Maintenance and Cleaning

With a wheel gun with an internal hammer (S&W642) outside of the barrel, is there anything else to clean/lube?

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Try Shooters Lube https://www.shooterlube.com/ instead of Hoppes or CLP. No noticeable smell, has worked better for me than other cleaners/oil

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As you mentioned - barrell and chambers must be cleaned and lubed for sure.

Simple pattern - you lube every moving part. Clean everything.

  • remove grip panels and clean the frame under
  • clean and lube main spring and all contact points with frame
  • lube ejection rod from both sides
  • lube cylinder’s hinge
  • lube trigger’s hinge

And of course lube and wipe out whole gun from outside.
Additionally grip screw may rust.

It’s a good idea to go deeper and clean/lube internal parts of action and hammer at least annually.
[be careful with that… or use gunsmith]

Good luck. :love_you_gesture:

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How about cleaning the cylinder face, bore and charge holes too?

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Thanks so much!.

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I personally do not enjoy cleaning my guns but I do clean them after I shoot them. Every time. I clean them correctly and take my time to do it well. I believe that taking care of my firearms makes them safer (due to visual inspection during the cleaning) and I want them to last a lifetime without problems created by neglect. I also take care of the magazines and rotate the rounds. Some people love to clean their guns. It’s more of a chore for me than a pleasure but when I put them away after a trip to the range, I love seeing them looking great and knowing that they are going to be as reliable as possible.
Once every few years I will have my gunsmith do a COMPLETE cleaning and inspection. It’s worth every penny

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Yes. Cleaning revolvers is more of a chore than semi-autos, but if the charging holes in the cylinder are not routinely cleaned it will be difficult to eject the spent brass over time.

It’s easier to keep them clean than to just clean them occasionally. Carbon can build up on the cylinder face and can (over time) inhibit cylinder rotation.

Happiness is a clean gun.

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Pistols: I clean them when they slow down.
Rifles: I clean the worky parts (bolt face and similar) and very rarely clean the bore unless the accuracy falls off.

IMHO more damage is done in cleaning/disassembling/reassembling guns than is inflicted from firing them.

Unless you are shooting corrosive ammo one should not clean the bore of a rifle if you expect it to shoot where you last shot on your first round. In my world the Cold Bore Shot (CBS) is the most important shot and if you clean the rifle bore you will not have that confidence. My competition and business rifles will go 300 - 700 rounds before I scrub the bore back down to zero and then they get fed 30 - 50+ rounds to go back to zero and get put up. If the dust bunnies attack I will drag a dry bore snake down the tube 2 or 3 times which usually keeps me with in a 1/2 MOA of zero.

I am a rifle guy, it’s what I do. Pistols are only used to fight your way to a good rifle or in the CCW realm an immediate arbiter of bad things where a rifle is not applicable.

Keep a pistol as clean as you wish but it is handy to know how far it can go before it slows down or fails to function. Having that information and knowing you are inside the window of opperability would give me more comfort than never knowing what the pistol was capable of because I cleaned it every day.

Cheers,

Craig6

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Actually good point. Not to mention that if a gun malfunctions because it is dirty at the range it is an environment where you can learn to clear jams. I learned more about clearing jams from a malfunctioning 9mm that I needed warranty work on (the repetitive jamming was the issue) and on another 9mm that was dirty that functioned well once cleaned. I do clean my carry pistols, and ones that are available for use in a self defensive situation periodically against dust and those I carry for lint and corrosion from perspiration.

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Have you tried Shooters Lube, I keep seeing online ads about it and wondered if it was any good?

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Common sense dictates: Only weak product needs frequent ads. :wink:

But seriously Shooters Lube is fine. Does the job. The question is how good the job is on your firearm.
Cleaner is OK, removes everything what should be removed during regular field strip, especially carbon build up. I don’t think it removes copper fouling. So does the job same way as other milion cleaners.
Lube is specific, not everyone may feel OK with it. It is just very thin. I actually liked it, but found Hoppe’s Black to be even thinner, which worked better for me.

I would say, try it to find out if it works for you as expected.

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This probably won’t come as a surprise given my non standard cleaning protocol. I mainly use automotive products on my guns. Brake cleaner for carbon. Valvoline SynPower for grease and GP lube on rubby bits. PB Blaster for GP cleaning and such. My nod to the gun industry is Butches Boreshine to get ALL the copper out of a tube. That said I have had good results with WipeOut foaming bore cleaner for the initial take down of copper (remember my rifle tubes will see 700+ rounds before this) as it cuts down on the scrubby scrubby of the tube. I may try the Gunslick version of the foam as I have been a long time fan of their products.

As with most things the majority of “gun” products on the market are re-brands of other products.

Several constants remain:
Mercury is great on lead but you can poison yourself with it.
Ammonia is great on copper if you can stand the smell and time the exposure not to eat your barrel.
“Dry Cleaning Solvent” (the real name is like 30 letter long) is the greatest gun cleaner / de-greaser on the planet but it will give you cancer.
Gasoline is still the most effective method of removing Cosmoline (even the Russian stuff) again cancer.

I tend to use things that have multiple functions. Ammonia dissolves copper (over time) and also cleans copper, gold and silver (the oxidization part. DO NOT USE ON PEARLS!!!). The grease, brake cleaner, dry cleaning solvent and PB Blaster I use on my cars and other stuff.

Cheers,

Craig6

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@Craig6 …it suppose to be not complicated. :laughing:

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It’s not. You just have to think outside the box. Ask yourself “Self. What see’s more wear and tear than a gun? Answer: Any motor.”

Cheers,

Craig6

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@Craig6 , I have found Super Slick Stuff Super Slick Slick Stuff | Protexall Products, Inc.
out performs PB Blaster and every other lubricant in every way, especially on rusty stuff. I get it at Ace Hardware, but it is sold other places. Give it a try, I think you will like it.

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@Gary_H on your word alone if I can find it I will try it. I’m always looking for a better moustrap.

Cheers,

Craig6

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My cleaning habits go back to my time in Military. I always clean after every range day. But during periods of time with no shooting I do a maint. cleaning as I call it. In my firearms storage I keep dry packs also. They always go bang for me . Are my methods necessary no, But it makes me feel better

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I clean mine once a week, usually not too long after I’ve shot them. I enjoy the process. I find it relaxing.

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Mobil One?

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Mobile 1 High Milage :muscle:t4:

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