Warning

 

Close

Confirm Action

Are you sure you wish to do this?

Confirm Cancel
BCM
User Panel

Page AR-15 » Maintenance & Cleaning
AR Sponsor: bravocompany
Posted: 9/22/2014 12:01:03 AM EDT
Somewhat recently had an attached garage burn down which breached my home and was relatively soon put out by the local fire departments. ALL contents were fully covered and insured.

Anything I can clean/recover/restore can be kept. I am mostly concerned with my AR collection. I am confident that the temp did not reach a point that destroyed anything functional wise. Everything I touch is covered with a black soot film.

I plan to disassemble all my weapons, clean each part that is NOT RUSTY, replace each part that IS RUSTY, reassemble all of the parts and therefore restore my AR collection.

My main question is ... will brake cleaner completely and effectively strip off the smoke residue? If not ... do you know what will?

Will an acetone soak strip the black smoke soot? I honestly have no idea what will effectively strip it off. I can really use some knowledgeable & experienced input rather than assumptions.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 1:48:16 AM EDT
[#1]
The only part of a standard AR that won't stand up to Acetone is the rubber coating on some front sling mounts. Acetone will clean extremely well.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 4:31:08 AM EDT
[#2]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
The only part of a standard AR that won't stand up to Acetone is the rubber coating on some front sling mounts. Acetone will clean extremely well.
View Quote


What about that rubber thingie under the extractor?
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 10:29:51 AM EDT
[#3]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:


What about that rubber thingie under the extractor?
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
The only part of a standard AR that won't stand up to Acetone is the rubber coating on some front sling mounts. Acetone will clean extremely well.


What about that rubber thingie under the extractor?

The o ring?  I've never put one in acetone.  No need.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 11:41:11 AM EDT
[#4]
Why not try good old soap and water with a soft brush?  Soak/scrub parts clean, dry parts then apply lube where necessary.  No worries about parts being hurt.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 11:43:17 AM EDT
[#5]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Why not try good old soap and water with a soft brush?  Soak/scrub parts clean, dry parts then apply lube where necessary.  No worries about parts being hurt.
View Quote

Every good Cerakote applicator in the world uses BrakeKleen and or Acetone on ARs all the time. They won't damage anything.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 2:00:20 PM EDT
[#6]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:

Every good Cerakote applicator in the world uses BrakeKleen and or Acetone on ARs all the time. They won't damage anything.
View Quote View All Quotes
View All Quotes
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
Quoted:
Why not try good old soap and water with a soft brush?  Soak/scrub parts clean, dry parts then apply lube where necessary.  No worries about parts being hurt.

Every good Cerakote applicator in the world uses BrakeKleen and or Acetone on ARs all the time. They won't damage anything.


That's kinda what I was thinking. Acetone and/or BrakeKleen. I haven't tried spraying anything on my ARs yet so I wouldn't know how good of a job it would do on it. I'm really hoping that with a good soak and/or spray down will strip all that smoke soot right off.

I considered having them dunked in one of those professional ultrasonic tanks. Evidently a lot of fire restoration places use ultrasonic tanks and it supposedly works very well. Then I got to thinking ... I can clean this myself and probably save a bundle.

Some of my ARs have monolithic uppers and I do NOT intend to remove the barrel to clean inside the handguard. Noveske 308 barrel in a MEGA mono upper is a very very tight fit.


Link Posted: 9/22/2014 2:44:11 PM EDT
[#7]
I have an Ultrasonic Cleaner as well,  it works very well.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 3:16:59 PM EDT
[#8]
Discussion ForumsJump to Quoted PostQuote History
Quoted:
I have an Ultrasonic Cleaner as well,  it works very well.
View Quote


I know a guy who does a lot of really fancy work on cars, motorcycles and stuff like that. I just got off the phone with him. He happens to have a large ultrasonic parts tank and a solvent parts washer at his shop. I don't think he will even charge me for the cleaning of my ARs!

He also knows a guy right down the street that does media blasting & Cerakote for him. Now I can also restore my Remington 870, Ruger LCP 380, Walther P99 and a few other guns.

I'll run a few parts over to him and we will see how well the ultrasonic cleaner works. Hopefully it strips it clean as a whistle.
Link Posted: 9/22/2014 9:31:25 PM EDT
[#9]
Sorry for your loss.

It shouldn't take much to remove the black soot.

Make sure the insurance company reimburses you for your time and cleaning agents. They should pay at least $60/hr for your time. Document it. I do water damage restoration and many insurance companies will pay the insured for work completed.

I would recommend M PRO 7. I use it to clean interior and exterior of firearms. It is safe on all finishes and cleans very well. It also is pretty safe for humans. Doesn't stink very bad or burn skin.



Link Posted: 9/28/2014 4:05:05 PM EDT
[#10]
The black soot is mainly all carbon, similar to what builds up from shooting, so your current cleaning solvent should work fine.
Link Posted: 9/29/2014 1:46:04 PM EDT
[#11]
Dam, sorry to hear about the fire man. Take some before and after pics of the AR's.
Link Posted: 11/9/2014 12:45:07 AM EDT
[#12]
I have finally cleaned and restored while upgrading some parts on all of my ARs. I gave ALL previous comments serious thought. Acetone baths while probably very effective would be a bit pricy. I ended up fully disassembling all my ARs, scrubbing each part with a toothbrush using some odorless mineral spirits I happened to have on hand. I reassembled my ARs, hosed them down with CLP and blasting them off using an air compressor.

I have a MEGA monolithic MA10 with a Noveske stainless barrel which I had absolutely NO intentions of removing the barrel from the upper. I ended up blasting it thoroughly using a cheapo Harbor Freight engine cleaning gun with Dawn dish soap & hot water. I then blasted it thoroughly with Brakleen, hosed it with CLP and blew it off very well with an air compressor. That was my my main concern. This house smoke is a serious bitch to clean off and you wouldn't know unless you've tried it before. It doesn't just rinse off with soap & water or even dissolve with Brakleen. That soot needs blasted off with some serious agitation.

Most all my other guns have been FULLY disassembled and I dropped off the rusty parts to be Cerakoted at my nearest applicator. Haven't got those parts back  yet, but I expect them to be done very soon. Got lots of before/after pics to come in the near future.

I sorta ghetto restored my Harris bipods by hosing them down with toilet bowl cleaner and scrubbing the rust off using a toothbrush. I reassembled them, hung them and sprayed them with black Krylon satin spray paint. They look excellent, but afterward I realized that they will now be susceptible to solvents & such :( Maybe one day I will strip them and redo them with something much more durable & chem resistant.
Page AR-15 » Maintenance & Cleaning
AR Sponsor: bravocompany
Close Join Our Mail List to Stay Up To Date! Win a FREE Membership!

Sign up for the ARFCOM weekly newsletter and be entered to win a free ARFCOM membership. One new winner* is announced every week!

You will receive an email every Friday morning featuring the latest chatter from the hottest topics, breaking news surrounding legislation, as well as exclusive deals only available to ARFCOM email subscribers.


By signing up you agree to our User Agreement. *Must have a registered ARFCOM account to win.
Top Top