Cleaning revolvers

[JCKelly]

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

Hopefully no washing with dish soap. Which is corrosive as @#&%$

 

[Crow-Feather]

Hopefully no washing with dish soap. Which is corrosive as @#&%$

Just hot water

 

[Red Owl]

SPQR7OAD:
Black powder residue has a bad habit of getting into all the nooks and crannies of the internal lock work and the residue is hydroscopic- or water absorbing, so getting rust is a real possibility. I live in Florida with high humidity so big issue. I used to live in Colorado, I probably could skip some cleaning there.
In any event it only takes a few minutes to take down a Colt (I don't know anything about Remingtons) and if you have screwdriver blades that fit the slots in the bolts- you won't beat up the slots, etc. so taking the gun down is a good idea. I have a gun I bought when 15 years old, a Navy 36 and it is still in great shape. No rust at all.

 

[wb78963]

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!

using a dish washer to clean guns is the apex of laziness. Cleaning is not hard if you have a system and mine is done on my bench top for handguns and work table for long guns. It is called a dish washer for a reason.
Was he able to salvage it and did he learn a lesson?
a smart man learns from experience
a wise man learns from others experiences.

 

[Robby]

I like to clean my guns after a day of shooting, actually I'm a bit sad when the job is all over cuz its' the last I'll be handling them till the next session. I hear all the time from guys that say the reason they don't get into black powder shooting is the clean up. I always reply, 'heck, your just lazy, in reality they are easier to clean up after a day of shooting than modern guns, which I'm sure you don't bother cleaning anyway'. To which they all, to a man, admit sheepishly, they don't clean their guns, just an exterior wipe down.
I clean my modern guns too.
Robby

 

[45man]

I remove the barrel, cylinder and grips. The whole thing goes into the laundry tub and scrubbed with soap and water. Then hot water to help dry.

 

[Bad Karma]

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.

If you’re using it during warm weather I can see this working. During cold periods it would probably lock up tight. The other day I woke up to 5 below zero. I had three revolvers in the truck overnight, the actions of all three packed with Mobile 1 Synthetic grease. All three cycled just perfectly. During the hottest weather the stuff stays put. I’m a fan.

 

[FishDFly]

5 below zero, it's not that cold in freezer.

 

[Bad Karma]

5 below zero, it's not that cold in freezer.

We’re down in the valley at the end of a thermal sink so it’s usually colder here than up at the reservoir. If we have snow December is one of our coldest months.

 

[BadDaditood]

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

No need to worry about springs flying away, Bill Ruger wasn’t born yet when these Colts were designed ;-) …and you don’t need three hands to reassemble!

 

[Bobby44]

I have a stainless 58 that gets soft brush cleaned at the range, then stripped at home. I do have an issue that I would like some help with. Residue travels down the cylinder pin and behind the frame hole. There is a black ring there and it is hard to remove the cylinder pin after shooting. I do not know for certain this is from the powder end of the cylinder or from the caps.
Any and all suggestions appreciated as this puzzles me.

 

[wb78963]

No need to worry about springs flying away, Bill Ruger wasn’t born yet when these Colts were designed ;-) …and you don’t need three hands to reassemble!

If there ia a possibility of something going "sprong1" try working in a big zip lock bag that will catch flying springs, or what ever.

 

[BadDaditood]

Ran across an old instruction sheet that came with a Jim Chambers lock:
If it slides use grease, if it rotates use oil.

 

[Blackpowderwarrior]

Ran across an old instruction sheet that came with a Jim Chambers lock:
If it slides use grease, if it rotates use oil.

Jim's my neighbor!

 

[45D]

Ran across an old instruction sheet that came with a Jim Chambers lock:
If it slides use grease, if it rotates use oil.

Well I guess this weekend I'll be changing the oil in my wheel bearings . . grease got um 350,000+ miles lol !!!

Mike

All joking aside though, when Cowboy shooters don't clean their revolvers action for a year and then send it back to fit extra cyls or get an action shield installed, the action parts are in perfect condition. With an action shield in place, I'd say they could take a peek at the action every 2 yrs. For a target shooter or casual shooter I'd go maybe 5 yrs. A Cowboy shooter that got the first pair of Remington competition guns with full coils hasn't opened the action yet and it's 2 months shy of 3 yrs now! He says they're still running just like the day he got um from me. So, with that I'll just say 100% Mobil1 grease is just fine.

 

[Zulch]

Being a chemistry nurd I use windex and the vinegar type is even better. Both regular and vinegar test as a base, I got the pH papers to prove it. Anyway, bp fouling is acid base. The windex neutralizes the fouling and you don't get the rotten egg smell. I spray it down in the action until what comes out is clear. Dry with towels and hairdryer. What ever fouling that's left inside is inert, won't rust. I don't lube the insides of the cylinder so the first shots aren't poopers and never any rust. I have to admit I'm lazy but this really works. Oh, if you need to wipe after some shooting to continue, try huggies baby wipes.
Good Luck and have fun.

Steel Guitar, man I like your way of thinkin'

 

[Zulch]

If you’re using it during warm weather I can see this working. During cold periods it would probably lock up tight. The other day I woke up to 5 below zero. I had three revolvers in the truck overnight, the actions of all three packed with Mobile 1 Synthetic grease. All three cycled just perfectly. During the hottest weather the stuff stays put. I’m a fan.

Bad Karma, When you say "packed"?? do you mean just that? Fill her up? I'm a little slow LOL It sounds like a darn good idea to me. Thank you Sir.
Tim

 

[cynthialee]

am I the only one whos run a dirty cylinder through the dishwasher?
no?
just me?



It works real well and for the short barrel revolver, the barrel fits pretty good if you prop it up between a couple of glasses.

Now of course one shouldn't put the grip assembly parts in there

 

[Bad Karma]

am I the only one whos run a dirty cylinder through the dishwasher?
no?
just me?



It works real well and for the short barrel revolver, the barrel fits pretty good if you prop it up between a couple of glasses.

Now of course one shouldn't put the grip assembly parts in there

After 75 trips around the planet I apparently don’t know how to properly load a dishwasher. I’m sure as hell not gonna tr putting gun parts in there. Maybe I should ask her where the barrels and cylinders go?

 

[45D]

Not sure if it's been mentioned here before but subjecting yourself and family to a lead contaminated dish washer may not be the best thing to do.
Just a thought.

Mike