Lazy man's cleaning tips? What about keyboard duster?

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

So I was blasting the doritoes and other crap from my keyboard with a cleaning duster. I started thinking I could clean out the innards of my pistols and semi-auto rifles with this stuff. If I followed it with a blast of oil what do you think?

Anybody go any tips? I have been getting lazyier and lazier as the years go by. I used to be an absolute nazi when it came to cleaning. Now I have some pretty nice guns that are begging for a wash.

[bkb0000]

its funny how that goes.. the more money you spend on your guns, the less time you spend on your guns.

canned air seems like a good way to do a perfunctory carry-gun cleaning- you know how your gun gets filled up with junk and lint and hair and crap from carrying around.

you of course know the WD-40 and hot water method, right?

[Thomas M-4]

I use a nail gun air compressor set to 110 psi works great for me.
wife doesn't like it way to loud but if I am trying to clean a really dirty gun it works real good for me other than that I use gun scrubber.

[Jim from Houston]

In terms of "lazy mans cleaning tips", I've found the 'Dunk Kit' that Cylinder & Slide sells to be a fairly painless way of cleaning handguns...

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/index.php?app=ccp0&ns=catshow&ref=Dunk

I've definitely used compressed air as part of a weapon cleaning, especially when trying to clean an HK P7, which has all manner of tiny nooks and crannies that are a real pain to clean...

[murphy j]

Carb cleaner and compressed air to knock the loose stuff off, then some oil. If it's really dirty then I break out the cleaning kit.

[5pins]

I use compressed canned air all the time on my reloading equipment. Works great.

[SOT364]

Having to clean all these guns for the Department (Glock's, MP5's, M4's, and 870's) I have gotten to the point of dousing the rails, and other parts with Slip or Mil Comm degreaser and the really stubborn parts (bore and breech face) with carbon killer.

I scrub the rails and other areas with the broad end of a nylon brush and then put a patch over the thin brush and and run it down the rails. Everything else is just rubbed off with a cloth. Hit the bore with a nylon brush and run a patch through to dry. I then relube.

It takes a lot less time than it sounds, especially with the above mentioned cleaning products. Also helps that I do not use a dental pick and a magnifying glass anymore.

I tried brake cleaner, but I always found it left a gritty texture in some areas and that just annoyed me.

Seriously though, if you need your stuff cleaned, give me a call. I'll do it for free, well maybe a little ammo wouldn't hurt :D

i will add that the compressed air thing works well too, but I would recommend something with more umph than the canned stuff. I have used the can stuffed before just to dissipate excessive oil.

[ToddG]

The problem with compressed air, especially if following or combined with lubricant, is that you can't easily control where things are getting pushed around. You might blow stuff out of the gun, or you might blow stuff deeper into critical areas.

Short of using an ultrasonic or similar device, I see three approaches to cleaning:

Don't. (this is my favorite)
Field strip, clean barrel, clean rails, lubricate, reassemble.
Detail strip and clean each part one at a time.

I generally use #1 until I feel something in the action or cycling of the slide that feels off, then I jump to #3.

[The Dumb Gun Collector]

I think the best used of compressed air might be on semi-auto rifle actions like the AR and AK. You can never quite get in there without taking it apart but you can see everything pretty well.