Odorless mineral spirits is a wise alternative...
Printable View
I have firearms that I have owned for over 30 years and still function well. Many of them were cleaned with Hoppe's No. 9 solvent and lubricated with one lubricant, Hoppes Gun Oil, Break Free CLP or Mobil 1 motor oil.
Pick one solvent to clean your rifle. After a thorough wipe down, pick one lubricant and apply it to the needed lubrication points.
One solvent, one lubricant.
In my book CLP sucks!!
It burns off fast and if left on a stored weapon can leave a gummy residue. Ask me how i know.......
I detail clean/punch the bore every 1000rds with SLIP 725 or similar (every 500rds if dealing with suppressed weapons).
basic lubrication/interim "wipe down" is with SLIP 2000 after every range session, and SLIP EWL for BCG lubrication.
Before this turns into another dreaded lube thread, I would like to add this suggestion.
One solvent, one lubricant. Pick one reputable solvent and one reputable lubricant.
Don't mix solvents or lubricants based on recommendations you see on the internet..
I agree, bad idea to mix any cleaners/lubricants unless they're recommended to work together.
I mainly use Breakfree CLP & TW25 grease in my pistols & rifles. Any CLP is kind of a compromise over a dedicated cleaner & separate lubricant, but for me and lots of others it's fine, it works, and it's convenient.
Anything that shoots corrosive ammo in my collection gets Ballistol instead. The Ballistol mixes well with water so when I flush my weapon with hot water most of the Ballistol & carbon go with it. But the first time I used Ballistol in a weapon that had been treated with CLP they turned milky and had to use a cleaner to get that residue out.
I've also had good luck with synthetic motor oil & wheel bearing grease. It's cheap and works well, but stains badly and has a distinctive odor.
I've used gasoline, kerosene & mineral spirits to clean greasy dirty car parts so no reason it wouldn't work on a BCG. All that stuff evaporates too fast to be a fire hazard, unless you're throwing a drenched BCG in your rifle. But I'd think twice if you use an o-ring in your extractor, not sure how rubber would react over time. And non-chlorinated brake cleaner is more effective and can usually be picked up cheap & locally. Easier to use & store as well.
One way to ensure you aren't cross contaminating cleaners and lubricants is after using the cleaner run a patch or wipe down with 90+% isopropyl alcohol. It will neutralize the cleaner, dry quickly and then lubricate as normal.