How do you choose what gun cleaner to use, and in what order do you use them?

Question

from what I understand a product like Hoppes number 9 bun bore cleaner has been around a long time and is a good product. That is the first product you use after you run the mops through the barrel correct? the hoppes numbe 9 acts as a cleaning solution? What do you use to actually lube and oil everything, is it another hops product? When you are cleaning the action do you use hoppes number 9? Is remington rem oil basically the same thing as hoppes number 9, it is used to clean? What is the product you use to actually oil everything? It is for a remington 870 12 gauge.

Answer 1

I hope my answer isn't too lengthy, but here it goes.



There are basically two routes you can go about when choosing cleaning and lubrication products for your gun. You can either



1. Buy individual products, specifically for cleaning and lubrication.

2. Buy a combo product which will do both.



I'll start with combination products. These products can be used to both clean your product, as well as serve as an lubrication. These are handy because it cuts the number of products you own down, and you can usually get everything you need to be done, done, with one bottle.



The most common product in the category is called Breakfree CLP (clp stands for clean/lube/protect). This is an incredibly popular product because it is what is used in the US military, because it is fairly inexpensive, and because it does a fairly decent job at cleanings/lubrication/protection.



Another common multi-use product is Ballistol, which like CLP is used for cleaning/lubrication/protection, and has the added bonus of conditioning wood and leather.



The problem with these products is that while they do a good job at all three tasks, they don't do a "great" job.



Which brings me to my next topic, which is using dedicated solvents (cleaners), and dedicated lubes. Obviously this will bring you a slightly better results because you can pick and choose the best products to fill your needs.



As for solvents, hoppes #9 is by far the most popular, as it is what most people were raised on, as well as what is most commonly found in gun stores, sporting good stores, and just about anywhere that sells gun cleaning supplies. Its a pretty good cleaner.



Other reputable brands would be gun scrubber, mpro-7, they all work pretty well.



As for lubrication, it is my recommendation that you do not use remoil. It actually has very little oil in it, and is mostly kerosene. It just kind of sucks. But they are crazy good at marketing, so that's wy its so popular.



As far as oils go, you have plenty to choose from. More important than the kind of oil you use, is just the proper application.



Hoppes makes an oil, which is lackluster, but works fine. Mpro-7 makes a dedicated oil as well. Militec-one and slip 2000 are high end oils that actually seep into the pores of the metal you are lubricating.



Even a high quality synthetic motor oils works fantastic as a dedicated lube. I've used mobile-1 fully synthetic on everything from my lever gun to my ar-15. Engines get much hotter and dirtier than any firearm.



All in all though, I use CLP for about 80% of all my needs. It works well enough for me, and makes my cleaning kit much simpler.

Answer 2

I have several different solvents around, but I use G96 for almost everything. I have a bore snake in nearly every size available. I spray the snake and pull it through about 12 times. I wash the snakes fairly often to keep them clean. If I'm not going to be using it again soon, I will send a clean dry patch down after that, followed by a wet patch sprayed with G96. That's for clean burning commercial ammo or my reloads.



If I use some sort of sooty ammo like Wolf MC, I start with a bronze brush, followed by patches until they come out clean. Then another light coat of G96. I will also do that to all my guns a few times per year, whether they have been used much or not. At that point, I will also break them down and detail clean everything I can get at.



If I use corrosive ammo, it's the last proceedure, but I start with a brush and hot soapy water.



For an actual lube, I use CLP since it worked so well when I was in the military. I would probably use it for cleaning too, but it's really greasy and stains everything it touches.



I have kind of a minimalist approach to cleaning, but I go to the range a lot, and if I go crazy on everything I bring, I spend more time in my shop than on the firing line. It's been my approach for years, and it has never failed me.

Answer 3

Hoppe's #9 is a cleaner. What I do, is I dip a clean patch into the Hoppe's solution, run it thjrough the bore, and let it sit for about 15-30 minutes (depending on how dirty the firearm is). I then use it to clean the outside of the firearm. Then I go back and run dry, clean patches through the bore, until they come out as clean as possible. Then I go back and oil all of the metal parts lightly. I run 1 lightly oiled patch through the bore. I usually use Hoppe's lubricant/oil and use gun grease on parts that cause a lot of friction due to metal to metal contact. There are videos on YouTube that can show you the process.

Answer 4

Hoppes Bore Cleaner

Answer 5

Dry brush first, 3-5 strokes.



Wet patch with Hoppe's or Shooter's Choice, using either slotted tip or jag.



5 dry patches or until the patch comes out clean.



Dry brush again, 3-5 strokes.



Wet patch.



Dry patches until clean.



If you're storing it for over a month, run a patch dampened with gun oil.



The mop, for a 12-gauge, should be used after the dry patches, and insted of using the patch dampened with oil, you use the mop dampened with oil.

Answer 6

Hoppes # 9 is what you use to clean up burnt powder residue. You use it to clean the barrel then put it on a rag to clean inside the action. As a shotgun is a smoothbore, and spacious, it generally doesn't take many passes at all through the barrel to get it clean.



Now that your gun is clean it is time to use oil both to protect it from rust as well as for lubricant. That's where gun oil comes in. Put a little drip in the action and on the bars of the pump for lubrication. (It's actually smart to put a little drip of oil in these spots before you go out shooting) Next is oiling for rust prevention. Just pour some on a rag and wipe it all over the metal and wood, you want a thin coat (so it is shiney) not gobs of oil. Once you've got all the surfaces, only touch the wood as you put your gun in storage.



As far as what oil, Hoppes makes a gun oil that works great. Remoil is fine, some guys synthetic motor oil, heck olive oil out of the kitchen cabinet would work.

Answer 7

I only use a copper solvent in a barrel when the groups open up. Otherwise, I just wipe the gun down with gun oil, like Hoppes with Weatherguard. When I do use a solvent on the bore, I run a patch with a little oil on it after the copper is removed.

Answer 8

my current cleaning & oiling selections are based on long term try & evaluation of various products



I use two products for gun cleaning: removing fouling.

- Gun Milk (official name too long) . named so because it looks like milk.

- Hoppes 9 solvent



Gun Milk for cleaning up after shooting corrosive surplus, blackpwoder or shooting very dirty ammo. no modern cleaning product I've tried can handle heavy soot deposits from shooting dirty ammo, corrosive or blackpwoder. Hoppes, CLP, M-Pro7, Frog Lube does exceptionally poor job at it. Gun Milk restores a filthy bore to bright and shiny in 3 patches. Hoppes 9? I've tried at least 60 patches and the bore was still filthy.

Gun milk's real name is "Banner Mfg Specification 205 rev 1 Purchase Order 43-18171 US 6 oz Rifle Bore Cleaner". aka ww2 vintage bore cleaner. specially formulated to remove heavy carbon deposits. it unfortunately does not neutralize corrosive salts well, it just removes soot fouling. No idea how it works, but it's like magic.



Hoppes 9 is common, inexpensive and effective at removing corrosive salts, loosening lead fouling and removing copper fouling. It does not handle severe fouling very well, not even if you soaked the part/bore for several hours. It's a good rust remover (minor rust only), keeps blue in good condition and an excellent general purpose cleaner.





for oiling i'm still using a multi part solution, I use

Petroleum jelly for internals (it works very well for me, not recommended for dusty or hot climates)

Microlon Gun Juice for long lasting dry film protection,

silicone or lithium grease to waterproof plain steel surfaces. lithium is used if the gun has a polymer stock or frame.



for quick protection I use rem oil because it's spray-on, fast to apply. but it will dry up over time and leave your gun unprotected. hoppes 9 oil tends ot run off the gun instead.

Answer 9

I'm with Alkluis.

Use a solvent and then (after using patches to remove the solvent) oil it up.

Solvent takes derbies out, oil is to prevent corrosion. They are 2 different and opposite things.

Answer 10

Just get Hoppes #9 to clean the bore and get "Gun Oil" for the for anything else you may need to lube such as the action.

Answer 11

Keeping the gun clean is usually a function of the Powder used. I shoot "rogers better bullets" super hard lead cast bullets in my 1911 .45 and have had ZERO issues with lead fouling, etc. Different powders burn at different rates, some are "dirtier" than others. Mostly are a matter of opinion.