Complete Cleaning of 1860 Army Colt?

[1860 Army]

How long or how many rounds before I need to take it completely apart for cleaning?

 

[Zonie]

Everyone has their own opinion about this.

I don't think cleaning the insides of a BP pistol needs to be done more than one or two times a year, even if it was shot a lot.

Although some smoke and very light powder fouling does get inside the receiver, I have never seen it do any damage to the steel parts in there.

Before anyone jumps on me, I'll add that after I'm done cleaning the cylinder, barrel and all outer surfaces of the receiver and loading lever, I always spray a little protective oil in thru the cylinder hand slot, cylinder bolt (stop) slot, the trigger slot and the lower area of the hammer slot.

This oil spray seems to saturate the small amount of fouling that might find its way inside and once oiled, it doesn't seem to form the acids that can attack the metal.

Another reason I rarely clean the inside of the gun is because of the ease of damaging the screw driver slots in the screws.

Once they are frinkled up, they look (IMO) really bad.

If you want to take your pistol completely apart, I suggest screwing the screws you removed back into the holes they came from after whatever they were holding is removed.

Although they look almost alike the length of them is slightly different and screwing a "long" screw into a "shallow" hole can cause problems.

Also, take a real good look at the flat trigger/cylinder bolt spring and how it pushes against the trigger and the cylinder bolt.
It has two legs on it and it will need to be put back exactly as you find it.

It's easy to put this spring back in, upside down.

If it is installed upside down, the cylinder bolt and the trigger won't work right.

 

[1860 Army]

I spray Ballistol into the cylinder hand slot, cylinder bolt (stop) slot, the trigger slot and the lower area of the hammer slot. I'm very reluctant to take it completely apart for the reasons you mentioned.

 

[Larry Akers]

My dentist once told me that I didn't need to brush or floss all my teeth--just the ones I wanted to keep. To paraphrase, you don't need to clean all the parts of your pistol--just the ones you don't want to rust. I'm going to respectfully disagree with Jim. To not take a pistol apart for a proper cleaning because you might bugger the screws is a copout. Get yourself a good set of gunsmith drivers and select the proper bit for the screw and you won't bugger the slots. I am a pistol shooter and I will take my pistols completely apart to properly clean and lubricate them after every shooting session even if it's only one shot.

 

[Billnpatti]

How long or how many rounds before I need to take it completely apart for cleaning?

This is just a personal opinion, but if it were mine, I'd clean it after just one shot. Maybe I am a bit anal about taking care of my guns but I like to keep mine like factory new (or as close as I can). Burned black powder is pretty corrosive and when a revolver is fired, bits of burned powder get into places you would not think they would and they hide there doing their nefarious work. Complete cleaning is no big chore once you know how. To me, it is just fun anyway. You probably already know how to completely disassemble and clean your gun but here is a good video just in case you have never completely taken your revolver apart. It is part 1 of 2 so you will need to watch both parts. Mike Beliveau is a pretty savvy guy and worth watching. Enjoy! :hatsoff:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2qtMkLGdZA4 (Part 1)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=057mS44KLCA (Part 2)

 

[Mr. Troll]

I have 2 1860 Army repros. I bought both of them "used" as "parts" guns. I replaced a few of the internals but was able to salvage most of the original parts. RUST, and in one case, rust bad enough to cause the bolt/trigger spring to break, is the enemy. For some reason, none of my BP guns had any kind of lubricant inside the action. My Remington was the only one I bought new, and it had factory lube. After shooting ANY of the pistols, I clean the barrel, loading lever, and cylinder completely. Third time I clean, I pull the nipples, and clean the cavity around them, and replace the anti seize compound. The action gets soaked in hot water, and then sprayed top down with WD-40 to flush out any water that might be hiding. After the dripping stops, a few drops of gun oil on the hammer screw, and in the bolt recess, and on the hand and channel..so far this has worked quite well. I have the correct screwdriver for the action screws, so dis assembly is not a big deal. If there is a lot of black coming out of the action after the WD-40, then I'll tear them down and clean them inside.

 

[ZUG]

I agree with ZONIE on this :metoo: . I bought a 1858 Navy Arms Remington made by Uberti from a friend back in the late 70's which he bought from the original owner in around 72. He fired it a few times. The guy he bought it from fired it (don't know how many). They all cleaned the gun without either one take it totally apart. The screws were not touched plus he told me he did not take it all apart. When I shot it I took it all apart and there was only very MINOR powder soot inside which quickly wiped away with a damp cloth and tooth brush. I lightly oiled it up and it is in like new condition today. It is the second one from the left

 

[Grizzly Adams]

When I clean my BP revolvers, I clean the barrel, cylinder, nipples, loading lever, then I run water through the action, blow it all out with compressed air, being mindful of the grips, then spray WD40 or Liquid Wrench in every orifice. I spurt a little more compressed air though to get rid of the excess, which I wipe off and spread to the exterior of the gun.

 

[AZbpBurner]

Dad brought home an Uberti/Replica Arms 1861 Navy in 1968. It was my job to clean it afterward. The correct procedure of the day involved complete disassembly for proper cleaning. I still have that gun today & it still runs like new. I was taught to disassemble, clean and reassemble. I certainly wouldnb't go about spraying ballistol or some other junk into the works in hopes of keeping old powder residue soft and 'inert'. It takes only a properly fitting set of screwdrivers and very little time to do the job correctly. There are also those who don't believe in ever removing nipples from guns to clean them, either. I'm not one of them. A shortcut is no substitute for taking enough time to do it right.

 

[Billnpatti]

Cleaning a black powder gun is a lot like using toilet paper. You can do the job right or you can just accept "skid marks" as a part of life. Personally, I prefer to do the job right and have a squeaky clean gun and a squeaky clean bum. :haha:

 

[azmntman]

:idunno: and there you have it, dont do a crappy job

 

[M. De Land]

I've always done a complete cleaning after each revolver outing.
This became very clear to me as necessity after purchasing a used ROA and found corrosion on various internal parts from not thoroughly cleaning by the previous owner.
Not enough to have to buy new ones but some minor pitting that needed attention.
As a practical matter though I doubt many of the originals that were shot daily were thoroughly broken down and cleaned each day.

 

[Sandan027]

I clean mine completely after every outing. It only takes a few minutes, gets more me more comfortable and knowledgeable with how the revolver functions and it's good therapy. Plus I know the gun is totally ready to go when I'm ready to take it out and shoot.

 

[M. De Land]

The other thing is that some areas of the guns innards need gun grease not just oil to last and function properly.
Oil does not kill the corrosive action of black powder fouling although it will somewhat dilute it if flushed with copious amounts blasted in under pressure.
Now one has created a dirt magnet as well.

 

[M. De Land]

You should be applying some gun grease to the arbor, hammer lifting cam and bolt legs.
Actually the ratchet teeth should have some light grease as well.
When they get blasted with cleaner or run through a dish washer the grease goes too and needs to be reapplied.
Yes, you can get away with just oil for years but the high stress/pressure areas will wear faster without grease on them.

 

[1860 Army]

What grease do you recommend?

 

[coloradoclyde]

Well!....Here's what I do...
Remove the grips and throw the whole thing into a bucket of warm soapy water.....scrub well.
Remove and blow off with an air hose....
Then toss the works into a parts washer...
Remove and hang to drip/dry.
Spray with G96, wipe and reassemble..... :grin:

 

[M. De Land]

I use Hoppe's gun grease and Rig for all my gun grease needs.

 

[M. De Land]

Remember you can lube to much just as you can lube to little!
Result of to much is oil soaked grips, grit attraction, cold weather malfunction and cutting any grease that may have been applied where it is needed.
A lot of the lubes now days are C.L.P.'s. (cleaner,lubricant,protector) and as most things that do multiple tasks they are usually not the singular best for all of them.

 

[M. De Land]

One of the best gun oils I've ever found is made by Outers and can still be found occasionally at gun shows.
It is polarized and will not separate or gum up.
It is also excellent for fishing reels and any high speed machines used around the home and shop.