I've long been needing to get a new air compressor for smaller tasks and finally picked one up today. Nothing special. Got it dirt cheap from Harbor Freight. 100 PSI, 3 gallon, and 1/3 HP for $39.

One of the small tasks I have in mind is to use it for blowing the crud out of my firearms during cleaning sessions. Before blasting away, I had a few questions for anyone who uses an air compressor for the same purpose.

1) What PSI do you typically run it at?  Is it consistent across the board, or does it vary based upon specific components/firearms?  

2) Being a light duty application, do you still use a little pneumatic tool oil at the fittings and/or blow gun?

3) Do you run any inline Water, Oil, and/or Debris filters?

4) Are there any specific areas or components you're not willing to blow off with a compressor?  

If there are any other considerations I might have missed, feel free to chime in with those as well. Any help or input would be much appreciated.

Thanks!

Don't use oil in your lines.

Run it at the pressure it's rated for....probably 120 psi.

Drain it every time or every other time you use it.

I have a water separator/filter on mine and recommend one.

Your rifle when it fires is far harder on your weapon than some air pressure.

Don't over think it.

The company I worked for required any air line used to blow off/clean equipment have a regulator installed on the line to reduce air pressure to no more than 25 psi.

The reason?  Injuries due to the air blowing small objects into your skin hard enough to cause cuts or to actually embed small pieces of metal/trash into your skin.

Also, wear safety glasses or monogoggles to protect your eyes.

Now, do I reduce the air pressure on the line I used to blow dust/dirt/grass off my riding mower deck?  Nope.  If I get injured I'll be dealing with the injury, not the company (they like to reduce the chances of injuries/lost time/workmen's comp./lawsuits, etc.)

I think mine is dialed at 110 and I have never given it any thought. Drain when you think about it or more often if in a humid area.
A compressor is vital to cleaning in my opinion.

+1 - especially the gas tube - spray tube with Gun Scrubber, wait one minute, spray with Brake cleaner (non-chlorine)
then hit it with the compressed air - done. I also use the compressor to confirm gas block alignment after installation.

Be careful about parts with small springs or pins that could be blown out.

Eye protection should be used.

I usually use mine at max pressure.

I mostly use it to clean out hard to clean areas like the fire control group in an AR and sometimes the bolt/carrier.

I would normally spray or swab with solvent, let soak and then blow it out.

Spray with gun scrubber and the blow that out.

Spray or swab with some type of lube/rust preventative and blow out the excess.

I guess it would go without saying that it should be done outdoors unless you don't mind your work area getting gunk splattered all over.

Thanks for the replies!

Not gonna lie, I'm pretty excited about adding compressed air to my cleaning regimen. Thanks to the advice of those in this thread, I went back to HF today and picked up some additional items.

I've now added a regulator/filter combo device and monogoggles. I wear prescription glasses, and have safety glasses. But, since I'll only be using the air compressor for a few moments here and there, I figured more coverage and protection was the way to go.

I appreciate the input on the PSI setting. Remember, this is a cheap compressor bought solely for light duty.  100psi is the highest I can go. So, it's good to know that even at the max output I shouldn't have issues or concerns.

I understand that rifles and pistols see significantly more pressure when fired, but not all parts on a firearm are exposed to those high pressures. My question about components was geared more towards what TN-MadDog mentioned; little springs and pins. Specifically, I had the FCG parts in mind. Thinking it might be possible to dislodge something like a disconnector spring. Since no one has any horor stories of such, I'm going to call that question/answer settled. As suggested, I'll also skip the oil and will make sure to drain the tank frequently.

Regarding the actual cleaning...

What are everyone's preferred gun scrubbers/solvents?

In addition to the brand, what method do you all follow in relation to volume of cleaner and soak time prior to blowing everything out?  

Currently, I have the following solvents and oils in my arsenal:

-Gunzilla (cleaning)
-Butch's Bore Shine (cleaning)
-Wipe Out and Gunslick Foam (cleaning)
-Slip 2000 EWL (lube)
-Aeroshell (lube)
-Tuff Glide (surface protectant)

I know people will use Carb or Brake cleaner quite liberally, and swear by it. Others mention firearm specific aerosols like Rem Oil, Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber, Break Free, Hoppes, etc. I feel that I should use something along those lines to maximize the effectiveness of the compressor, but am not sure which. Regardless, since those products are intended to degrease, are there any lubrication adjustments I should be planning for?  

Thanks in advance to those who'll read through the above. I know I can be a bit verbose.

You do realize that gun scrubber and non clorinated brake parts cleaner are pretty much the same thing - except that the brake parts cleaner is way less expensive

The compressor will also aersolize the solvent you use and spray toxic substances like lead around your shop. Hopefully do this outside and not in your house.

Cleaners?  Wide open field....

I have stayed low tech and cheap as they work.....
CLP (lube only)
Mil Rile Bore Cleaner (General parts cleaning and scrubbing)
Hoppe's (bore cleaning and General parts cleaning if I am too lazy to get the RBC out)
QTips & Pipe Cleaners & compressor

CLP mostly for me because its cheap(ish) and readily available.  I also use Tw25b grease, gun scrubber, and good ole #9

I use a similar compressor all the time to assist with cleaning. It has a small volume tank so not much in reserve for work or cleaning a lot of air.