Cleaning polymer framed pistols

GSPguy

GSPguy

Member
What are you using to clean your polymer framed pistols? I see little reason to completely strip the the polymer framed pistols to clean them. I have used brake cleaner in the past but I have always wondered if it if it was damaging the frame. I see videos of people using some type of simple green in ultrasonic cleaner. I do not have one yet but considering getting one soon. Anyone just field stripping your pistols and running them through an ultrasonic cleaner?
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Ballistol is what I use on the frame. There is also polymer-safe degreasers, available. Remove the barrel and use any bore cleaner you favor on the metal parts.
 
JBinMN

JBinMN

Member
I used to use Hoppe #9 until I ran across Ed's Red. Not counting using hot water & the bore cleaner in the green can, ( << I can't remember the mil spec. designation right now, been something like 40-45 years. ;-) ) and also the Break Free type stuff (<< LSA?? or something?) that was in the little bottle stuffed into the butt compartment with the cleaning kit in M-16s while I was in the Corps.

Anyway, I use the 3 part solution with out the acetone part.
I also use Brake Clean/Kleen (<sp?) on all of them without any issue so far over the years. Both metal or polymer parts, regardless.
I spray a coat to get off the loose stuff off if any, then the Eds Red with scrubbing with a brush. (<< I use one of the military style cleaning brushes like I used back when in the Corps. It is like a green toothbrush with another smaller brush on the other end of the handle if you are not familiar with them.) I also scrub the bore with a bore brush when necessary. Then run patches after the bore brush or just use patches w/out the bore brush if the bore is in fine shape.

Not a single issue with any of mine using the brake cleaner on the metal or the plastic polymer.

Then after the scrubbing, I spray off any excess & whatever grime & carbon that I loosened with the brush, then another blast or two of the brake cleaner, then I give the whole thing both inside & out a light wiped on, or in, with a light dose of Eds Red again.

I use a small metal spray bottle I got to "spritz" it on the piece for the final coat.
Then I let it sit a while, like if I am going to clean another weapon/firearm, or just do something for a bit, & then wipe again for any excess Eds' Red that may have flowed out of any orifices/etc.. Then I am done, until the next time, or if I think it should get another re-coat down the road. Like when I am carrying & drawing/holstering, as the coating can get wiped off or lessened. I also take either an air-can for cleaning computers/etc. or just use the air compressor every so often if I see any dust/lint sticking to the weapon.

I also use the Eds' Red as a lubricant when done cleaning since I think that the mineral spirits & the part of the kerosene evaporates and along with the ATF which is a higher refined oil anyway, it works extremely well for lubrication .

Well, that is basically how I clean, although I tried to be brief in the procedure. I have other things I do to get into the tight spaces & so on , but the basics/chemical solutions I use are above, as I typed out.

I am interested to read if anyone else has had any issues with brake cleaner on firearm parts, as I have not seen any issue using it on polymer plastic on multiple makes of weapons so far.

Hope I was not too long in this post. I don't know how else to explain my use & what I do to basic clean my firearms that have the plastic parts.
 
JBinMN

JBinMN

Member
Ric,
I don't know what may have happened to the stock of the shotgun you purchased, but I really would not have mentioned my use of a brake cleaner, had it ever shown any signs of issues with the plastic/polymer parts of my firearms. ( Note- I saw you said Browning 101, but I am thinking you meant a Winchester 101. Perhaps it was a Belgium made Winchester 101, but no matter, it was the plastic/polymer you were referring to that I am sticking with in my reply. :) )

Granted I was hesitant about trying the stuff I used, as well, at first & made sure to try to check out the results of using a brake cleaner so I did not damage my firearms in any apparent way. Once I found no issue I went on & continued. Been doing it for a long time without issues, in "my case". Many times over the years from when I started to use it.

Most of these firearms I have that are plastic/polymer are mnfr'd from the mid 2000s on up and perhaps there was something different about the polymers used for producing the shotgun stock, vs the ones made since that I have. I do not know.

Here is a pic of the stuff I have used:
Z2K9v_fo5oy.JPG
and have not had any issues yet.
Some of the firearms that have polymer parts that I have used this Brakleen stuff on are a Ruger SR9, Ruger LCP, Ruger Mark IV 22/45, Ruger LCR, Taurus G2C, RI M206, Savage Axis II in .308, .223 & .30-06, and a DPMS Oracle .5.56 and as said, no issues that I know of right now. That is just the ones I can think of off the top of my head & does not include any wood stock firearms.

Perhaps the person that you got the shotgun from used a different type of brake cleaner solution that what I am using, or perhaps a less modern makeup of the plastic polymer?

I am also not sure just how long the person left the brake cleaner on their firearm. Maybe the duration of exposure is an issue for that shotgun stock? Or, for any plastics for that matter?

Did they leave the stock in a parts cleaner setup with a more aggressive solvent?

I can only offer up what I have used in the past that "works for me".
I only spray the stuff on enough to clear away the stuff I can loosen up before I start & then another spray after scrubbing before I just lube, so I would guess that not a minute or so in duration of exposure to the polymers while the stuff evaporates & then I proceed with the Eds Red applications.

Regardless, I am sticking to what I said earlier about my use of the Eds Red without acetone & the use of the Brakleen in part of my cleaning these polymer firearms since it has worked for me, and do not yet see a reason to change right now.

A couple things I think I should mention...

One is per the OP post, I neglected to mention that I "field strip" each firearm according to the mnfr instructions almost every time when I clean firearms & once in a "blue moon" I go further with dis-assembly to clean, IF I see something that warrants a deeper clean.
Only occasionally do I remove the grips on pistols, but for revolvers in particular, I generally remove the grips every so often to clean & lightly lube those parts in a more "in depth" effort to keep the function & prevent any corrosion from occurring in the hidden parts under the grips.Also, I do not have an ultrasound cleaner, so cannot answer to that part of the OP about cleaning.

Second thing to mention is that I was describing some of "my" methods for cleaning & in no way was directing anyone else to do the same, without their taking full responsibility to do so, based on their own research & due diligence to check out what "could" happen to their firearms by using such methods or "solvents". ( <<or for that matter cleaning any equipment that has plastic/polymer parts.)

IOW, the, "YMMV" acronym might be appropriate.

Well, another longer post in reply to a short one, but I wanted to try to clarify some things since there was some question about my earlier comment.

Edit: I tried to fix the pic link, with no luck, so see post below.
 
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P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
The polymers (fancy label for plastic) used in modern handgun frames are tough stuff and are generally impervious to any chemical safe enough to get on your hands. It also doesn’t need to be cleaned to within an inch of its life. Short of dirt and debris packing into some area where it physically interferes with the movement of some part, polymer is pretty low maintenance. It doesn’t rust, it doesn’t need oil, and the finish is, well, whatever the finish is. I would avoid acetone because it’s nasty stuff in general and while it may not immediately harm some plastics, I don’t trust it long term around plastic regardless of the type of plastic.

I’ve used a high-end, commercial ultrasonic cleaners on polymer pistols and frankly, I wasn’t overly impressed. Yes, it takes some of the drudgery out of the task, but I didn’t run out and buy one.

A soft toothbrush, maybe some alcohol and I think you can get polymer parts clean enough. I don’t like oils such as Break Free, Clenzoil, Ballistol, etc. on polymer simply because they make the parts slippery, the oil attracts dirt, and those materials just don’t need oil. Those products will not harm polymer but even if just used as a cleaner, they need to be removed after application and that just adds more work.

I look at polymer pistols (or long guns) as two-part systems. The metal parts get treated like metal parts and the plastic parts get treated like plastic parts. There’s no one product best for both materials. (although there are plenty of products that will do no harm to either material).
 
JonB

JonB

Halcyon member
hmmm?
Maybe I'm not shooting them enough?
I just field strip and use Ed's Red and a Q-tip...somethings a handfull of Q-tips.
 
JBinMN

JBinMN

Member
Seven shooters in my family shoot my firearms. Not all clean them, usually it is just me, though on occasion one of my sons, or grandsons will help.
It is not just that we go out together & share one or two firearms, but that does happen. Many times it is multiple firearms.
Obviously part of shooting requires adequate & thorough cleaning afterward.
So, when having to deal with cleaning multiple firearms, one wants to try to be most efficient as possible to try to reduce the time spent on the "chore", and I consider it a necessary "chore".
Not unlike hunting & processing a deer, or more... The prep for & the hunt is usually the most fun, like the shooting when target shooting is, but the work starts once the shot/shooting stops. The deer, for example, have to be gotten to the place where it is going to be hung & hided, , then after a wait if it is cool/cold enough, most of the time a few days to a week then it is time to process. (<<If ya process your own that is. If you take to a meat locker to have them do it then the analogy is not gonna work.)
If it is warm out, it is quartering it down then putting in bags & then in a cooler on ice to keep it cool before the processing.
A lot of work(chores) to get to the end result.

For me, the same goes for cleaning firearms. The fun was had in the shooting, but now the firearm(s) have to get cleaned up & that takes longer than the fun of shooting if you are shooting multiple firearms with multiple folks, but only one or two are doing the cleaning.

So, I reckon my situation is a bit different & I have found a suitable cleaning method to try to accelerate the process, do a quick complete job of it & make a chore a bit easier on me.
Ed's Red alone can work just fine. So can Hoppes#9, or Ballistal, etc. or even a good hot water assisted cleaning, as long as you aren't soaking any wood parts in the water. Plastics can take the hot water better than wood I would think. We used it on M-16s in the Corps & it was a big help without issues if you were able to make sure the water was removed & the piece was lubed appropriately. They have polymer "furniture" in both stock, hand grip & forearm. Worked fine for them.
( I remember that sometimes we used to clean them behind the chow hall because they had a lot of hot water available.)

None of my firearms are suppressed, but I can certainly see how it would exacerbate the cleaning with not doing a complete job of getting the junk out is going to cause issues down the road, just like non suppressed firearms.

This seems really simple to me.
If ya don't want to use what others do, then don't.
Use what suits ya to accomplish the task/mission.. Weigh pros & cons, then pick.

Ford, Chevy, or Dodge "is the best" debate once again? I would hope not.
IMO, It is silly.

Have a Great day~!
 
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