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I'm watching the AGI 1911 armorer's course DVD and they advocate cleaning the main parts with simple green and a tooth brush. He then rinses in water and pops them in the oven at 225 degrees (or use a blow dryer). Seemed like a good way to detail clean the weapon. Then douses in BFCLP and reassembles.

Thoughts? Anyone doing this?

I use Simple Green often. I have never used it on my guns. I really never thought of it. It is a really good cleaner, especially on grease and oil. I would not use it on aluminum. I use it on my motorcycle. While the aluminum comes out clean, it is also sort of etched. Sort of like an acid bath.

Simple Green is an excellent gun cleaner. I soak clean my guns in it when I want a plastic friendly non flammable solvent. The warning about aluminium should be heeded. If cleaning aluminium don't leave SG on the aluminum parts for more than 5-10 minutes then rinse thoroughly with HOT water. Some advocate dunking into isopropyl alcohol to finish cleaning the SG off aluminum. Air blast dry, then lubricate and rust preventative is imperative, there won't be any lubricant left on the parts.

Plus, it smells good so my wife won't yell at me for cleaning my guns at the kitchen table.

How would it work on cosmoline?

steve817 wrote:How would it work on cosmoline?

Probably. It will dissolve motorcycle chain lube.

I would not use Simple Green on a polymer framed gun. I used to use it to clean my motorcycles, and Simple Green will strip the oils out of tires, other rubber parts, and plastic pieces like instrument panels and such. After rinsing it thoroughly from those parts, they looked literally bleached out in places. Simple Green is a great product for getting grease off of cement driveways and other similar uses, but I'd definitely be careful about using it on a polymer frame because I'm not confident that it won't do the same thing to them that it does to rubber and plastic motorcycle parts.

Simple Green will corrode aluminum. Simple green came out a few years back with an aircraft safe formulation sold at aircraft supply houses. I havnt tried it so I can't offer any feedback.

When I first fired an M1911, in basic training back in the dark ages as the Korean war was wrapping up, those on the line for the last round of fire had to disassemble the weapons and clean them in a washtub full of soapy water, and then had the pleasure to be the ones to reassemble them with their eyes closed, with a very tough DI with a stopwatch looking over their shoulders. Woe to those taking too long.

The old memory is becoming so bad that it takes reminders like this thread to bring pleasant nostalgia. The good news about losing one's memory as he ages is that he gets to read new jokes on the internet and meets a lot of new people.

As a matter of fact, I would swear that I posted this yesterday, but I can't find it. No doubt it will end up being a double-post.

Elmo

do you use it straight or diluted

On the vid the parts were laid out and SG was fired from above straight out of the bottle.

FL450 wrote:Simple Green will corrode aluminum. Simple green came out a few years back with an aircraft safe formulation sold at aircraft supply houses. I havnt tried it so I can't offer any feedback.

Available at Aircraft Spruce if not available locally, say at Home Depot or Lowes or such. Shipping is costly.

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/c ... -00809.php" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Elmo

gigag04 wrote:On the vid the parts were laid out and SG was fired from above straight out of the bottle.

I think I will have to try this my SKS is still bleeding cosmoline even after cleaning with mineral spirits