Keeping your gun in good condition

by **lotsip81** » Fri Jan 16, 2009 5:38 pm

You strip them all the way down after ever usage? Maybe we're not on the same page here, then again maybe we are. What I was talking about was a complete strip down and clean. I mean ALL the way down. The shop I was talking to said they take it completely down and do and entire parts cleaning and inspection. Maybe they meant just a normal field strip and clean, but it didn't sound that way. That is usually what I do for cleaning, a field strip and clean. On occasion I remover the extractor and clean all the junk out of there as well. I personally don't see the need for a full detail strip. Taking the slide and frame all the way apart, too many pieces. I believe and my Px4 is around 70, I think my XD was round the same amount. Not sure on those, but I think that its a close number. On one of my old pistols its not so bad, its only about 30 pieces to completely apart.

by **agonist** » Tue Jan 20, 2009 7:51 pm

No, I don't completely disassemble the firearm. A full field strip plus removing grips pretty much exposes everything. If you use 'Gun scrubber' or any of the spray cleaners at that point, you couldn't get it much cleaner. As far as yearly maintenance as you described I think that's excessive. It takes an awful lot of rounds for any well made pistol to seriously wear any critical parts. You'd notice safety issues like safeties that move to the off position with a light touch or a soft trigger or hair trigger developing before they became an problem.

by **tigwelder56** » Mon Jan 26, 2009 12:39 am

I rarely perform a detail strip of anything. Like Ag, I use the spray cleaners alot. I made the mistake of using the full strength Gun Scrubber on one of my Beretta's without taking off the black nylon grips (black plastic). I found out quickly that stuff melts plastic in a hurry! I've moved to the synthetic brand and it works quite well for me. The cans are big enough that they last quite awhile. I also keep a can in my range bag for quick cleaning if I experience any problems while I'm shooting. The Beretta tip up barrel mouse guns are very sensitive to crud build up and this stuff works wonders on them. Another good product is Eezox. It's a multi purpose product that comes in liquid as well as spray formulas. There are several good products available and I think most people decide on something they've had good experience with and then stay with it. It's important for new shooters/gun owners to know that it isn't necessary to "hose" them down with a lubricant after cleaning. A little goes a long way!

by **g4l** » Sat Jan 31, 2009 2:23 pm

I like to do a partial detail strip every so often, concentrating on the firing pin & channel and extractor & channel. The amount of gunk that gets into the extractor is amazing some times, and it needs to be "extracted"lol to get the job done.

by **lotsip81** » Mon Feb 02, 2009 3:17 pm

Same here gl4, I like to get into some of those more hard to reach places. When neglected they seem to be the things that cause trouble for so many shooters. Do any of you guys have any other spots that are often overlooked when it comes to cleaning time? I ususally open up my magazines every so often just to make sure that they aren't getting filthy dirty. More often than not they are pretty clean, although the area around the follower somtimes gets kinda dirty. But most of the time you can clean that out without taking it apart.