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Thread: How I clean my S&W 5.45 AR15

  1. #11
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    Curious as to why you use hot water for rinsing the internals? Is the Russian ammo corrosive?

    I generally swab everything down with mineral spirits (solvent) and then lube.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by NWPilgrim View Post
    Curious as to why you use hot water for rinsing the internals? Is the Russian ammo corrosive?

    I generally swab everything down with mineral spirits (solvent) and then lube.
    Yes, the Russian mil surp is corrosive. Water takes care of this.

  3. #13
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    I typically did the same routine with my AK-74s, hot water followed by regular cleaning with MPro7. Recently however I saw this while on the MPro site, in their FAQ section...

    I normally use corrosive ammo. Is M-Pro 7 Gun Cleaner effective in removing the corrosive salts?

    M-Pro7 works very well on corrosive ammo and black powder. M-Pro7 Gun Cleaner instantly neutralizes the effects of corrosive ammo, black powder, ammonia and other corrosive salts.
    Since then I've made two range trips, each 200-300rds and cleaned only with MPro7 after (no hot water). So far, so good but I'm going to keep a close eye out for rust. I'm a fan of anything that makes cleaning easier so hopefully this stuff lives up to their claim.

  4. #14
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    2 passes with a bore snake, wipe the bolt down and thats it.

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by SpeedRacer View Post
    I typically did the same routine with my AK-74s, hot water followed by regular cleaning with MPro7. Recently however I saw this while on the MPro site, in their FAQ section...



    Since then I've made two range trips, each 200-300rds and cleaned only with MPro7 after (no hot water). So far, so good but I'm going to keep a close eye out for rust. I'm a fan of anything that makes cleaning easier so hopefully this stuff lives up to their claim.
    Water is cheaper

  6. #16
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    Corrosive ammo is corrosive due to potassium and / or sodium chlorates in the primer compound which form potassium and / or sodium chlorides when fired. These molecules are "polar" that is they have a negative end and a positive end. They are highly soluble in polar solvents such as water or some of the alcohols but are very insoluble in non-polar solvents such as petroleum distillates and the halogenated solvents like brake cleaner. While petroleum compounds act as corrosion inhibitors they definitely do not remove the source of the problem, the Na and K chlorides. Hence the water treatment.

    I ordered a 5.45 mm Adams Arms upper last week along with 4K of ammo. Got a real good price on the upper. Too good. It is 5.56. Sent it back. I should have the correct upper next week. I am very excited about shooting centerfire at 15 cent a pop.

  7. #17
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    Holly shit! That chemistry leason made my head hurt. I just pull the trigger and hose it down with Ballistol.

    I do know for a fact that if you do nothing at all it will not be too long and you will be very unhappy.

    The water thing just seems like a pain.

  8. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by crossgun View Post
    Holly shit! That chemistry leason made my head hurt. I just pull the trigger and hose it down with Ballistol.

    I do know for a fact that if you do nothing at all it will not be too long and you will be very unhappy.

    The water thing just seems like a pain.
    =========================================

    Hot water is how muzzle loaders have been cleaned for hundreds (plural) of years. The trick is HOT water. It dissolves the carbon/soot/salt, gets the metal hot which evaporates the water and makes oil applications more thorough because the hot metal thins the oil helping it creep in tight places.

    When I was a kid, an uncle showed me how to use water to clean original Brown Bess' after shooting black powder. Since then, I've starting spraying the gun down with "409", let it soak a minute, with a hot water rinse.

    But maybe just it's me...

    .
    Last edited by ucrt; 10-05-11 at 22:55.

  9. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by Littlelebowski View Post
    Water is cheaper
    Can't argue with that!

    I always cleaned with MPro7 after the water anyway, so for me all I'm doing is eliminating a step, and my least favorite one at that. And my wife gets her mop bucket back. Everybody wins.

    I do still feel weird skipping the hot water step, and I'm not all-in with the new method yet which is why I'm still keeping a close eye on things. I did e-mail MPro to verify their claim and they were adamant it works as described. Also, considering the potential damage if it didn't remove the salts, I can't imagine them making that claim if it didn't work as advertised. I guess we'll see.

  10. #20
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    Try this little experiment. Take half a teaspoon of table salt, put it in a jar with a couple of ounces of your favorite bore cleaner, see what happens. Try the same thing with some hot water. To simplify the chemistry we all know oil and water don't mix. The salts are water-like compounds and they do not mix with petroleum solvents normally found in bore cleaners.

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