Favorite non toxic gun cleaning products

[Red Schwinn]

I just tried froglube solvent for cleaning. Impressed so far. I also use Ballistol for general lube and shine.

 

[JTK1791]

Lol

 

[ilikegunspdx]

.

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Why doesn't he just put peanut butter on his gun and call it good? If his standards are so low that he would put some bubblegumed up homebrew dogbubblegum on his gun, might as well put peanut butter on their POS hi - Point and call it a day. Some of us actually like to take good care of our guns. What an idiot whoever wrote this is. Probably the same level of intelligence as the guy that held a phone book on his chest then had his girlfriend shoot it.

Can't wait for his next bullbubblegum recipe:"look honey I piss in the gas tank, makes our gas go farther. Sure does. Saves us lots of money. Sure does, Da YUp. Plus makes it work better too. Sure does. You should try it on your hair, we won't need conditioner no more"

 

[aboveandbeyond]

This is my current favorite bore cleaner for my match rifles. The problem is that it raises serious hell with my asthma! I can use CLP and get the carbon out but not the copper. I haven't found a low VOC cleaner to get the copper out. So I carry on with the #9 Foam and use a full on respirator.

Any suggestions appreciated

 

[Retired Guy]

While I don't think any solvent could be considered non-toxic, I'm a big fan of Bore Tech Eliminator. It doesn't have ammonia in it so no strong smell.

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The wife really appreciates the lack of smell. I've pretty much dumped all my other solvents.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

cleaning these puppies can be tiring... Maybe I should get one of these...

 

[ilikegunspdx]

cleaning these puppies can be tiring... Maybe I should get one of these...

Haha you don't want to use that for guns. It will add tons of time and may damage parts if plastic etc.

Cleaning need not be difficult or long. If you don't want to clean your guns buy an aK or Glock and just shoot it without cleaning if that's your style. Cleaning is part of guns. Focus on simple techniques that work and save time and it's no big deal.

Fe a realavid bore snake or similar can save you tons of time. Also long double ended pointed cotton swabs. Also boron nitride ceramic lube can coat the parts leaving a dry slippery surface. This helps makes cleaning a breeze. Ester based CLPs like Eezox act similarly leaving a dry film on the metal but ceramic coating lasts a lot longer.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

Haha you don't want to use that for guns. It will add tons of time and may damage parts if plastic etc.

Cleaning need not be difficult or long. If you don't want to clean your guns buy an aK or Glock and just shoot it without cleaning if that's your style. Cleaning is part of guns. Focus on simple techniques that work and save time and it's no big deal.

Fe a realavid bore snake or similar can save you tons of time. Also long double ended pointed cotton swabs. Also boron nitride ceramic lube can coat the parts leaving a dry slippery surface. This helps makes cleaning a breeze. Ester based CLPs like Eezox act similarly leaving a dry film on the metal but ceramic coating lasts a lot longer.

Alright... What if I hit the mechanism only (not the frame) of the lower part with WD-40 to clean it then hit it with compressed air to dry, then lube it. What that be okay?
Did you say on the on the Glock 19 is easier to clean?
There are so much smudge build up in it right now.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Alright... What if I hit the mechanism only (not the frame) of the lower part with WD-40 to clean it then hit it with compressed air to dry, then lube it. What that be okay?
Did you say on the on the Glock 19 is easier to clean?
There are so much smudge build up in it right now.

My comment about Glocks and AKs is some people shoot those and never clean them at all, ever, and have no malfunctions. I would not use wd40 as a cleaner personally (due to lack of effectiveness not cuz it will damage anything). Cheap 99% alcohol from Fred Meyer will do a much better job. Soaking (meaning wet coat, not a bath) in a gun solvent will do even better than that.

Lots of methods to clean guns. I would watch some videos to get ideas of what might work for you. Fe here's a video where he uses dry brush, soak in ester based (anise oil in this case) CLP, clean, couple drops of lube in key places, coat with CLP for rust prevention. You can substitute Eezox for the ballistol for synthetic ester based (and ballistol stinks cuz it's anise oil). Can also substitute ceramic dry lube for the protection and lube part.

For me the key is to not overlube and to use a quality dry lube. Dry lube resists new buildup making the next cleaning much easier and can make gun function better for longer in a shooting session. It also doesn't attract gunk, carbon, powder residue, dirt etc. If you have a wet lube it's gonna grab every particle there is and then you have to remove that at the next cleaning. If there is lots of wet lube it's even worse. That's why many such as sig say 1 drop in shiny parts only for lube (shiny part indicates it's a wear surface).

A good Ceramic dry lube means increased lubricity, resistance to buildup of gunk while shooting, and easier cleaning after. I have one semi auto that now will cycle with 710 fps cci quiet after many applications ("buildup") of ceramic lube. It's dry and slippery. Really that gun (or any semi auto) should not be able to cycle with those 710 fps rounds but the ceramic lube makes it ultra slippery.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

A good Ceramic dry lube means increased lubricity, resistance to buildup of gunk while shooting, and easier cleaning after. I have one semi auto that now will cycle with 710 fps cci quiet after many applications ("buildup") of ceramic lube. It's dry and slippery. Really that gun (or any semi auto) should not be able to cycle with those 710 fps rounds but the ceramic lube makes it ultra slippery.

Thanks and that makes a lot of sense now. Just looking between the Taurus and the Glock where there are similarities but the Glock is a bit more friendlier to clean. I did my other Glock and it was alot easier to reach. So what would you strictly recommend that is a dry lube for this Glock so it wont touch the cerrakoting? This thing is just totally dry now.
Thanks... H

 

[CountryGent]

 

[Andy54Hawken]

Warm soapy water....works well for Muzzle loaders.

Once while at a rendezvous and cleaning my rifle after winning a match...
I took the barrel and dunked it in the Green River to clean it...the looks I got were priceless....
The rendezvous was at the actual site of the 1838 Rendezvous...I figure more than one rifle or gun has been cleaned in the Green River....
Andy

 

[GrayGoose]

Non-toxic cleaners, eh?
Okay, how about organic cleaners?

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

I think I'm inspired now. I just cleaned my beloved Taurus thoroughly and gently as I can. I want to coat the metal mechanism with that dry lube. Maybe I'll dab the shiny metal to metal contact with something a bit slippery just enough that it wont result like an exploded gunk inside. What do you think about something like this?

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Thanks and that makes a lot of sense now. Just looking between the Taurus and the Glock where there are similarities but the Glock is a bit more friendlier to clean. I did my other Glock and it was alot easier to reach. So what would you strictly recommend that is a dry lube for this Glock so it wont touch the cerrakoting? This thing is just totally dry now.
Thanks... H

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When you say "won't touch the ceracoating" understand imo that is not realistic for wear surfaces. The wear surfaces will become shiny over time no matter what you use. Fe the shiny surfaces on the black gun in your pic. Those are the spots where lubricity is important and there will be natural wear there as the parts break in to each other. So lubricity is what you want there not really protection (other than rust I suppose).

For lubricity refer to the "has anyone tried ceramic dry lube?" thread for options. I haven't found anything better than liquimoly ceratec (Amazon or Napa) for that. Shake well for full suspension of the boron nitride nanoparricles. I need to update that thread but the next one I want to try is muc off which is a ceramic bike dry lube. I tried it on bikes and it resists grime and dirt like nothing I have used before on a bike. Literally after 3 months of riding the chain appearance has not changed. Whether it works well on guns or not who knows, I need to test it.

As far as protecting the ceracoating on the outside of the gun and really anywhere that is not a wear surface a regular protectant will work really well. As mentioned Eezox or ballistol do this by leaving a dry film. These adsorb to the metal similar and build up somewhat over time similarly to ceramic protectants (refer to the "seasoning iron skillet" comment by Hickok 45 in the video shown above). Really good for blued gun cuz it resists fingerprints (fingerprints can turn to rust over time). Ceramic protectants will last longer than ester based protectants though. Other options are discussed in the ceramic dry lube thread. I have the Swiss ceramic stuff and it works well but is not worth the cost or trouble to get it Imo. I've tried tungsten ceramics and so far the boron nitride ones are better in my experience.

TBH the best thing I have seen for any surface (don't know about rubber though) protection is Jescar ultra lock plus (Amazon). It's a ceramic protectant for cars. Nothing lasts longer that I have seen for surface protection. I've been detailing cars for 35 years or more and have tried everything. There is an ultra guru for car detailing on YouTube in England. He has done numerous tests and this matches or beats anything else for protection. I did my vehicle with it 1.5 years ago and water still beads everywhere (I did tailights etc and glass too). I tiny bit goes a very long way with that stuff. It is not a lube, protectant only. That's why Cleaner lubricant protectants (CLP) are popular because they do all three. But like all products that do more than one specialty you can find better products for lube only (Fe ceratec) or protection only (Fe ultra lock plus). Bottom line is Eezox or ballistol are plenty good enough but I personally like more lubricity on wear parts and slide so use a bit of ceratec for that.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

I think I'm inspired now. I just cleaned my beloved Taurus thoroughly and gently as I can. I want to coat the metal mechanism with that dry lube. Maybe I'll dab the shiny metal to metal contact with something a bit slippery just enough that it wont result like an exploded gunk inside. What do you think about something like this?

View attachment 1787550

Should be fine. Boron nitride lubes are all the rage in Europe but haven't caught on in the US yet. I'm thinking 3-5 years from now most all lube companies will switch to ceramics. Ballistol Fe now has a ceramic version available in Europe but not yet in the US as far as I know. Bottom line is if it's a good dry lube it's probably gonna keep your gun cleaner, make it easier to clean, and likely provide more lubricity than a wet lube. Don't know about guns designed for wet libes though like old lever guns, would have to try it to make sure it works for something like that. They may prefer (function better I mean) with a wet lube.

Also keep in mind that alcohol etc will likely remove most of the previously applied Eezox/ballistol/whatever so it kind of stops that continuos buildup of slippery dry film. So clean with alcohol to strip everything else then stick with one product for CLP to keep up that building of dry film process. For barrel Fe you can strip it bare when ultra dirty or when starting from a previous petroleum based lube. But you might find that when you have good ceramic lube coating (or other such as Eezox or ballistol$ running a dry bore snake is all that needed ro get it back to to shiny clean. Then you can add more Eezox/whatever as a protective coat (as Hickok does in the video absolve).

Hickok's video is an ideal and longer cleaning imo but for faster periodic cleaning just a fast dry brush, fast clean with CLP, few drops of lube on wear parts, quick coat of protectant/CLP is enough. But liek I said there are many ways to clean and most of them work well as long as it's done periodically. If you use a good dry lube and don't forget to coat barrel and all metals with a decent protectant (such as ballistol/Eezox CLP or other) there should be no issues for the life of the gun imo and cleaning should be pretty fast and easy. All imo and many other cleaninf regimens work just fine.

 

[ma96782]

Urine, the morning after a night of heavy drinking… rifle is fine!












Not really.

Aloha, Mark

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

Oh. What I mean that wont touch the cerrakoting is when I apply the lubricant carefully, I want to make sure I use one that will not spread or will spread less like a mofo especially to the crerrakoted finish part. Just like what you said, I just want to use it in teh metal friction parts.
So is the ballistol is also another dry lubrication?

 

[ilikegunspdx]

Forgot to mention re the DuPont product you showed I believe that's the exact same product as finish line dry lube. DuPont and finish line both started with Teflon as the friction modifier then more recently added BN to the mix. I remember studying the finish line one and it was still high in Teflon but lower in BN.

The ipsc gun lube from Europe (discussed in the "has anyone tried ceramic drylube?" Thread produces 3-4 products that vary in concentrations of Teflon and BN. Basically that's for competition shooters trying to edge out every last bit of performance they can. So finding the magic formulation is almost academic really and is trial and error. None of which is need for everyday shooters TBH. I like to study and test it just for fun as I used to help develop and test motor oils with the former head of exxons advanced research lab, spedically for fuel diluting engines such as the first generation of direct injection engines. So a lot of this is teasing out the best performance when in reality just a good "Drylube" CLP (such as ballistol or Eezox) plus a few drops of a good drylube for wear spots is more than enough.

 

[HiFi Magnetics]

Forgot to mention re the DuPont product you showed I believe that's the exact same product as finish line dry lube. DuPont and finish line both started with Teflon as the friction modifier then more recently added BN to the mix. I remember studying the finish line one and it was still high in Teflon but lower in BN.

The ipsc gun lube from Europe (discussed in the "has anyone tried ceramic drylube?" Thread produces 3-4 products that vary in concentrations of Teflon and BN. Basically that's for competition shooters trying to edge out every last bit of performance they can. So finding the magic formulation is almost academic really and is trial and error. None of which is need for everyday shooters TBH. I like to study and test it just for fun as I used to help develop and test motor oils with the former head of exxons advanced research lab, spedically for fuel diluting engines such as the first generation of direct injection engines. So a lot of this is teasing out the best performance when in reality just a good "Drylube" CLP (such as ballistol or Eezox) plus a few drops of a good drylube for wear spots is more than enough.

I also notice I am starting t a get a very minimal pitting on the housing. Should I polish this? I have a dremmel and a Cratex tip (slightly abrasive rubber tip).
Thanks