My S&W 640 I fell out of my belt into the bath, into about 3" of water. I retrieved it right away, it was immersed less than 3 seconds.
Do I need to open it up and clean it? The only problem that has developed is that the cylinder crane is sticky. It dry fires the same as ever.

Nope, its crap, send it to me, ill dispose of it properly.....  


just do a detail strip and clean/lube and you will be fine......  
if you are hesitant to take the magic parts out, just remove the side cover and let it sit in the sun for a bit to dry, then use q tips and gun oil....  
there are probably youtube videos showing a detail strip of the revolver though, and thats the route i would take.....

Good idea, I should have thought of that! I found this video. I don't plan go to farther than removing the side plate.

Some of the S&W forums suggest spraying it with non-chlorinated brake cleaner; will the brake cleaner dry off and go away? Someone suggested either non-chlorinated brake cleaner or CLP. I like CLP but still someone else suggested that I NOT soak the innards of the revolver. I lean toward putting one small drop of CLP on each of the bearing surfaces, and reassembling it.

Further suggestions?

And thanks for the help!

S&W revolvers are full of tiny steel parts and springs

It needs detail stripped, cleaned and oiled

It needs to be fully cleaned If you are not up to taking it apart get it to a gunsmith tell him what happened there are small springs that are at risk.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8062FLgJyMY

Should be stripped... but in the meantime, bury it in rice in a sealed tupperware container. Works as a desiccant to absorb the moisture. Had a recent episode with a S&W Bodyguard that took a dive in a creek.

At least pull the grips and side plate off and spray down everything with brake cleaner

LOL.  I've got an older 686 that's been swimming several times (doing environmental work in swamps and rivers) as well as fresh and salt water spray (fishing).  The proper way to clean it is to open it and clean and re-oil everything but I'll be honest and admit that I kept it pretty well oiled because I knew I was using it around water so my typical reaction was "Meh " then when I'd finish whatever I was doing and got a break I'd take the rubber grips off, blow it out well with compressed air then everybody's favorite- WD-40 (water displacer) then blow it out again with compressed air, wipe it off, put the grips back on and go about my business.  The gun still looks fine inside to this day and has never failed me although I did swap out the springs for Wolff's a couple of years ago just because.  It's probably not necessary these days but I used to put a bit of clear nail polish around the bullet and primers on my carry ammo at the time.  After two years or so of using it in that capacity I ended up buying a Glock 27 for a beater work gun; I've still got the 686, never really cared for the G27 and sold it a few years later after I'd left that job.  FWIW, I never had any issues with the Glock rusting either.  

Obviously I would have been a lot more concerned if it hadn't been a stainless gun.

Are there any special considerations to consider, being as it's a hammerless model?

not really

inside is a hammer

In all honesty if you're worried about it at all, I would pull it apart and make sure it's cleaned and re-lubed.  I probably got lucky with mine (I was younger and dumber at the time), it is an older gun after all, but when I say I sprayed WD-40 in it, I mean I thoroughly flooded it then blew the whole thing out with some compressed air.  Water can potentially get trapped in spaces like the rebound slide and a couple of other small spaces.  There are plenty of decent videos on youtube that will show you how to take it down and put it back together correctly.  Whatever you do, do not pry the side plate off; tap the frame with a nylon mallet or the butt of a screwdriver and it will pop up allowing you to remove it without gouging the frame.  While you have it open you might as well polish a couple of parts and it's a good time to install the Apex trigger kit as well.

+1

Never pry the side plate off

Set it outside in the sun...isn't it 120 degrees?

It's a mere 107 here in Nuevo Mehico... practically a cold snap for this time of year. And it's gonna rain, they say... causing hot muggy weather, against which my swamp cooler is almost useless.

This is a J-frame, yes?

Apex has a video on installing their J-frame spring kit, that shows the proper way to get the side plate off without prying.  https://youtu.be/JIUfmg1JulE  There is a part 2, that shows reassembly.

I probably wouldn't detail strip the whole thing, but I'd take the side plate off, hose out the guts with something like WD-40, maybe de-grease with brake cleaner (make SURE you re-lube if you use this), and re-lube with whatever oil is on hand. I would pay attention to getting a good amount of WD into all the nooks and crannies, including the firing pin area. IIRC the 640 is all stainless, not aluminum, so rusting or corrosion should be less of an issue vs a different finish. The internal parts might not all be SS though...

Don't over think it. Even popping the side plate off and setting it out in the hot sun for a bit might be sufficient to dry out the internals.

Would brake cleaner work?

That would remove all oil and lube.

WD40 will displace water.

Oil and lube after a wd40 flush is what I would do.

OP

what did you end up doing ?

After a week, I bet your rebound spring, and others are rusted

.

Was it in a holster?

You guys made me nervous after my Model 10 got soaked when I got caught in a rain storm two weeks ago.  We were half a mile from the barn and with no windsheild on the UTV so we where soaked when we got back to the barn.  When I got home that night I took the grips off and shook out the water and added more CLP.  Put it in the safe where I have lots of desiccant.  Living in humid Alabama that is really needed.  So last night I took my Model 10 apart completely.  First time I ever took a S&W this completely apart.  There are lots of little springs that like to go flying if your not careful.  The trigger rebound spring is a bitch if you don't have the tool but doable.



Only had to go fishing on the floor for one part, the plunger for the cylinder release slide.  The torsional spring for the hand did hit me right in the safety glasses but luckily for me fell right back down on the table.


How I dealt with the rebound spring.  My method was hard on the thumbs but worked.



Look Ma, no spare parts! 

nice

Just any FYI that I stumbled on. When you replace the trigger rebound spring, it can be somewhere between difficult to dangerous. It's small and hard to control,and goes back into a tight spot.

I found that using a Springfield Armory ILS key makes it a snap. The little ears on the key can span the spring and make it very easy to push back into place, without launching parts across the room.

Nope. Dry as a bone.
It does look as if it's been dry for awhile though. Older sister bought it used; she gifted it to me a few years ago. The insides have a lot of stuff that looks like graphite, but it's dirty lube.

It's sitting in the sun right now and I'm going to spray with WD, blast it out, then drip some CLP on  the bearing surfaces, then reassemble it. Then go test-fire it!

"Shooting stuff is fun." -- Old_Painless.

If my family doesn't want to go, I'll go alone. Heck with 'em! Like someone said... it's only 104 here.

Spray the shit out of it

Get the cylinder assembly too

Then wrap it up in dry paper towels to catch the wd40 that will seep out of it for a while

You can use WD 40 to displace the water, but be sure to follow it up with an aerosol gun lubricant because WD-40 is pretty volatile and once it evaporates it will leave the surfaces largely unprotected.  There just isn't much oil in the mix.

My preference in this situation is to remove the stocks then spray the whole thing inside and out with an aerosol gun scrubber, working to get it it in all the nooks and crannies.  Then let it drip hammer side down before spraying it again, inside and out, with an aerosol gun oil.  Then let it drip dry again, wipe it down, load it and put it back in the holster.

----

The other water displacing option is to shake it dry, then hit it with a hair dryer, heating it enough to be hot to the touch and keeping it there for 10 minutes or so which will evaporate the remaining water.   Then spray it inside and out with a good aerosol gun oil.  This is effective, but a little riskier, as any non blued parts that did not have at least some oil on them can get some flash rust - but if you maintain your revolver properly, that should not be a problem.

Pull side plate off, scrub everything with very hot water and detergent. Blow dry on high heat until dry, lightly oil internals, done.

Less than 20 min.

I once dropped a cheap Raven Arms .25 into a rock quarry where I was shooting. Landed on a rock ledge in about 7 ft of water. Fortunately I had a clothes hanger in the car to make a retriever out of. Took it home, removed the wood grips and put it on a pan into the oven on the lowest possible temp for about 25 minutes. Worked like a charm. Of course that particular gun was so much pot metal it may have been unnecessary effort!