The older stuff would dissolve paint and some plastics, but not a Glock frame.

They started producing a "Synthetic Safe" version that didn't damage anything I tried it on.
Then they seemed to drop the "Synthetic Safe" marking from the can but the current production seems to be the new safe formula.

I would be very careful in testing any cleaner or solvent on those sights!

 

Prob good idea

 

That Gun Scrubber is quite volatile and if you get it on something that will react with it say good by. I got some of the Gun Scrubber on some wood grips for my revolver and it took the finish right off. I would be concerned about any rubber or silicone parts also. Painted parts, watch out!

 

Have you tried the new version?
I have a Ruger 10-22 with the clearcoated bright aluminum receiver. I tested the old formula in a tiny corner and it dissolved the clearcoat immediately. But the "Synthetic Safe" version is fine, I occasionally spray the entire receiver with Break Free CLP to loosen the crud, then with the Synthetic Safe to flush away everything, no problem. Use the same procedure occasionally on other guns with no problems, but always do test a small spot on paint and plastics first.

 

Simple Green is safer on the gun and you. With Gunscrubber, I would worry about the plastic rings, often painted and placed around the lamps of various brands of night sights.

 

Why clean the slide so harshly? Sure a very fouled barrel could use the scrubber, but I've never needed to use more than Breakfree CLP on the slide parts. CLP and a toothbrush is all I've ever needed to clean the slide and detail strip it.

And that's even using my ATF/STP/Grease mix that can burn up and be messy, while still effective, during extended shooting.

 

People clean way too much for the most part. I clean my glocks every 400-500 rounds when shooting jacketed ammo and every 200 when shooting lead.
In either case I use no cleaning solvents at all. Wipe off everything you can with rags q tips and pipe cleaners a couple passes of a dry brush through the bore followed by a couple dry patches ( this is sufficient for me even after shooting lead bullets)
Lube per manual and ready for action again. Total cleaning time under ten minutes maybe even under five. Any cleaner than clean enough is not adding any thing

 

I always use Gun Scrubber as a degreaser, and to flush places I cant get to with other things, and dont want to leave any kind of residue, like in the firing pin channel, and the frame. I dont really see it as a normal cleaner.

As to cleaning "too much", I suppose its more of how you clean, than the frequency. I think routine cleaning is important, as it improves/maintains reliability, and allows you to watch for anything that might be an issue, before it becomes one.

I shoot a couple of Glocks on a weekly basis, and I always clean after every outing. I usually strip the slide every other month or so, and give it a flush with Gun Scrubber, and while I normally dont strip the frame, I do flush it a couple of times a year. What is amazing is, the amount of crap that does get flushed out. Even then, you dont get it all. I recently had a trigger spring break on the 17 I shoot regularly, and when I did strip the frame to replace it, I was really amazed at the amount of crap that was still in the frame, even after the flushing, and it took a while to get it cleaned out. Now Im going to start striping the frame and do an actual cleaning, instead of doing that bi yearly flush.

 

GS is the lazy man's cleaner. It's quick and gets in the hard to reach areas, thoroughly, and without disassembly, but it will attack some finishes. It doesn't hurt anything metal or polished AL. It's doubtful it hurts a Glock frame even with extended use. Night sights clean up with mild dish soap and a Q-Tip. CLP or mineral spirits will clean 'bout everything you need other than defouling a barrel and doesn't hurt anything.

I'm with Major D. Too much thought goes into gun cleaning. It's harder to clean your couch than a gun. A clean, cloth towel can get your gun clean enough to relube and keep shooting 99 out of 100 times.

 

Cleaning a Glock? When mine get dirty I just buy a clean one.

 

Cleaning a Glock? When mine get dirty I just buy a clean one.

Maybe thats the source of all the BTF complaints. Crud frozen extractors in dirty guns causing problems.

 

My point is if your gun has crud in nooks and crannies but keeps running it proves the presence of this dirt is inconsequential and therefore nothing to concern yourself with

 

Hell...you can pour sand in it and it will still shoot

:cheers:

 

My point is if your gun has crud in nooks and crannies but keeps running it proves the presence of this dirt is inconsequential and therefore nothing to concern yourself with

Well, only up until the point it does become an issue. The longer you go without maintenance, the better the chance that problems will likely occur.

If youre simply doing it for ****s and giggles, just to see how long it will go, and not using the gun for anything serious, thats cool. But if you are using it for serious use, at what point are you willing to bet your life on it?

 

We use Gun Scrubber more than almost any other product in the store, primarily to wash away solvent and oil post cleaning (customer guns, trader ins, range guns, etc). Never have I seen the current product damage anything on a firearm, but your experience may differ.

 

People clean way too much for the most part. I clean my glocks every 400-500 rounds when shooting jacketed ammo and every 200 when shooting lead.
In either case I use no cleaning solvents at all. Wipe off everything you can with rags q tips and pipe cleaners a couple passes of a dry brush through the bore followed by a couple dry patches ( this is sufficient for me even after shooting lead bullets)
Lube per manual and ready for action again. Total cleaning time under ten minutes maybe even under five. Any cleaner than clean enough is not adding any thing

More power to ya poppy. lol.

IMO, a bore brush should never be pushed or pulled through a bore dry. And if you've never used solvents, your guns are bound to have some fouling and carbon lingering "up in there "

 

More power to ya poppy. lol.

IMO, a bore brush should never be pushed or pulled through a bore dry.

Why? Doing it is like dragging plastic across concrete. You'll wear out a hundred bore brushes before they take anything out of your barrel bore.

 

What ever happened to the cheapest non-clorinated brake cleaner you could find at about $3.00 per can and could do 3 or 4 Glocks. Field strip and spray everything liberally, use bore brush while still wet and a tooth brush on the extractor,breech face and rails. Wipe dry and spray on your favorite protectant. Lube per Glocks recomendations. Five minutes tops and I am faster when doing 3 or 4. Been working for over 20 years and never a problem.
Remove Hi-Viz or like fiber optics as break cleaner will make them cloudy and brittle. More expensive screw on sights like trijicon and amerigo cover with painters tape.
I still do this only ever 5 - 6 thousand rounds, but do add lube on occasions.

 

Some of the NC brake clean wasn't NC. CRC and Napa have both F'd that up on numerous occasions. Melted frame city.

Breakfree CLP is available in a spray, and it's harmless. I also wouldn't spray the slide down. It's too easy to detail strip and clean with a wet patch on a rod or 22 brush. It's the frame that I avoid detail stripping. But the slide is childs play.

 

My glocks see hundreds of rounds a month much of it cast bullet reloads and my older glock is a gen 2 19 I have owned for ten years and it has never been detail stripped frame wise and the slide detail stripped twice maybe three times. Runs fine.
My point is not to say cleaning is not important ( help me understand how a dry plastic/ nylon or brass brush hurts anything?)
But that people who insist on white glove inspection boot camp clean are not adding a significant improvement in function over those who do a sufficient 10 minute "good enough" cleaning
Another way of saying this is if the only way you will trust a gun is if it is white glove inspection clean it means either there is something wrong with the gun or you are just a little paranoid.
With service in Iraq I can tell you after a roll down a very dusty road or through a sandstorm the guns were covered with thick sticky dust but still worked when we needed them.

 

With service in Iraq I can tell you after a roll down a very dusty road or through a sandstorm the guns were covered with thick sticky dust but still worked when we needed them.

And did you leave them dirty like that, and to accumulate, for your whole deployment?

That 17 I was referring to above, just passed 89,000 rounds last month. Without routine weekly cleanings, and the occasional flushings, Im not willing to bet it would still be running if Id not cleaned it.

The guns are not self cleaning, and all manner of stuff accumulates, especially if youre shooting them all the time, and/or wearing them day in and day out. If youre comfortable not cleaning it, great, your choice. I could care less, unless you were to be amoungst those around me I had to count on.

I for one, clean everything, every time its shot, or I notice things accumulating on routine inspection, and Im comfortable with that. The wear and tear on the guns is from shooting them, not cleaning them. Accumulated crap and grit in the moving parts, only accelerates the wear.

I am paranoid too by the way and because of it, Im here typing about this today.

 

Don't brush you barrel unless it needs brushed. I just shot 300 rounds through my 41. Clean up was a patch with CLP on it, and rubbing the rest of the gun down with a CLP wetted towel. No need for brushing, if the barrel looks good an clean on the inside.

I shoot 300 rounds or so a week through my 17 alone, and wet patches alone are not going to get the barrel clean. I can pretty much guarantee that after you did the above, if you ran a wet brush through just once, and then a patch, the patch will come out black, even if somehow the previous dry patch came out clean.

I normally run a couple of wet patches through just to get the loose crap out, and then wet brush it, and then dry patch/wet brush, a number of times/dry patch, etc, etc, until they come out fairly clean. Youre never going to get them perfect, but you will know when youre there.

 

I set the barrel on a flat surface nose down, and fill it up with Breakfree CLP. Go have lunch. Come back and run wet patches through the soaked bore. Nearly perfectly clean every time lately. Haven't brushed anything more than once in a year.

 

Give this a try. Assuming the gun is as clean as you say, run a wet brush through the barrel a couple of times, then a dry patch, and get back to us.

We trust you to be honest in your reporting.

 

Fine, hold on.

 

Got a few weak black steaks on the new patch, maybe 1/4".across

Not enough to make a difference. But I didn't use a clean patch previously anyways. Cleaned 2 barrels with one patch..

 

I guess Im going to have to get some of your special formula Breakfree CLP.

Ive used all sorts of cleaners over the years, and pretty much every method known to man, and I have yet to have patches come out like that, after just a few wet patches, or 100 for that matter. And that includes soaking the barrels, both with plugs, and in wet patches. Brushes (and time) have always been necessary to get things cleaned.

 

It's just breakfree CLP aerosal can from Walmart. Black with tan lettering.

I'm using only FMJ, no lead. My barrels are often carried and stored slightly wet as well. That may be the difference.

 

99% of what I shoot are FMJ's, both reloads and factory. The other 1% are Premium type JHP's. I dont shoot lead in my Glocks, or 9mm's in general.

I never had much luck with CLP's, or others that are "jack of all trades" and supposed to do more than one job. They usually dont do any one of them very well.

Solvent wise, most of what I use anymore, is just plain old Hoppes. Sweets and Shooters Choice if I need something a little more potent.

I normally shoot 300+ rounds a week out of my one 17. It usually takes me about 45 minutes to clean it. No BS, thats what it takes. Thats what it takes me to clean most of my guns, and always has. Ive been doing this for 50+ years now, and its never really changed, no matter what I was using. Some things just do/did a better job of it, thats all.

So forgive me when Im doubtful about some of the claims about "time" and "clean". It simply takes what it takes, to get it done. Now maybe the definition of clean is different, and what we are discussing here. For me, there is only one definition, and thats "clean".