Cleaning B/A?

[Iggy]

With my previous thread about coating. I have decided to really clean down the gun until I can get it coated. I removed the top bases, and when put back on need to be torqued at 15in/lbs. I removed the trigger and stock so all I'm left with is the bolt and B/A. I don't have a tool to take apart the bolt so that will just have to stay as is.

My main question is what should I use to degrease and clean the whole barreled action? Are there specific chemicals I should avoid? Is there a certain procedure I should follow?

The reason I'm doing this is because I'm not the first owner of the gun. It was developing some oxidation not full on rust but the rags were redish brown. Also the original owner used some kind or red grease, and used a lot of it. There seems to be quite a bit around the base of the barrel. I just want to remove all the grease and rust so I can take care of it like my other guns.

Thanks in advance!

PS: excuse my bad spelling and grammar. I'm on my iPhone and the keyboard sucks.

 

[Red_SC]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

Hose it down with non-chlorinated brake cleaner.

And, you can take the bolt apart without tools. Do a search for Lowlight's youtube video on his bootlace method.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

Thanks! I saw that LL video. I'll give it a try.

Are there any negative side effects from using mineral spirits to clean after the brake cleaner?

 

[bohem]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

brake cleaner doesn't leave any residue when it evaporates, mineral spirits do.

If you're going to clean the heck outta the thing and then it will sit for a bit (more than 48 hours) I'd suggest lightly coating it with WD 40 just to ward off any surface corrosion before it's coated.

If you clean it today and get it coated in 3 weeks it will still need to be cleaned before you spray it anyway.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

Thanks! I'll just use brake cleaner and CLP.

Is there a make/brand of brake cleaner that works better than others?

Sorry for all my newb questions...

 

[19Scout77]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

If it is not rusting, LEAVE IT ALONE UNTIL YOU ARE READY TO COAT IT! A super clean surface is MUCH more susceptible to rust than one that has a healthy coating of grease and/or oil on it.

Also, might as wait until you are ready to coat--that way you only have to do it once

 

[Iggy]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

I was going to go shoot this weekend and need to get more practice. I was going to clean it and oil it down like I do to all my guns. I have never seen this on any of my guns and I have always just taken everything apart and oiled it with CLP.

My goal is to not strip it down to the bare metal, just remove the slight rust that seems to have built up from the previous owner and bring back the nice black of the original coating; along with the excess grease.

I may just get the steel wool out and just use CLP oil get it back to normal, to save time for now.

I know I'm a total newb, and if this is wrong let me know! I don't want to ruin my gun.

 

[Iggy]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

Ok, so here is what I ended up doing. I took some non-chlorinated brake cleaner and sprayed everything down until there was no oil or grease anywhere. I then took an air compressor and made sure there was no brake cleaner left. I doused the action and barrel with CLP and let it soak. I didn't want it to begin to rust again.

I took the bolt apart with a piece of para-cord and it had a lot of the grease and build up. I did the same as the barrel and action and put it back together.

I bought some Jardine's Extreme grease and used it on the action guides for the bolt, the bolt head and the silver retaining thing on the back.

So during all this I can across a few things that I have some questions on.

1.I took a flashlight and looked down the barrel and I noticed some brown color down the barrel. I don't know if this is the best way to describe it, but I couldn't tell if it was copper or rust? I cleaned the barrel with CLP foam and then ran a dry patches until it was clean then a wet one. The barrel was clean but the marks were still there.

2. When I was re attaching the scope bases I noticed that each base had a small and large bolt. I figured this was a mistake since the back mount is larger then the front one and that both large bolts must be for the back mount. Is this correct? I also tightened them down to 20in/lbs since that's the lowest my torque wrench will go.

So did my newb curiosity actually screw up my whole rifle or just make a mess?

 

[bohem]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

When the patches came out of the barrel with marks on them, what color were the marks?

If you wipe a copper solvent patch through the barrel does it come out blue?

I personally wouldn't run steel wool on anything with a blued finish on it, just Kroil or WD it up and wipe it well with a paper towel after about 20 mins. Any little bits of surface rust will come off in the paper towel and not scuff up the finish.

I'm not sure what you're talking about on the scope base, can you take apicture of it?

 

[Iggy]

Re: Cleaning B/A?

Thanks for the reply! The rust isn't an issue any more. I managed to clean that up.

A lot of blue did come out, and I assumed I got all the copper. I'll run some more to see if it all comes out.

The scope base, the two little pillars that sit on top of the action, are held down by two small screws on each side. When I took them off the screws they were different lengths, a short and a long one. I assumed that the longer screws were for the rear mount since it's taller and the short ones for the front. They were installed one long one short when I took them off.

Thanks for all the help Hide!