cleaning ss revolver

[dieselbeef]

new guy..first post..how yall doing...

model 66 paid to much for it ..anyways..its in terrible shape.

cyl doesnt want to index correctly. very dirty. slightly rusy. bought it sight unseen. was told it was dirt but some of it is rust..

anyways i want to clean the action. make sure it is timed correct still and indexes right.
so far hoppes and powder cleaner havent really helped. dont care so much for the appearnace as the function..can i take the grips off(wood) and soak it in diesel fuel or carb cleaner or something ike that. parts washer? then oil it up and check it out.

i know what i got isnt great but for beating around the toolbox on the 4 wheeler or tractor if its reliable im okay with it
thanks..tons of great info on this site..awesome
gary

[jrothWA]

take a small brush (tooth or flux brush for soldering) and coat the exterior.

Are you comfortable to take the sideplate off and work inside? If not then take to a smith.

Let soak and clean off with rag or a fine 3M auto body polishing cloth.

BEst can suggest for situation.

[Clifford L. Hughes]

DieselBeef:

Take the grips off of you Smith and soak it for an hour or so in an ammo can of solvent. Just enough to cover the pistol. Cycle the action several times while the pistol is soaking. Remove the pistol and set it in the sun to dry. This method takes the oil out of the metel's pores so the revolver must be lubricated thoroughly.

Semper Fi.

Gunnery sergeant
Clifford L. Hughes
USMC Retired

[.wheelgunner.]

Here's a fair tutorial on disassembling a Smith revolver. The pictures might be of an internal lock model and yours might be of a non IL model, but the procedure is the same.
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=397027

Clifford's suggestion is good re soaking it in solvent like Hoppes.

You don't say where the rust is located. Exterior? Internal? Both?

I don't remember where I copied this but it's good advice:

Be aware that if you use any polish (such as Flitz, etc) on a stainless finish, you will need to do the ENTIRE gun if you don't like bright patches here and there. A better way to remove rust is with a maroon ScotchBrite pad and a bit of oil. This will remove the rust but NOT polish the metal bright, like paste abrasives will.

Do not ever use ordinary steel wool on stainless, so I've been told. Ordinary steel wool deposits tiny fibers in the steel that sets off a reaction which results in more rust. If you want to use steel wool, ever, use stainless steel steel wool.

[dieselbeef]

most of the rust s very light..spotty..like in the cracks and in the btm of the trigger guard.
the action is crappy and sluggish...hence the soaking part. it doenst look that worn altho it is probly the dirtiest gun ive ever seen..in an old nelgected kind of way..not a worn out or combat kinda dirty. like it just got laid down in the barn and fergot about.
hopefully the action will get better after the soak..the outside will get better from useage.
im gonna pull the grips and take the sideplate off...never done one but im sure i can

thanks for the instrcts too!
gary

[old bear]

Dieselbeef, Gunny gave you some excellent advise. Soak it in solvent let dry, oil interior as needed. When you are done with that you can clean most of the carbon stains off with a led away cloth, but use a lite hand.

When you have finished cleaning you may use Mothers Mag polish for a final clean up and shine. Again use a lite hand when buffing off the Mothers.

[ScotchMan]

I'd be taking it to a good gunsmith. It's not the rust, its that you said its not indexing properly. My understanding is that when a revolver breaks its not something you can easily fix on your own.

If its to shoot in the back yard at tin cans, do whatever, but if you ever want to rely on the gun to protect you or someone you care about, take it to a gunsmith.

Or buy another gun.

[Standing Wolf]

Hello, dieselbeef!

Welcome to the forum.

You're on the right path. Here are a couple thoughts that might be worth considering in addition to the above:

If there's rust on the outside, the odds are high there's rust inside, too, especially if the gun has been in Florida awhile. Prettying it up on the outside is a good idea, but that probably won't solve its internal problems. Rust, dirt, crud, gunk, and the like inside aren't necessarily major problems at all, but they often need more than soaking.

If you're handy, pick up a copy of Kuhnhausen's Smith & Wesson manual from http://www.brownells.com and read it before you follow the pictures. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish with some cleaning solvent, an old tooth brush, and a little time.

If you're not handy and the gun doesn't start working right after a good soak and some oil, it needs the tender loving care of a competent gunsmith.

Best of success to you, eh?

[orionengnr]

If you do not feel confident about disassembly, but want to use a good rust defeater, mix up some Ed's Red (very simple four part solution, one part each ATF, diesel fuel, mineral spirits and acetone). As an added plus, it is a very good cleaner/lubricant/protectant that can be used for cleaning evrey gun you own.

Remove the grips and submerge the revolver for a day or so. Cycle the action (dry-fire) 50 times or so and drop it back in the Ed's Red.

Repeat 3 or 4 cycles and see if any improvement is evident. If not, you have internal problems. There are numerous YouTube vids on disassembing an S&W revolver, and it is not difficult. (The first time it may be a bit intimidating, but it's not difficult or complicated).

Last resort, see a good smith or send it to S&W. The M66 is a great revolver and once you have it restored to proper operation, it will serve you long and well.

Please check back in and let us know how it goes.

[dieselbeef]

thanks guys..its in dzl fuel right now and it already looks 100 percent better. it had a really thck greasy smelly crud on it. the fuel got almost all of it off without even brushing it..the toothbrush got all of it off the utside cept for the rusty stuff..very minor left. indexes alot better already.
ill soak it in some hoppes next..i took the grips and sideplate off. took all the springs out,,they were solid with gunk

thanks guys..this sites awesome already. im gonna be somewhat afraid to shoot it tho

any suggestions on that..i want a laser for it also. under the barrel

thanks gary

[Sevens]

Wow, so many folks suggesting to soak it.

Soaking it is somewhere you might go, but not where I'd start. (though I see that you already did)

If it's indexing poorly, the first thing I'd check is if the cylinder is binding at all. When open, it should spin freely and easily, like really zipping along if you spin it with fingers & thumb when it's open.

If it doesn't spin like that, start there. It's one very easy screw, the forward most screw on the right side of the revolver. Unscrew that one and pull the crane out of the frame and the cylinder will come off the crane. You might find all kinds of crud and congealed old "gun oil" in there messing up it's ability to spin.

You can obviously still do this now, even after your soak.

[dieselbeef]

cleaned up real nice...blasted it with some crc also..then dried it..did a reg cleaning like usual. runs 100%. still not real pretty cuzz some of the rust browned the ss but it shoots decent. put 40rds thru it and it hits dead center of the primer everytime. wasnt shootin for accuracy just shooting.
all in all im happy with it for 300 bucks. the 6" barrel is diff for me.

good enough...the stem for the cyl was half unscrewed also. part of the reason the cyl was binding..the gun was amess..cpl hrs on it tho!..its all good. perfect beater for the tractor or the quad..backup hunting gun. not too pretty and plenty of power! dont need to worry bout it in the rain or scratchin it !

gary