shot my MP15 a while ago and never cleaned it (only 30rds) ..  out of work so being bored i started to clean it.. realizing how much i hate cleaning..  (and having flashbacks to bootcamp chanting to myself "scrub. harder and faster sir!")  i decided to do a short experiment.. took my ruger 10/22 and ran 300 rds through it,,,  using junk "Box-O-Bullets" ammo, noticed a large accumulation of carbon in the action..    took a can of brake parts cleaner and deluged the weapon...

i gotta say.. cleaned the living crap out of it..   after douche'in it i took some swabs of the action it was surprisingly clean!!!!  

a little skittish on using this on my S&W but might do it when it really needs a cleaning

the nice thing about the BPC is that its highpreasure, highvolume and an extrememly STRONG solvent.. and if you get the better branded stuff (lie CRC) it leaves little residue and dries fairly quick... even better..  get it onsale for $1.50 per can!

just thought id share this..  

Be careful, it will melt many types of plastics and paint.

good point... i took a closer look at the ruger and the ABS plastic dragon-ov style stock that i have on it looks discolored in some spots..  i little CLP on a rag wiped over it took care of it..  

i agree tho..  be carefull where the overspray runs off

Make no mistake Brake Cleaner is very strong.....just don't get any of it in your eyes!!   ask me how I know.  


same goes for GunScrubber.

there is 2 types of brake cleaner - chlorinated and non chlorinated.
if i remember correctly the non chlorinated is safe on MOST plastics.

For what its worth, I sent the MSDS's of Brakleen, Brakleen Non-chloranated and Gunscrubber to my father who is a chemist and asked him to give his opinion on the differences.

Here is what he said:


The two brake cleaner formulations are basically solvent-based metal degreasers. They strip off grease and dirt, exposing bare metal but leave no protective surface coating, and you can expect them to be pretty harsh (perc, methylene chloride and acetone are all good degreasing solvents) and bad on plastic. Anything you clean with them you could expect to start rusting immediately.



The Bore scrubber is a more gentle oil-based cleaner, which is designed to remove residue and then to leave a oil film to prevent rust formation. The monoethanolamine and octadecanoic acid are added as gentle corrosion and rust inhibitors.



Thank of it this way: if you wanted to strip a piece of metal completely of oil and grease before painting it, you would use the brake cleaner type stuff. If you wanted to clean away residue and dirt from metal and leave an oily coating to inhibit rust, then the Bore scrubber is the one.



I would not use the brake cleaners on any gun, because they may make the mechanism freeze up. [He means as a general cleaner WITHOUT the use of oil, this should be obvious to us, he is not a gun enthusiast.]


He later went on to say that the NC version of brakleen was safe on anodized aluminum while the Chlorinated MAY be detrimental.

Like I said, thats just his opinion and obviously is not  scientific proof.

Non-Chlorinated brake cleaner is good to go, and it's all I ever use for the initiatal blast of cleaning. It is the same as Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber. The discolorations you will notice on metals is simply a result of the removal of all surface oil. Like above poster mentioned, things will rust after using this stuff, so apply oil afterwards- But you were going to do that anyway right?

When I was the unit armorer, I "procured" a case of Electron electrical contact cleaner (smelled like orange peels), and it cleaned all the crap out.  The downside is that it would draw all the oil out of the metal, and turn stuff an off-white.  Afterward, you'd have to thoroughly soak your BCG in clp for a while to basically "re-hydrate" it.

Acetone is cheaper than  Break Cleaner but you must watch out for paint and pastics.  Wear gloves an eye protection.

I've used Non CL for years for flushing out the crud from a barrel and BCG.  Never had any problems
with it.  Have used it on everything from .22's to .50 BMG's.  Test it, you'll like.

^^Quib has spoken

Brake cleaner is great for cleaning, though as others mentioned, it nukes any oil you got in the gun.  When I use it, I make sure to re-oil after wards with CLP.

I believe Carb Cleaner is a tad less harsh than Brake Cleaner.  Avoid laquered wood!  Got some drip on my SKS and jacked up the finish.  Also whitened my Brothers brand new Sig grip.

Otherwise I love it for nooks and cranny type parts.  I clean my Ruger 9mm in a matter of seconds

I use brake cleaner too.  I especially like it for cleaning the extractor after shooting Wolf ammo.

Has anyone else noticed that the new "Powder Blast" is a citrus-type degreaser?  The can I had before this one was the usual stuff, but the new one is citrus (works just as good, tho!)

Stop using brake cleaner on your weapons it's too strong..

brake cleaner (non-chlorinated) is fine as long at you oil it afterwards.  It leaves the metal BONE DRY.   It's great at getting carbon build-up off after putting 500-1000 rounds through your gun in one day  

The only plastic bits are the handguards and grip.  i don't get much carbon build-up on either of those.  A shot down through the chamber and inside the upper is good for a quick clean.  I still follow all normal cleaning procedures after that.

exactly what I do. I blow out the "big pieces" and then clean normally per the -10. I use it to save a little time in getting out all that crud after a 1k day with Wolf Ammo.

I use a chlorinated brake cleaner on my milsurps when I get them, mostly Swede Mod 96's, Swiss K-31's and 1911's to soften and remove old hardened grease & oil, in some cases over 100 years old.  I like to clean them down to the bare metal, then prep with modern lubes such as Tetra lube with a little moly on sliding surfaces.  It saves a lot of time, I can clean an action and bolt in about ten minutes this way, Just be sure to do it outside, and make sure to wear eye protection and limit skin contact, chlolrinated hydrocarbons are what we call highly lipophobic, attracted to oils and will thus penetrate the skin and can cause systemic toxicitites easily.

I've found brake cleaner can be a little deceiving in cleaning the weapon.  Most lube oils (especially CLP) lifts carbon and dirt our of pores and off the surface and suspend it in the oil.  The brake cleaner dissolves and carries away the oil, leaving the surface dry, so running a patch, rubbing with a finger, etc you don't see any dirt transferred to the patch/finger tip.

So, you oil the weapon back up, and the next day if you were to run a patch/rub with a finger tip, you'd find lots of carbon/dirt on the patch/finger tip.  You can't beat scrubbing and wiping to get the dirt out of the weapons nooks and crannies and out of the pores on the surface of the metal.  NOT saying brake cleaner doesn't has it uses, NOR it won't clean at all. NOR I'm saying that you must pass a white glove test after cleaning. BUT, personally, I've found it won't get all or most of the carbon/dirt out of a weapon, you have to scrub/wipe to do that.  It will dry the metal out, and prevent transfer of carbon/dirt while dry, to make you "think" the weapon is cleaner than it really is, so just be careful of that.