cleaning idea, dumb or brilliant?

[fourfingersofdeath]

I've been thinking about making a soak tank for each handgun out of some GI ammo tins with internal padding (rubber conveyor belt cut to fit) to soak the guns in after they have had the handgrips removed and then removed and rinsed in solvent and dried off with compressed air. Good idea or wanky idea?

[Texas Trail Boss]

Sounds like a great idea to me pard.  I had mentioned that a while back & wanted to know about solvents like they use on mechanic's tools.  I was told by several folks that solvents are not good for our guns so... I canned the idea.  The idea of tearing down the guns each time to clean them didn't seem very appealing either but, I guess it's all part of the game.

[Goatlips]

Fourfingersofdeath, (love that handle),

I use a plastic shoebox from the dollar store for my Rugers.  I found that with the gate open they will balance on the topstrap with the grips sticking up in the air so I don't have to remove them.  Pull cylinders, place both frames in the shoebox upside down and pour in hot water with dish soap up to the grips; let soak while cleaning rifle, then a couple strokes through all the holes with a brush, rinse with real hot water and drop on a towel to drain.  Spray with Ballistol and that's it! 

Prolly wouldn't work for smokeyless powder though, so your method might be better.  I hates to take off them grips.

Goatlips

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy

Just a word about solvents and tearing down guns to clean them.

A slovent is any fluid that will dissolve a solid. The most common solvent on the face of the earth is water. As has been mentioned in numerous BP threads, water is still the best solvent for dissolving Black Powder fouling. For any solvent to work as a cleaner, it must be able to dissolve the material to be removed and hold it dissolved in solution. Mechanical action like scrubbing or brushing can help the solvent do its job. Once the offending material has been completely loosened and disolved, it is flushed away with more clean solvent. Just like we do when we wash our hands, or clean guns.

Organic solvnets are those solvents that contain carbon compounds. Paint thinner, Laquer thinner, turpentine, and acetone are all organic solvents. The solvents formulated for cleaning Smokeless powder, are all organic solvents. None of them will do any damage to a gun or its finish. When cleaning Smokeless, I just use old Hoppes #9, just like my Dad did. When I am stripping an old gun to bare metal to remove years of built up gunk I will often use paint thinner of laquer thinner, whichever I have laying around at the time. Neither of these will hurt the metal or the finish, although they will probably attack the finish of the wood.

Completely tearing guns down for cleaning probably does more damage over time than any amount of solvent can do. Screws get bunged up, threads get stripped and cross threaded, and screwdrivers slip and mar surfaces. For routine cleaning of cowboy revolvers, partcularly when shooting Smokeless, nothing more than removing the cylinder is necessary.

[fourfingersofdeath]

I posted this and then couldn't remember where I posted it, D'Oh!

I will wait until I have my compressor hooked up, I feel that combined with a soaking in a water based solvent and a rinse in very hot water, a blast of air will completely finish the job. mayb, I'm full of it, I'll wait and see.

[Marauder]

I know one well know smith that uses and sells such as system.
They call it Dunk Kit.  I used some for several years and liked it.

Cylinder and SLide:
https://shop.cylinder-slide.com/ccp51/cgi-bin/cp-app.pl?usr=&pg=cat&ref=4

You could probably use a version of Ed's Red cleaning solution for that as well.
http://www.building-tux.com/dsmjd/tech/eds_red.htm

[Will Blastem]

What about thet "Sweetshooter" gun treatment stuff? Pricey, but wouldn't that make a good soak? http://sweetshooter.com/

[Marshal Will Wingam]

I will wait until I have my compressor hooked up, I feel that combined with a soaking in a water based solvent and a rinse in very hot water, a blast of air will completely finish the job. mayb, I'm full of it, I'll wait and see.

When I was a kid, I had a job cleaning cash registers. The old mechanical ones. We soaked them overnight in a solvent bath that had a cup or so of light oil in it. In the morning, we'd blow them out completely with light air pressure until all the solvent had been blown off or evaporated. The small amount of oil that remained lubricated the moving parts nicely. Maybe you could do something like that?

[Driftwood Johnson]

Howdy Again

Now I'm confused. Do you want to clean Smokeless or BP? If BP, then a water based solvent is in order. Water dissolves BP fouling just fine. Then of course, you have to get all the water out again.

However, for Smokeless, you really need a petroleum based solvent, like good old Hoppe's #9. Although I clean all my BP guns with a water based solvent, there is always a little bit of light scrubbing needed with a bronnze bristle brush. Just soaking and then compressed air will not do the job. However, I make up a special cleaning solvent that does not allow the water to stay behind. I would NEVER clean a gun with just water, and then rely on compressed air to get all the water out again. Even the hot water trick never really worked for me, back when I tried it as a kid in the last century with my Cap & Ball guns. I always got some flash rust, no matter how hot the water was.

But for Smokeless, I just use Hoppes #9, a few patches, and a bronze bristle brush and bronze bore brush. Smokeless fouling is more stubborn than BP fouling and water alone will not remove it. Plus, without my special water based BP solvent, I'm sure I would be leaving some water behind to rust up the internals. I wouldn't dream of cleaning a Smokeless gun with just water.

You may also see where some folks clean their guns in the dishwasher. I would caution you against trying that too. You don't want to be leaving lead behind in the dishwasher that washes the plates you and your family eat of off.