View Full Version : Your favorite all-around AR gun scrubber?
Doc Safari
04-13-11, 10:09
I'm so used to just hosing out my Glocks with trichloroethane based products without worrying about them harming the polymer that I'm not sure what to use on an AR.
I'm finding out through some threads here that there are some cleaners you definitely don't want to use, or at least not leave on certain materials very long.
Is there a good all-around cleaner/degreaser spray you can use to hose out your weapon if it gets sand/dirt/debris in it without having to be concerned about the chemicals harming anything?
I guess one way to ask this question is: if you've been through a 3-day carbine course and you've gotten all kinds of sand and crud in the rifle, what to you use to clean the crap out?
Trichloroethane? Can you give me a brand? Just curious what might be a safe alternative for my M&P frames instead of trying to clean them by hand.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
This thread is gonna be blown to smithereens once IG gets on shift...love to see his facial expression when he sees a new lube/cleaner thread:D
However I feel compelled to respond esp. to mtdawg's reply since I directly dealt with the issue of cleaning agents/gun scrubbers and polymer handgun frames. Normally I wouldn't have even given this a thought but I acquired a very rare HK USP40c that had the special HK Urban Grey frame and there are only 500 floating around so I did some careful analysis and testing on my long favorite do it all cleaner which is MPro7/Hoppes Elite. In conclusion this solution again amazes me with how non toxic, non abrasive, non vaporous, etc. it is in it's makeup and the end results it yields on everything from stubborn carbon on the bolt faces...to bore cleaning...and then on to things like furniture/frames/everything else.
It's the only cleaner I will use on this one specific handgun and this one specific handgun is all about it's unique frame:)
http://i37.tinypic.com/2r76lx4.jpg
Doc Safari
04-13-11, 11:12
This thread is gonna be blown to smithereens once IG gets on shift...love to see his facial expression when he sees a new lube/cleaner thread:D
I know...I know...:suicide2: I did read a dozen or so threads on cleaners and lubes, but I didn't see anybody really address what you can and can't use particularly on the plastic parts.
One brand name for Trichloroethane is Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber and related products (unless they've changed formulas). I use a commercial grade scrubber on my Glocks so I don't actually use Gun Scrubber anymore.
Walmart no name non chlorinated brake cleaner($1.50) washes away all grease and grime quickly with limited to no scrubbing. I always follow up with a coating or RemOil since the Brake Cleaner removes all oils. I oil my BCG's with Walmart Synthetic Motor Oil($2.00)....works great and last forever!
I also like Gunzilla....works great without being toxic.
...my long favorite do it all cleaner which is MPro7/Hoppes Elite. In conclusion this solution again amazes me with how non toxic, non abrasive, non vaporous, etc. it is in it's makeup and the end results it yields on everything from stubborn carbon on the bolt faces...to bore cleaning...and then on to things like furniture/frames/everything else.
the MPro7, isn't this something similar to water based cleaners like Simple Green?
if so, I got a bunch of that in my garage that I use for degreasing motorcycle chains and parts and it works great. can't let it sit on anodized aluminum for too long though as it will stain them...
This thread is gonna be blown to smithereens once IG gets on shift...love to see his facial expression when he sees a new lube/cleaner thread:D
However I feel compelled to respond esp. to mtdawg's reply since I directly dealt with the issue of cleaning agents/gun scrubbers and polymer handgun frames. Normally I wouldn't have even given this a thought but I acquired a very rare HK USP40c that had the special HK Urban Grey frame and there are only 500 floating around so I did some careful analysis and testing on my long favorite do it all cleaner which is MPro7/Hoppes Elite. In conclusion this solution again amazes me with how non toxic, non abrasive, non vaporous, etc. it is in it's makeup and the end results it yields on everything from stubborn carbon on the bolt faces...to bore cleaning...and then on to things like furniture/frames/everything else.
It's the only cleaner I will use on this one specific handgun and this one specific handgun is all about it's unique frame:)
http://i37.tinypic.com/2r76lx4.jpg
Nice USPc! I used to have one with the OD green frame. I still kick myself for selling that one.
RE: scrubbers, is gunscrubber or brake cleaner actually safe to use on polymer frames?
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
RE: scrubbers, is gunscrubber or brake cleaner actually safe to use on polymer frames?
Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber (http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Maintenance/MaintenanceDetails.aspx?ProductID=b11b242f-f98b-47e3-af38-837ff4339af2)
Doc Safari
04-13-11, 13:08
Birchwood Casey Gun Scrubber (http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/Maintenance/MaintenanceDetails.aspx?ProductID=b11b242f-f98b-47e3-af38-837ff4339af2)
http://sport.birchwoodcasey.com/files/MSDS/(2010)33340-%2033344SyntheticSafeGunScrubberAerosol.pdf
Reading the MSDS, it looks like they no longer put Trichlor in it. Trichlor is very toxic and IIRC banned in California, so no doubt a lot of manufacturers probably have quit using it in their products.
Trichloroethane is really bad on some plastics, but that stuff looks to be safe for anything.
I'd still try it out on something you don't need before using it on a $1,000 gun though.
Belmont31R
04-13-11, 13:15
Brake cleaner from Wal Mart has never done any harm to any plastic AR parts for me..or any handguns including Glock and HK.
Just don't use it indoors. It will blast anyway anything but baked on carbon.
the MPro7, isn't this something similar to water based cleaners like Simple Green?
Simple Green FTW. VERY good cleaner/degreaser. I haven't had any trouble with it spotting the anodizing, but then I don't leave it on the aluminum very long.
I also like to use acetone on my BCG. One wipedown, and it looks as clean as it did when I first got it from BCM on that fine, hallowed day. If the bolt tail is too dirty for my tastes I'll use carburetor cleaner on it.
Brake cleaner from Wal Mart has never done any harm to any plastic AR parts for me..or any handguns including Glock and HK.
Just don't use it indoors. It will blast anyway anything but baked on carbon.
I use non-chlorinated brake cleaner often to hose out my AR upper receiver, but was always concerned about contact with furniture, etc. I'll have to try this out next time I break down my M&P's.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Nice USPc! I used to have one with the OD green frame. I still kick myself for selling that one.
RE: scrubbers, is gunscrubber or brake cleaner actually safe to use on polymer frames?
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
Thanks pal, funny thing is I'm still kicking myself in the ass for not picking up a NIB USP40c in the OD like you mentioned(1000 of these were made IIrc) on gunbroker literally the day after I brought home the one from above. I just couldn't buy the same gun basically back to back days when there is so many starving pygmies in the world:D
I will not ever pass one up in the future though given it's NIB... I looked a USP40c in the Desert Sand at a local fun store and it had serious wear so I passed...besides HK produced the Desert Sand models the most with IIrc 2500 units ever being made.
I can only give you the advice I know to be fact confirmed with my eyes and I can say that MPro7/Hoppes Elite is perfectly ok to let stand on polymer kit/frames without it doing a single bit of staining/off-coloring, or otherwise degenerative effect to the structure's integrity. On two separate nights I applied a significant penny sized pool of the said product on the inside of my Urban Grey's frame(magwell) and it was allowed to sit stagnant on both occasions for close to a full 24 hrs., and you positively cannot tell a spec of difference before/after....disregarding the obvious outstanding cleaning properties this solution has the moment it touches a surface.
the MPro7, isn't this something similar to water based cleaners like Simple Green?
if so, I got a bunch of that in my garage that I use for degreasing motorcycle chains and parts and it works great. can't let it sit on anodized aluminum for too long though as it will stain them...
I used a ton of simple green on the RMX's I used to own and it was outstanding at being a non toxic true degreaser for multi surfaces. This MPro7/Hoppes is quite the different animal than that product or any other true degreaser, as well as the brake cleaners that people refer to. I'm not even gonna try and guess how this stuff works but it will degrease as good if not better than a simple green, all the while incorporating the ability to just eat up any type of copper, carbon, or any other "baked on" foreign debris.
It literally does 95% of it's amazing job without you doing anything but spraying on parts in a parts bin...taking a break for 30min to an hr. and returning to just briefly hit some areas w. a toothbrush and then you just wipe the areas down..no need for dusters or compressed air to get out any residual MPro7.
Pics depict the way I like to pick this product up in the small spray bottles..also shown is the parts bin after breaking down one single bcg from my last range visit and spraying the parts as I described above..that liquid/sludge is what just magically eats off the dirty parts. The bcg had about 250-300rds on it when cleaned so it wasn't very dirty at all just to note. Lastly depicted is the solution poured into a clear, clean glass and held out in direct sunlight to view any particulates/substrates that may float in this solution. They are most definitely there, however it takes direct light and macro focus to see. They look like amoeba's or something.
http://i51.tinypic.com/35jj7ub.jpg
http://i52.tinypic.com/168zy54.jpg
http://i53.tinypic.com/2n36sz.jpg
http://www.slip2000.com/725.html
Littlelebowski
04-13-11, 15:36
Non chlorinated brake cleaner.
Lock it, IG.
Walmart no name non chlorinated brake cleaner($1.50) washes away all grease and grime quickly with limited to no scrubbing.
Yep. That is all I use. Then I lube it with Weapons Shield.
Belmont31R
04-13-11, 16:33
I use non-chlorinated brake cleaner often to hose out my AR upper receiver, but was always concerned about contact with furniture, etc. I'll have to try this out next time I break down my M&P's.
Sent from my Droid using Tapatalk
The only thing I would be careful about is wood stocks. I think it would chew on varnish pretty quick.
Ive been using brake cleaner as a gun cleaner for over a decade.
Take the road less-traveled.
Orange-button Search: https://www.m4carbine.net/gtsearch.php?cx=003496919632624929056%3Adhiwgm0hbaa&cof=FORID%3A10&ie=UTF-8&q=cleaner&sa=Search&siteurl=www.m4carbine.net%2Fshowthread.php%3Fp%3D970573%23post970573#1068
Not-orange-button Search, limited to thread titles only and to the AR/M4 subforums: https://www.m4carbine.net/search.php?searchid=2979741
Powered by vBulletin® Version 4.2.5 Copyright © 2024 vBulletin Solutions, Inc. All rights reserved.