I clean my cap and ball revolvers in hot, soapy water. Here's what to do:
Buy a plastic tub at least 12 X 12 inches.
buy a small, plastic collander, the kind used to drain salads. The collander should fit within the plastic tub and leave plenty of room for all the parts.
Buy an assortment of very small plastic or bristle brushes, both the toothbrush style and the paintbrush style. Gourmet stores sell them for cake decorating.
Buy some pipe cleaners and Q-tips too.
Buy two .40 or .41 caliber bronze brushes: one for the chambers and one for the bore. A dab of black paint on the shank of one identifies its use.
Fill the tub with hot, soapy water. Toss in a chunk of Ivory soap. Why Ivory? Cuz it floats and you can find it easily.
Here's how to do a total cleaning, which is necessary from time to time. However, most of the time you can get by cleaning the cylinder and barrel assembly, and wiping fouling from the frame, hammer nose and other places with a patch or Q-tip dampened in soapy water.
Not wet, mind you, just damp. Follow with a dry patch or Q-tip. Keep any moisture out of the action or fouling deep in the action will promote rust.
Submerge the plastic colander in the bin full of hot, soapy water.
Remove the nipples from your cylinder. Unscrew everything from the Colt and place all parts in the bin of hot, soapy water (all but the wooden grips, of course. Set them aside. More on them later).
Nipples are the hardest to clean, unless you know how. Bend a pipe cleaner into a 90-degree angle 1 inch or so from the end. With the pipe cleaner and nipple under water, pump and twist the pipe cleaner into the cap end orifice of the nipple.
This will clean the nipple interior.
Now, use a small brush underwater to clean the top, threads and bottom of the nipple. You may also lather the brush with Ivory and clean it first above the water, then submerge it. This really gets crud off.
The pipe cleaner in the nipple makes it easier to hold the nipple while you do this.
When all the nipples are clean, drop them into the colander. The colander becomes your "Clean Parts" bin.
All parts but the barrel assembly can usually fit in the colander.
I run a bronze brush through the bore a few times, with as much of the barrel submerged as possible. This removes fouling in the corners of the grooves. Leading is usually never a problem in these revolvers.
Use a separate bronze brush on a rod to clean out the chambers. Most bronze brushes won't get all the fouling at the bottom, but a Q-tip will and they're cheap.
When all parts are thoroughly scrubbed clean, move the bin to your kitchen sink.
Turn on the oven to its lowest setting and get out a large, flat cake pan. Not a cookie sheet, you need something with edges to keep screws from rolling off.
Set the pan aside.
Put the strainer in the sink, set to drain.
Get the tap water hot and rinse all parts in the colander thoroughly.
When rinsed of soap, shake parts dry and place them in the pan.
The cylinder and bore can be dried with numerous dry patches.
Place the cylinder and barrel assembly in the pan too.
Give a quick, hard puff to the orifice end of each nipple, to blow out any water in the nipple.
Place the revolver frame in the pan upside down, so all screw holes are open to the air.
Place the pan full of metal parts in the oven and leave the door open a bit, so moisture can escape. Allow the parts to heat in the oven, at least half an hour. I usually go 45 minutes.
Remember, use a very low setting.
Now, on to the grips.
If they are heavily fouled inside the channel, a quick scrubbing with a plastic bristle brush under the hot faucet won't hurt them. But do it quickly, don't let the wood become sodden.
If there are carvings or checkering on the wood, they may be cleaned quickly with a damp toothbrush to move the crud out of the carving onto the upper surface of the wood, where it may be wiped away with a soft cloth.
Dry the wood thoroughly, inside and out, with cloth patches. In a pinch, paper towels will work.
Allow the grips to dry overnight. Don't put them in the oven or you may affect the finish on the grips.
When the metal parts are dry and warm, oil them heavily with lard, olive oil, Crisco or any other natural grease or oil.
Do NOT use a petroleum oil or grease on your revolver. Avoid any petroleum grease or oil, it has the propensity to make fouling tar-like and difficult to remove.
Patches wet with olive oil, run up and down the bore and the chambers, will keep them from rusting. If the metal is still warm, you may also use Crisco or lard (but ensure that the lard is salt-free! Most of it is, but I've seen some lard with salt in it too.
Allow your warm parts to sit overnight heavily covered in natural oil or grease. Wipe off the excess the next day and reassemble.
Remember to use a little oil on the threads of the nipples. Makes them easier to remove at the next cleaning.
The next day, when the grips are dry, oil them well with lemon oil or, for a nice shine, a mix of lemon oil and beeswax. Heck, even olive oil will do a passable job of oiling the wood. I don't recommend Pledge or any other furniture wax; the wax builds up and it makes the grips very slippery.
No need to remove the oil or natural grease from the bore or chambers. It will continue to soak in and keep the metal rust-free.
I've cleaned my cap and ball revolvers for over 30 years with the above method. They bear no pits or other evidence of rust or abuse.
My Colt 2nd generation 1851 Navy has lost much of its dark blue and taken on a silver patina (black powder fouling is slightly abrasive, so over time it will remove bluing). It looks almost like an old original, a condition I prefer over jet black and shiny.
I don't give my revolvers the above thorough cleaning each time I return from shooting, but do it only when the action begins to drag from excessive fouling.
