Cleaning a newly acquired used gun.

Clammy

Clammy

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When you buy a used pistol or revolver, how thorough a cleaningdo you give it? Also, what cleaning items/products do you use? For example, do you just use patches and solvent/oil? Or are there other, better tools to use when cleaning handguns?

Sorry if the questions are total noobsville, but I AM a noob to buying used guns and handgun ownership specifically, and now I have 5 previously enjoyed handguns (4 pistols and 1 revolver) that I want to take to the range, that I haven't cleaned since acquiring. Not to mention, I've never cleaned a handgun before. I hope I've been clear, hehehe... :D

Thanks.

Cheers!
:cool: :cool: :cool:
 
I just use Hoppe's No.9. It's a solvent as well as a lubricant. Just dip a rag in it and wipe the gun thoroughly. You might have to use a nylon brush or toothbrush to clean the tight spots.
Then wipe it down until you're satisfied.
For the bore, I run a brush from chamber to muzzle, being careful not to damage the muzzle crown.
Then I soak it with solvent and leave it for 30 minutes.
I then send clean patches through, every now and then squirting some gun oil on them.
After about six to ten passes I realize I'm being anal and run one more oil patch through.
Don't forget to clean the oil out with a clean patch before you shoot!
And don't shoot used guns until you've cleaned them. My brother bought a used .22 revolver and found a huge chunk of lead still in the bore.
It would have made a nice KB.
 
Well not meant to HiJack the post but since he is as newbie as I on cleaning..

What is needed to maintain a semi-auto pistol ?

Solvant like CLP Breakfree / Hoppes9
Patches
Nylon and brass brush with the rod
anything else?
 
Generally, you should buy yourself a cleaning kit. I picked up the Kleen Bore kit, and bought a few extras:

Patches
Brass brush attatchment
BreakFree CLP

The first gun I bought was fouled beyond belief. After an hour or so of elbow grease and BreakFree, and STILL not getting things visibly clean, I ended up picking up some brass wool and some Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner. That stuff caused a river of junk to be released from the bore, the cylinder and the cylinder area inside the frame. The brass wool was useful for cleaning inside the frame and the front/back of the cylinder.

So add brass wool to the list, and pick up a badass solvent just in case.

Nitrile gloves are awesome. They're puncture and tear resistant (unlike latex) and make for a faster cleanup. You can get 'em from Acklands Grainger, Shopper's Home Healthcare or your favorite emergency room.

As far as how thorough... for a revolver, I'd remove the cylinder, clean the cylinder area, the bore, and the cylinder itself. Put a drop of oil on any parts that need lubricating. After reassembling, I like to wipe down the gun with a silicone impregnated cloth. Some folks use an oily rag, but I find it leaves "rainbows" on stainless steel, while the silicone cloth won't.

I haven't had either of my semis apart yet, but I'd imagine that I'd take the slide off, check the springs, clean the barrel and anything else that's dirty, lubricate as required, reassemble, wipe down with a silicone cloth. I think one is included with the Kleen Bore kit.

It's probably a very good idea to at least check all that stuff in a used semi before you fire it just to make sure it's all good inside.
 
Icefire said:
Well not meant to HiJack the post but since he is as newbie as I on cleaning..

What is needed to maintain a semi-auto pistol ?

Solvant like CLP Breakfree / Hoppes9
Patches
Nylon and brass brush with the rod
anything else?
Click to expand...





I've got a little bit of everything in my cleaning kit. Q-tips, 0000 steelwool, toothbrush, silicone rag, small flashlight, leatherman and a few other things along with the standard cleaning gear. Amazingly, I've found uses for everything in it.:D
 
Oh, here's another item to stick in your bag of cleaning tricks.... Pink Pearl erasers. Apparently stubbon carbon markings can come out with one.
 
phronq said:
Oh, here's another item to stick in your bag of cleaning tricks.... Pink Pearl erasers. Apparently stubbon carbon markings can come out with one.
Click to expand...





I've heard about that before. In fact, I had a guy at my local gun range tell me that they work good on getting rid of surface rust as well.
 
Ishootguns said:
Just like a new woman strip her down to nothing and cover all the bases.
Dave
Click to expand...

Nice one!! You definately want to tear that thing down as much as possible. Who knows what the the last owner did or did not maintain properly. Manuals for virtually every firearm are available through a simple Google so break down and cleaning instructions are never far away.
As far as cleaning supplies I love "Kleen Bore" stuff, I have not tried every cleaning supply company out there but their stuff has never let me down (Hoppes #9 is great too). Keep consistant on your rods and brushes as the threading is not always the same between manufacturers (another reason I stayed with Kleen Bore). Dental picks are great for getting at difficult carbon build up areas like AR chambers! I found them cheap at a auto body place.:D
 
Clammy,

When I buy a used pistol, I always replace the recoil spring as soon as possible. I also replace the mag springs as soon as possible.

I ordered new mag springs for my Para Carry 12 before the additional magazines had arrived since I'd read that Para springs were "iffy". I was glad I did because one of the two mags would not lock the slide. I just replaced both springs.

I do try to clean new purchases before taking them to the range, but that doesn't always happen.


John
 
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