Stainless Steel Gun Cleaning Tips

Equipment

• You need a screwdriver set, your owner's manual, and a carbon- or nylon-covered cleaning rod. Also required are a bore mop or patch-holder, JAG and patches, toothbrush or nylon pistol cleaning brush and bronze/nylon bore brush. Other necessities include a rag, and cotton swabs. For revolvers, a muzzle guard is a must.

Chemicals

• CLP (cleanser, lubricant and protector) is essential, as well as pressurized gun-cleaning solvent and gun oil. While CLP can handle the job of cleaning, many cleaning agents are available, some of which are specially formulated for stainless steel guns.

Workspace

• Choose a well-lit, well-ventilated area. Many gun-cleaning products have strong odors or fumes.

Common Sense

• Remove the gun's ammunition. In semi-automatic handguns, a bullet may remain in the chamber, even after magazine removal. Dry fire in a safe direction to be sure. Keep ammunition away from the cleaning area. Use rubber gloves, and when spraying any chemicals, do so over an open trash can with eye protection or your eyes closed.

Hand Stock Protection

• If your gun has a wooden, ivory or custom hand stock (grip), remove or protect it before you begin. Solvents and oil may damage the material. Remove the stock using a screwdriver, and set it aside where it isn't exposed to cleaning chemicals. If you aren't removing the stock, wrap it in a rag or easy-release painter's tape.

Break Down

• For semi-automatic pistols, field strip them, or separate the slide and the barrel group from the frame. Always follow the method detailed in the owner's manual.

Residue Dissolution

• Apply CLP liberally to a bore mop or patch attached to the end of your cleaning rod. Swab the bore, and let it soak for approximately 30 minutes. The CLP will dissolve residue deposits. If there are high deposits, you may need to use a special-purpose cleaner.

Cleaning Other Surfaces

• Spray down the gun with CLP or a gun-cleaning product. Using your nylon pistol cleaning brush or a toothbrush, scrub all moving contact surfaces of the gun, such as the rails and slide, the extractor claw, the recoil spring in semi-automatics, the breech block and all other areas named in the owner's manual.

Apply and Remove Solvent

• Using the pressurized solvent, spray out the breech area and cylinders in revolvers and the action in semi-automatics. Remove excess solvent from the action and external surfaces with a cleaning patch, rag and cotton swabs. Afterward, reapply CLP or gun oil.

Clean the Bore

• Follow your owner's manual at all times when cleaning the bore. Once the bore has soaked, attach a bronze or nylon bore brush to the cleaning rod and run the brush back and forth through the bore approximately 20 to 30 times or however many times the owner's manual recommends. When cleaning a revolver, use a muzzle guard. For semi-automatics, scrub the barrel from the breach, the end closest to the shooter during firing. Remove the brush and replace with a JAG and clean patch. Push clean patches through the bore until it comes out clean.

Lubricate

• Lubricate as directed in your owner's manual.

Long-Term Storage and Magazine Cleaning

• Repeat the process for cleaning the bore and cylinder twice more on a weekly basis to remove powder residue that leaches from metal pores. Clean all magazines approximately two to three times a year, following cleaning instructions from your owner's manual.