After a good cleaning I notoriously get degreaser on the outside of my weapon. I normally just wipe down with oil and let sit then wipe off the excess, the down side to this method, although it works, is that it is very time consuming. Is there any type of spray type of oil that I can use? especially under the hand guard because q-tips are just terrible :suicide:
I have tried to use the search function with no real luck. Links to web pages and threads that can help are very welcome. I’m not looking for what brand is better than another blah blah blah… just looking for what works for you.
I used to use Shooters Choice rust preventer and a micro fiber (for auto detailing) rag for final wipe down. That was the only way I didt get fuzz on heavy parkerized rifles…
For the outside of the weapon, try a light spray of rem oil. Instead of a rag I use a 1" paint brush to remove the excess and remove all but a light film. The brush doesn’t leave all the lint and can be used in tight places and recesses.
I just spray a light layer of BF CLP on the outside of the barrel and through the holes in the free float rails to cover the barrel. It is messy but it has been effective so far.
THe whole weapon exterior? Just use an air compressor to blow the dust off. I normally just do the same for under rail. If you have gummed up dirt or concerned about moisture, try Quibs CLP-Mineral Spirits solution. Spray generously under the rail, point weapon down and let drip. For this application, I have mine pretty diluted to keep the remaining CLP film to a minimum.
Other than the initial exterior cleaning and oiling when I purchase a new barrel assembly, I do no other maintinance other than dusting. I live in a low humidity environment so I do not have to worry about rust as much. I do a monthly inspection under the handguards and have only found rust on very few barrels during the past in the high humidity of winter before I started this practice.
The only places I use grease are on the cam pin and on the carrier bearing points, and I can just wipe and relube those areas without a chemical spray.
Can someone explain to me why they are rubbing/wiping down the outside of their AR for any reason? Can someone explain to me the benefit to hard anodized aluminum?
I think you should wipe and rust protect the outside of the barrel, FH, barrel nut area, FSB, trigger, Receiver Extension, pins, levers, etc.?? there are plenty of steel parts outside an AR that will rust.
The receiver itself doesn’t need to be oiled but I do try to rust protect roll pins, lube where mag release, bolt catch, etc. have holes that parts move in. I see pictures of AR’s where you can see oil “migrating” from these points to a “dry” receiver. New guns come out of the box with this “migration”.
I figure one day I might want to remove a FH, FSB, Barrel or a RE, so I try to keep a little oil there to ease removal one day.
Heck, down here if you don’t oil it or paint it-it rusts or rots…and doing that ain’t no guarantee sometimes. Guess it depends where you’re at…?
I personally use brake cleaner because it gets all the gunk out of the upper, lower, BCG, ect. I first scrub it down with carbon cutter, and then use the brake cleaner to flush everything out. Its the quickest way to remove all the cleaners, soiled lube, carbon chunks, ect.
And no I don’t really care what anyone thinks of it or if its “over cleaning”. It takes 10-15 minutes per gun to clean the lower, upper, BCG, and barrel. A detailed cleaning takes maybe 45 minutes, and I do that about every 3-5 range trips or about 4-5k rounds per weapon. Ive taken my SR15 to ~5k round without cleaning (just adding lube), and it started running sluggish.
Im not one of those people who have to detail clean after every range trip but I dont keep my guns filthy, either. No matter what someone ran their gun to without cleaning doesn’t dispute the numerous instances of cases Ive seen where people neglected weapons maintenance, and had issues. Everything from people not lubing their weapons to not oiling the exterior, and come back to tons of surface rust. When I was AD we had a SPC come about 10 seconds away from getting charged for a SAW barrel because the thing completely rusted under the hand guards. Lucky for him he was able to clean it up.
I imagine in AZ with the dry heat its not much of an issue but those who live in humid areas need to pay particular attention to rust prevention. Our arms room in Germany was particular damp, and you had to leave a heavy coat of oil on all the guns otherwise they would have rust spots all over the steel parts in days. AL doesnt rust per say but a wipe down isnt going to hurt anything, and you get the steel parts sticking off the side of the AL at the same time. The down side is excess oil allows dust and dirt particles to stick to it, and can clog close tolerance parts. I generally wipe down with an oil rag, and then wipe dry with a micro fiber cloth (clean) so there is just a slight film left. Barrels get a light wipe clean. When I was in WA at Ft Lewis I kept my 870 in the closet, and basically forgot about it. A few months later I took it out, and it had rust spots all over the barrel. I lived about 1/2 mile from Puget Sound (salt water) + it was constantly wet and humid. People in dry climates really don’t have much to worry about, though.
I actually use the gun scrubber spray(or break cleaner) to clean the carbon build-up off of the gas tube near where the carrier key meets up with it and spray out the gas tube to remove what build up it does. Saying that some cleaner leaks from under my FSB, because I have a small gas leak there, it always seems to make it’s way under my hand guard as well.
I suppose I will try the CLP or Rem oil depending which I find first.
I am a retard because I have my carbines painted. Having said that I do a little wipe down on the exterior with a shop rag and that’s it.
if you have a small compressor you can easily blow out the inside of the lower.
To clean under the rails trying get one of those long baby bottle type brushes. You can usually push it in from the front and clean some of the crap out of there.
I am also fortunate to be living in an rea with very low humidity so rust is pretty uncommon.
Just a note, in the many “rust protection tests” I have seen on the different AR Forums, RemOil ALWAYS faired the worst and the BF’s (CLP. LP, Collector, etc) generally did pretty well. Those are RP tests not lube tests.
You can always gripe about the tester’s techniques, precision, methods, etc. but to be the first one to rust in several different tests ain’t a good “sign”.
I used to use RemOil and switched. In nearly every test of multiple oil brands, done by different testers, RemOil has almost always done the worst (that I’ve ever seen).
I don’t normally wipe down the exterior of my guns. If there’s mud or something on them, I use a dry paintbrush and/or a stiff-bristled nylon kitchen scrubber to clean them off.
If you have solvent on the exterior of your carbine, I’d just wipe the excess off with a paintbrush or rag and call it good.
REM Oil is garbage. It loses it’s lubricating properties quickly, esp on AR’s. I’ve had excellent luck with Slip 2000 EWL and will use it exclusively when my stock of LaRue MG lube is exhausted.
On my training carbines they get a quick wipedown externally and that’s it.
I completely agree, it is worthless. It almost seems to evaporate. This is exactly why I use it on the exterior of the weapon. I dont need it to lubricate the outside of the barrel.:sarcastic:, it’s just for cleaning/wiping the surface. This only gets done about twice a year. The exterior and lower get cleaned with an air compressor and brush, and the upper assembly gets cleaned with CLP.
Just use an air compressor to blow the dust off. I normally just do the same for under rail. If you have gummed up dirt or concerned about moisture, try Quibs CLP-Mineral Spirits solution. Spray generously under the rail, point weapon down and let drip. For this application, I have mine pretty diluted to keep the remaining CLP film to a minimum.