Cleaning Crevices

[jason812]

What do y'all use to clean the tight areas on your firearms? I have some long cotton swabs but they have a tendency to leave behind lint. Just wondering if there is an alternative to get in the nooks and crannies.

[Flightmare]

I've used a pick to press down on a patch that I've put cleaner or lubricant on. That seems to help me. YMMV

[Tex1961]

I use a combination of the plastic gun pics and the pressurized birchwood Casey spray can. Really gets the gunk out of tight spaces.

[Liberty]

I use pipe cleaners and/or a toothbrush. Microfiber cloth seems to get into tight crevices. Balistol seems to soften everything up so that nothing needs much real scrubbing.

[dlh]

I found those plastic picks to be somewhat flimsy so I picked up a package of wooden corn skewers at the local HEB and tried those. They work great running a solvent coated patch around tight areas and I can bear down and not worry about them breaking. Give em a try!

[flechero]

For general cleaning I also use the pick and wet patch method. (and pipe cleaners in the FP and extractor channels). Then when I fully detail strip I use a stiff brush and gun scrubber spray to bring those nooks and crannies as well as hidden areas of the entire frame/slide to clean. Oil as required and reassemble.

[flowrie]

Pipe cleaners, Q-tips, and this will sound funny, but the large wooden picks that Red Robin restaurant uses to hold their burgers together. I use the picks with patches and also use to remove carbon from polished feed ramps and other surfaces. Liberal use of Balistol.

[SigM4]

Q-tips. After cleaning the entire gun is blown out with air from my compressor so no lint to worry about before applying grease.

[C-dub]

For deep cleaning like that I put what I can down in a heated sonic cleaner then brush lightly with a brass or nylon brush. I do also have a bunch of pipe cleaners and some long rayon tipped swabs. The sonic cleaner loosens everything up enough that I haven't needed anything stronger than the nylon or brass brushes to finish up whatever was left behind.