Cleaning BP with solvents?

[smoke]

Thank's to all . I was just curious. I will keep cleaning the way you taught me Daryl. Cold water and then dry it out with patches then WD40. I have had no rust at all so far using the cold water i just wondered how others did it. Dan

[VtBlackdog]

do you spray WD40 into the lock internals, or just wipe down the exposed parts you can reach?

[Dphariss]

Over oiling the lock is a bad idea.
I try not to get much water in the internals since if the gun is properly made no fouling gets in there.
A drop or two of lubricant at key points is enough.
WD40 is a poor lube for high pressure contact and locks are high pressure in several places.

Dan

[Daryl]

I should have noted, I use a good moly grease on all internal frictioning lock parts. The spray of WD 40 to blast out the moisture doesn' t wash this grease out and it stays for a year at least - leaning once every week, sometimes twice. When I see that it's finally gone, I regrease - pretty simple.
I've pulled the plugs out of 2 barrels that have been cleaning with cold water, dried then sprayed with WD40 over many years of shooting and the bores gleam like heavily polished mirrors.  Works for me in this area.  In more humid country, I might use a different 'preservative' after WD40'ing but would still clean the same way.

[VtBlackdog]

 

[Daryl]

Whne I clean the lock, I use a toothbrush and water and it gets well wetted - I spray it all over with WD40, then wipe and blow off the excess then replace it unless it needs lubing.

I agree with Dan- DWD40 is not a high pressure lube, but the synthetic greases are and they stay soft in sub-freezing weather (soon enough to come here), where some oils won't. Too, the grease doesn't dry out and become gummy.

[Roger Fisher]

WD40 is not a high pressure lube, but the synthetic greases are and they stay soft in sub-freezing weather (soon enough to come here), where some oils won't. Too, the grease doesn't dry out and become gummy.

There is rarely a statement that can made which applies "across the board" given all the variables.....for example many of the different experiences people can have may be related to climate...temps, humidity, how/where firearms are stored, etc.
In my case, what I can say without question is that I've never had a problem using only WD40 in my locks here in the mid Atlantic states of the US...locks and trigger groups continue to function flawlessly, parts are not wearing out, etc...if it gets cold enough to make WD40 sluggish or something, I'll be home under the electric blanket with the maid
 

We'll all assume that you are 'making the maid' and she is 'well made'

[Roger Fisher]

Whne I clean the lock, I use a toothbrush and water and it gets well wetted - I spray it all over with WD40, then wipe and blow off the excess then replace it unless it needs lubing.

I agree with Dan- DWD40 is not a high pressure lube, but the synthetic greases are and they stay soft in sub-freezing weather (soon enough to come here), where some oils won't. Too, the grease doesn't dry out and become gummy.

I'm always leery of getting 'grease' into my/the fly area and have it get 'schticky' in cold weather.  Guess I need some good stuff!

[Daryl]

Amsoil grease is one of the best, but here, Canadian Tire Corp sells another.  When assembling my lock, I put grease on the fly to keep it in position. I've never had trouble with stickiness and not working.

[VtBlackdog]

I"m still trying to learn this (just shot my gun today for the 4th time) and need a bit of clarification.....

If you clean with cold tap water, do you plug the vent, fill the barrel to the top and let sit a few minutes to soak, then dump it out, dry and oil...?

or

Do you just run wet patches (without filling the barrel to the top and soaking), and then run  patches until they come out clean, dry and oil?

....Either way, how many patches should it take to dry? Should any rust show on the first few patches?

Also, if using WD40 or Olive oil in the bore, does it need to be cleaned out before the next shooting?

sorry for being dense, just trying to learn the right way since you folks are on the subject

[Daryl]

I remove the barrel for water busket flushing with cold water when cleaning at home - dry with 4 or 5 patches, then spray liberally with WD40, then patch out and wipe down, reassemble and store muzzle down. At rondy, I plug the vent & fill with cold water (mostly) let sit for 15 min. drain, re-plug and fill a second time, then patch out with dry patches until dry and clean - 5 to 8 patches, generally.  Our matches at rondy are all around 20 to 22 shots - very little buildup in the breech, none in the bore except for the last shot.  One can also drop in a 20gr. charge, seat a very heavily wetted cloth patched ball on the powder, then fire that on a plate - poooot! The bore will have way less than 1/2 the normal breech fouling as it was cleaned by pusing down the squib load, and the fouling shot out with the ball.  This makes it even easier and faster to clean due to reduced breech AND barrel fouling.  After wiping clean and dry, it is then given the DW40 treetment. Locks are always removed for brushing with water, then flushed with WD40, excess of which is then wiped and shaken/blown off.  No rust at any time - before or after.

[VtBlackdog]

thanks Daryl!
my gun is a longrifle (no hooked breech) so I'll do the "rondy" method.....
...at some point I'll get this stuff figured out, until then plan on me being a pest Your help is MUCH appreciated!

[hanshi]

vtblackdog, you've been steered well but I'll throw this in with hopes it'll help rather than hinder.  Back at home (longrifles) I'll use a breech scraper, dump out the scrapings, plug the vent & fill the bore (almost) full of warm soapy water.  It'll soak a few minutes, I'll slosh it around & pour the water out.  Sometimes I'll do that twice.  Then I start running dry & wet patches till they come out as clean as I can get them - for the life of me I can't seem to get the bore white glove clean whatever I do.  I dry the bore with patches, clean and oil the lock as suggested by some of the others.  I spray WD40 down the bore being careful not to get it on the stock.  I'll mop the WD40 with a patch and more discoloration usually comes out on that patch.  I then oil the bore really, really well with rust preventative of my choice.  And it will take as many patches as it will take to clean & oil; don't count them, it will just drive you crazy. 

I mop again the next day, and every few days after that for a week or two then every few weeks.  The next day usually shows a dirty patch, again .  I think the discoloration is not necessarily all surface rust.  Possibly sulfur from the burned powder clings to the bore surface and grudgingly comes out.  Gremlins have a hand in it too, I'm convinced; also neutrinos and cosmic rays.  I may be wrong.  I usually am.  But I believe Murphy was a conservative optimist!  My bores stay mirror bright and for that I am thankful.  Even the ones I've owned & shot for decades look pristine...go figure.     

[Daryl]

We get our longrifles spotless clean - no discolouration on the drying patches nor on the WD40 patch that is used to blast DW40 out the vent or nipple seat. We do this with pumping in a bucket of water - hooked breech or not. If you don't want to remove the pinned barrel, by all means buy or make a flusher as sold by trackofthewolf. Pumping the water in and out is the only way to get ALL the fouling from the breech and vent area, not to mention the nipple seat, cupped breech and flash channel they have.
I've done the same - spottlessly clean using the soak and dump method, except to dump, I put a wet patch on the muzzle, and force the water out the vent - this helps blast the fouling out with the water.

[VtBlackdog]

I hope I can get out tomorrow to dirty my gun up  so I can try cleaning it again! thanks guys

[Daryl]

Although the cleaning regime is different, it is easier and faster to clean a ML rifle or smoothbore, than to properly clean a modern rifle when using the normal solvents.

[hanshi]

Although the cleaning regime is different, it is easier and faster to clean a ML rifle or smoothbore, than to properly clean a modern rifle when using the normal solvents.

I have to agree with you on that.  The smudge demons always follow me there, too! 

[Daryl]

We tested the Wipe Out black powder foaming solvent at Hefley this year. We came to the conclusion it works in smooth bores, but, of course, doesn't clean much more quickly than normal water flush and of course, no better.  I'd be surprised if it didn't leave a sludge in patent breech cap locks due to the fouling buildup in the flash channels.  Might be OK for flinters, if the patches are run down HARD to blast the foam and fouling form the vent. Same might work after a fashion in cap guns.  Remove the nipple, of course.  At $30.00 CDN a can for the stuff, I'll continue to use water, then WD40 after drying.

[AZ Longrifle]

I use the old standby, Ballistol.
I dry and use brake cleaner before I go to shoot.