Califbill wrote:
wrote:
On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 08:31:33 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

If you want to dry it good. Hive it a good shot of brake-clean or better
yet, starting fluid ( eather) then let it sit. It'll be dry as a desert
bone in moments. Then use light gun oil on reassembly.
The mineral spirits and machine oil thing cuts out most of this drama.
The solvent does a good job of cleaning things and the oil remains
after you wipe or evaporate off the spirits.
In an ultrasonic cleaner you just start it up and go get a cup of
coffee.
IBM used to have a couple of big sprayer type cleaners at 1801 K to
clean typewriters and that was the mix they used (mineral spirits and
IBM #6 oil) ... until the fire marshal found out. I ended up with one
of them after that. You could get a whole VW or Harley engine in one.
Run it about an hour and they came out looking brand new.
They did smoke a might after you put them back together, indicating
how much oil did penetrate the pores of the metal.

We had spray booths, where you had a pressure wand like the car wash. Had
dirty solvent and clean solvent wands. Wash out the mechanical register or
accounting machine with dirty first and then clean solvent. Worked great
on camp stoves after we went abalone diving and fried the dinner.


I haven't had fried Abalone in years and haven't seen it on a menu in
just as long. It's some fantastic stuff!

Alex wrote:
Califbill wrote:
wrote:
On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 08:31:33 -0800 (PST), Tim
wrote:

If you want to dry it good. Hive it a good shot of brake-clean or better
yet, starting fluid ( eather) then let it sit. It'll be dry as a desert
bone in moments. Then use light gun oil on reassembly.
The mineral spirits and machine oil thing cuts out most of this drama.
The solvent does a good job of cleaning things and the oil remains
after you wipe or evaporate off the spirits.
In an ultrasonic cleaner you just start it up and go get a cup of
coffee.
IBM used to have a couple of big sprayer type cleaners at 1801 K to
clean typewriters and that was the mix they used (mineral spirits and
IBM #6 oil) ... until the fire marshal found out. I ended up with one
of them after that. You could get a whole VW or Harley engine in one.
Run it about an hour and they came out looking brand new.
They did smoke a might after you put them back together, indicating
how much oil did penetrate the pores of the metal.

We had spray booths, where you had a pressure wand like the car wash. Had
dirty solvent and clean solvent wands. Wash out the mechanical register or
accounting machine with dirty first and then clean solvent. Worked great
on camp stoves after we went abalone diving and fried the dinner.


I haven't had fried Abalone in years and haven't seen it on a menu in
just as long. It's some fantastic stuff!


I still get it. The young people dive now. I still prefer a nice pork
chop. But I used to love diving the North Coast when I was younger.

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:43:25 -0500, Alex wrote:

wrote:
On Sat, 26 Nov 2016 21:48:20 -0500, Alex wrote:

Has anyone used an ultrasonic cleaner for their guns - or boat parts?

I bought one and I'm clear on the cleaning part but have read a lot of
opinions on the best way to lubricate the parts after they are cleaned.
I would put mineral spirits with a dash of oil in my cleaner. When the
mineral spirits evaporates away, you still end up with a uniform oil
coating. Then wipe all the oil off that you can, knowing it is still
there on the microscopic level. When assembling the gun, lube the
operating surfaces as normal but too much is as bad or worse than none
at all.

It sounds great in theory but it's a 7 liter cleaner and I'm not certain
that dash of oil would make it onto all of the parts. The cleaner has a
heater which will aid in drying but I want to be sure there is no water
left.

The oil will be in solution with the mineral spirits. I am not sure
how you would keep it out. There is no water in mineral spirits. You
really do not need to worry about it just air drying and that will go
pretty quickly if you wipe everything down when you pull it out.

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:44:09 -0500, Alex wrote:

wrote:
On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 08:27:32 -0500, Poquito Loco
wrote:

If you get sand into a mechanism, you have to remove all the grease to clean it. The ultrasonic bath
excels at this task. My guns have thus far been spared, but I've used it to clean bicycle chains and
freewheels, as well as carburetors.
===

In basic training we used to get sand in the M-14 trigger mechanism
all the time. The unauthorized but effective cure was to wash it
under hot soapy water, rinse, dry, and re-oil immediately.

How did you dry it?

That is the reason for the very hot water. The metal will be hot and
dry right away.

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:47:52 -0500, Alex wrote:

Poco Loco wrote:
On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 12:30:59 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 08:27:32 -0500, Poquito Loco
wrote:

If you get sand into a mechanism, you have to remove all the grease to clean it. The ultrasonic bath
excels at this task. My guns have thus far been spared, but I've used it to clean bicycle chains and
freewheels, as well as carburetors.
===

In basic training we used to get sand in the M-14 trigger mechanism
all the time. The unauthorized but effective cure was to wash it
under hot soapy water, rinse, dry, and re-oil immediately.
We washed our M-14 under hot (really hot) soapy water in OCS. Then we rinsed them in hot (really
hot) water. Each individual then waved the hot pieces around to air dry them. Worked well.

Did you do a full take-down or just separate the upper and lower and
pull out the bolt? How heavy was the oil they provided?

===

The M-14 is quite a bit different than an AR-15 in that there is no
separate upper and lower receiver. It's been a long time but my
recollection is just the trigger group which pops right out. The oil
was very light.

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 22:38:03 -0500,
wrote:

On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:47:52 -0500, Alex wrote:

Poco Loco wrote:
On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 12:30:59 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 08:27:32 -0500, Poquito Loco
wrote:

If you get sand into a mechanism, you have to remove all the grease to clean it. The ultrasonic bath
excels at this task. My guns have thus far been spared, but I've used it to clean bicycle chains and
freewheels, as well as carburetors.
===

In basic training we used to get sand in the M-14 trigger mechanism
all the time. The unauthorized but effective cure was to wash it
under hot soapy water, rinse, dry, and re-oil immediately.
We washed our M-14 under hot (really hot) soapy water in OCS. Then we rinsed them in hot (really
hot) water. Each individual then waved the hot pieces around to air dry them. Worked well.

Did you do a full take-down or just separate the upper and lower and
pull out the bolt? How heavy was the oil they provided?

===

The M-14 is quite a bit different than an AR-15 in that there is no
separate upper and lower receiver. It's been a long time but my
recollection is just the trigger group which pops right out. The oil
was very light.

The Operating rod and bolt are like the M1 and come out the same way.
It only takes a minute to get that whole deal apart so you can clean
the gas tube and all the stuff that gets dirty when you shoot it a
lot.
We used to detail strip them in the armory, taking the bolt, trigger
group and such apart but we had a tool for that "Jesus spring" on the
ejector.
The chief did not think much of those commercial miracle gun oils. He
used to say the GI "LSA" in the little OD cans was basically good old
3 in one oil. I used IBM #6 for years. (#1 machine oil with a dash of
detergent) I still have a case or two around here.

wrote:
On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:43:25 -0500, Alex wrote:

wrote:
On Sat, 26 Nov 2016 21:48:20 -0500, Alex wrote:

Has anyone used an ultrasonic cleaner for their guns - or boat parts?

I bought one and I'm clear on the cleaning part but have read a lot of
opinions on the best way to lubricate the parts after they are cleaned.
I would put mineral spirits with a dash of oil in my cleaner. When the
mineral spirits evaporates away, you still end up with a uniform oil
coating. Then wipe all the oil off that you can, knowing it is still
there on the microscopic level. When assembling the gun, lube the
operating surfaces as normal but too much is as bad or worse than none
at all.
It sounds great in theory but it's a 7 liter cleaner and I'm not certain
that dash of oil would make it onto all of the parts. The cleaner has a
heater which will aid in drying but I want to be sure there is no water
left.
The oil will be in solution with the mineral spirits. I am not sure
how you would keep it out. There is no water in mineral spirits. You
really do not need to worry about it just air drying and that will go
pretty quickly if you wipe everything down when you pull it out.

I thought you were suggesting mineral spirits and oil in the ultrasonic
cleaner. How is mineral spirits in firearm finishes?

wrote:
On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:44:09 -0500, Alex wrote:

wrote:
On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 08:27:32 -0500, Poquito Loco
wrote:

If you get sand into a mechanism, you have to remove all the grease to clean it. The ultrasonic bath
excels at this task. My guns have thus far been spared, but I've used it to clean bicycle chains and
freewheels, as well as carburetors.
===

In basic training we used to get sand in the M-14 trigger mechanism
all the time. The unauthorized but effective cure was to wash it
under hot soapy water, rinse, dry, and re-oil immediately.
How did you dry it?
That is the reason for the very hot water. The metal will be hot and
dry right away.
I may have to try this with a cheap gun to test the results.

wrote:
On Mon, 28 Nov 2016 19:47:52 -0500, Alex wrote:

Poco Loco wrote:
On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 12:30:59 -0500, wrote:

On Sun, 27 Nov 2016 08:27:32 -0500, Poquito Loco
wrote:

If you get sand into a mechanism, you have to remove all the grease to clean it. The ultrasonic bath
excels at this task. My guns have thus far been spared, but I've used it to clean bicycle chains and
freewheels, as well as carburetors.
===

In basic training we used to get sand in the M-14 trigger mechanism
all the time. The unauthorized but effective cure was to wash it
under hot soapy water, rinse, dry, and re-oil immediately.
We washed our M-14 under hot (really hot) soapy water in OCS. Then we rinsed them in hot (really
hot) water. Each individual then waved the hot pieces around to air dry them. Worked well.
Did you do a full take-down or just separate the upper and lower and
pull out the bolt? How heavy was the oil they provided?
===

The M-14 is quite a bit different than an AR-15 in that there is no
separate upper and lower receiver. It's been a long time but my
recollection is just the trigger group which pops right out. The oil
was very light.

I was thinking of the M16. I forgot how old John is!

On Tue, 29 Nov 2016 19:57:21 -0500, Alex wrote:

The oil will be in solution with the mineral spirits. I am not sure
how you would keep it out. There is no water in mineral spirits. You
really do not need to worry about it just air drying and that will go
pretty quickly if you wipe everything down when you pull it out.

I thought you were suggesting mineral spirits and oil in the ultrasonic
cleaner. How is mineral spirits in firearm finishes?

I was talking about the cleaner but I am not sure about finishes. I
don't think it hurts bluing and the various military finishes but if
you have something exotic, it might be worth googling. Mineral spirits
is on the "oil" side of solvents, unlike hotter solvents like lacquer
thinner. When I was a lot younger I used "gun cleaner" on my old .38
with no ill effects. Then I found out they meant "spray guns" and it
was a hotter version of lacquer thinner. It did clean all of the gum
out of the operating mechanism from some over zealous "greasing" by a
previous owner. When I took the side plate off it was packed with some
gummy kind of stuff.