[BillCA]

Colt-45,

I did the detailed explanation because I've seen more than a few guns in the last year that the owners thought were "clean" or "maintained" and weren't. I've seen guns that were bone dry of lubrication or oozing oil like Kuwait after Saddam's withdrawl. I've seen clean guns with so much lead in the barrels that the rifling looked blurred.

In most cases, if you start with a clean gun and fire up to 200 rounds, cleaning isn't much of a chore unless you're firing lead bullets at high speed. Normally a Hoppe's dipped brush and a dozen strokes cleans the bore. A few strokes in the chambers usually cleans the gunk out. The rest is using solvent to loosen the powder fouling until the gun is clean. Then lubricate it, put some oil on the finish and store away until next time.

I've not tried Dunk-it -- yet -- but it's an appealing idea.

Another favorite is to buy Hoppe's in a quart bottle. Then I use a cheap aluminum "loaf pan" to pour the solvent about 2" - 3" deep. Take off the grips, pull the cylinder off and put frame & cylinder into Hoppes to soak. After 1/2 hour or so, rotate cylinder to soak other half while cleaning the frame. Finish with cylinder, reassemble and you have a clean gun. Use an old Mr.Coffee grounds-holder lined with 1 or 2 filters and pour the used Hoppes into a spare bottle for reuse. I can use it about 4 times that way before it's too dirty to filter out.

By the way -- those spray cans of "dust off" are great for blowing excess oil, solvent and degreaser out of the action.