Cleaning your Semi-Auto Pistol
First the list of cleaning supplies you should own to clean your beloved firearm.
1. Nitro Solvent ( I use Hoppe’s9 but any good grade will do )
2. Cleaning Patches- don’t skimp here, buy a good grade that doesn’t shred around the edges while your trying to use them.
3. Bore brushes—buy a good bronze brush ,along with a Nylon brush in the cal. You need
4. Patch cleaning utility tool- it is used to swab the bore with your patches, there are several different kinds—pick the one you like
5. Most important- A “firm” rated Toothbrush. Yeah, I know they make bronze and nylon brushes for that, but I like the toothbrush and I feel it works better—more on that later.
6. High grade Lubricant—don’t skimp here, buy the best you can find, I use “Break-Free” for rapid fire auto pistols. Holds up well under high heat.
7. “Gunslick” graphite lubricant for the rail system.
8. Gun cleaning Mat or you can use a large piece of that foam padding used to line cabinets in the kitchen or used to hold wood projects from moving while sanding on a flat workbench.
9. Bore Cleaning rod—I buy only Aluminum or Polymer ( plastic) Rods. It must be made of softer material than what your barrels are made of.
10. Last,-- some good lint free rags
Your work area: Must be well lit…….small problems can be caught during cleaning if you can see them , so pick a spot with LOTS of light. Lay out your cleaning Mat---this is where you will place “all” of your parts---so make sure you have adequate room. I was always taught that when you take apart any weapon—place the first piece you remove on the left side of your Mat. The second piece you remove goes to the right of this and so on and so fourth. In this way you will establish the ORDER in which these parts should be assembled. Just start at the right side of your Mat and work in reverse order --- back to the left. In this way you won’t forget which part goes back on the weapon in the proper order. Get in the habit of doing this no matter how simple the disassembly is.
Make sure your gun is unloaded before cleaning
“Check twice” !
Remove your EMPTY Magazine from the weapon—place it to the far left.
Cleaning the magazine is not necessary but every 1,000rds or so, depending on how dirty the ammo is you are using, but I will cover it here.
Using the appropriate tool –depress the small plunger inside the hole in the bottom of the floor plate. Next carefully slide the floor plate off the magazine body, holding pressure on the magazine spring as soon as it becomes visible. Failure to control the magazine spring will result in it flying across the room. Release the tension on the spring and allow it to come out of the magazine body. Take NOTE of the shape and direction the spring comes out of the body. It is extremely important the spring is returned in the same manner and direction. The plastic follower should come out with the spring, but if it does not simple turn the body over and allow gravity to force it out. You now have 4 pieces. Line them up-- Floor plate, first; Spring; Follower and Magazine Body –they will be reassembled in reverse order.
Wipe the inside of the Magazine body and clean the follower. Also wipe off the spring. DO NOT pull on the spring to adjust tension-ever! If tension becomes an issue –REPLACE the spring. IF the magazine malfunctions , the gun is “worthless”.
DO NOT use a lot of oil inside the magazine---you don’t want crude collecting on the spring and follower.
Next remove the Slide from the weapon
Remove the recoil spring and barrel.
Lay the recoil spring down next in line, followed by the barrel and then the slide.
Place the guns frame at the end of the line.
Now go back and using your lint free rags, dampened with some nitro solvent, wipe off each part.
After wiping off all the magazine parts—place a very light coat of oil on everything.
Very light……..remember we don’t want too much oil to attract grit. You can assemble the magazine now or wait until after everything is cleaned. I must emphasize the importance of putting the spring back correctly !!
Next the barrel:
Using the Nylon bore brush push the brush through the barrel( from the breach side) and out the front end. This will remove some of the large particles that you don’t want to smash into the barrels walls with the bronze brush. Next soak this nylon brush in the nitro solvent and again run it through the barrel as before. Do not change directions with this brush inside the barrel, always push it all the way out the front. Let the barrel soak for a few minutes, while we attack the slide.
Using the toothbrush (dry) brush all the areas of the slide. Make sure to get inside the rail system . Next using a rag soaked in nitro solvent wipe all areas on the slide. Next you can soak the toothbrush in solvent and use it to clean the rails thoroughly . Holding the slide with the firing pin facing down, scrub the face of the firing pin area.
Pay close attention to any build up that will occur “under” the extractor. The extractor is the hooked shaped claw on the side of the slide. Examine it for damage each time you clean your weapon. If needed—you may need a bronze brush to remove this build-up. I always hold the slide with firing pin facing down---so liquid and debris doesn’t flow into the firing pin hole.
After 5,000 rds or so you can remove the firing pin for cleaning an inspection, but I won’t cover that here. Dry the entire slide off. Then using you fingers , apply a coat of oil inside the slide walls ( three sides). Next take your “Gunslick” and apply a fine bead of graphite lubricant on the inside of both Rail channels—from front to back. Put the Slide down,………….and go back to the barrel.
Even after letting the barrel soak in the solvent for a few minutes—it will take over 24 hours for all the residue to work itself from the barrel surfaces. If I am shooting my gun more than once a month, I don’t worry about this residual residue. If you are going to store the gun for longer than a month, then I would go back a day later and re clean the barrel. Now using the bronze brush soaked in solvent –push it through the barrel several times. The dirtier your ammo, the more time it will take to get the barrel clean. You can hold the barrel with a piece of “white” paper at the breach…… and look down the barrel for any uneven look to the barrel walls ( I am not talking ,of course, about the lands and grooves) Any dull spots mean dirt, so keep cleaning. The white paper will help reflect light up into the barrel making it easier for you to see. After some brush cleaning , run a patch down the barrel to clear out the debris. Go back and fourth with the above procedures, until the patches come out relatively clean. When you think the barrel is clean, run a lightly Oiled patch down the barrel a few times to coat the surfaces. At this point you can reverse the direction of the patch inside the barrel and really scrub the walls down with the gun oil.
Now coat the outside of the barrel with some gun oil and re install it inside the slide with the recoil spring. Turning your attention to the frame. Using the now wet toothbrush----you can brush off all the small exposed springs in the trigger mechanism . This is where the toothbrush shines---it can clean the tiny springs without pulling on them. Clean all areas on the frame that shows signs of powder residue. The frame, because it is Polymer doesn’t require much work. After the frame is cleaned………take your “Gunslick” and place a small amount of the graphite lube on each of the four rails Guides.
Now you are ready to install the slide back on the weapon. After this is done, work the action manually to work the “Gunslick” into the rail channels. It will be necessary to remove some excess Gunslick that will protrude from the back of the gun. Wipe this off and generally wipe down the whole gun.
Your are done for basic cleaning. At certain intervals you may need to use a “copper” solvent inside your barrel. I like to use gunslick on the rails system, because nothing is more dangerous than allowing the semi-auto to become dry. The gunslick will continue to lubricate after extended periods because the graphite will work in a dry state, if necessary.
I hope I have covered the basics………others can jump in and add where I may have left out a step. JF.
