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Right now I'm using the 'Hoppe's Elite'. The stuff works GREAT. However, you only get a small lil bottle of it and every time I try and find it at my local Wally World, they're all sold out. I'm just wondering if you knew of any other great cleaners to help take off the gun powder. I also have some gun powder on on my 1911 where the firing pin pops out, and it's REALLY pasted on there. I have to use a lil brush I got from Radioshack that helps scrub it away without scratching my beautiful stainless finish.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers.
-Alex

Personally, I'd have to say they're all pretty good.

Breakfree CLP (Wally world carries it under the Winchester brand usually) is an excellent "field-expedient" spray-cleaner.

I use a lot of brake cleaner because it's cheaper than Gun Scrubber to degrease and remove all the oils for a deep clean.

I've also made up a batch of "Ed's Red" (recipe available on the web) and it's pretty much ended my buying the various solvents. It's essentially Kerosene, Acetone, Mineral Spirits, and Automatic Transmission Fluid in equal parts...

You see, I have tried the Winchester gun spray, but it is VERY overpowering and needs to be done outside. Even after giving it a good spray, I still find it a lot harder to take off the gun powder residue off my baby. Even outside, I feel as if I'm inhaling it a lot and tend to get lightheaded. Hoppe's just does it for me, but I don't know if there was anything that was fairly similar with the same results.

Thanks for the feedback though. Any other suggestions?

Ever tried "M-Pro 7"? It's available at Academy. Very low odor.

You will get a million answers on what to use to clean since it is mostly personal preference- I'll give you mine. As long as there is no plastic I use non chlorinated brake parts cleaner (I do use it on plastic but you need to watch closely since it can eat some finishes). It will remove gun powder residue, but it will dry everything out and you need to be sure to oil to lubricate and prevent corrosion. For general cleaning I use a 50/50 mixture of Hoppe's and Kroil. I read somewhere on the net about somebody using this and I like it too. Basically the Kroil is a lubricating penetrating oil so it will lubricate. The Hoppe's is th\e solvent. Mixed together I can clean and lube. I also use some of Brian Enos slide glide is some areas to lube.

I'm a fan of the SLiP2000 products and use them on all of my guns. They do a great job of cleaning. They are safe to use and environmentally friendly, and they treat the metal surfaces, making them easier to clean the next time. It's not convenient as you have to order the products directly from them on the web, but you get a lot of product for the price. I usually end up ordering about once a year.

+1 for Ed's Red and Brake Parts Cleaner. Another product that takes carbon off like magic is engine starting fluid. You MUST use this outdoors it's ether so it's highly flamible stay away from sources of ignition.

68Charger wrote:Right now I'm using the 'Hoppe's Elite'. The stuff works GREAT. However, you only get a small lil bottle of it and every time I try and find it at my local Wally World, they're all sold out. I'm just wondering if you knew of any other great cleaners to help take off the gun powder. I also have some gun powder on on my 1911 where the firing pin pops out, and it's REALLY pasted on there. I have to use a lil brush I got from Radioshack that helps scrub it away without scratching my beautiful stainless finish.

Thanks in advance.

Cheers.
-Alex

For a lot of years I used Shooter's Choice, which did a great job as a solvent but had to be used in a well ventilated area.

In the last few years, Hoppe's Elite and Gunzilla have been my favorites. Both are low odor, with Elite the best in that department. Gunzilla is a cleaner / lube and Elite is just a cleaner. They both work very well.

Brownell's carries the large bottles of Hoppe's Elite at reasonable prices. It's a lot cheaper to buy that way than it is to pick up a few ounces at a time at a local store. I buy Gunzilla the same way, but Brownell's doesn't carry it. I bought my last 16 oz. bottle at a gun show for about $25.

A double ended M-16 brush you can pick up almost anywhere does a great job of removing caked on carbon in semiautos. I use a bronze bristled brush for the occasional super tough job.

Only products I use on all my firearms is Remoil, and 5w-30 Castrol Full synthetic.

One of the instructors in a nationally known training facility uses non-chlorinated brake cleaner to cleanse and high temp wheel bearing grease for lube.

ske1eter wrote:One of the instructors in a nationally known training facility uses non-chlorinated brake cleaner to cleanse and high temp wheel bearing grease for lube.

I use the high temp grease (Super Tech Multi Duty Complex Grease from Wal Mart - $4 for a 14 oz. tube) in my AR and it runs great. I haven't used it on my pistols, but can't see any reason not to other than that I haven't finished using up my remaining tubes of the $6 for 2 oz. specialty varieties I bought before I discovered the Wal Mart product.

I don't know how this topic strayed from cleaner to now lubrication. Weirdos.. lol

Thanks for all the feedback. Every one is much appreciated.

+1 for Ed's Red, and an old toothbrush.

Spray brake cleaner for general gun cleaning, Hoppe's #9 or Hoppe's Copper Solvent for bore cleaning.

I've tried a number of other bore cleaners - Accubore, Blue Wonder, Butch's Bore Shine, etc. - and they all seem more or less the same.

I like One Shot gun cleaner and dry lube for my polymer framed guns.