Cleaning revolvers

[Codger Craig Wilcox]

With all my black powder firearms, with the internals, if a part is designed to slide, it gets grease. If it rotates, it gets oil.

A long time ago, I was taught to use boiling water to clean the barrel. No reason was given. Now, water temp at about body temp works well, along with a bit of grease/oil cutting detergent. If I've been in a dusty environment, I also clean the internals, otherwise that part is a job done twice a year. And those parts don't seem to object to either natural or synthetic oil or grease. At least I've seen no picket signs parading around the house.

 

[SOLANCO]

Unless you plop it into an ultrasonic cleaner full of brass case cleaning solution that contains citric acid. It worked great for cleaning black powder residue from brass. Imagine my surprise when I pulled my revolver out of cleaning!

Anyway, it has been rust blued for a long time since. I also "lightly blued" the cylinders for a more authentic look. Overall the gun looks better than before.

On the subject of normal cleaning. My most often used revolver is a remington army.

To clean I disassemble everything and put the whole lot minus wooden grips into the ultrasonic cleaner. Nipples and small parts go into a tiny basket made of stainless steel mesh. It takes less than two minutes to disassemble the revolver and 4 cylinders.I fill the ultrasonic cleaner with tap water and few drops of dishwashing liquid.

I clean for 30 minutes at 80 deg C, but my thermostat is a bit off to the point where I had rust convert to rust bluing occasionally before on this setting

Then everything is sprayed liberally with wd40 followed by air blast. The parts get oiled during assembly.

Funnily enough it takes less of my time to do this thorough cleaning than cleaning "only the frame, barrel and cylinder". I've done the latter few times after the gun was shot a little, but I prefer to clean in the ultrasonic cleaner.

The purchase of the ultrasonic cleaner was the biggest factor in me shooting my revolver a lot more. No need to mess with rags etc. Personally I enjoy cleaning a lot less than I enjoy shooting. Finding a cleaning routine that works for me is a huge factor in my enjoyment of the hobby.

Which ultrasonic cleaner do you have?

 

[SOLANCO]

I think the U.S. Army up to WWII still used water to clean rifles. If I recall what I was told- there was a wash tub of warm soapy water and half a dozen men circled it with the muzzles in the water and the cleaning jags sucked the water up into the bores.

We had the M1 in basic (1966). Remember the GI trashcans? Big and built like a deuce and a half? They were filled with water and a gasoline immersion heater set in. When the water boiled we strung all the rifle's metal parts on the operating rod and dunked them in for as long as we could stand it. Metal was so hot it dried itself. No carbon, lube or anything left in the bore or gas system.

 

[sheriff john]

Edward Mead's 1851 treatise advised - "Hot water should be used, making the operation as quick as possible. If the barrel has become leaded, and you have not the regular cleaning rod with scraper, scratch-brush, &c, it can be scoured with fine sand, or brick dust, which should be used with water; this will effectively remove the lead. The effect of hot water is to warm the barrel, which greatly accelerates its being wiped dry, to prevent rust. It should be oiled inside and out after washing; if used soon, the inside oiling may be omitted. The best kind of oil for the purpose is pure sperm oil or bear's oil. Sweet oil should never be used for it contains a vegetable acid that is sure to rust the gun, if allowed to remain for a length of time. "

Source: Missouri Gunsmiths To 1900 by Victor A. Paul

 

[William Lincoln]

Shooting, competing, collecting,building,sharing, buying-selling;
it's all in the pursuit of happiness that is the sport,hobby, passion
and general enjoyment of muzzleloading in all of its manifestations.

 

[Robby]

I am new to cap and ball revolvers. I have an 1860 Army made by Colt and I love shooting it, what a hoot!!!! I have been looking for a schematic drawing for disassembly because i like to know things inside and out and i'm sort of fastidious about keeping things clean and in working order. The only ones I can find on the web won't print for me, well, they do print but the full sized drawing on the screen prints out about the size of a postage stamp! Any help would be appreciated.
Robby

 

[hrt4me]

I am new to cap and ball revolvers. I have an 1860 Army made by Colt and I love shooting it, what a hoot!!!! I have been looking for a schematic drawing for disassembly because i like to know things inside and out and i'm sort of fastidious about keeping things clean and in working order. The only ones I can find on the web won't print for me, well, they do print but the full sized drawing on the screen prints out about the size of a postage stamp! Any help would be appreciated.
Robby

In what year was your Colt 1860 Army manufactured?

 

[Robby]

In what year was your Colt 1860 Army manufactured?

I'm not sure, 1982-83, maybe. It is second generation stainless steel and not many were made.
Robby

 

[wb78963]

I am new to cap and ball revolvers. I have an 1860 Army made by Colt and I love shooting it, what a hoot!!!! I have been looking for a schematic drawing for disassembly because i like to know things inside and out and i'm sort of fastidious about keeping things clean and in working order. The only ones I can find on the web won't print for me, well, they do print but the full sized drawing on the screen prints out about the size of a postage stamp! Any help would be appreciated.
Robby

Look at Mike Beliveau's site duelist 1954 there is a video of completely how to do that work.
The first thing you need is a set of gun smith hollow ground screw drivers. This is important because gun screws have a different shape slot in the head. It is a very simple lock work dating from 1847.
Respectfully
Bunk

 

[Robby]

I watched the vid, but I already know how to disassemble for that type of cleaning. I want to get into the guts and make sure everything is clean and lubricated properly. I'm just uneasy taking something apart without knowing just what is behind it.
Robby

 

[Crow-Feather]

One person said that he removed the grips and put his disassembled pistol in the dishwasher with the heat dry cycle.

 

[wb78963]

I am new to cap and ball revolvers. I have an 1860 Army made by Colt and I love shooting it, what a hoot!!!! I have been looking for a schematic drawing for disassembly because i like to know things inside and out and i'm sort of fastidious about keeping things clean and in working order. The only ones I can find on the web won't print for me, well, they do print but the full sized drawing on the screen prints out about the size of a postage stamp! Any help would be appreciated.
Robby

here is the link. It is IMPORTANT you will need gunsmith screwdrivers. They are NOT a wood working shape blade.
Gun screws have a parallel sided slot and require hollow ground blades. Brownell's #080000021 is what I use. Mot cheap, but last forever. Those screws are very tight so use caution on the first removal.


Good luck
Bunk

 

[45D]

Robby, the obvious screws for the backstrap and trigger guard are first (take them off in that order). With the backstrap and grip off, just slide the main spring from under the hammer (no real need to remove the spring completely). Remove the trigger guard and there lay the action parts!! Just take a picture with your phone for reference. The screw for the combination spring would be next. It powers the trigger and the bolt. Placement is obvious but refer to you pic if you need to. Next would be trigger and then the bolt. Keep their respective screw pins with them (I always mark the bolt screw pin with a notch near the threaded section). Now you can remove the hammer and hand by sliding the hammer down after removing the hammer screw. Assembly is reverse order of the above.

Mike

 

[45D]

As far as the grease/ oil application thing, from garage life, pistons slide and are lubed with oil, wheel bearings rotate and are packed with grease. Obviously, your revolver, your methods. Packing with grease lubricates, seals and protects full time. To me, one of the more important things it offers is taking up available space where dirt/fouling can accumulate. The action parts aren't fast moving parts so it is a beneficial property for them if grease is used. During long periods of storage, grease won't evaporate but will cling and protect at first use.
Oil on the arbor doesn't offer much in the way of keeping fouling from invading but a grease has body and offers much more of a sealing property for fouling. My biggest point is, it works well in the Cowboy Comp crowd which tends to have a lot of shooting. I started off using bore butter with graphite mixed to try to approximate Colts "in house" graphite grease. The biggest problem with that is graphite is an abrasive and bore butter is a terrible carrier! It runs when warm and rather solid when cold. I had to warm it up in the shop during winter just to use it!! Not good!!
Now days, I use Ballistol for exterior protection, barrel and chamber protection. The actions of all my personal revolvers are packed and never a mess and are continually lubricated. So are my customers but some choose to do their own thing and that's OK too. Its a personal thing and that's mine.

Mike

 

[Robby]

I have a complete set of smithing screwdrivers. Thank you for the video, it is not at all as I had envisioned it. I was expecting hidden springs launching parts across the room , HAH! I am now more at ease.
Robby

 

[Red Owl]

45D has the right sequence, first time you might want to place everything in order or write down what you are doing. After a couple of times you'll be taking down a Colt without even thinking about it. As stated, make sure the blade of the screwdriver fully fills the slot in the bolt.

 

[wb78963]

45D has the right sequence, first time you might want to place everything in order or write down what you are doing. After a couple of times you'll be taking down a Colt without even thinking about it. As stated, make sure the blade of the screwdriver fully fills the slot in the bolt.

I just line up a row of empty cap tins and each one gets that set of what ever parts left to right as you take apart..
then go back together right to left.
My work area is the back of a magnetic sign so dropped parts do not roll off onto the floor and get eaten by the dust bunnies. Better to have a "where did that come from" moment than a "where did that go?" moment.
hold center
Bunk

 

[Pablo232]

One person said that he removed the grips and put his disassembled pistol in the dishwasher with the heat dry cycle.

Back when stainless revolvers were quite a new innovation one of our club members bought a new stainless Ruger Old Army. He delighted in telling us all winter how easy it was to clean in the dishwasher with the heat dry cycle. Spring came and he put it away to play with other toys. Next winter when he took it out every thing was jammed solid. The stainless exterior looked real putty but when disassembled every carbon steel spring and part was a corroded mass. That dishwasher powder is quite corrosive to get the grease off. Short cuts lead to problems!

 

[SPQR70AD]

do not see why a revolver has to be totally taken apart to clean it.

 

[nkbj]

In the 1970's I learned to get good at it and to enjoy it.