[1919Semi-Owner]

A few questions about cleaning after using corrosive ammo....

I figure the barrel needs the most work, but what about the other parts?
Should they be scrubbed or simply spraying them with lubricant and wiping off be sufficient?

What about the inside of the receiver or the top cover?

Other than the barrel and possibly bolt face, how thorough of a cleaning must be done?

I used plenty of corrosive ammo with bolt guns without any problems but of course cleaning is much simpler process.

 

[Luke]

I still have GI bore cleaner that I use on the barrel. I spray the other parts off with "GUN SCRUBBER". I then spray G-96 gun oil on it and then I put it away! I never have had any rust problems at all in many years of shooting. I use alot of surplus ammo so I clean all my guns the same way. I understand that you can make 5%-10% amonia and water mixture and that will remove the corrosive chemicals from the barrel.

 

[Armorer]

Every part exposed to powder resideu must be cleaned. That includes the bore, outside of the barrel, the inside of the casing and the booster. In the receiver the face of the bolt and possibly the firing pin, probably the barrel extension. My experience is not much residue gets into the receiver but others may disagree. A quick wipe down of internal parts might be a good iea. Some folks don't realize that in a semi-auto like the M-1, you must also clean out the gas cylinder and the full length of the Op rod as well as the underside of the barrel. It's a good idea to clean every time you shoot regardless of the ammo. A friend of mine brought a very expensive Galil to the range and couldn't get the bolt open it turns out carbon had frozen the gas piston in place. He had always used non-corrosive ammo. I have found rust forming in my Remington 1100 after only a week again only non-corrosive ammo was used. The experts say that Hoppes #9 is not a solvent for primer salts. They say to use hot soapy water or the old water base GI bore cleaner. Hoppes may not be a solvent for primer salts but it is a good solvent for bore fowling and some metal fowling and in the process removes the primer residue. I have used Hoppes for over 40 years with no corrosion problem. The only method that produced rust after cleaning was the old style GI bore cleaner. My unit was issued 1943 AP ammo one time and cleaned the M1's that same day. Two days later every rifle in the unit had rust in the bore.

 

[30calmachinegunner]

Your suppose to clean them???

 

[loboslanding]

Use ammonia or Windex to scrub the bore before using bore cleaner...it neutralizes the mercurichromeumnitratedistillatemethol (or whatever that stuff is in the corrosive primers) and wipe or soak any infected parts with ammonia and then clean as usual.

If you have properly lubed your gun before going to the range it is going to be full of powder residue, grime, sand, skin tissue, blood or whatever so you have no choice but to clean the whole gun thoroughly.

Not to be sarcastic, but many guys put posts on this website and say that their gun used to run great, but now all of a sudden it's misfeeding, jamming, cycling slow, etc...wonder why? It's like saying that you don't have to brush all your teeth...just the one's you want to keep .

I have a 20 gallon parts cleaner full of mineral spirits and the empty receiver and all parts get a good scrubbing with the power brush. With as much wheel bearing grease as I use the mineral spirits is the best way to get it clean anyway so it forces me to clean the whole gun just to get the dirty grease out.

 

[gunslingerdoc]

Make up a batch of Ed's red. It cleans (carbon gunk - sucks for copper), neutralizes corrosive salts, and preserves/lubricates. Its cheaper than any other cleaners and unlike household ammonia/windex its not water based so it wont cause rust just by itself (windex and ammonia will)

Link: http://www.kuci.uci.edu/~dany/firearms/eds_red.html

 

[Luke]

I think that, evidently, "Birchwood Casey's Gun Scrubber"(I use the version that does not hurt plastics) must dissolve the corrosive chemicals because I always flush(it is a sray can) all the metal parts before spaying all the metal parts with G-96(oil type spray) and both my freind and I have never had any rust issues all. It also dissolves alot of the carbon also! I am never 100% sure if the surplus ammo is non-corrosive so I treat all my guns as if the ammo was corrosive. I kinow people that have used say WD-40 but they will show rust useing that product so I never mess with success so I keep doing what I have been doing because it works 100% of the time. I buy it from Brownell's by the dozen cans. Now I just need a source for the G-96(Brownel's does not selll that product).

 

[123]

Here is a good article comparing several common products that claim to clean off corrosive salts.

http://www.surplusrifle.com/reviews2006/alittlesalt/index.asp

However, I believe the original question was more along the lines of what parts need to be cleaned.

 

[Vabeltfed (7)]

I usually do the following after shooting corrosive 8mm.

Take the gun completely apart when I get home. Barrel shroud off, booster off, bolt all apart, barrel out etc. Then I spray windex w/ammonia on and wipe all of the grease/crap off. Then I place all of the parts in my 20 gallon parts washer and let sit for around an hour. I then scrub all of the parts in the parts washer and remove. Let them dry and then clean with Mpro7. After they are clean, I lightly lube them up with clp and store gun for the next shoot.

 

[loboslanding]

Use ammonia or Windex to scrub the bore before using bore cleaner...it neutralizes the mercurichromeumnitratedistillatemethol (or whatever that stuff is in the corrosive primers) and wipe or soak any infected parts with ammonia and then clean as usual.

If you have properly lubed your gun before going to the range it is going to be full of powder residue, grime, sand, skin tissue, blood or whatever so you have no choice but to clean the whole gun thoroughly.

Not to be sarcastic, but many guys put posts on this website and say that their gun used to run great, but now all of a sudden it's misfeeding, jamming, cycling slow, etc...wonder why? It's like saying that you don't have to brush all your teeth...just the one's you want to keep .

I have a 20 gallon parts cleaner full of mineral spirits and the empty receiver and all parts get a good scrubbing with the power brush. With as much wheel bearing grease as I use the mineral spirits is the best way to get it clean anyway so it forces me to clean the whole gun just to get the dirty grease out.

To clarify my ammonia/Windex comment, I said to clean as usual...I did not mean to communicate to leave it sitting. Although I have overnight with no rust.

 

[1919Semi-Owner]

Thanks for the info and lots of good reading...

I may stick with drenching the entire item with the Windex then start to clean it afterwards as I do with all other items and ending with a generous coat of oil.

 

[Poverty Ridge]

Try LPS 1

After I shoot I spray a liberal amount of LPS 1 (Avaible where aircraft parts are sold) and have never had a problem with rust- even with black powder.
Then clean them when a get a round tuit.

 

[iRIGHTi]

LOL Brian!

 

[AGC]

_Nothing_ "neutralizes corrosive primer residues." Period.

The residue is potassium chloride, a chemical near-relative to common table salt. The _only_ thing that will prevent that salt from absorbing water from the atmosphere and causing rust is to remove it by dissolving it and washing it away.

Nothing does a better job of that than hot water (the hotter the better), with a couple drops of dish soap to reduce surface tension and make the water "wetter." Windex and all the other miracle cures do a second rate job in comparison to hot water, and may even cause corrosion.