Author Topic: Cleaning/lube regime (Read 997 times)

verbero · « **on:** May 08, 2004, 06:15:58 AM »

Just wanted to clear up some questions that I still have.

I'll be making my own lube with beeswax, olive oil and vegetaline (cisco like product). This takes care of the wads, over the balls for a long session and the cylinder pin. Is this correct?

I'm going to follow Gatefeos advice in that after cleaning the gun, warm in the oven with a good coating of olive oil. Do I need to buy gun oil if I do this?

Will52100 · « **Reply #1 on:** May 08, 2004, 03:17:55 PM »

Don't know about olive oil, but stay away from petrolium oils! Especialy if you use black powder. I use nothing but wonder lube 1000 on the innareds of my cap and balls and they are very easy to clean in the bathroom sink with a little dawn dishwashing liquid and an old tooth brush.

jgalar · « **Reply #2 on:** May 09, 2004, 02:12:44 AM »

I use regular gun oil on mine. I wipe/clean it with alcohol before shooting.

The Shrink · « **Reply #3 on:** May 09, 2004, 12:02:51 PM »

Verbo

If you follow Gatefeo's advise you won't need to use gun oil to prevent rusting. You may want to use it to lubercate moving parts. Olive oil doesn't have much ability to lubricate under pressure, and the various gun oils do.

You talked about lube and said "this takes care of patches". Lube and patches are two different things. Most of us use either wool window seal material soaked in lube or commercial dry lubed cut patches under the ball, over the powder. This takes the place of placing lube over the ball and is much more effecient, if not period correct.

Wayne the Shrink

Ramrod · « **Reply #4 on:** May 09, 2004, 01:21:33 PM »

verbero, after the gun is clean, just about anything that prevents rust will work, WD-40, Olive oil, motor oil, whatever you want. Your lube looks like it will work for storage about as well as anything else. NO you do not need gun oil I have not owned any for at least 20 years.

Gatofeo · « **Reply #5 on:** May 12, 2004, 05:34:56 AM »

I stopped using WD-40 on my guns years ago, when I discovered that it does, indeed, congeal into a varnish.
It will make such a molasses mess in an action as to make it impossible to cock a revolver.
For many years, I used a wee bit of gun oil on the interior parts of my cap and ball revolvers. The past few years I've used a little Crisco for lubrication.
Crisco will harden in cold weather but I don't shoot my cap and balls until it's warm outside so it's not a problem. If you bring your cap and balls into cold weather, use gun oil instead of a grease.

Edgewood NM · « **Reply #6 on:** May 12, 2004, 07:11:13 AM »

I just wrote a post in the Traditional Rifle forum about lube. I make one that is 40% beeswax, 50% olive oil and 10% tallow. Works great. It is a semi soft and doesn't harden up to bad in cold weather and doesn't get to soft in hot. The thing about using crisco is that it softens alot as it gets warm. I don't seal the ends of the chambers I make my own wads out of felt from our sheep and soak them in the lube. With my NMA Remington after each cylinder change I have a small cloth in my pouch that I wipe the cylinder pin with that is soaked in my lube. I also use a .270 rifle brush to just run though the cylinder pin hole .This keeps that small pin from gumming up. With out it I can go about 3 cylinders before the gun starts binding up. This small pin may be the reason the US Army adopted COlts instead of the Remmie. That huge pun on the Colt and the looser tolerances keep it free longer. FOr rifle patches I just leave out the tallow.
I do use olive oil for lubing the internal workings. It does not have the high pressure qualities of a real gun oil but being not made from petroleum it does not make a hard varnish.

Quote

Will52100

Don't know about olive oil, but stay away from petrolium oils! Especialy if you use black powder. I use nothing but wonder lube 1000 on the innareds of my cap and balls and they are very easy to clean in the bathroom sink with a little dawn dishwashing liquid and an old tooth brush.

Wow you can clean your BP guns in the house!!!? I did that once and the Boss had kittens right there on the kitchen floor!! Never made that error again!!. But your right about Dawn, a couple of squirts in a pail of boiling water and the fouling melts right off. THen it is blown dry with compressed air and in the oven at @250 deg till done. Then once it cools i lather on the oil and let it set and the wipe it off. Never a bit of rust in that old Remmie.

Chuck

filmokentucky · « **Reply #7 on:** May 12, 2004, 07:19:50 AM »

I use a fifty-fifty mix of beeswax and tallow for my lube. Never found anything better.
I clean my guns in the kitchen sink,too. Not only does my better half not mind, she's been known to help me get 'em dirty, as well.

verbero · « **Reply #8 on:** May 12, 2004, 10:14:00 AM »

I'm going to get some gun oil for the winter (it gets to brass monkey weather here sometimes :eek: ) and stick to the home-made lube for our warmer times.

Will a standard pistol cleaning kit do for a Rem 1858? The barrel seems too long to me, but the catalogue I have doesn't give a length for the cleaning kit.

Will52100 · « **Reply #9 on:** May 13, 2004, 09:26:12 PM »

Guess I'd better state that "bathroom sink" means the bathroom in the shop! Even though black powder fouling wipes right off corian!

I've tried the soaking felt wads in the tallow/parifine/bee's wax mixture and during the winter or a cool day works great but down south during the summer they will melt and get wet in the tin, so I've got to come up with anouther mix, probably add more parifine or bee's wax to make them stiffer during hot weather.

I've tried several of the pistol cleaning kits and most are not made for an eight inch barrel. If you've got a Walmart in your neck of the woods you can check differant kits out.

Ramrod · « **Reply #10 on:** May 14, 2004, 02:18:08 PM »

Quote from: Gatofeo

I stopped using WD-40 on my guns years ago, when I discovered that it does, indeed, congeal into a varnish.
It will make such a molasses mess in an action as to make it impossible to cock a revolver.

Ugly Cat, I have heard others complain of the same thing, but in my guns I get the exact opposite. The WD-40 evaporates to a dry film, no buildup, and no rust, even after long storage. Maybe climate differences? I just don't know. I'm pretty lax about cleaning, and tend to rely on my WD-40 to prevent corrosion, it's worked for over 30 years for me.

HWooldridge · « **Reply #11 on:** May 14, 2004, 04:37:19 PM »

I shoot straight BP and clean my ML rifle using WD40 as part of the regimen. I wipe the bore with a patch soaked with vinegar, then two clean patches soaked with water so the bore is soppy wet. The vinegar really breaks down the fouling before the water patch - I started using it years ago to clean brass cartridge cases after shooting BP. I follow with dry patches until the water is not obvious on the patch. By then, there is usually not much fouling evident on the patch but it is still in the barrel. I finish by soaking a patch with WD40 and sop the bore, then I stand the rifle on its muzzle on a dry cloth or paper towel overnight. The WD40 gets under fouling so it works down the bore and stains the towel. The next day, I repeat by running a dry patch thru the barrel and follow with another wet WD40 patch then put it muzzle down on the dry paper towel again. Sometimes there is black fouling on the dry patch and sometimes not but there is seldom any on the second paper towel. I store my rifles this way and can see any drainage from the barrel plus this keeps gunk from collecting in the breech area.

I have never seen any rust in the barrel from this treatment and it does not build any tar because I don't use it while shooting. It's easy and I don't spend a lot of time running dozens of patches thru the barrel.

I clean my BP revolvers by dropping the cylinder and barrel in vinegar then washing in very hot water. They dry to a degree and I follow with WD40. I don't use it in the mechanism but I soak the cylinder and barrel then wipe off the excess.

Will52100 · « **Reply #12 on:** May 14, 2004, 05:37:22 PM »

Just wondering, have you noticed a problem with the vinigar taking off the bluing? I've both hot blued and rust blued guns.

Thanks

verbero · « **Reply #13 on:** May 15, 2004, 07:35:54 AM »

The cleaning kit that I got is here :

http://www.davide-pedersoli.com/eng/search_rec.asp?item=usa331&code=0038&titolo#

Which leads me to dumb beginners questions number 4,539 and 4,540

For a Remington 1858 in .44, what size circular patches for cleaning should I cut?

I also have two long rectangle lengths that came with the cleaning kit, what size of 'square' patch is OK? Or isn't it?

Edgewood NM · « **Reply #14 on:** May 15, 2004, 11:45:14 AM »

Hell no such animal as a dumb question except the one that is not asked. I just cut out pieces of operating room towles. ( Those blue ones you see on TV that the doc drys there hands with) I work in a cardiac cath lab so what we don't use on a case I bring home. For cleaning I just use a Wallmart shotgun kit. THe handle end is the perfect length and a .45 cal brush that I bought seperatly is just the ticket. For range cleaning I use whatever is on sale in the BP daepartments but for home dawn dishsoap and hot water.

CHuck

HWooldridge · « **Reply #15 on:** May 15, 2004, 04:15:32 PM »

Will,

I have not experienced the vinegar removing the bluing but I don't soak it for long periods of time so am not sure what it would do. The vinegar boils the black fouling off pretty fast so I don't leave the parts in the bath. It is an acid so I suspect it would do some damage...Hollis

Will52100 · « **Reply #16 on:** May 15, 2004, 06:25:39 PM »

Thanks Hollis, have to give it a try.

maddmaxx · « **Reply #17 on:** June 03, 2004, 05:02:22 PM »

I like to fill things up w/alcohol for 5 minutes or so, then use hot water & detergent, The alcohol seems to loosen fouling pretty well, and can be reused. For the dry-cycle, new alcohol, But I like fp-10 or breakfree afterwards. For lube, I mix 1lb paraffin, 1 lb vasoline, 2oz beeswax, and 2oz STP, then dip the patches and stack in a snuff can. Handy and traditional (at least my tradition) Use the same for cyl lube seal on revolvers, or mustache wax in a pinch.

willysjeep134 · « **Reply #18 on:** June 03, 2004, 05:29:34 PM »

Over the winter, with the .22 target rifles my summer camp has, we have had problems with wd40 evaporating over the winter and guns rusting, of course they are locked in an unheated building. Anyways, now we use nothing but hoppies No 9 and Balistol on the .22's and we have no problems. The guy who takes care of the black powder rifles even swears by Balistol for preserving the rifles over the winter.

Gatofeo · « **Reply #19 on:** June 07, 2004, 08:24:06 AM »

For the .44 Remington, and its 8-inch barrel, you'll need a rod at least 9 inches long, preferably 10 inches.
I use an old Smith & Wesson loop-end rod, apparently made for their 8-3/8 inch barrel revolvers. It's the right length for my long barreled Remington and Colt revolvers.
However, you don't necessarily NEED a factory-made cleaning rod. Buy a short rod if it's all you can get. Cut it 2 or 3 inches (5 to 8 cm) from the end, ensuring you don't damage the threads.
Now, go buy a length of 3/8 inch (9 or 10 mm) dowel. Drill a hole in the end of the dowel, slightly smaller than the diameter of the length of rod. Drill is so that the piece of cleaning rod fits flush on the end but if it projects a bit it won't matter.
Now, put a bit of epoxy in the drilled hole. Push or gently tap the rod length in with a rubber or leather mallet until it bottoms out. Allow to cure overnight.
Voila'! A cleaning rod! You can get fancy and put a decorative wooden knob on the push end, if you like. The wooden shaft will not bend or scrape like a metal rod.