Is This SD9VE Clean?

[Smokey McPeterson]

My first handgun, just bought it new. Very excited about it. Cleaned it up a little bit since it had some powder residue from product testing or something. Then went to the range and put 150 rounds through it (Winchester and some other brand). When I got home from the range I had a hard time getting it to look like it did before the 150 rounds, despite using a solvent-dipped brush on the inside of the slide. There's still some discoloration (possibly powder fouling) inside the slide around the striker.

Should I keep cleaning? If so, how? I assumed that a clean gun would not look like mine does now, but I have nothing to base that off of. How do I get this off without accidentally getting a bunch of solvent inside the striker hole?

[Photos are Here, here, and here.

[doofus47]

1. Welcome aboard.
2. Where and what kind of dirt are we talking about?
If your bolt face has some scoring on it, that's "normal wear and tear." If your slide is so crudded up that it won't function, I'd say that's an issue. I think that after 150 rounds, you're probably looking at a combination of discoloration from use. The important things (to me) would be:
1. does the pistol function reliably? Is the feed ramp clean? Do rounds cycle consistently or are they getting hung up somewhere? Are the magazines operating correctly? Is the slide sliding smoothly and strongly enough to cycle the rounds? Is the chamber locking closed? Is the trigger still functioning properly? Is there excessive copper/lead buildup in the barrel?

Think function, then think about appearance.
My 2 c. Give us your impressions on the SD9ve when you get a chance. You opinion matters.

[Smokey McPeterson]

1. Thank you!
2. I posted photos but maybe they didn't come through. Photos are Here, here, and here. Since it's my first gun I can't really tell what I'm looking at, I would assume fouling but it was really stubborn when I tried to get it off. It certainly is not dirty enough to cause any kind of failure, I just want to make sure i'm taking good care of my gun.

3. As for impressions, I really like the SD9VE. I think it will be an excellent introduction to handguns and an excellent weapon to learn with. It fits my hand really well and I didn't mind the trigger that much at all. Yeah it was a little heavy, but felt relatively smooth and I think it will only improve as I put more rounds through it, plus there's always the Apex kit. It seems fairly accurate (or as Hickock45 would say, it's more accurate than I am) and was fun to shoot. No failures of any kind so far. I did order a replacement metal M&P rear sight for $20, so I can swap out the flat dot sight it came with.

[Sabrewolfe]

Yeah, from the pics, it looks like discoloration more than anything else to me. Steel (even "stainless") has a tendency to do that if the surface isn't burnished or treated to close the pores in the metal. I would suggest letting the slide and barrel soak overnight in Breakfree CLP or similar metal treatment periodically to help with the issue.

[Leejack]

Congrats on your gun!

I don't see anything unusual at all. Just lube as per manual, shoot often, clean and lube and repeat process.

The SD is a great gun and gets sweeter every time out!

[g.willikers]

Looks normal to me for a used gun.
Yup, your gun is now a used one.
Don't sweat it.
After another thousand rounds or two, it will even look a little worse.
It's supposed to.
No need to get anal about getting it clean, it's just going to get dirty again.
Kinda' like getting that first parking lot scratch in a new car.

[JN01]

You can't get it to look brand new (unfired). It looks like you cleaned it just fine.

In your diligence to try to get it spotless, don't put a lot of liquids on the breech face and pouring into the striker channel. Getting a lot of gunk in there will mix with powder fouling, lint, etc, and could prevent the striker from moving freely, resulting in a failure to fire.

[Kreyzhorse]

It's used now. Shoot it, clean it, lube it repeat. Don't sweat it.

[lee n. field]

What everyone else said. Looks fine to me.

[ATPBULLETS]

Looks great like it is...
if you want more off... take a little blast away gun cleaner on a tooth brush and hit those surfaces... that will remove most of what you see.

[SIMP]

Congrats on your first purchase and welcome aboard. It will one of many to come, I'm sure. The gun looks clean and broken in. Enjoy it!

[Smokey McPeterson]

Thanks guys, I appreciate the feedback! Looks like there's plenty to learn around here so I'm looking forward to checking out the rest of the forum.

[45Gunner]

I hate to come across as hypercritical but from the way I am looking at the pictures, the gun could be better cleaned. Try soaking the "dirty" parts in solvent such as Hoppes 9. After it has soaked somewhat, take an old toothbrush that still has firm bristles and do a little scrubbing. My guess is that crud will come off.
I have passed this procedure on to my gun club and after hundreds of rounds and a good cleaning, the guns all come out looking nearly new.

[marine6680]

It could be cleaned better... but it doesn't need it.


Cleaning a gun has an exponential aspect to it... The next little bit cleaner takes longer to get, and it continues.

So don't waste time on getting it spotless, just get it mostly clean. All the loose crud and stuff that scrubs off with a nylon bristled brush like a soft toothbrush, should be plenty clean.

[Sabrewolfe]

marine6680, I think you mean a logarithmic increase rather than an exponential one, but your point is a valid one overall.

If you happen to enjoy cleaning guns (or if you are just mildly OCD like me), by all means, put in the effort to get it squeaky clean. If you don't enjoy cleaning for its own sake, then mostly clean is generally good enough to keep your weapon running well.

[marine6680]

A logarithmic graph may more appropriately convey the idea... An exponential graph would work, but the way it would be labeled would make the idea less clear visually.


If you do get that OCD... proper cleaning technique is important. As improper cleaning is bad for the gun. You can cause mild damage that accumulates over the years.

Its worse for bolt guns, as those tend to get cleaned much and shot little for hunters. A few shots a year, bu several cleanings, and sometimes cleaned even without being fired.