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Armalite moved their tech notes, here's the new link:

Tech notes

Cleaning tech note (very helpful, thanks to the OP):

Cleaning

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Quoted: anyone ever used CORROSION X?

I've used the CorrosionX for Guns and really like it. In my Bushmaster, the first shot out of a clean barrel is pretty close to sight in and I've quit shooting a foul shot to remove any oils from the bore.

I'm new to this. Just getting ready to go the the range for the first time with my  AR-15.  I plan to break in the SS barrel carefully. Lots of fire/clean the barrel cycles. Is it OK to pivot the upper, but leave it attached on the front pivot pin or should I totally seperate the upper to clean the barrel. It looks to me like it would be easy to break off the pivot pin assy from the lower. It's only aluminum.
What's the wisdom on this?

John

I'm new to this. Just getting ready to go the the range for the first time with my  AR-15.  I plan to break in the SS barrel carefully. Lots of fire/clean the barrel cycles. Is it OK to pivot the upper, but leave it attached on the front pivot pin or should I totally seperate the upper to clean the barrel. It looks to me like it would be easy to break off the pivot pin assy from the lower. It's only aluminum.
What's the wisdom on this?

John

A friend of mine uses "Simple Green" to clean his AR. It's a degreaser that is mixed with water to the strength desired for the task at hand. The more water added the weaker the solution. It can be purchased at any Sam's and probably Wal-Mart.

Quoted: A friend of mine uses "Simple Green" to clean his AR. It's a degreaser that is mixed with water to the strength desired for the task at hand. The more water added the weaker the solution. It can be purchased at any Sam's and probably Wal-Mart.

FP, I believe regular Simple Green is bad for aluminum.  However they do make a solution that can be used safely with aluminum.  Read below:

Aluminum - Is it safe to use Simple Green® on aluminum?
When used with caution and according to the instructions, Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner has been safely and successfully used to clean aluminum. Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner, Crystal Simple Green® Cleaner/Degreaser, Simple Green Pressure Washer Concentrates, and Pro Series™ Simple Green® Automotive Cleaner have been used on aircraft, automotive, industrial and consumer aluminum items for over 20 years. However, caution and common sense must be used: aluminum is a soft metal that easily corrodes with unprotected exposure to water. The aqueous-base and alkalinity of Simple Green All-Purpose Cleaner can accelerate the corrosion process. Therefore, contact times for unprotected or unpainted aluminum surfaces should be kept as brief as the job will allow - never for more than 10 minutes. Large cleaning jobs should be conducted in smaller-area stages to achieve lower contact time. Rinsing after cleaning should always be extremely thorough - paying special attention to flush out cracks and crevices to remove all Simple Green® product residues. Unfinished, uncoated or unpainted aluminum cleaned with Simple Green products should receive some sort of protectant after cleaning to prevent oxidation.
Simple Green has also developed break-through water based cleaners that are safe for use on metals, plastics, rubber and high tech alloys. Extreme Simple Green® Aircraft & Precision Cleaner and Simple Green® Pro HD are available on both the industrial and retail markets, respectively. These products were initially developed for the aircraft industry and extensive testing shows that they are safe and effective on a variety of metals and other sensitive surfaces even in the most extreme circumstances.

Simple Green® Stainless Steel One Step Cleaner & Polish is another option for cleaning polished aluminum. This product is designed for light duty metal cleaning and polishing



Hope this helps.

I always seem to get a bunch of talk on how to properly maintain an AR15 with chrome (not molly) barrels... and I could talk to five different people and get five different replies.

From what I hear, CLP is garbage and will gunk up and eventually ruin your rifle.  I've accepted this as fact and now use Hoppe's No. 9 solvent and Hoppe's Gun Oil.

I'm still unclear on cleaning a chrome lined barrel however.  Some people say that using a bore brush will destroy the lining and I should use it very sparingly.  So is a bore snake and cleaning rod a better solution?

Oh yeah... and how often should I be cleaning and lubricating the buffer spring and inside the extractor (with that tiny little spring)?

I've been using G96,cleans,lubricates and protects.All in one.Is this a good thing or a bad thing? I'm also looking at a new chrome-lined barrel so it would be nice to know the best way to clean it when I get it.

How do I clean the barrell? I can clean the rest good but I never could push a small cloth piece through the barrell itself to clean it.

My barrell is chrome lined if that matters.

Thanks to everyone for posting great instructions on cleaning & maint.

Quoted: you all are going to hate me for this one. I've used it in a pinch and is the most effective. Hot Hot water and soap. works well. But you do have to get it dry and lubed right away. I can hear everyone cringe. If you think about it though doesn't it get wet in  humidity, or when your out in the field and it rains. You ain't training if it ain't raining. Well any way lube and not too much lube is the trick to keep it functioning. CLP or breakfree is all I ever was able to get hold of in the service. never had a problem...

i use it after every range trip, but not on my ar.  i clean my ak74's with hot water first.  i pour piping hot water down the barrel, gas block, over the gas piston and gas tube.  i clean the rest with clp then wipe down with a hoppes oil rag.  run bore snake down the barrel with hoppes oil.  the bore looks like a mirror.  in my case the water is for the corrosive 5.45x39 surplus ammo that i use.  but, i have heard stories of guys deployed to vietnam taking their m16's into the shower with them!

Thanks for the  link/cleaning/take down info.  I just got my first AR and haven't stripped and cleaned one for 30 years.  It all came back...with a little help refiring those neurons.

I don't mind being late to the party and saying the same thing.  Fantastic video!

Try this site, they have some great info:

(http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/GunTech/NewsletterArchive.aspx?x=v&p=0&t=1&i=1103&mc_ID=4020)

Willy1947

Yes, thats a great link.....Unfortunately I found it ....AFTER....I purchased the DVD from brownells.  

I think most of the DVD info is available on their website clips.  DVD could be handy, especially if you can play it near your workbench!

The way I did it for 3 months almost everyday...or the "Corps" way:

- CLP
- Bore punch w/ bore brush attachment and cloth attachment
- Toothbrush
- Lots of small flannel cloths
- Q-Tips
- Rag

1.  Ensure rifle is condition 4 (magazine removed, chamber empty, bolt forward, weapon on safe, ejection port cover closed).  Remove sling.  Disassemble upper receiver from lower receiver.
2.  Remove BCG and charging handle.  Disassemble bolt carrier group.
3.  Scrub the hell out of the BCG and CH using the bore brush.  Use generous amounts of CLP.  We paid special attention to the BCG.  No carbon should be left.
4.  Use the toothbrush to scrub the upper receiver inners.  Use CLP to loosen the carbon.  Use some McGyver skills and get in the crevices using the bore punch attachments and some flannel.
5.  Punch the bore with bore brush from ammo entry point to ammo exit.  NEVER the other way and never in an up-and-down motion.  
6.  Punch the bore using cloth attachment and flannel with CLP on it.  Keep changing flannel until it comes out of the bore clean.  Use clean flannel to punch bore clean of CLP.
7.  In the case of A2's, clean all the sights and ensure there's no dirt trapped in-between the dials.  Dials should spin freely.  Wipe down all the CLP.  You're done with the upper receiver.
8.  Take the lower receiver and clean the magazine well with a toothbrush.  Use Q-tips to get in the trigger area.  Don't use CLP.  Remove buffer and spring and clean with a rag.
9.  Clean the rest of the lower receiver as needed with a rag and toothbrush with special attention to the mag release button.
10. Apply CLP on bolt and to charging handle's contact points.
11. Put it all together and perform a function check.  You're done.

notes:
Depending on what we were doing, we'd apply more or less CLP on different areas.  For the range, I'd apply a generous amount on the bolt and charging handle.  Nothing on the receiver assemblies because sand likes to stick to CLP.

Warm soap and water:  I actually had to do this method in bootcamp a few times.  We cleaned using the steps above THEN dunked everything but the BCG, charging handle, buffer, and spring in warm soap and water.  We then used a blow dryer to get all the water out after which we performed the above steps again to ensure the blow dryer didn't miss anything.  No problems after firing weapons the next day.  Hit targets with iron sights at 500 yards perfectly fine.

This method is the hard way, but my rifles were beat to hell, dropped, thrown, and with thousands of rounds put through them by me and however many Marines used them before me.

These references and personal experiences are great! Many thanks from yet another newbie.

That gun smoke video is great. Does anyone disagree with his use of WD40 to flush out the solvent? I've heard general opinions that WD doesnt belong near a firearm for anything? I've heard people mistake it as a solvent, and thats bad. Whats the difference then, if you're using it to flush the solvent?

Maryland site has closed unfortunately.

Just saw that video recently, and IMO he is not "flushing out the solvent" as he says - and thinks - he is.

In reality, he is actually replacing one solvent ... with another solvent ... or worse yet, possibly combining two different solvents - which typically isn't a very good idea.

Great post!  Clear, concise, and to the point.  Also very practical w/o too much overkill.

This is so wrong, but
When we had Inspector General inspections coming up
We would grab our M16's from the barracks, field strip and
throw all parts in the bed of pickup truck.
Run to local car wash and spray the crap out of them with
car wash de-greaser.  Then wash and rinse at same car wash.
Back to barracks for wipe down.
Always passed the white glove inspection.
How we never ended up in the brig is beyond me.

Semper Fi

Dude thats a funny story...
I have been feeling some buyers remorse since my recent M4 purchase due to all the anecdotal stories about reliability. Reading your post made me feel a helluva lot better. If THATS how the military rifles are being cleaned, its no wonder there are reports of issues under combat use!

Jdub

Great post!

There is one I'v eseen that shows a drop and a hand.  IT goes through each part and how much oil to put everywhere.

I'm pretty new to the Ar thing, still have my upper on backorder, but I cringe alittle when I read about all the cemicals used. Engine degreaser, oven cleaner, brake cleaner etc... Now although I never cleaned an AR its still a gun. I shoot in alot of black powder shoots which is way corrosive, I use traditional black powder not substitutes. I use hot boiling water to clean my barrels with 1 squirt of dish soap, mild stuff like dawn. And oiling down after is a must. Now I do have flintlocks where the barrels are pined to the stock, so I was taught to spray WD-40 by alot of members in the club I belong too. I own quite a few guns ranging from old traditional flintlocks to modern hunting rifles. Seems like old school cleaning and oiling would be best, now I'm a newbie and I'm learning as much as I can so when I finally get my new little toy I can maintain it. I hope I didn't offend anyone about my opinons but metal needs to be maintained and oiled properly correct? Chemicals other than old fashoned Hoppes cleaner, oil, and alittle work, would never be on my little babies. If I'm wrong than please correct me.

click here for youtube.com video of field stripping your AR-15

it shows complete disassembly then reassembly without tools.  really helpful when i got my first ar15.


eta:

i would not suggest using WD-40 or dish soap on your AR-15.  stick with hoppes #9 solvent and oil or just use Break Free CLP if you want an all in one cleaner/lubricant.

Thanks, didn't think it was too different from cleaning my other guns. As far as soap & water, thats only used on my traditional guns where the breech plug can't be removed. And wd-40 is for a quicky clean on the range, some of my nicer black powder guns the barrel is pinned to the stock so maintance would be different here. Thanks for the video, alot simpler than expected.

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In case that embedded youtube does not work, here are the links
- Part 1/3
- Part 2/3
- Part 3/3

I wouldn't suggest using oven cleaner. When my son was in boot camp at PI one of the DI's had his platoon use oven cleaner to shine up the weapons. Took off the finish on the weapons. He was removed from the platoon and disciplined and had to pay for damages.OUCH! I also don't use wd-40. A gunsmith told me it leaves a varnish like residue which will attract dirt. If break free is good enough for our troops it's good enough for me. I do also use a cooper solvent in my guns and give a good scrubbing as some solvents don't remove copper.

I see this thread is a little dead, so I thought I would revive it a little.

First off, I have read things on here that make me cringe. I was an Armorer in the military for many years and have seen about every attempt to clean weapons imaginable. Some work, some don't, some cause more damage than not cleaning it at all. I thought I would post a few of the non-standard methods and why they should not be used.

Some definite don'ts:

Do not use oven cleaner! There are two types of oven cleaner; one is full concentrated, and the other is supposed to be more environmentally friendly. Both contain sodium hydroxide (caustic lye) as an active ingredient. Caustic lye disolves aluminum and the mil spec III hard coat anodizing/parkerizing and teflon coating on the aluminum. This cleaner leaves the parts discolored (left on long enough––completely stripped)  and more suceptable to wear and corrosion. Disbelieve? Do an internet search for anodizing/reanodizing and what chemical is used for stripping protective anodizing/parkerizing from aluminum. The removal of the hardcoat actually changes the dimentional sizes of the parts. Softens some plastics. Requires neutralization or washing off.

Do not use Simple Green! Again, it has a PH balance that will stain Teflon/anodized/parkerized aluminum parts. If applied in full strength, and left to sit long enough, it can soften the Teflon coating and hard coat.

Do not use products containing Amonia!  Windex, 409, etc. Same as above

Brakeclean: Comes in two versions; chlorinated and non-chlorinated. The chlorinated version is a definate no-no. Chlorine is corrosive and eats aluminum––makes the receivers turn foggy white. The non-chlorinated doesn't seem to have any major ill effects besides completely stripping all of the lubricant off of components––even some that are difficult to re-lubricate. Not sure about long term exposure (it evaporates fast and residue free) on plastics and silicone (such as the extractor spring elastomer insert) or plastic stocks.

Carburator Cleaner, Throttle Body cleaner: Same as non-chlorinated brake cleaner, but not quite as harsh.

WD40:  Do an internet search. WD40 was originally designed as a Water Dispersion agent (WD), the 40 was their 40th formula tried. It is not a great chemical to use for weapons cleaning. It is a solvent, 1/2 of its chemical composition is hexan––simular to kerosene––which makes it flammable. It lacks protective oils that the metals in firearms require. Plus, it smokes, burns your eyes, and smells like crap when heated up from firing. It really doesn't work that great at removing carbon either.  WD-40 as weapons cleaner  In an emergency once, lacking anything closer to CLP, I had to use this to keep an M2 .50 running––swore I would never use it again. The gun smoked, blew hot gasses every where, and the evaporation burned my eyes and made it hard to breath––I actually thought the gun was going to catch on fire!

Washing in the sink with hot water; This is the old sneaky soldier stand-by which causes damage not immediately noticed. One thing that has to be remembered, is that there are several bare metal surfaces in the bolt and lower receiver that are extremely difficult to get the water out of, or even see without complete disassembly. The very fine polished trigger engagement surfaces, the trigger group pins, the take-down pin detents,  and safety selector detents. Hot water strips away the lubricants and is extremely difficult to remove from those little tiny and long springs that most people do not even know are there. With those springs, frequently the water breaks down the lubricant, but it cannot get out (the lubricant turns milky white and gummy) Problems usually start after the pieces have slightly rusted. The Trigger group pins rust, and because rust (iron oxide) is harder than aluminum, the rusty pins break the surface of hardcoat causing the aluminum to corrode and waller out the receiver holes. The trigger almost instantly gets surface rust on the polished sear surfaces and loses its smoothness. The take-down pins, detents, and springs rust making it difficult to push out the take-down pins. The bolt ejector spring develops a rusty sludge of milky oil, corroded brass flakes, and rust––causing many ejection problems. I repaired all of these kinds of problems in the Army caused from this type of poor maintenance. To the average person, this kind of cleaning looks like it works.

Some people claim to be able to get all of the water out with compressed air or a hair dryer––wrong! The compressed air forces the water further into the detent springs, and a hair dryer can't reach those areas. On old black powder weapons, water and soap can be used––they do not have the hidden places of a modern assault rifle. For those in disbelief: I recommend you go out to your car, spray a fine mist of water on the front brake rotor, leave it set for an hour, take a white paper towel and wipe it. Then, look at the fine rust that the paper towel wipes off. On your car, that fine rust is removed the first time you step on the brakes––on your trigger, that fine rust, almost invisible to the naked eye (if you could see it on an assembled weapon) makes the pull feel sandy and creepy. On the front take-down pin you can actually see part of the detent spring through a tiny hole on the side of the receiver––the rear pin and the safety selector detents and springs are hidden by the pistol grip and rear stock/extension tube plate. The buffer retaining pin & spring, front sight post detent, and rear sight detents all have places to retain water. When these are stripped of their lubricants, the parts can rust rather quickly.

Manufacturers, Military, and LE spend billions of dollars on firearms and have been instrumental in developing and adopting cleaning products and procedures that work––not just in the short-term, but over the service life of the firearm. The civilian market has several extremely good products that the military has not adopted.  CLP is one of the best cleaners, lubricants, and preservatives there is––for a single source. In the field, the soldier cannot carry seperate bottles of oil, bore cleaner, and Gunscrubber as civilians can. Some of these products are great, and I use them on my weapons. Even so, there is alot of crap out there.

My advise to the new, is not to deviate to far from products and procedures that are not designed specifically for weapons. A good clue, is if you are looking under your kitchen sink for something to clean, you are probably looking for trouble. Buy the right products for the job. The military TMs have cleaning procedures for operators that are a good starting point. The cleaning videos listed elsewhere in this thread are also a good reference. Using some latest, fastest trick of the week/product for cleaning, will probably cause more harm than good.

Hahahaha  That's funny right there .... Sorry ... the Marines have some great folks ... but that is funny.

An armorer's course is intensely "hands on".  It's not for the faint of heart. I went through one and it was two, 10 hour days of almost non-stop disassembly and reassembly.  Every pin, spring, and part was removed, inspected, and reassembled.  Even the barrel was removed, gas tube realigned, applied anti-seize where barrel and revceiver mate, and barrel retorqued.  It was FUN !!!

Remember, knowledge not used is knowledge lost.  If you don't disassemble and reassemble an AR every day (like a police or military armorer would), you get rusty and may eventually forget how to do it.  

Good luck.

Extra lube ... and get 'er wet when you are going to do a lot of shooting in a short time.  AR's like to run wet under extreme heat conditions (lots of rounds down range in a short time ... like SWAT Qualifications or battle conditions).  If an AR "dries up", it will seize, fail load, fail to fire, or eject.  My advice is wet it down with EWL (Extreme Weapons Lube) like Slip 2000.  It won't evaporate or dry up under extreme heat of lost fo rounds in a short time.

I don't mean to be contentious, brother, but I have used Break Free for many, many years and I have never had it gum up and render my revolver useless.  I hunt with a S&W 657 and after the season, it gets cleaned with copius amounts of Break free and put away for next year. Never had a problem when the next season rolls around  The problem I HAVE seen with Break Free is that it evaporates and leaves my gun(s) "dry".

I have since solved this problem of Break Free evaporating.  I now use Slip 2000.

Perhaps your revolver has some residue of other "oils' that combined with Break Free?

The military way and the proper way (grin) are virtually the same.  Run your cleaning rod down the barrel (from the crown down to the breach/chamber of the rifle).  When the rod exits the breech/chamber, put a bore brush on it.  Soak bore brush with solvent and PULL the rod and brush all the way out of the rifle through the barrel.  Allow the rod to turn and track the rifling. DO NOT STOP inside the barrel and try to reverse.  Do this 3-4 times.

When you are ready to use the patches, do the same thing:  Start the rod and EMPTY loop jag down the barrel from the barrel crown toward the breach/chamber.  Put a patch on the jag, soak in powder solvent and pull out of the barrel .... do this as many times as desired.  Patch will eventually be clean enough.

Hope this helps.  Good Luck !

Perhaps "pull it through the barrel" from the crown end?

Here's how:  Insert your cleaning rod and bore brush DOWN the barrel from the the crown end toward the breach/chamber.  Attach your bore brush and soak it in solvent.  PULL the rod out of the barrel while allowing the brush to track the rifleling.  Do the same when you are ready to use cleaning patches.

Hope this helps.

That's how we always did it in the Army. Kept all our parts together a little easier. When you're cleaning in a small room with 30 other people cleaning their rifles as well you gotta keep organized. It's easier to take it apart though. Cleaning the part where the bot seats (gear/star shaped area by the barrel) is a pain as it is but with the lower attached it's even more of a pain.

Great post thanks for the info.

how is the cleaning and lubing of a DI AR15 differ from that of a PISTON System AR15

....

At least sound like you don't work for them next time. - Andrewphillipf