't have to clean all the parts of your revolver after use--just the parts you don't want to rust.
