AR-15 cleaning... my first time

Clammy

Clammy

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So I cleaned my SP1 last night for the first time (boy did she ever get filthy from just 80 rounds!), and I have a couple of questions to ask of you veterans.

Do you sperate the upper from the lower? Do you remove the buffer spring and clean it? Are there any special places I should clean/lubricate that aren't obvious? I did disassemble the bolt carrier and remove the firing pin and extractor claw, but I didn't go any further than that.

Thanks for any tips.

Cheers!
:rockOn::rockOn::rockOn:
 
Drop it in a vat of Varsol and leave it for a couple of hours.. Then lube...

:D


Well, that's what we used to do with the FN's... LOL


Actually I'm curious to hear the answer to this as well.. :pirate:
 
of course there's a book on the net-basically, there's no need to seperate the upper/lower- nor a need to do the bolt carrier- barrel, chamber, scub the bolt face with the supplied toothbrush, and the buffer and spring- the end of the gas tube if it's dirty- and use that fancy double brush for the chamber- about a half dozen plunges- just make sure everything travels easily before you clos'er back up- i probably spend more time cleaning the mags and mag well-
 
t-star said:
of course there's a book on the net-basically, there's no need to seperate the upper/lower- nor a need to do the bolt carrier- barrel, chamber, scub the bolt face with the supplied toothbrush, and the buffer and spring- the end of the gas tube if it's dirty- and use that fancy double brush for the chamber- about a half dozen plunges- just make sure everything travels easily before you clos'er back up- i probably spend more time cleaning the mags and mag well-
Click to expand...

I've found a few manuals, and guides, but they weren't completely clear, and I've hear dthere are some "special" places to make sure to clean and lube on ARs, so I figured I'd tap the vast wealth of knowledge here.

I didn't get any tools/brushes with the rifle. Is the "toothbrush" a nylon brislte type or brass? What about the "double brush"? Where can I get one?

Thanks. :D

Cheers!
:rockOn::rockOn::rockOn:
 
the double brush is also known as the ar15/m16 chamber brush- kleen-bore, as is the toothbrush- it's a nylon double ended affair, although a regular toothbrush will do- if you downoad the m16a1 operators manual, it's basically the same thing- go to biggerhammer.net, select the m16a1 manual and go from there- as far as tricks and lube points go, there's plenty of folks on here that would be glad to advise - i got mine at our local range, off the kleen-bore display- not like that fancy ratchet brush for the 14
as far as tools go, i'd get a dewey 22 cal one piece for cleaning the bore and there's a belt kit made by kleen-bore with a steel rod in it- that's what i'd use for field if absoultely necessary- if you strip it and add a chamber brush, the special toothbrush , and a bottle of lsa oil, you have what goes in the m16 buttstock kit- i carry 2 of these- 1 in the buttstock and one on my belt or in my pack
the number for the rod is kleenbore s-170, the rest you'll have to find for yourself- i just happened to have the rod handy- there's a proper field kit for the m16 as well, but the number for the chamber brush is m16c-the toothbrush is ut 221- that should do
 
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get some break free and just do a simple field strip, you don't have to take it to bare nutz. As was said earlier, mag well, and make sure all is moving well.
 
t-star said:
the double brush is also known as the ar15/m16 chamber brush- kleen-bore, as is the toothbrush- it's a nylon double ended affair, although a regular toothbrush will do- if you downoad the m16a1 operators manual, it's basically the same thing- go to biggerhammer.net, select the m16a1 manual and go from there- as far as tricks and lube points go, there's plenty of folks on here that would be glad to advise - i got mine at our local range, off the kleen-bore display- not like that fancy ratchet brush for the 14
as far as tools go, i'd get a dewey 22 cal one piece for cleaning the bore and there's a belt kit made by kleen-bore with a steel rod in it- that's what i'd use for field if absoultely necessary- if you strip it and add a chamber brush, the special toothbrush , and a bottle of lsa oil, you have what goes in the m16 buttstock kit- i carry 2 of these- 1 in the buttstock and one on my belt or in my pack
the number for the rod is kleenbore s-170, the rest you'll have to find for yourself- i just happened to have the rod handy- there's a proper field kit for the m16 as well, but the number for the chamber brush is m16c-the toothbrush is ut 221- that should do
Click to expand...

Thanks for that info.

Cheers!
:rockOn::rockOn::rockOn:
 
that'll do - nice pictures too- just be aware there may be differences between that and your sp1- there are in my sporter 2- the sights and a couple of other points-
 
Maxim you can link directly, Colt Canada doesn't sell to civilians so they're no competition to our site sponsors. But Clammy I usually soak the bolt, receiver extension and upper receiver internal guide with Break-Free CLP and then simply wipe it dry with a cloth. CLP lifts most of the crud eventually. The bolt head face may need a pick or scrubbing tool to loosen the carbon. Apart from that run a boresnake down the barrel a few times doused in CLP and then patch till dry. I really do recommend CLP, it's the most universal cleaner/solvent/lubricant out there. You can also wipe down high wear areas with it. Hell, I even use CLP in my private life it's so versatile.
 
You guys make it too complicated.

CLP
BoreSnake
Q-tips
Old Tooth brush or the fancy green one with thick/thin brush
A glock plastic rod ( steal it off your friend)
a rag
Patches

The steel rod and chamber brush are for the army. Shooting 80 rounds a day at a clean range doesn't need those tools.

1)pop the upper, put a few drops of CLP and wipe the inside of the upper and the bolt group

2)a few drops of CLP on a patch, stick it into the chamber with the plastic rod. Rotate and clear the carbon out. If the barrel extension is dirty, use Q-tips

3) put two drops of CLP on the boresnake, pull through once or twice.

4)Take the bolt out of the carrier. Wipe it with a rag. (If it is very dirty) Pop the extractor pin with the firing pin, and take the extractor out. Wipe it down with a rag. Use tooth brush if you have to ( on the bolt face and the extractor groove)

5)The carbon at the back of the bolt is ugly but there isn't any real need to scrape it sparkling clean - this is not for weapon inspection.

6) Wrap a patch around one of your pistol brushes, jam it into the hole of the bolt carrier and wipe it clean inside.

7) Reassemble. Put CLP on places where finish wears off. No CLP on bolt face.
 
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If it's really filthy, spray with CLP everywhere and let it sit for a while, it will drip and carbon will come off with it, so set some newspapers down as a drip tray. Afterwards just wipe it down with a fresh patch with CLP. After a while you will notice the cleaning times will get shorter and you will only need a patch with it on to clean. I'm a firm believer in CLP, used it on Military weapons for years and none of my appendages shrivelled and fell off. (At least not yet)
 
I love reading posts where people recommend not cleaning carbon off guns:rolleyes::bsFlag:
The products of combustion are corrosive to your firearm, and carbon is hygoscopic. If left untreated, it will eventually end up like the Colt bolt below.

070118119.jpg


070118120.jpg


The numb nuts who owned this before me never bothered cleaning it, so it corroded to the point that the metal is pitted.
While it still functions fine, the damage done was completely preventable with a bit of elbow grease.
 
Clammy (you shot your Czech rifle next to me at the milshoot). I'll "inspect" your cleaning job if you'd like. There are places to look that are hard to describe. PM me.
 
Cool, now I'm getting a good idea of what to do, and I think I covered it pretty well last night. thansk for the tips and links. One last thing, you guys mention CLP; Is that the Breakfree stuff I've heard of? Where can I get it.

Thanks again, everyone. I appreciate you taking the time.

Cheers!
:rockOn::rockOn::rockOn:
 
I got I cool trick I picked up on the american AR15 site : brake degreaser. I buy the Motormaster chlorine free brake degreaser and it works great. It cleans fast and thoroughly! You have to be careful though to slightly re-oil the parts that were in contact with the degreaser because it will kinda "dry" the metal.

Of course you have to scrub and sometimes scrape the carbon deposits on the bolt, but for everything else it gets the job done in the nic of time. It saves a lot of patches and some fooling around hard to get places.

I got some bad comments on CLP from my gun guru. He works in an outdoor store that sells guns'n stuff. He told me one of the best product to get is Remington's Brite Bore solvent. Event army guys at Valcartier's come to the store to get it. Personnaly I don't believe in "all-in-one" products... but I never tried the CLP...

For the gun snake, from Patrick Sweeney's book, it's ok for a quick clean up at the range, but he still relies on a brush to clean the bore. I would have to go with Sweeney on this one. Can't get the hard deposits out with a shoe lace...

I don't know for you, but firering 80rnds or 200rnds at the range doesn't matter to me. When I clean my AR15 after each session, I want it spic and span. Cutting around corners will only make the job harder on the long run.

I get the upper and lower apart. I take down the carrier, bolt down to the extractor. I take special care of the section in front of the gas rings on the bolt, lots of deposit there.

I take special care of the chamber too. Lots of stuff there. If you don't clean it well before cleaning the bore, stuff will get into the bore as you pass your brush with patches through.

In the lower I don't do the buffer after each session though. As I experience not much stuff gets in there (at least from what I'm shooting) I try to clean around the trigger mechanism. I read it is recommended to get it out, but I didn't still...

I also do the mags superficialy after each session. Once in a while take them apart.

Well that's about it. It takes me about 30min-45min. My guns are my babies, so... But I think a good cleaning session comes around what I described.
 
you guys clean your ar's???


when one of mine stops working i just switch to another one!:)

I put several hundred if not 1000's thru mine before i clean it when it starts jamming I clean them clp put upper,bolt/carrier in laundry tub spray with clp scrub down lube with LSA oil

everyone here will tell you diff
 
The manual from Olympic Arms is a good one.

http://www.olyarms.com/index.php?option=com_docman&task=cat_view&gid=22&Itemid=31
 
I'll add my bit. This is what I do regularly with a dirty AR after a few hundred rounds.

- ACTS & PROVE... naturally.

- Pop the upper, remove bolt, strip bolt, CLP the crap out of the bore and upper reciever, as well as the bolt and carrier. Let them sit and start on the lower.

- Clean the mag well and trigger mech with CLP and wipe clean with a rag. A bore patch on the end of a cleaning rod piece works well for getting into the tricky parts of the trigger mech. I find Q-Tips bend too easily and leave fibers behind.

- Remove the buffer and spring (#### the hammer for removal) and wipe out the tube as well. I only do this every once and a while, but I lube it before every firing.

- Set the lower aside and begin work on the bolt. Field strip it and get the carbon out of the bolt carrier as well as on the back of the bolt, carbon will build up there and cake on like crazy (as shown before). The two sided brush is great for the bolt carrier as the small side will fit into it. Put a bore patch over it and jam 'er in and twist around a few times. Clean out the forward-assist notches as well the gas tube on top of the carrier.

- Now to the upper: Use a bore brush on the bore once, patch it until it's dry... or clean, whatever comes first. You can leave CLP in the bore when you're done, just patch it out before firing again. Clean the chamber with the chamber brush and wrap a bore patch around it to get out the remaining carbon.

- Clean behind the locking lugs! Carbon accumulates here like crazy. CLP, brush, wipe, repeat.

- Take out the cocking handle and clean it as well as the cocking handle well where the gas tube ends, carbon accumulates here. Do the rest of the upper and focus on the inside of the ejection port cover and ejection port edges, especially the upper edge. Also remember to push in the forward assist and clean the little claw on the inside. Carbon will accumulate on all these areas.

- Remove the handguards and CLP the outer barrel. Focus on the area where the barrel goes into the reciever as well as the outer gas tube between the slip-ring and the upper reciever, carbon accumulates in these places.

- CLP the crown of the muzzle on the inside of the flash supressor but don't scrape it! Clean the flash supressor as well.

- Pipe cleaners work well for the gas tube, CLP, insert, twist, pull out, let dry.

Before firing:

Lube:
-bolt, bolt carrier guide rails, bolt cam, and the interior of the upper reciever.
-trigger mech

Don't lube:
-gas affected parts, ie: barrel, gas tube, bolt face
-anything plastic


Hope that helped.

One last bit: You know those three gas rings on the back of the bolt? Make sure the gaps don't line up on them when you re-assemble.

EDIT: I seems you own an SP1 with no forward assist... so disregard those parts.
 
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