What gun care products do you use?

[Bunkins]

I haven't really searched around, but saw nothing looking back a few pages...

I'm curious to know what you guys use for cleaning products and lubricating products?

I normally use Rem lube with Teflon on my guns. Wipe them down several times a yr when not being used. When in use ( like in Colorado Elk hunting ), I strip them, clean and oil nightly ( 30-06 and my side arm at the time a S&W .41 Revolver ). ( I'm a clean freak when it comes to my guns )..

I bought my Kimber last week, shot it a few times and I've noticed that after about 10 rounds the slide becomes pretty dry and feels rough.. After about 30 rounds it starts jamming ( bullet hits the top of the chamber when being fed into the barrel ).. It's a Ultra Carry 2, so with the alloy frame it scares me that over time it will chew it up. The jamming issue I think it due to both not being "broke in" and the fact the slide doesn't operate smoothly.. I was a bit concerned about the jamming issue, I'm taking the CHL class the 29th, and I really dont want to end up having trouble with jamming. I'm not worried about it jamming when I need it ( life threatening or whatever ), since it only does it as the gun gets dirty. I picked up some "Shooter's Choice" gun grease tonight, it's really all I could find for gun grease... I have no experience with it, and I'm wondering if you guys use anything similar or have a oil you prefer.. If you use oil for the whole gun, and grease for the slide, or grease everywhere.. I put some of the grease on the slide and it's silky smooth. I can feel a BIG difference.. A buddy of mine gave me a strange look when I picked the grease up.. All of his Semi Auto handguns are steel frame, so I guess maybe he doesnt have the same concern that I do about slide wear.. I also like a silky smooth feeling trigger, and all around smooth operation of the gun, this Kimber certainly has that, thats 1 of the main reason's I bought it. But cleaning and oiling the trigger group and safety's all the time is a bit of a pain, I'd like to use the grease there as well just so long as there wont be any issues..

[AEA]

I just switched out from Hoppes #9 to Gunzilla for cleaning/lube, but I still use Mobil 1 for a few drops on the rails of my 1911's. Not much.....just a drop or two makes them slide like butter!

[WEC]

I just use carb cleaner. I think maybe some others will cry foul, but I love it and it does a great job. Blue wonder for the barrel and breakfree CLP for all my lube needs.

About your Kimber, is it an internal or external extractor?

[thankGod]

GunScubber

Outers Tri-Lube

I've been thinking about trying Milspec or Gun Butter.

[NcongruNt]

Brake Cleaner (the red can, not the green).
Hoppe's #9 (semi-frequently for bore cleaning)
Break-Free CLP
Blue Wonder (occasionally to deep-clean bores)
Microlon Gun Juice (1 treatment after break-in period)
Hoppe's Elite Gun Oil (for slide lube touch-ups between cleanings)

For application/cleaning, cotton patches and q-tips

[G.C.Montgomery]

This is going to trip a few folks out but, my primary cleaner/degreaser is Simple Green followed by water and a blast of air. That sounds like blasphemy but hear me out. All you married guys should pay attention. The wife doesn't mind the smell and its better for the environment and my marriage than regular carb or brake cleaner. I've been using Simple Green for several years with no ill affects on the guns. And no, I am not kidding about the washing the parts off with water. I just blast them with air and get a light coat of oil on them as soon as I'm done.

The only really harsh stuff I use is Breakfree's Foaming Bore cleaner. The wife generally isn't botherd by the smell and it's great at getting all the copper and other fouling out of my FAL's gas system. I recommend it and a Bore Snake highly. That combination saves me ten to twenty minutes of work on most of my guns.

Lubricants are generally Tetra lubricant and grease or TW25. I still use Breakfree CLP on the Stoner rifles because they seem to work better with lighter lubricants than Tetra. In very dusty environments I have also used dry lubes like "Dri-Slide" or straight moly-disulphied when I could find it.

[The Annoyed Man]

I used to use Simple Green to clean motorcycles with. It is great for metal parts. That stuff will strip all oils and grease out of the pistol, including any of the necessary oils out of the rubber in your grips, if you have rubber grips. It will do the same to plastics. So if you take care to protect rubber and plastic items, you should be good to go with it - but I would never use it on a polymer framed pistol. but that's just me.

I carry a Kimber Ultra Carry II in stainless pretty much daily, and I use the Wilson Combat Ultima-Lube on the slide rails and around the outside of the barrel near the muzzle where it butts up agains the slide and recoil spring assembly - and my gun never jams. Ever. On the other parts that need lube, I use whatever gun oil I have handy - Hoppes, etc.

For pistol cleaning, I usually use Hoppe's bore gel on the barrels, Hoppe's #9 solvent on the rest, and a spray can of Gun Scrubber or Break Free (or brake cleaner, if that's what I have handy) to spray off the loosened crud. Normal bore scrubbing/cleaning procedures apply. Not having access to compressed air at home, I just wipe everything down with a rag after it is cleaned, and then re-lube for assembly.

A little while back, I purchased several of the SLiP2000 gun care products for use on my AR15s, with pretty good results. I haven't tried them on my pistols yet, just because I still have plenty of the other products around, and those work just fine.

[G.C.Montgomery]

I used to use Simple Green to clean motorcycles with. It is great for metal parts. That stuff will strip all oils and grease out of the pistol, including any of the necessary oils out of the rubber in your grips, if you have rubber grips. It will do the same to plastics. So if you take care to protect rubber and plastic items, you should be good to go with it - but I would never use it on a polymer framed pistol. but that's just me.

I agree with the rubber grip issue but, I don't use rubber grips. I tried them several times over the years but I kept coming back to rigid composites for the 1911s or spray on bedliner for the Glocks. Simple Green hasn't been a problem in either case. The polymer frame on my recently retired G34 never had a problem in the 7-8 years I've owned it...It was the slide that cracked at 250,000 rounds that put it down for the count. YMMV.

[Keith B]

I used to use Simple Green to clean motorcycles with. It is great for metal parts. That stuff will strip all oils and grease out of the pistol, including any of the necessary oils out of the rubber in your grips, if you have rubber grips. It will do the same to plastics. So if you take care to protect rubber and plastic items, you should be good to go with it - but I would never use it on a polymer framed pistol. but that's just me.

I agree with the rubber grip issue but, I don't use rubber grips. I tried them several times over the years but I kept coming back to rigid composites for the 1911s or spray on bedliner for the Glocks. Simple Green hasn't been a problem in either case. The polymer frame on my recently retired G34 never had a problem in the 7-8 years I've owned it...It was the slide that cracked at 250,000 rounds that put it down for the count. YMMV.

To revamp your rubber grips, just use clear silicone spray lubricant to bring it back. It will rejuvenate the rubber and can be wiped off so it is not slippery.

[PUCKER]

It's been awhile since I've bought gun-cleaning products as I still have quite a bit of them - I use Breakfree CLP to clean/lube the guns - wipe the guns off with cotton patches. I also have Hoppes #9 (sometimes doubles as cologne too LOL) and Nitro bore cleaner solvent, etc.

[DMG]

You mean Hoppes #9 is used as something other than cologne? David G.

[G.C.Montgomery]

You mean Hoppes #9 is used as something other than cologne? David G.

Generally yes, it is used as something other than cologne...Haven't you noticed it's been hard to get a date all these years?????

[Bunkins]

About your Kimber, is it an internal or external extractor?

It's internal I did some searching about Kimbers jamming, and really all I could find were issues about external extractor's ( A TON of them ) and failure to extract. I read a little about failure to feed, and from what I could find it seemed most guys polished the feed ramp. A buddy has a full size 1911 Kimber and he polished the feed ramp.. I see a few things wrong with that in my case, I dont know how that would effect the alloy frame. Things such as if it's hardened, if so taking surface material off, you will basicly end up with soft alum. I dont know if the frame is hardened or not, I haven't made it that far yet.. Another issue is corrosion.. Lastly, it's not jamming on the ramp, it's jamming as the round is going into the chamber. From what I'm seeing, and that doesn't mean a lot since I am very new to semi-auto handgun's, is that once the slide becomes rough, it's action is slowing down, therefore causing the round to jam..

My dad's Springfield Ultra Compact does the same thing. It's several yrs old, and I bet hasn't had 30 round through it . When I shot it last weekend, it didnt even look like it was ever cleaned, and the slide was very rough.. It was jamming the same way mine has been, except more frequently.. I spent several hrs cleaning it for him, but I haven't taken it out and shot it yet. He has very little experience with semi-auto handguns as well, we're bolt action rifle people He just bought the Ultra Compact to help a guy out, and it sat in his safe.. He's looking to get his CHL shortly after I take the class, so thats why we dusted it off.. He needs a lot more practice with it, the trigger feel is poor, and he keeps pulling to the right. I even did it once, he kept thinking it was the gun but after I shot it once I knew what I did.. He shot my Kimber and I didnt think I would get it back I took extra care to clean all trigger related parts, but it still feels "unrefined", so I think he needs to find a good gun smith to take care of that for him..


Thanks for the replies guys, thats exactly what I was wanting to know I forgot to mention that I had picked up some GunSlick Foaming Bore Cleaner.. Figured I'd give it a shot, never used it before, I do it the old, hard way

I didnt mention what I use to clean my guns with. For just a general wipe down after handling my Kimber I've been using Clorox wipes, being a alloy frame and stainless steel, there is no need to keep it lightly oiled. At least I dont worry about it on the outside. I also use a product called Lightning Strike, which is made here locally.. It's so mild you can drink it, but it's a very strong degreaser. Spray this stuff on anything, and it will come clean. Even works to take oxidation off vehicle paint, you can clean fabric with it ( will take grease right off vehicle seats, carpet and so forth ). It will take any oil residue off a surface, I love the stuff. I have yet to see it damage any finish ( like brake cleaner can sometimes do ). I'm a mechanic, so I use it everyday for a degreaser, and those days when I'm not thinking and I track grease into my truck or in the house.

[carlson1]

Gunbutter
http://www.gunbutter.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Chuck TX]

Hoppe's #9, Gunscrubber, Break-Free CLP, Mobile 1