Best way to "deep" clean pistol internals

[JFettig]

I know what I have used, not sure if its the proper stuff but a quick hot clean, blow off, and oil it worked great - simple green/water solution

I field strip the guns, dunk it, turn it on(already pre-heated), 5-10 minutes later its clean.

Works great on AR bolt carrier groups too.

I use the cheap, larger $80 harbor freight model.

[grousemaster]

Figured I'd be asking this same question for the 1911 before too long. Don't have to worry about this with Glocks though.

[Hmac]

I know what I have used, not sure if its the proper stuff but a quick hot clean, blow off, and oil it worked great - simple green/water solution

I field strip the guns, dunk it, turn it on(already pre-heated), 5-10 minutes later its clean.

Works great on AR bolt carrier groups too.

I use the cheap, larger $80 harbor freight model.

Interesting. I see that same model for sale under different brands at multiple places...Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, Kendall, Brownells and MidwayUSA (under Lyman brand) and at widely varying prices too. $80 at Harbor Freight, $120 at Northern Tool, $99 at Midway, $140 at Brownells. No doubt a Chinese-imported device farmed out to multiple distributors, but I note that the thing gets really very good reviews from just about everyone on those sites.

[JFettig]

My biggest gripe about it are the timers, you can't just let the thing run and the longest setting is only 480 seconds.

[unit44justin]

Interesting. I see that same model for sale under different brands at multiple places...Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, Kendall, Brownells and MidwayUSA (under Lyman brand) and at widely varying prices too. $80 at Harbor Freight, $120 at Northern Tool, $99 at Midway, $140 at Brownells. No doubt a Chinese-imported device farmed out to multiple distributors, but I note that the thing gets really very good reviews from just about everyone on those sites.

Don't forget to print of a %20 off coupon for harbor freight.

[jshuberg]

I've got an HG575: http://www.sonicsystemsales.com/

The internal tank is 11"x6"x6" and it has 3 transducers. It also has a separate lube tank that can be placed on top of the unit for vibrating the protectant solution into the pores of the metal. It has a 20 minute timer, but they advise not to put any anodized parts in for more than 4 minutes as it can discolor the anodizing, this can be true of other finishes as well - I put a Daniel Defense bolt carrier in it once for 15 minutes for a deep clean, and it came out a slightly different color and the words "Daniel Defense" were gone. It absolutely has the power to "clean" off the outermost layer of a finish if left to do it's thing for too long.

I've found it's important to clean the barrel with brushes and normal solvent (Hoppes, etc) both before and after running through the cleaner if you want to get every last spec of fouling out. Carbon sticks to carbon more than to smooth metal, so if you can get every last bit of fouling out, your barrel will be *much* easier to clean conventionally with brushes and solvent after giving them a dunk through an ultrasonic tank.

The cleaner I bought ships with the Crest line of ultrasonic cleaning products, but I've found that the L&R products work much better:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/de ... ber=461763
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewProduct/de ... ber=147773

Keep in mind that the lubricating solution isn't actually a lubricant, its a protectant to keep the newly cleaned metal parts from rusting or tarnishing. I have no idea why they call it a lubricant because it has absolutely no lubrication value. I like the L&R lube because it will evaporate off the internal parts, rather than needing to be wiped and blown off with compressed air. My concern is that blowing the lube off with compressed air might result in some surfaces being unprotected. Allowing the solution to evaporate guarantees that every metal surface has adequate protection.

Here's my process when using it:

Preheat the tank to around 55 degrees C.
Detail clean the pistol before giving it a bath to try to keep the tank as clean as possible.
Field strip the pistol and run it through the cleaner for 4-5 minutes.
Take out everything but the barrel and wash them off with warm water, and blow them dry with compressed air.
Run the barrel through the cleaner for another 5 minutes or so.
Wash the barrel off with warm water, and blow dry with compressed air.
Clean the barrel again with solvents and brushes. More crud will likely come out!
Dry off the barrel and place it along with all of the other parts into the lubrication tank and run for 3 minutes.
Take all the wet parts and place the in a cardboard box, and put a 100W shop light directly above it to help evaporate the lube solution.
Wait at least a couple hours, and them wipe or blow dry any excess lube still on the parts.
Apply a "real" lubricant (CLP, etc) as usual and reassemble.

I obviously don't use this for everyday cleaning, but for the occasional deep clean. It works great!

[XDM45]

Perfect!! Thank you.

[Hmac]

Interesting. I see that same model for sale under different brands at multiple places...Harbor Freight, Northern Tool, Kendall, Brownells and MidwayUSA (under Lyman brand) and at widely varying prices too. $80 at Harbor Freight, $120 at Northern Tool, $99 at Midway, $140 at Brownells. No doubt a Chinese-imported device farmed out to multiple distributors, but I note that the thing gets really very good reviews from just about everyone on those sites.

Don't forget to print of a %20 off coupon for harbor freight.

Yikes! Great tip!

Coupon code 22478559 good through the end of March. Some restrictions apply, but apparently not on ultrasonic cleaners.

[Baja Bum]

Perfect!! Thank you.

+1

Great information!

[Baja Bum]

Perfect!! Thank you.

+1

Great information!

[FJ540]

We did ultrasonic cleaning of EDM fixtures (burning 316 stainless leaves some nasty gunk) and it was shocking how clean they came out after about 20 minutes in the ultrasonic cleaner.

[tenmilmag]

Could we get a pic of that gun cleaned up? That photo of that dirty gun is grossing me out!

[fabb600]

Could we get a pic of that gun cleaned up? That photo of that dirty gun is grossing me out!

Haha. I'll see if I can get around to it!

[Snowgun]

Putting ultrasonic aside, the best way i've found is a drenching with a solvent (I use gunzilla, or use another clp type), then multiple focused blasts with compressed air, preferably with a needle adapter on the end.



DO NOT USE GUNSCRUBBER OR BRAKE CLEANER FIRST. This is how you create malfunctions.

These cleaners are degreasers, not carbon solvents. And if you have any appreciable carbon buildup this will do squat, except for dry it out into a hard, scratchy deposit. This can seize up your action.

Liberally use a carbon dissolving solvent, then high pressure blow it out. Repeat. You should only use gunscrubber when removing CLP or grease from areas where you don't want it (pretty much just the outside).

The CLP will coat and lubricate the parts anyway, but you can add oil as needed.

[Hanns]

Just ordered one myself, thanks for the coupon! Figured I've been wanting one for some time, that's a great deal.