Cleaning an S&W 317 Cylinder

[MrNeutron]

Just picked up a new $&W 317 for the wife today. We went to the range, and shot around 80 rnds., and it seems like it's gonna be a really nice gun for her. She really likes the light weight, small frame, and the simplicity of a revolver.

I cleaned the barrel (steel liner) after we got back, using a bore brush & a plastic slotted tip with cotton patches. But I have a question regarding the aluminum cylinder the gun has. Since the cylinder is a "softer material" (again, aluminum), I didn't run a brush through it. Didn't think it would be good to scuff it with the brush, unless I can maybe find a plastic bristled one. Just used q-tips soaked in a bit of Hoppe's #9, followed by dry q-tips. Would the slotted tip with a patch be alright to run through the cylinder? I would hope so, but maybe others here know better.......

Any cleaning tips would be appreciated!

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[Knobgoblin]

Rimfire goo seems to respond well to soak with cleaning agents followed by compressed air. Once all the soft stuff is out of the way, scrubbing isn't going to take much time or effort.

 

[MrNeutron]

Rimfire goo seems to respond well to soak with cleaning agents followed by compressed air. Once all the soft stuff is out of the way, scrubbing isn't going to take much time or effort.

Sounds like good sound wisdom, knobgoblin; thanks for that! Geez, I'd forgotten I even own an air compressor; that's a good tip! I'm pretty certain that something as "benign/non-agressive" as the Hoppe's will be okay for whatever alloy of alum. that cylinder is composed of.......

 

[Knobgoblin]

Sounds like good sound wisdom, knobgoblin; thanks for that! Geez, I'd forgotten I even own an air compressor; that's a good tip! I'm pretty certain that something as "benign/non-agressive" as the Hoppe's will be okay for whatever alloy of alum. that cylinder is composed of.......

Solvents hit the wood hardest, then plastic/rubber grips or stocks. Any aftermarket finishes that can't tolerate cleaning products aren't worth having on a gun( coatings, hydro decals, etc. )

 

[Certaindeaf]

Just picked up a new $&W 317 for the wife today. We went to the range, and shot around 80 rnds., and it seems like it's gonna be a really nice gun for her. She really likes the light weight, small frame, and the simplicity of a revolver.

I cleaned the barrel (steel liner) after we got back, using a bore brush & a plastic slotted tip with cotton patches. But I have a question regarding the aluminum cylinder the gun has. Since the cylinder is a "softer material" (again, aluminum), I didn't run a brush through it. Didn't think it would be good to scuff it with the brush, unless I can maybe find a plastic bristled one. Just used q-tips soaked in a bit of Hoppe's #9, followed by dry q-tips. Would the slotted tip with a patch be alright to run through the cylinder? I would hope so, but maybe others here know better.......

Any cleaning tips would be appreciated!

I've never polished the face of a cylinder in my life, just nylon brush it with some hoppes. It will remain stained but be of original dimensions.
I'm pretty sure S&W warns to not remove the coating with abrasive polishing or using stainless or bronze brushes of their titanium/ scandium cylinder faces.

 

[solv3nt]

Solvents hit the wood hardest

Do not.

 

[Knobgoblin]

Do not.

You beat that thing like it stole your lunch money.

 

[drstrangelove]

Hoppes is Ok but Ballistol is so much easier. Spray on, leave it overnight, nylon brush cylinders, copper brush rifling, wife off excess Ballistol, and done. Leave the cylinder face alone beyond a toothbrush and rag. You do not want to remove the clear coat over the aluminum with lead away cloth or metal bristles.

 

[edzz]

FWIW, years ago I acquired a 317 for a killer price. Why such a good price? The finish was nasty, yellowed and coming off. I have no Idea what solvents had been used on it but... It got a new cerakote finish and a few months later found a new home. So, my message is that some cleaning agents will defiantly damage the factory finish, might check the Smith forum for better cleaning practices. That said I'd just use CLP as I mostly use for everything else.

 

[edzz]

Hoppes is Ok but Ballistol is so much easier. Spray on, leave it overnight, nylon brush cylinders, copper brush rifling, wife off excess Ballistol, and done. Leave the cylinder face alone beyond a toothbrush and rag. You do not want to remove the clear coat over the aluminum with lead away cloth or steel bristles.

When you "wife off excess" won't that cause a whole new set of problems?

 

[drstrangelove]

When you "wife off excess" won't that cause a whole new set of problems?

Ballistol is an excellent solvent, lubricant, nontoxic, and water soluble. It also dissolves carbon and lead remarkably well. There is no harm to a good soak… just wipe the excess.

 

[Tony617]

I only have an S&W 686-1 but it all stainless and I am using Hoppes #9. But the cylinder is stainless steel not alumnum. I would just use the CLP instead of the Hoppes. Or as others have said look online on other forums or possibly YT videos do see that other people are using on the 317.

 

[Certaindeaf]

FWIW, years ago I acquired a 317 for a killer price. Why such a good price? The finish was nasty, yellowed and coming off. I have no Idea what solvents had been used on it but... It got a new cerakote finish and a few months later found a new home. So, my message is that some cleaning agents will defiantly damage the factory finish, might check the Smith forum for better cleaning practices. That said I'd just use CLP as I mostly use for everything else.

It well could have been someone used strong simple green on it.. the original sg will flat destroy aluminum and some finishes.

 

[orygun]

Brakeclean works pretty well for some of that gunk.

 

[MrNeutron]

It well could have been someone used strong simple green on it.. the original sg will flat destroy aluminum and some finishes.

Mmmm, yeah, that's entirely possible. Those of us that ride dirt bikes and used Simple Green to pre-soak a muddy bike found that out a long time ago. It was really rough on engine cases, bikes with aluminum frames, triple clamps and such. But even worse was what it would do to electrical connections. It was like James Bond, but with "A License to Corrode" on electrical connections...... Dunno if they've changed the formulation since?

I've got an old soft tooth brush to use to lightly scrub some areas of the revolver, which should also help reduce tooth decay. I'm looking for a bore "mop" in .22 cal. for the cylinder. May have one in my mess of cleaning supplies; it's just a matter of a Search and Rescue for that. After that, might try some other not-so-aggressive chemical/clp, and should be golden.

It's amazing what a few drops of oil did for the extractor. It was pretty stiff as delivered. It works much better now.

My wife's gun has a weird rear sight blade/fiber optic front setup. The square notch in the rear sight blade isn't deep enough to align the top of the front sight with the top edges of the rear blade, and still see the dot. If you hold where your sight picture shows the F/O's dot, the top of the front blade is well above the back sight. If you level out the front sight/rear sight's top edges, the fiber optic's dot is barely visible. It needs some work with a file, and/or a slightly taller replacement rear blade and still work with a file. This is my only complaint about the gun, really. Hard to understand how a company like $&W can sell guns with this funky sight picture. Makes me wonder if anyone there actually bothers to shoot the guns they make......

Thanks to all for the help here!

Added in EDIT: orygun, not so certain about the Brakekleen stuff. Some brands of that used to have Trichlorethane, and may still use a bit of of that. That might possibly be a little over-agressive for whatever finish $&W might apply to their aluminum......

 

[Certaindeaf]

Yes, simple green has a new formula safe for certain alloys etc. but the original formula is still sold.

 

[orygun]

Added in EDIT: orygun, not so certain about the Brakekleen stuff. Some brands of that used to have Trichlorethane, and may still use a bit of of that. That might possibly be a little over-agressive for whatever finish $&W might apply to their aluminum......

There is a Non-Chlorinated version that is widely available, too.