Cleaning revolvers

[Colonial Boy]

To clean my black powder revolvers I take off the grips and immerse the pistol in a hot mixture of kerosene and light oll (50/50), let it soak for an hour or so, then let it drain till it stops driping then clean as normal.
I do a full strip down about once a year.
So far, no problems.

 

[FishDFly]

I have found that blowing air from an air compressor into the nooks and crannies of revolvers helps get crud out of them.

Also have read here, where folks take the grips off, put them into the dish washer and let it do it's thing. Remove and lubricate.

 

[M. De Land]

I have found that blowing air from an air compressor into the nooks and crannies of revolvers helps get crud out of them.

Also have read here, where folks take the grips off, put them into the dish washer and let it do it's thing. Remove and lubricate.

The trouble with the dish washer method is when re-lubing most folks only use oil and way to much at that. Their are a couple of areas that actually need grease not just oil.

 

[FishDFly]

Never tried it, only read about it. It is not something I would want to do with my revolvers, but there are those who do.

 

[wb78963]

Shooting Colt open top revolvers cleaning is easy just make three parts barrel,. cylinder, and frame.
The cylinder goes into a jar of moose milk to soak. The barrel likewise goes into a jar of moose milk.
The frame gets carefully wiped with a wet moose milk patch cleaning all fouling from everywhere needed.
The barrel is cleaned with a proper caliber cotton mop pumping the liquid through several times.
The cylinder gets the same treatment. which is a little harder with the nipples in place, but persevere
Then the bore and chambers are wiped clean with dry patches and oiled with your favorite gun oil.
About every 100 to 150 rounds clean as above, but remove the nipples and let them soak in a small jar of paint thinner. For reasons I do not understand they come out with the cap fouling soft and easily wiped clean.
Now comes the fun part. With good fitting gunsmith screwdrivers remove the back strap, trigger guard and all the little inside parts keeping screws and parts separate. Empty cap boxes work well. With the frame completely stripped blast it clean with carburetor cleaner especially the channel in the frame for the hand. Q-tips work well here.
Wipe all the parts clean. Put an anti-size lubricant on nipple threads put it all back together and

Robert is your father's brother
You are done.
It sounds intimidating, but actually when you have all the tools at hand it takes about the same time as field stripping and carefully cleaning and re-assembling that unmentionable side arm designed by a well known gunsmith in Utah 110 years ago (OK Moderator?).
I use moose milk mostly because it giver a twofferit cleans (water) and oils (Ballistol) but plain water with a drop of Dawn will do the same however, after cleaning every thing must be dried and oiled.
This is my way it may not be the best way, it certainly is not the only way, but it works for me.
Yr' Obt' Svt'
J. L. (Bunk) Stagner SASS#85926

 

[Ironoxide]

The trouble with the dish washer method is when re-lubing most folks only use oil and way to much at that. Their are a couple of areas that actually need grease not just oil.

I too use grease occasionally. Usually on guns I expect to not be used and cleaned too often.

It is the kind of grease that is advertised as waterproof. I have some originals I used all kinds of oils on and few months later running a dry patch down the bore it would come out slightly orange with rust. The only thing that I found that stops it is a well greased felt mop down the bore instead of an oiled one. Good thick grease will stay put if the outside temperature is not too hot. The only disadvantage is one has to clean it with a solvent before shooting.

Personally I believe if one is not shooting original guns they should not be cleaned excessively(more than once a year, maybe even less). This is of course conditional on proper rust protection being present.

It is sad to see a really nice original gun with "as new" bore condition, but wrist wood soaked in oil and muzzle almost coned by all the cleaning "well meaning" owners did in last 100 years. I prefer little rust to over cleaning any time.

 

[FishDFly]

Rust denotes laziness.

 

[Erwan]

I'm lazy, I never spend any time to clean after use, do like me : put it in a trash can and buy a new one...

 

[wb78963]

Rust denotes laziness.

It also denotes Pyrodex "rust in a bottle that burns"

 

[Whughett]

It also denotes Pyrodex "rust in a bottle that burns"

A well know user on another forum who specializes in black powder modification advocates packing the cavities of the frame with Mobile 1 synthetic grease. It works well. Three revolvers I had him modify came back packed. It works exceedingly well. At the end of the season I stripped the revolvers down, some areas around the hammer base, bolt and trigger opening were blackened with powder fouling but otherwise the guns interior looked like a sealed gear box. I didn’t repack however, as a creature of habit I couldn’t clean the gun in my customary way under a running hot water tap with dish soap.

 

[wb78963]

A well know user on another forum who specializes in black powder modification advocates packing the cavities of the frame with Mobile 1 synthetic grease. It works well. Three revolvers I had him modify came back packed. It works exceedingly well. At the end of the season I stripped the revolvers down, some areas around the hammer base, bolt and trigger opening were blackened with powder fouling but otherwise the guns interior looked like a sealed gear box. I didn’t repack however, as a creature of habit I couldn’t clean the gun in my customary way under a running hot water tap with dish soap.

My results with the grease (Mobil 1?) pack was after about 150 rounds the grease was black and looked and felt like lapping compound.
With brake cleaner and a lot of patches I got it clean and went back to my normal method of cleaning inside the frame. I am glad you had success I did not. All I can say it try it you may or may not like it.
Respectfully
Bunk

 

[user 48679]

In my bachelor days, I used to remove the grips from my stainless Old Army, strip it down and run it through my dishwasher.

That ended when I got married, lol.

I did the same thing (using the EASY button) - I just waited until my Green-eyed Monster went shopping..

 

[eggwelder]

The trouble with the dish washer method is when re-lubing most folks only use oil and way to much at that. Their are a couple of areas that actually need grease not just oil.

please expand on this. as i mentioned, my ruger was chock full of dirty brown and black grease in the internals when i stripped it

 

[M. De Land]

I meant that their are bearing points on the various guns that need grease to properly lube them better than oil alone. Arbors in open frame guns and ratchet stars in all of them. Base pins in closed frame revolvers will get grease from the bullet lube if only oil is used on them and it will be fouled.

 

[M. De Land]

I meant that their are bearing points on the various guns that need grease to properly lube them better than oil alone. Arbors in open frame guns, ratchet stars and spring bearing points in all of them. Base pins in closed frame revolvers will get grease from the bullet lube if only oil is used on them and it will be fouled.
The rest of the moving parts need only light gun oil. Sperm oil or its synthetic equivalent is one of the best for lock works. The sear needs no oil on the contact area as the cold will effect it's operation but on the bearing pivot only.
What often gets removed and thought of as grease is really congealed oil deposits in the lock works and other places.
Oil soaked grips are a result usually of over oiling and standing the gun muzzle up in storage.
I now use Gunzilla for my barrel preservation and cleaning of lead. It has no water or petroleum in it and will de-solve carbon fouling. It leaves a layer of film behind to prevent oxidation and nothing I have ever used will take lead fouling out of a barrel on a tight patch better.
Rig is still good for long term storage but is a better preservative than lubricant.

 

[user 48679]

This discussion was about cleaning, but FWIW, I disassemble ( cylinder, nipples, loading lever & grips) mine before going into the dishwasher so I can lube them properly as I'm reassembling.

 

[Bad Karma]

I strip the wood from both open and closed tops. Then hold the gun and parts under a running hot water tap while scrubbing with an appropriate tool or brush. High pressure air blow down and a generous saturation with Ballistol aerosol followed by a lower pressure blow down. Seasons end and then I’ll strip the revolver down.
Some advocate packing the internal cavities with Mobile 1 synthetic grease. Works well but I don’t care for it.

I’ve been a Mobil 1 packer for a few years now. I shoot almost every day and I like that I can run wet patches down the bore and in each chamber, dry patch and then hit them with an oiled patch. Either Eezox or Frog Lube works very well. I can completely clean and reload in minutes and the gun is ready for the next day.

Moral of the thread is that there are almost as many viable methods as there are shooters.

 

[Whughett]

I’ve seen where a little graphite powder mixed with bore butter makes an acceptable “grease” type lube. Borebutter has a low melting point however.

 

[Steel Guitar]

Ironoxide, when I stated,"the vinegar type", that means the vinegar type of windex.
Anyway, you maybe right in that is has no vinegar in it even though it says vinegar on the bottle.

 

[Erwan]

I’ve seen where a little graphite powder mixed with bore butter makes an acceptable “grease” type lube. Borebutter has a low melting point however.

Why not, I heard talking about a time (19th cent.) when the barrels of Sharps rifles were cleaned and finished with a mix of graphite and soot by the buffaloes hunters.... it wasn't certainly not the best grease, but the graphite was employed for the bores...
Now how works it with bore butter, that is another question...