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Page AR-15 » Maintenance & Cleaning
AR Sponsor: bravocompany
Posted: 4/14/2013 10:52:32 PM EDT
I have some cleaning supplies.. but decided to get some new stuff with the new rifle.

I was hoping to get some advice on if what I did was right.. and what I might want to add/remove/change.
Before somebody says search.. I have read quite a bit and also watched some videos.  This (below) is what I did.


I have not cleaned a gun in years.
I have not been shooting much at all.

I bought a new bottle of Hoppes 9, BreakFree Aerosol, and Breakfree in a reg. bottle.
I bought a new .22/5.56 rod and eyelet.
Found an old toothbrush and also bought some .22 patches.

I pulled apart the gun and put about 3 or 4 patches of Hoppes down the barrel and let it sit for around 20 or 30 min.

I took apart the bolt carrier and soaked/scrubbed all the parts with breakfree and the toothbrush.
I scrubbed what I could reach in the upper with breakfree and the toothbrush.

Question... do you guys use any kind of special rag/cloth/towel to handle parts while cleaning?
My hands were pretty soaked in gun oil.. so I don't know if it even matters.

I finished the barrel with some clean patches, some breakfree patches and a dry patch.

I semi soaked a paper towel and used that to hold/wipe parts as I re-assembled the bolt carrier.
I squirted some oil in the holes on the bolt carrier.  Some dirty oil returned.. so I repeated a couple of times.

I put some oil on what I think were all of the major friction surfaces on the bolt carrier.
I reassembled the rifle.

All seems well, I just wanted to know if that sounded good.. or if I did enough.

One more question..
What do you guys use to wipe down the outside of the gun?
I got one of those green Remington rags.
It seems to do ok, but one it gets dirty.. and maybe washed.. it will not really be oily anymore.
Any suggestions?




Note - My stepfather is a gunsmith in training.. enthusiast for years.
He recommended getting rid of the alum. rod for a steel rod.
I need to order one.
Also, he recommended copper brushes with copper cores.. and the copper plug that you push patches with.
I will probably be adding these things asap.
I have not yet found frog lube or slip 2000.. but I have not really searched online yet.  Just LGS, DSG, and WalMart.
I am going to let the rifle sit out on a clean piece of cardboard tonight and put in a gun sock tomorrow.
The cardboard I used to clean it on is a goner.  hahaha


By the way.. shooting the AR was a lot of fun.  I was surprised at the result on a semi-small target at 50 yards using the iron sights.
I am going to go the scope route, not the sight route.  Distance shooting is more fun that pistol shooting!!!  



Link Posted: 4/14/2013 11:06:07 PM EDT
[#1]
Remember that over-cleaning your AR will mess it up before not cleaning it will. Your cleaning procedure sounds okay, but it sounds like you are using way too much cleaner/oil. It doesnt take a lot. Personally, I wear latex gloves when I clean my guns. I also dont use anything special to wipe down the outside of my AR, just a blue shop towel or old T Shirt. The finish on your rifle should protect it enough.

As for your stepfather, he probably needs to train a little longer if he told you to get a steel cleaning rod.... I dont use metal at all. I use the Otis cables in the OTIS military issue AR cleaning kit. I recommend one of those because it has everything you need for an AR. You can buy the black civilian version from Midway or Brownells or you can get the brown military issue one off of the forums or one of the big bidding sites.
Link Posted: 4/15/2013 6:42:20 AM EDT
[#2]
If you go to a range where top shooters are, about all you'll see are one piece stainless steel or carbon fiber rods.
You won't see an experienced shooter using an aluminum, brass, or screw-together rod.
You might see one or two using the Otis as a field cleaner, but they'll have a one piece rod at home for deep cleaning.

Your cleaning process sounds about as good as any.  The AR seems to run better with more lubricant, but not to excessive levels.
CLP Breakfree is one of the top lubricants for the AR.  The bottle is best because the spray bottle sprays out a big slurp, not a mist so you can over-lube and waste the lube.

For the AR, buy a military style M16 toothbrush.  These double end brushes were designed specifically to clean the AR and are sold by most gun shops and online from Brownell's and Midway among others.

CLP Breakfree "can" be used as a cleaner, but for the bore, bolt, and bolt carrier you're better off using a bore solvent, like Hoppe's.  This will do a faster, better job on carbon fouling.

The USGI manuals show haw to clean the AR and where to lubricate it.  
Here's a site that has both users manuals and Ordnance manuals on the M16.
NOTE the info at the top of the page on what username and password to use.

http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/
Link Posted: 4/15/2013 12:17:59 PM EDT
[#3]

Note - My stepfather is a gunsmith in training.. enthusiast for years.

Also, he recommended copper brushes with copper cores.. and the copper plug that you push patches with.


Not bad advice.  Bronze brushes with copper wire won't scratch the bore like the steel wire wrapped ones can.

As for the patch jag (plug as you called it) don't waste your money.  I've never been able to force a jag and patch down the tiny .223 bore.

I clean by "pulling".  I turn the upper over, insert my rod from the chamber, put a patch on the loop (eyelet) with solvent/oil/clean patch, and pull it through.  You can get a much larger patch through the bore, better patch to surface contact, pulling than pushing.  I also use the brush in this manner, but it time consuming.

Rages are rags!

And your routine seems ok, as you learn the AR you can modify to suit yourself.



Link Posted: 4/15/2013 2:29:10 PM EDT
[#4]
Quoted:
If you go to a range where top shooters are, about all you'll see are one piece stainless steel or carbon fiber rods.
You won't see an experienced shooter using an aluminum, brass, or screw-together rod.


That is exactly what he told me... minus the carbon fiber part.
He said that the long distance comp guys use steel.
He said that aluminum can pick up particles and scratch up a barrel because it is soft.

Quoted:
Your cleaning process sounds about as good as any.  The AR seems to run better with more lubricant, but not to excessive levels.
CLP Breakfree is one of the top lubricants for the AR.  The bottle is best because the spray bottle sprays out a big slurp, not a mist so you can over-lube and waste the lube.


Noted.. and understood.  I for some reason worry about handling parts and causing a scenario from bare hands causing rust.
That was part of the reason why I was a little liberal in oil use.  



Quoted:
For the AR, buy a military style M16 toothbrush.  These double end brushes were designed specifically to clean the AR and are sold by most gun shops and online from Brownell's and Midway among others.

CLP Breakfree "can" be used as a cleaner, but for the bore, bolt, and bolt carrier you're better off using a bore solvent, like Hoppe's.  This will do a faster, better job on carbon fouling.

The USGI manuals show haw to clean the AR and where to lubricate it.  
Here's a site that has both users manuals and Ordnance manuals on the M16.
NOTE the info at the top of the page on what username and password to use.

http://www.biggerhammer.net/manuals/


Thank you for the advice.. and i will check out the link.

Link Posted: 4/15/2013 2:30:48 PM EDT
[#5]
Quoted:

Note - My stepfather is a gunsmith in training.. enthusiast for years.

Also, he recommended copper brushes with copper cores.. and the copper plug that you push patches with.


Not bad advice.  Bronze brushes with copper wire won't scratch the bore like the steel wire wrapped ones can.

As for the patch jag (plug as you called it) don't waste your money.  I've never been able to force a jag and patch down the tiny .223 bore.

I clean by "pulling".  I turn the upper over, insert my rod from the chamber, put a patch on the loop (eyelet) with solvent/oil/clean patch, and pull it through.  You can get a much larger patch through the bore, better patch to surface contact, pulling than pushing.  I also use the brush in this manner, but it time consuming.

Rages are rags!

And your routine seems ok, as you learn the AR you can modify to suit yourself.






Thanks!!

What does rages are rags mean?

Also, getting a patch or brush on a rod in the upper sounds like a headache and a half to me.
Sounds like talent is required.
Link Posted: 4/15/2013 2:42:02 PM EDT
[#6]

Quoted:
As for your stepfather, he probably needs to train a little longer if he told you to get a steel cleaning rod.... I dont use metal at all. I use the Otis cables in the OTIS military issue AR cleaning kit. I recommend one of those because it has everything you need for an AR. You can buy the black civilian version from Midway or Brownells or you can get the brown military issue one off of the forums or one of the big bidding sites.


I appreciate the opinion, but I trust his level of knowledge quite a bit.
He really isn't into ARs, AKs, and other tactical style weapons, but the work he does and the stuff he builds is incredible.
He knows a lot about barrels, bores, and just about anything else you can think of.
He didn't give a lot of advice on the AR cleaning process, but recommended running a clean patch before initial firing.
I did.
I didn't get to talk to him long.  Maybe I can talk him into getting an AR.



Link Posted: 4/16/2013 10:12:32 AM EDT
[#7]
"That is exactly what he told me... minus the carbon fiber part"

Progress.  A lot of higher end shooters are using carbon fiber rods because they're either perfectly straight or they're broken.
Like stainless steel they won't allow grit to embed into the rod like brass and aluminum will.

It comes down to persona preference.
Link Posted: 4/16/2013 3:11:43 PM EDT
[#8]
I use a Dewey 1-piece nylon-coated rod with nitrile gloves and cut up t-shirt for a rag.
Link Posted: 4/16/2013 7:21:06 PM EDT
[#9]
A rag I a rag really. Avoid ones that leave lint though. I wear nitrile gloves most of the time. The solvents Dr out skin, and those and he oils are pretty bad for you (one type of cancer is enough for me, why risk your health). Gloves are cheap insurance.
Link Posted: 4/17/2013 5:43:25 PM EDT
[#10]
Quoted:

Rages are rags!

And your routine seems ok, as you learn the AR you can modify to suit yourself.



Thanks!!

What does rages are rags mean?

Also, getting a patch or brush on a rod in the upper sounds like a headache and a half to me.
Sounds like talent is required.


Funny Nob we have here, typo  Rags are rags, that ok?  I use old terry dish towels.

No, you misunderstand, put the rod through the upper, down the barrel so the loop is past the flash hider, put the patch on and pull!


Link Posted: 4/18/2013 10:23:16 PM EDT
[#11]
An all natural non-toxic oil to look into is "Fluid Film" http://www.fluid-film.com It was originally developed during the 1940's to coat our U.S. Naval warships ballast tanks to fight rust. It is lanolin based which is derived from the wool-wax of wool producing animals. You still would need to use a copper solvent because this is just the L and P of CLP. Comparing the MSDS of CLP and Fluid Film, noting the flash point,  CLP is at 270*F and Fluid Film is at 405*F. They tested for its freezing point, and could not get it to freeze. The oil is also thixotropic, which means at rest it is in a gel state that thins out when it is subjected to an applied stress. It also does not evaporate.
Page AR-15 » Maintenance & Cleaning
AR Sponsor: bravocompany
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