Cleaning a Handgun?

[S&WM&P40]

So I'M a noobie at cleaning handguns never really owned any other then a 22 revolver. So last night a picked up a cleaning kit at walmart( that cheap Winchester deluxe gun cleaning kit) comes in a cheap wooden case and comes with cleaning gear for guns up to 12G. Picked up some Winchester Break Free CLP and a small bottle of Remington Rem Oil. I field stripped the gun and applied a few sprays of the CLP cleaner and cleaned the inside and outside of the barrel with a 40cal wire brush and then followed that up with a few passes with a cleaning patch. Set that aside and then sprayed the spring with CLP and cleaned with with a toothbrush and then with a cleaning patch and set it aside. I then picked up the frame and sprayed it with a little CLP and took a toothbrush and a cleaning patch. Then I took the slide and cleaned that with a toothbrush and cleaning patch with CLP. I then took a cleaning patch and put some rim oil on it and ran it through the barrel and wiped down the outside with rim oil. Did the same with the rest of the parts till they all had been wiped with oil. I then took a clean patch and removed any standing oil from the outside of the gun. Put it back together and I was done. But now the frame is leaking the (God awful STINKY Break Free) it's coming out of the punch pin's and the trigger housing as well as the take down lever. It would seem that I put to much cleaner on the gun? But I followed the detections on the can. So did i clean the gun right? Side Note the gun have never been fired other then the one round they fire at S&W before they ship the guns. I cleaned it because due to me carrying it everyday the barrel and other parts had build up of lint and dirt.

[HootmonSccy]

I'm not an expert, but I would say that it is not unusual. The liquid is probably thin, and has the property to spread.. Wipe it down again, and if necessary, in about a week, take the gun apart and wipe with oil again and wipe down.. Just my opinion.. nobody else was responding.

[1911 Headbanger]

A tip for the oozing oil. After you clean the gun, use an air compressor with an air gun attachment to blow the excess oil and crud out of the frame and slide area, before reassembly. This gets the oil out of the cracks and crevaces. You can also use "Canned Air" that is normally used for computers, keyboards, etc. Not as powerful, but will still work. You don't want to leave too much oil or solvent in the gun that may come into contact with your ammo that is in the chamber or the mag. Tests have shown, that the penetrating qualities of gun oil and solvents, can penetrate primer pockets, and case mouths beside the seated bullet and get to the powder or primer, causing misfires or poor ignition.

[thebrez1]

One thing I do after cleaning with solvent is to blow the weapon out with compressed air to help get all that liquid out of the nooks and crannies, then wipe down with the oil patch.

A bigger question I had when reading your post is; how can you have a carry weapon that you have not fired???!! How does that gun handle the ammo you have selected? How fast can you reload? How fast can you correct misfires and clear jams? What kind of recoil and how fast can you get back on target?

Even if this weapon replaces another one of the same manufacturer, caliber and model there can be HUGE differences. Each gun has it's own personality, likes and dislikes and you had better know all of them before depending on that weapon as your primary defense!

Please do not take this post wrong, but it sounds like you need lots of training and practice before you walk around with a gun. Please do not carry it until you have read and practiced much more. Not only could you ruin your life, but you may end up shooting yourself or ME! Carrying a weapon brings with it a huge amount of responsibility and legal liability. Knowledge of how to react in different scenarios, practice shooting in less than perfect range conditions, how to avoid having to use the weapon in the first place, ect., ect., ect. These things must be second nature and actually handling the weapon should not even be a conscious thought but more of an automatic reflex. Right now, you NEED to focus on the weapon, heck you don't even know if it's going to work! Until you have at least 500 rounds through that weapon, don't even THINK of carrying it!

Did not mean to be harsh. Everyone on the Forum will tell you what they think, and for good reason. There is a lot of experience and knowledge here. Your question leads me to believe you lack both. That is not a put down or a personal attack it is an observation (which may be incorrect) and my answer is based on the fact that this site specializes in reality. Good intentions will get you killed!

Look forward to your continuing posts and participation on this forum.

[S&WM&P40]

A tip for the oozing oil. After you clean the gun, use an air compressor with an air gun attachment to blow the excess oil and crud out of the frame and slide area, before reassembly. This gets the oil out of the cracks and crevaces. You can also use "Canned Air" that is normally used for computers, keyboards, etc. Not as powerful, but will still work. You don't want to leave too much oil or solvent in the gun that may come into contact with your ammo that is in the chamber or the mag. Tests have shown, that the penetrating qualities of gun oil and solvents, can penetrate primer pockets, and case mouths beside the seated bullet and get to the powder or primer, causing misfires or poor ignition.

Thanks for the tips. I don't think the problem is the oil it seems to be leaking the CLP Break Free and that is leading me to think I used to much. Next time I know not to follow what the can says. That crap stinks like hell.

[Glock Fan]

There are many different methods to clean a firearm. The owner's manual should give you some insight on how to properly clean your firearm. There are many diffrent cleaning solvents on the market. I personally use a product called "Gun Scrubber" which is manufactured by "Birchwood Casey" for cleaning my firearms, and use "Miltec" for lubrication after I'm done cleaning. I don't use the compressor or compressed air as I feel it is not necessary and can result in the loss of intricate parts. As I said earlier, there are many different ways to clean a firearm. As with ammo selection, holster selection, etc. YOU will ultimately need to decide on the best method for cleaning your firearm that works for you.

When cleaning your firearm, do no use too much solvent or lubrication. If you over lubricate your firearm, you will get the "oozing" that you experienced, AND the excess lubrication will cause dust, dirt and other debris to stick to the internal parts of your firearm, making future cleanings more difficult.

When cleaning a semi-auto firearm, don't forget to clean your magazines. A baby bottle brush works great and costs a lot less than the specially designed brushes to clean magazines.

Be sure to clean your firearms in a well ventilated area. Cleaning solvents and lubricants contain various chemicals that can cause health problems if inhaled over time.

As for your statement about carrying your firearm before having test fired it on the range, I strongly recommend that you put several rounds through it. It is essential that you fire any new firearm to ensure proper sight alignment, ammo feeding reliability and function of the firearm. As a previous poster stated, each individual firearm has it's own "personality". You may experience feeding problems with certain ammunition. Other problems with the firearm may be discovered as well. It's a whole lot better to figure out that you've got a problem while on the range than in a SD situation! Common problems with new firearms are failure to feed, failure to extract, and stove pipe malfuncitons. Running a few boxes of factory target ammo as well as the ammo you will use for SD will ensure that everything is working smoothly.

LMK if you need further info.



gf

[6shootercarry]

One thing I do after cleaning with solvent is to blow the weapon out with compressed air to help get all that liquid out of the nooks and crannies, then wipe down with the oil patch.

A bigger question I had when reading your post is; how can you have a carry weapon that you have not fired???!! How does that gun handle the ammo you have selected? How fast can you reload? How fast can you correct misfires and clear jams? What kind of recoil and how fast can you get back on target?

Even if this weapon replaces another one of the same manufacturer, caliber and model there can be HUGE differences. Each gun has it's own personality, likes and dislikes and you had better know all of them before depending on that weapon as your primary defense!

Please do not take this post wrong, but it sounds like you need lots of training and practice before you walk around with a gun. Please do not carry it until you have read and practiced much more. Not only could you ruin your life, but you may end up shooting yourself or ME! Carrying a weapon brings with it a huge amount of responsibility and legal liability. Knowledge of how to react in different scenarios, practice shooting in less than perfect range conditions, how to avoid having to use the weapon in the first place, ect., ect., ect. These things must be second nature and actually handling the weapon should not even be a conscious thought but more of an automatic reflex. Right now, you NEED to focus on the weapon, heck you don't even know if it's going to work! Until you have at least 500 rounds through that weapon, don't even THINK of carrying it!

Did not mean to be harsh. Everyone on the Forum will tell you what they think, and for good reason. There is a lot of experience and knowledge here. Your question leads me to believe you lack both. That is not a put down or a personal attack it is an observation (which may be incorrect) and my answer is based on the fact that this site specializes in reality. Good intentions will get you killed!

Look forward to your continuing posts and participation on this forum.

I have to agree here. If you carry it for defense, better put at least 50-100 rounds of the carry ammo through it to make sure.
I own a S&W M&P 45 auto. They make great firearms and all the reviews indicate they will handle most ammo with no issues, but you may be betting your life on the reviews. Fire 100-150 rounds of target ammo just to make sure the firearm has no general issues. Then 50 or 100 of the carry ammo to make sure it feeds, fires, and ejects reliably…

Mine weeps a little after the cleaning. Just keep wiping it off. If it’s dripping out then perhaps use a little less for the final assembly.

Peace…

[901-Memphis]

I watched this video of a guy cleaning a SW40VE like the one i want to get, and i want to make sure i purchase the correct items to clean it with.

YouTube- cleaning my SW40VE

I know i will need a cleaning kit but what about solvents and oils?

This guy is using a proper solvent but he is also using WD-40 instead of proper oils. I read a few places that WD40 will gum up and have brown buildup.

Anyone know what the best value cleaning kits , solvents and oils are?

Is a synthetic product like Birchwoods a good solvent?

http://www.amazon.com/Birchwood-Case.../dp/B000JIJI9M

Also what is a good oil, i have heard many things. I was looking at this same branded synthetic oil.

Amazon.com: Gun Scrubber® Synthetic Gun Oil with PTFE Lubricant: Sports & Outdoors


Any input on cleaning kits, solvent, oils would be much appreciated to me and i am sure the OP would like some input on some of this too.

[Ringo]

I'm not an expert, but I would say that it is not unusual. The liquid is probably thin, and has the property to spread.. Wipe it down again, and if necessary, in about a week, take the gun apart and wipe with oil again and wipe down.. Just my opinion.. nobody else was responding.

+1 Not unusual. Just take it apart and wipe it down again.

[kelcarry]

As I read this thread I get the impression that you are reading too much into cleaning, have overwhelmed yourself with too much stuff, and have some of that "more is better" syndrome that surrounds a new gun and the excitement of having it and spending the money on it. Most new semis are easy to take apart and with the pieces in front of you a little cleaner and a little lubrication is all you need. Forthe barrel, make it easy and buy a Boresnake--one, two, three and done. Have fun--I actually enjoy the cleaning more than the shooting---it's some of my relaxing time. Choose good ammo and ask around--some shoots dirty and others shoot a lot cleaner---probably for 100 rounds you may not even have to clean everytime.