Cleaning after firing

[Xflash]

This is probably a stupid question but how do you clean the cannons after firing to prevent rust?

[dan610324]

lots of hot water
when its dry some grease or wd 40 it depend on how long you should store it

[KABAR2]

This is probably a stupid question but how do you clean the cannons after firing to prevent rust?

Bronze doesn't rust....

These are the basics, I am sure others will add what method works for them,

You pretty much follow the same cleaning procedures as any other black powder firearm only on a larger messier scale,

Do so out of doors away from the concrete drive where the wife will complain about the mess & smell........

with a garden hose, a bucket of hot soapy water,  clean until water runs clear out of barrel, once finished  dry it out

as best you can,  I know someone who points a heat gun down the bore to aid in drying,  after it is dry oil the bore to prevent rust.


Allen <><

[dan610324]

I can just agree , bronze doesnt rust   
but I think there are a "few" people who have iron and steel guns   

[BoomLover]

Xflash, just cause you don't know the answer to a question doesn't make it a stupid question! If that were the case, this forum would be full of stupid questions! We hope we can help with the answers, and cannon and mortar cleaning is just part of the job! Ya shoot's em, ya got's to clean em! The easy way to clean them was thought up by a friend of mine. He invites people over to watch a shoot, then tells them that their part of the entertainment is to clean them afterwards! Seriously, these fellows are right, the best way to clean black powder is hot soapy water, then dry them as best you can, and spray with WD40 to retard rust. A good stiff bore brush is a wonderment, and will make the job much less of a chore! Good Luck, and have fun! BoomLover

[Victor3]

 I put the barrel on the lawn, turn on the hose and and stick it in the muzzle. I use a bottle brush to scrub the water-filled bore, and a pipe cleaner through the vent (three cycles).

 Then, some paper towels to dry the bore (wrapped around the brush), and Q-tips for the vent.

 After it's dry, I spray/wipe all surfaces with whatever metal preservative I have handy. I put a swab down the bore in a couple of days to make sure no rust is forming.

 I'm more careful about cleaning my BP rifles/handguns since they have rifled barrels, but with smoothbore cannons and mortars, the above has been good enough for me.

 It's important to clean ASAP after firing. I remove oil from the bore/vent with solvent before shooting again.

[RocklockI]

HOT soapy water ....the hotter the better .

if you can put enough HOT water down the tube and keep it there ...(w/plug in the vent) about three or four times , the steel will become hot enough to evaporate the water residue .

then be ready to swab it out with grease , or oil , or wd 40 ....whatever  as 'something 'ids' better than nothing '

thats how i have been cleaning BP firearms , for many years . small guns into the oven just to get them hot , maybe 120 f or so . the heat will evap the min water left behind .

ymmv gary

[oyvind]

Have made different tests, and WD40 seems to be the best choice for all the weapons to prevent rust.


mvh

[Victor3]

 Hot water is good, but I think too hot aint so 'hot' for this purpose.

 While Parkerizing, the last cleaning step (the way I do it anyway) is to put the parts into very hot water before going into the solution. I've had parts flash rust literally seconds after coming out of the hot water.

 In my thinkin', if you're gonna to be coating the barrel with something like WD (Water Displacing) 40 anyway, the steel don't need to be heat-evaporation-dried, and could rust if it is.

 Meanwhile, there's as much superstition involved in the multitiude of gun cleaning methods/chemicals as there is science, so "YVMV" (Your Voodoo (and mine) May Vary)

 

[gariders]

I also use hot water and soap, (dish detergent), then dry with a baby diaper (cloth) then lube the barrel with transmission fluid. Never seen a rusty transmission.

[Ex 49'er]

I like to use window wash w/ammonia. I buy it by the gallon at the dollar store. Pour it into the bore and scrub until it comes out clear. I use a 17 cal. brush on the vent. Then dry and apply WD-40. My mortars are rust free.

[dynomike]

If the bore is not complety dry oil means nothing.I ca'nt belive wd40 beats CLP. Anyone that has been in the Military knows what that is. I have seen it remove rust.

[subdjoe]

I elevate the muzzle, have someone stop the vent, fill the tube with hot water and a touch of soap.  I first go in with one of the round toilet bowl brushes attachced to a piece of closet dowel.  That is about 3 1/4 inches, and will scoure the rifleing without damaging it.  After I have scrubbed the hell out of it, I'll go in with one sponge, the vent still being stopped and force it all the way down to the breech and then pump it in and out a few times, then I'll have the person on the vent step aside and use the sponge as a piston to squirt the water out the vent. 

Do it all again, but this time, rather than expelling the water through the vent we depresss the muzzle and use the piston acton of the sponge to help draw the water out the muzzle and drain it. I then prop the breech so the water can drip out.  Kind of fun to see that water drip from the top of the muzze from where it has followed the rifling.  After it pretty well stops dripping (and while I'm waiting for that to happen I'm cleaning the outside of the tube and the carriage), I go in with a clean dry sponge. Then a washcloth on the worm.

When I'm satisfied it is dry I again elevate the muzzle, pour in a little 30 weight, then with a clean rag on the worm I go in with a lot of twisting action to get the bore oiled.  I might then put the rag on the afore mentioned toilet brush to make sure the oil got everywhere.  And a nice light coat of oil on all the metal parts, both tube and carriage hardware. 

[rampa room artillery]

your bore is a good place to put that old oil that comes out of your car motor, nice and thick. But for you brass guns, I guess it is not somthing you  have to worry about kind of like hiting soda cans at 200 yards.

   Rifled guns alway win.
 
 rick bryan
  3rd va co B
   NSSA

[Victor3]

If the bore is not complety dry oil means nothing.I ca'nt belive wd40 beats CLP. Anyone that has been in the Military knows what that is. I have seen it remove rust.

 Most have probably seen this, but for those who haven't....

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

 At least in this test, CLP did indeed beat out WD40.

 However, I don't spray my guns with salt water. I've rarely had rust on any of them if they were cleaned well prior to some kind of oil being applied. My guns are generally stored in warm, dry places though. That keeps rust down regardless of what preservative is used.

 Another thing about WD40 - It turns rock hard if you leave it on a gun for a year or so. Best to keep it out of any mechanisms. I've also had it damage some types of rubber and paint.

[Double D]

Shove garden hose down bore rinse out the residue.  Drain water and wipe bore with antifreeze.  Wipe exterior with anti freeze.  Wipe bore and exterior dry. Wipe borer and exterior with NAPA ATF-5.

[Victor3]

 What does the antifreeze do? Absorb the water?

[Double D]

The water rinses the surface residue off.

The anti freeze cleans and contains compounds designed to inhibit rusting and corrosion.

The ATF also contain and rusting and corrosion inhibitors.