Items needed to clean and maintain the M14?

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Iron Sighted

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Waiting on my PAL to arrive in the next few weeks so I can get my M305 sent to me from the dealer I purchased from. In the meantime I'd like to buy all the stuff I'll need to clean and maintain it, so I can get busy cleaning it up when it arrives. Sounds like many people opt to buy aftermarket cleaning rods and not use the ones that the rifle comes with. I'm looking for a complete list of cleaning/maintenance items(maybe preferred types of rods, bore cleaner/solvent, patches, etc. and perhaps where I could order them online or find in the Vancouver area) that I should be expecting to buy. Maybe it'd be cheaper for me to buy a whole cleaning kit(again, suggestions here would be great)?? I saw Skullboys post on cleaning all the packing grease that they come shipped with in the M14 FAQ thread, but I need help more with the maintenance cleaning side of things I guess. Anyway, I'd appreciate any help you guys can throw me as this is the first gun I've bought and I want to take care of it properly. I apologize if this has been asked countless times already.
 
I'm sure you'll get more informed posts as the days go on, but I'll toss my cleaning habits down.

First off, the packing grease was removed for me so you'll have to look for other advise there. I've heard of people using gasoline, turpentine and solvent with varying degrees of success. Read the stickies, its all in there.

I bought myself a half decent screw together rod that will fit all my rifles, but eventually a nice one piece composite rod ($$) will be the way I go. After that I have my trusty hoppes #9 solvent and hoppes gun oil. There are those who say there are better products on the market, but hoppes has worked for over 100 years so it cant be bad. I actually keep using it because my gf likes the smell and doesn't go off the deep end when I clean guns :)

There's two cleaning regimes i try to stick to:

First, I clean the bore and chamber with brushes and the solvent, and then re-oil with hoppes gun oil. I'll then gently wipe the rest of the rifle down with the oil patch. Then I will re-apply MotoMaster Wheel Bearing and Chassis Lubricant into the op rod channel, underneath the bolt and into the roller-thingy that's apart of the bolt. This is just a cursory cleaning done after I shoot or when I am being lazy.

The other cleaning regiment is more detailed. I'll tear down the rifle to all of it's pieces, and clean with solvent all of it. This includes the barrel, bolt, trigger mechanism, op rod, op rod guide, op rod spring, gas cylinder, etc. I then reassemble the gas cylinder with no oil inside, oil all the parts and the bore, then apply the grease to the necessary spots.

There are detailed cleaning instructions all over the internet and in the stickies so I won't go into any more detail but that's pretty much it.

A high quality cleaning rod, trusty Hoppes # 9 solvent and oil, and MotoMaster Wheel Bearing and Chassis Grease bought at Canadian Tire will see you through all your cleaning needs.

EDIT-I suppose you would need some .30 cal patches, a bore brush and a chamber brush. You can get kits that will have most of it (except for the brushes which you can buy seperately) or just buy what you need.
 
My Cleaning Aventure

I went to my closest automotive store and purchased a couple of cans of carburator and brake cleaner. I also purchased a tub of wheel bearing grease and a small tube of white lithium grease (still have not yet used).

The brake cleaner can leave a light residue, but is great for the really tough cosmoline guk. I used the carb cleaner on the rest. I then greased the op rod, bolt roller, op rod guide and spring. I also put a dab or two of grease on the op rod slide on the receiver. I oiled/greased the trigger mechanism.

That was it! Happy shooting.

PS - I would keep looking at this site for a Hungry Clinic in your area. :)
 
Simple Green & Break-Free/CLP?

I've seen a few of the videos from the American Gunsmithing Institute and old-timer Bob Dunlap mainly uses Simple Green to clean guns and Break-Free CLP to lube and protect them. This sounds like a cheap, easy solution. Anyone ever compare this option to the many other products and methods out there? Does it do the job just as well?
 
see if you can get ahold of SKULBOY- he's one of the old tyme m14 gurus on this board- i've believe he's local to you and that guy has forgotten more about m14s than we can ever remember-
 
t-star said:
see if you can get ahold of SKULBOY- he's one of the old tyme m14 gurus on this board- i've believe he's local to you and that guy has forgotten more about m14s than we can ever remember-
Click to expand...

I'm hoping to get the chance to speak with him in person at the M14 clinic in December, I believe he is hoping to attend.
 
Parkerising is basically very fine pits, which hold and retain embedded oil and grease to prevent rust and also to provide some lubrication.

WARNING
Brake cleaner does NOT leave a residue ....
it cleans out ALL THE OIL AND GREASE PREVIOUSLY EMBEDDED IN THE PARKERISING.

If you don't reoil or regrease the stripped finish after the brake cleaner does it's job, the dry parkerising provides much less protection.

BTDT,
LAZ 1
 
degreeszero said:
I've seen a few of the videos from the American Gunsmithing Institute and old-timer Bob Dunlap mainly uses Simple Green to clean guns and Break-Free CLP to lube and protect them. This sounds like a cheap, easy solution. Anyone ever compare this option to the many other products and methods out there? Does it do the job just as well?
Click to expand...

I use Hopps and clp....hopps seems to help clean some of my guns a bit better but I think clp is good. Being military we use both....they both work.

I clean grease/cosmo off with brake clean....remembering to lube well with clp afterwards as it will remove all oil/lube.

Will use grease on some parts but mostly use CLP for luberication/protection.

Never tried simple green.
 
The problem I have with grease is everything sticks to it, dirt, dust, grass and seeds etc. I prefer to give it a good dousing of WD40 or equivalent on a regular basis, the little red straw works great for blasting out the dirt and keeping of the rust. I prefer to only grease the trigger hammer/sear points and bolt roller.
 
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