SIMPLE CLEANING/ NORMAL BARREL CLEANING

The simple cleaning is to be carried out according to requirements and frequency of use. Here, the cleaning refers particularly to combustion residues, dampness, dirt and old lubricants. A definite cycle cannot be specified, as this depends both on the intensity of use and on the standards of the marksman. At any event, regular and simple cleaning ensures a reliable and permanently precise gun. Additionally, possible damage can be ascertained early on.

Expert tip – revolver

When cleaning a revolver barrel, the cylinder should always be pivoted. Optimal guidance of the brush or the piece of felt is thus ensured. It is important that the brush not be too long. At any event, it should go completely out of sight in the cylinder. Otherwise, it cannot be pushed completely through the barrel, which can lead to the brush or even the barrel being damaged. In addition, this leads to an inadequate cleaning, with dirt often still remaining in the barrel.

The gun is to be disassembled before any cleaning. Here, the question often arises as to the extent to which the gun must be disassembled. The general rule is: up to the point where tools are required – with the exception of the tools supplied with the gun. If the marksman feels able to disassemble the gun further, this is also good. It should be remembered that a spring may be lurking behind any screw. Often, the spring cannot be integrated again, necessitating a visit to a gunsmith.

If the gun has been disassembled, old residues of oil, grease and dirt can often be found at concealed points. Here, a suitable cleaner should be used, such as the Ballistol gun part cleaner, which, in addition to its extremely effective mix of active ingredients, also has a particularly powerful spray. Avoid unsuitable solvents or cleaning agents such as nitro-dilution or cheap brake cleaners that could attack the gun material. Particularly stubborn soiling on surfaces and guides are best removed with an attachable brush, such as the one that comes with the BALLISTOL gun part cleaner. The stable nylon bristles facilitate the mechanical cleaning without damaging sensitive surfaces such as a browning.

Optical systems are to be protected from oil and cleaner before the cleaning – either by being covered or removed. Rifle slings should also be removed.

Once the gun has been disassembled, the level of soiling is ascertained. This is the basis for the selection of the appropriate cleaning agents and tools.

Once the rough outer dirt has been removed, attention is turned to cleaning the barrel. To this end, spray Ballistol Universal Oil or GunCer into the barrel from the chamber; if Ballistol Universal Oil is used, turn and tilt the gun back and forth several times so that the inner walls of the barrel are moistened evenly as far as possible. An oil or nylon brush can also be used for this. If GunCer is used, put the barrel to one side with the muzzle facing downwards and wait until the foam that has been produced falls and drips out of the barrel at the bottom – a sign that the barrel is moistened evenly from top to bottom inside. It is important that the barrel be facing downwards when it is sprayed. This prevents powder not burnt with the oil and other dirt from getting into the breech mechanism and causing damage. Otherwise, the mechanism will become stiff; in extreme cases, the firing pin can even jam.

Direction change

Closed systems and stationary barrels are difficult to clean from the chamber to the muzzle. Here, it is necessary to clean “in the wrong direction”; however, it is essential to ensure that the brush is not retracted in the barrel, but rather is always pushed completely through into the chamber or the breech channel. In the process, it should be ensured that the cleaning utensil does not hit against the firing pin or the breech base.

Once the oil has reached the lands and grooves and the entire polygonal surface, allow it to take effect for a few minutes so that the deposits and combustion residues can dissolve. Subsequently, the barrel is drawn through with a dry piece of tow, a patch or a comfort cleaner made of felt. This procedure must be repeated to ensure that all the oil has been removed. Usually, the material used is pushed or pulled from the chamber towards the muzzle. In the case of stationary barrels or closed systems, it is pushed or pulled from the muzzle to the chamber and back again. This generally affects semi-automatic hunting guns as well as muzzle-loading guns and revolvers. The mobile cleaning set Flex-Clean from BALLISTOL offers a very good alternative to the laborious cleaning of closed systems with the cleaning rod. Here, the felt cleaners can be screwed on and pulled from the chamber to the muzzle. Thanks to the coated steel rope, possible damage to the muzzle is avoided.

Should slight grey colouring still be visible on the pieces of felt after the material has been pulled through the barrel, you have, in fact, achieved your goal. Most guns do not need to be mirror-like; a slight grey colouring of the felt can be tolerated. However, the user is free to repeat the process until the pieces of felt are clean. Thus you can be sure that all the soiling is removed.

Heat helps

If the oil is poured into the barrel while the latter is still warm, this is advantageous for the solvent properties of the oil. The solvent power increases with rising temperature, which, in this case, comes from the residual warmth of the barrel.

It is important that a fresh piece of tow or a felt plug be used; otherwise, the dirt would not be removed from the barrel, but only distributed evenly within it. Here, felt plugs have the advantage of being turned on a thread and also of being secured with a small nut, meaning they are fixed on the cleaning rod and cannot fall down by accident during the cleaning. If even tougher residues are subsequently present, than assumed, these can be loosened with a suitable brush so as then to be removed with absorbent material.

Then the chamber, the breech and the magazine are free of used oil and are again lubricated slightly with fresh oil.

If you are cleaning a repeating gun, you should be sure to make use of a false lock or a simple sleeve such as a plastic tube, in order to prevent the transition to the chamber from being damaged. Additionally, the chamber is thus sealed off so that no cleaning agent can flow into the internal box magazine or the foundation.

For the internal cleaning, an alkaline gun oil such as Ballistol Universal Oil offers a clear advantage: the acidic combustion residues were chemically neutralized in an effective manner and are thus made harmless. Additionally, Ballistol Universal Oil offers reliable rust protection that is completely sufficient for normal hunting and shooting conditions.

If you do not use too much ammunition and do not go hunting in all types of weather, the described cleaning and maintenance with Ballistol Universal Oil, GunCer or Gunex is completely sufficient.

However, at least once a year – more often in the case of active gun use – you should subject your gun to a thorough internal cleaning with Robla Solo MIL. You will find details on this in the following chapter.

INTENSIVE CLEANING/ IN THE CASE OF STUBBORN SOILING

Cleaning the barrel regularly is essential for every gun – but when or how often should the barrel or the gun be subjected to an intensive cleaning? While some barrels shoot inaccurately after just a few shots at high projectile speeds, others are still extremely accurate even after a load of 50 shots and more. At what frequency the barrel is to be given an intensive cleaning so that the gun maintains its maximum precision, depends on the ammunition used and, of course, on the gun itself.

To be exact: paper instead of felt

After the intensive barrel cleaning, it is recommended to wrap silk paper around a piece of felt with the matt side towards the barrel and to pull it through. Now with this final step, it will be become clear from the paper, as to whether residual soiling is still present and will need to be removed in a subsequent cleaning cycle.

The intensive cleaning can be divided into two areas. These are the preceding simple cleaning (as described in the previous chapter) and the subsequent intensive cleaning. As soon as the rust and other particles have been removed from the gun, the underlying layers of projectile deposits can also be tackled. To this end, the remaining oil is removed from the barrel. This is done most easily with a cold degreaser or parts cleaner and a clean piece of felt. Afterwards, the barrel cleaner can be entered into the barrel (from the chamber) by means of dosed dripping with the bottle directly or with a soaked patch or piece of felt. The procedure can be read about in detail in the next chapter. After an application time of approximately 5–10 minutes, the liquid is removed from the barrel along with the loosened projectile residues. Felt cleaners are again very good for this. These are guided through the barrel first dry and, after the third piece of felt, again with a piece of felt that is slightly moistened with Robla Solo MIL.

External protection

Before the gun is treated with Robla Solo MIL or other highly effective cleaners, it should be lightly coated on the outside with Ballistol Universal Oil.

This protective film ensures that the gun and its browning are not so easily attacked.

The cleaning cycle is now repeated with a piece of felt soaked with barrel cleaner and a dry piece of felt until the felt no longer has a bluish or greenish colour. Finally, the barrel is again protected from rust with a slightly oiled piece of felt.

Use Robla Solo Mil Correctly

The modern projectiles consist almost without exception of a tombac alloy that leaves wafer-thin projectile deposits on the metal surface of the barrel with every shot. However, as thin as this layer may be, it builds up from shot to shot until finally even the best gun scatters bullets and shoots inaccurately for seemingly inexplicable reasons. At this point, a thorough barrel clean is overdue.

A reliable barrel cleaner is essential, especially when it comes to removing such largely stubborn metal deposits in the barrel. Here, Robla Solo MIL is the most effective cleaning method: tombac, copper, lead and zinc are dissolved both reliably and gently – without attacking steel, nickel and chrome in the process.

Robla Solo MIL was developed in cooperation with a renowned ammunition manufacturer as well as the Bundeswehr Research Institute for Materials, Fuels and Lubricants for special forces of the police and the military in Erding. It is therefore of no surprise that Robla Solo MIL has emerged as the clear winner in numerous independent tests – with a more than clear edge over the products of other manufacturers.

Before Robla Solo MIL is introduced, the barrel must first be de-oiled without fail. Otherwise, the oil film on the surface would prevent the optimal functionality of the watery solution of the barrel cleaner.

Careful cleaning

It is important not to leave the gun lying for a long time if the inside of the barrel is only moistened with Robla Solo MIL. Due to the large surface, the ammoniac contained in Robla Solo MIL would evaporate and the residual water – together with certain organic salts – would cause rust perforation. In addition, you should watch out that Robla Solo MIL does not get onto the browned parts of the gun, as this would attack the browning. If, despite the care taken, Robla Solo MIL has come into contact with the browning, rinse the affected parts with water or spray them with Ballistol Universal Oil and wipe up any excess oil .

It may also be possible to touch up the browning very easily with Ballistol Quick Browning.

Even though Robla Solo MIL does not attack chrome, of course, caution is needed with hard chrome-plated barrels. This hard chrome plating can be applied to electrolytically deposited copper, as this procedure offers a few advantages compared to direct chrome-plating of the barrel steel. However, should the hard chrome plating have even just microscopically small tears, the barrel cleaner would, of course, attack the copper underlying the chrome layer at these points. In this case, the copper layer would dissolve and the hard chrome plating would start to flake. Therefore, apply Robla Solo MIL only in the case of flawless, undamaged hard chrome plating or chrome layers that were applied directly to the barrel steel! Many gun manufacturers proceed again to apply the protective chrome layer directly to the barrel steel.

Thus, all the advantages are combined: an acid-resistant chrome layer that also convinces with hardness and wear protection. You can obtain information about the type of chrome plating from the respective gun manufacturers.

Well dosed

A simple trick for cleaning with Robla Solo MIL is to insert the cleaning rod with felt just a few centimetres into the barrel from the chamber and then to soak the felt on the cleaning rod with Robla Solo MIL from behind. If the felt is then guided slowly through the barrel, it provides for an extremely equal distribution of the cleaner. Ensure that the liquid level does not go beyond the barrel thread or the foundation, causing the cleaner to overflow.

To clean normal deposits, put some Robla Solo MIL into the barrel and let it run down the barrel while turning it so that the inner walls are moistened with the product as evenly as possible.

Alternatively, a piece of tow or a felt plug soaked with Robla Solo MIL can also be pulled through the barrel. The simplest way to soak the tow or the felt plug is by removing the dosing tip of the cleaner bottle and putting the piece of felt/tow already screwed onto the cleaning rod into the bottle. Subsequently, after a short application time, the material can be pulled through dry in order to wipe the loosened deposits out of the barrel. Finally, the barrel should be sprayed in familiar fashion with Ballistol Universal Oil or Gunex. If a lot of projectile deposits have already taken hold inside the barrel, advise locking the barrel firmly on one side with a cork or a rubber plug and filling the barrel completely with Robla Solo MIL. Depending on the stubbornness of the projectile deposits, you should then leave it for several hours or overnight for the Robla Solo MIL to take effect. However, the barrel must, without fail, be completely filled with Robla Solo MIL, including the chamber; under no circumstances should it be partially filled.

If the solution is let out after the application time, its colour alone often shows the success of the clean. Green to blue colouring of the liquid is the indicator of dissolved copper and tombac. Dissolved zinc and lead, in contrast, cannot be seen, as they solvate colourlessly. The barrel is now run through dry and sprayed with Ballistol Universal Oil or Gunex. Run the barrel through dry again before using the gun.

Barrel Cleaning With Ballistol Black Powder Solvent

The use of black powder requires a special form of cleaning. The acidic combustion residues must be neutralized without fail. Here, the use of an emulsion consisting of two parts water and one part Ballistol Universal Oil has proved successful for neutralizing these very acidic residues in the barrel.

Additionally, the manner of cleaning is heavily dependent on the gun type – for example, a western revolver must be cleaned differently than a blank-cartridge gun or a percussion gun. Therefore, at this point, we will explain the barrel cleaning with Ballistol Black Powder Solvent using the example of a blank-cartridge gun. The gun, especially the chamber and the muzzle, is sprayed with Black Powder Solvent active foam. Alternatively, the gun can be moistened with Black Powder Solvent using the brush provided. To loosen particularly hard-crusted residues, either a hard nylon brush can be used or – if this does not lead to the desired effect – a bronze brush that corresponds to the calibre. If the gun has a cylinder –as in the case of a blank-cartridge revolver, for example – this should also be cleaned, as deposits of the black powder also collect there, of course.

The smell of sulphur that arises during the cleaning is a sign that the residues are dissolving. Allow the cleaner to take effect for approximately 10 to a maximum of 30 minutes in order to ensure that the gun steel is sufficiently cleaned but under no circumstances attacked. Subsequently, the loosened deposits can be removed conveniently with a toothbrush.

Projectile paving milk

The right projectile paving milk can help to minimize the residues in the barrel and ensure that they can be removed as easily as possible later. An emulsion of Ballistol Universal Oil and water on a ratio of 1:1 does an excellent job as a projectile paving milk.

Should the gun be very heavily soiled – whether because it has not been cleaned after every use or has often been fired on successive occasions – particularly thorough treatment is required. In this case, the most effective solution is to lock the barrel at one end and fill it completely with Black Powder Solvent. The loosened dirt will then flow out along with the cleaner. Here, an application time of 10 to a maximum of 30 minutes is to be observed.

Whether after the intensive cleaning or the normal cleaning, the barrel and the cylinder must subsequently be dried first and then sprayed vigorously with Ballistol Universal Oil. It should be ensured that all areas are adequately moistened with the oil. Only in this way can it be ensured that even the final residues from the pre-treatment have been neutralized. Since Ballistol Black Powder Solvent is an especially effective cleaner, never leave a gun that has been treated with it lying for a long time; rather, you should carry out the post-treatment with Ballistol Universal Oil immediately thereafter.

CLEANING GAS-OPERATED GUNS

The procedure for cleaning a gas-operated gun is only marginally different to that of other guns. After a basic cleaning as described before, both the gas cylinder and the linkage must be cleaned scrupulously and treated with a suitable oil, such as Ballistol Universal Oil. It is then important to remove the excess oil in order to prevent the oil from burning and thus to avoid the formation of oil carbon. Mostly, oil carbon that has formed is very hard to remove. GunCer ceramic gun oil has a particularly pronounced and efficient soot-releasing property. Allowing it to take effect for a short time is sufficient to make residues disappear easily and completely.

In the case of guns with a gas channel, AR15 system, the barrel cleaner must be used with particular care to avoid the gas channel being filled with barrel cleaner as well at the same time as the barrel. Otherwise, the gas channel could not be completely freed of barrel cleaner when the cleaner is let out. Then the residues, in conjunction with humidity and oxygen, would attack the material and lead to corrosion. In the worst case scenario, the system could thus become leaky. Therefore, never fill up such barrels. Putting in Robla Solo MIL with a piece of barrel cleaning felt will normally suffice; this procedure may have to be repeated.

Moreover, care is also needed when cleaning guns with a gas pressure-delayed blowback system. Only cleaning agents with integrated corrosion protection should be used. The reason for this is the breech mechanism, which has small bores (gas withdrawal bores) in the barrel. Part of the pressure operates directly or via a piston – against the return flow of the breech. Although this mechanism is practical, it involves a problem when it comes to cleaning: residues of the barrel cleaner can penetrate through the bores in the barrel into the breech mechanism. If the barrel cleaner does not have integrated corrosion protection or if it does not reach everywhere in the post-treatment, corrosion can arise in the breech mechanism. The best-known guns with a gas pressure-delayed blowback system include the German Volkssturmgewehr VG 1–5 from 1945, the Steyr GB pistol and the gun series HK P7.

Cleaning Air Pistols And Rifles

When cleaning spring pressure, compressed air or CO2-operated pistols and rifles, particular attention should be paid to cleaning the spring mechanics and greasing the guide. Apart from that, a classic barrel clean with felt and silk tow, as well as an external clean of the metal parts, is to be carried out here as well. It is important to look out for possible particularities in the case of pistols and rifles that work with compressed gas pressure. Both the piston and the piston's interior are to be lubricated in accordance with the manufacturer’s specifications only. If, for example, the gun has a leather piston, this can be maintained most easily with Ballistol Universal Oil or Ballistol Vaseline Gun Grease. Incidentally, old leather pistons can also be made smooth again with Ballistol Universal Oil.

One of the major advantages in using Ballistol Vaseline Gun Grease is that it does not contain any volatile components, preventing the occurrence of the feared diesel effect in the compression chamber. In the case of this diesel effect, residues of old oils and greases on the piston are compressed so heavily that they self-ignite. This danger exists especially with air rifles with high compression or a high piston speed. Should such a self-ignition occur, the risk of damage is great. In the process, corresponding combustion residues and oil carbon are, of course, also produced, which, in turn, need to be cleaned.

Ballistol Vaseline Gun Grease consists of the finest white quality and is outstanding for lubricating all mobile metal parts. Vaseline Gun Grease is extremely easy to use. For selective use, you are best to use a toothpick or a cotton stick. In the case of larger surfaces, it is recommended to apply the grease using a fuzz-free cloth.

Magazine Cleaning

As part of the regular gun cleaning, the magazine should not be forgotten either, as powder smoke settles here as well. In order for the cartridge guide in the magazine to remain slidable, the smoke residues should be removed – preferably with a fuzz-free cotton cloth, with which Ballistol Universal Oil or another suitable lubricant such as Gunex or GunCer can easily be applied. Pipe cleaners are very good for cleaning even the parts of the magazine that are difficult to access. Only a small amount of oil should be used to clean the magazine, as this adheres to the cartridges and can thus lead to inaccuracies, since oil residues prevent a clean obturation of the cartridge (see oil shot). If possible, magazines should always be disassembled so that they can be cleaned as carefully as possible.

Cleaning Mechanical Parts

A good gun oil such as Ballistol Universal Oil or Gunex is usually fully sufficient for lubricating the sliding mechanical parts. Specialists with corre- sponding requirements prefer high-quality BALLISTOL products such as GunCer Ceramic Gun Oil or GunCer Ceramic Gun Grease, which are resin and acid-free and thus fulfil even the highest standards.

Should a gun oil not produce the desired cleaning result due to particularly stubborn soiling, special products such as the Ballistol Cold Degreaser, the gun part cleaner or brake and parts cleaners from the BALLISTOL technical range are required. The latter impresses with its physical cleaning performance thanks to the high spray pressure. With mechanical parts such as trigger arresters or safety catches in particular, it is important that old lubricants be removed before fresh oil or grease is applied again – because even high-quality lubricants are subject to ageing due to soiling or wear and should therefore be renovated from time to time.

Grease with indicator

A highlight among the gun oils is the Club 30 grease, which includes an integrated wear display. An indicator in the grease shows by means of colour change whether a replacement is needed. It is blue when new and changes colour to between light grey and black when it needs to be replaced.

Cleaning The Breech Mechanism

With gas-operated guns in particular, cleaning the breech mechanism is an important guarantor of flawless functionality. With each shot fired, the propelling charge strikes back onto the breech mechanism as well upon ignition. Powder smoke and fine particles thus come onto the mobile parts of the breech and settle there. To prevent the breech mechanics from becoming stiff as a result or even jamming, this part of the gun should be cleaned particularly intensively and afterwards it should be oiled with corresponding care. To this end, put some Ballistol Universal Oil on a cotton stick or a pipe cleaner so as also to clean the parts of the mechanism that are otherwise difficult to reach.

Subsequently, excess Ballistol Universal Oil can easily be wiped off with a soft cotton cloth. Here, exert as little pressure as possible so that a thin film of Universal Oil remains on the metal and protects the mechanism. In dynamic disciplines and if calibre .22 change systems are used, a special gun oil is essential. GunCer was developed precisely for such applications. Extensive test series have shown that reloading faults are thus a thing of the past.