Bore Cleaner Shotgun

[Nathan]

I’ll be I’ve read 50 threads on bore cleaner and seen few posts about using WD40.

Over on the shotgun forums, they rave about WD40. Why not use WD40? a couple wipes and a couple brush strokes and it was clean!

So, why not WD40?

Also, why the tico sticks? They seem like a pain in the butt!

[Virginian]

Some people have an aversion to WD-40. I've been using it for about 50 years.

[Dfariswheel]

WD-40 is a fairly good penetrating agent and can serve as a cleaner.

It's just that it's not as effective or fast as a bore solvent when it comes to removing carbon, powder, and plastic fouling.

If you want to use WD-40 and it works to your satisfaction, you're good to go.

[GE-Minigun]

I've been using a bore snake for more years than I can count, usually have some type of oil on the very end so I have a light coat of it in the bore. Granted I shoot it 90% of the time every weekend so it never sets more than two weeks. I've only had plastic fouling in one gun that was ported, have since sold that gun so that problem is gone.

The Tico sticks are the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to cleaning a shotgun barrel...couple back and forth action, put the mop on the end with some oil and slowly pull it out...done.

[stuckinthe60s]

its not a lubricant. its a solvent.
WD40 evaporates fast, leaving metal dry, then solidifies into a shellac like substance that will “gum up” the works. It also traps moisture, leading to the promotion of rust.
when I was with the SEAL teams, we use to mix break free, VVL800, and wd40 together. now that was a good combo. it covered all the bases.

[Bill DeShivs]

"Its not a lubricant. its a solvent.
WD40 evaporates fast, leaving metal dry, then solidifies into a shellac like substance that will “gum up” the works. It also traps moisture, leading to the promotion of rust."

Here we go again-
WD 40 is a lubricant. It contains light mineral oil.
The carrier evaporates fast-leaving the mineral oil. It doesn't leave metal dry.
WD 40 does not harden and "gum up" anything. How could it if it "evaporates fast?"
WD 40 (Water displacing #40) does not trap moisture. It does not promote rust.

I have been using WD 40 since it's inception-as an engineer, jeweler, gunsmith, cutler, engraver, maintenance worker and musician- over 50 years. It is an extremely handy item- maybe not the best for everything, but it doesn't do any of the things said above.

I have a small bottle of WD 40 that I filled 10+ years ago. All that is left of it is mineral oil. No gumming or shellac.

I wish people would stop promoting myths like this. I use it on my guitar strings.

[Dfariswheel]

My GOD, your guitar will malfunction and jam... and not in a musical way.

[jrothWA]

I used WD40 as a deep cleaner for a 1979 Ruger Red Label,asI recently sprayed the action to remove original lubrication, did it twice and blew off the residual, waited over night and the applied LPS #1 as the final lubricant.

As borfe cleaner, nothing like Hoppe's for cleaning.

[mehavey]

Get Hornady 1-Shot (Black can)...and walk away















(Started using it to clean/fast-flush pesky gas shotgun innards, springs, tubes, bolts.... now everything)

[Carmady]

WD40 evaporates fast, leaving metal dry, then solidifies into a shellac like substance that will “gum up” the works. It also traps moisture, leading to the promotion of rust.

Spraying WD-40 into a distributor cap and wiping with a paper towel was a common way to fix an ignition system that had quit working when there was heavy rain.

[Nathan]

@Mehavey….wish I could. They stopped making it.

Not sure if it cleans shotgun bores well. WD40 did the trick today.

I:
removed chokes
Cleaned choke end and chokes
Relube chokes and install
Clean chambers
Get bore wet with WD40
Brush 5-10 strokes
Wipe out
Relube chokes and install
Run dry patch

Good to go!

WD40 is not the lube, just good powder and wad cleaner.

[mehavey]

They stopped making Hornady 1-Shot Cleaner/Lube ?
(See https://getyarn.io/yarn-clip/58faca3...c-eb07814e65ba)

[FITASC]

I use WD-40 down my bores, but it does not do as good a job as brake cleaner or other serious solvents.

Tico tools, like bore snakes, are ~OK~ for a quick swipe when the barrels are still warm, but you still need to clean the bores (and the tool) Dawn and hot water followed by drying in the sun helps but a jag and flannel patches still does a better job.

[HKGuns]

Some of you ought to ask Mark Novak what he thinks of WD40 and firearms.

It absolutely does leave a hard residue when it dries up.

I’ll trust his judgment and continue to keep it away from my guns.

[FITASC]

Some of you ought to ask Mark Novak what he thinks of WD40 and firearms.

It absolutely does leave a hard residue when it dries up.

I’ll trust his judgment and continue to keep it away from my guns.

I saw that first hand with a friend and his Model 42 Winchester .410 - he used WD-40 for everything on the gun and never wiped it off; he had to strong-arm the pump to get the action to open; you could see the buildup, but you could not convince him.............

[kymasabe]

I'm old school and think WD40 doesn't belong in or on a firearm. Hoppe's to clean the bore, and everything else, and a little Rem oil on a patch to lightly lube the bore and barrel. Shot trap nearly every thursday night for 5 years, 10 boxes per night, over 40,000 rounds thru my old Remington Wingmaster, Hoppe's and Rem oil never let me down. It doesn't have to be fancy, it just has to work.

[Bill DeShivs]

10-13 year old WD 40.
Just light mineral oil.

[Bill DeShivs]

BTW- I have a very large and valuable collection of knives and guns. Most of them are simply wiped with WD 40 occasionally.

[Nathan]

Who is Mark Novak? Related to the sights, I assume?

[Recycled bullet]

Gummed up sticky guns is the end result of sloppy careless maintenance. Carbon sticks to oil and if oil gets reapplied repeatedly every time you shoot instead of being cleaned then you have a real pearl.

Guns don't clean themselves, and spray bottle doesn't either. You apply the oil and mechanically remove the carbon/plastic/lead/whatever else fouling that has collected.

0000 steel wool soaked in synthetic automatic transmission fluid works wonderful for cleaning and lubrication. So does wd40, sewing machine oil, mobile 1 engine oil, etc...

[Recycled bullet]

Originally Posted by Nathan

Who is Mark Novak? Related to the sights, I assume?

Mark Novak is a skilled gunsmith on YouTube.

[stuckinthe60s]

nope...

spray cans consist of product and a propellant (carrier).
the propellant gives the illusion of oily slickness. the slick oily substance is a fluid dissapater, when it evaporates, all thats left is the product. wd40's product is a film.
I will put my 22 years of military aviation knowledge....protecting pilots and crew from corrosion of aircraft systems at sea, against any challengers.
my claim isn't my opinion. its known science taught and practiced by professional military personnel to this day.
I go with that. you go with whatever is trending on the internet or what you practice.
thank you.
nathen, always remember, truth isnt determined by greek style internet concensus.
good luck with your quest for knowledge.

[Bill DeShivs]

WD 40's"product" is light mineral oil. I showed you a picture of it.

[FITASC]

Google the MSDS and you can see its purpose and what is in it

This site's old software makes a copy/paste a lot more difficult than others

[Recycled bullet]

Has anyone used butter, olive oil or bacon grease to clean guns?

My cast iron pan is seasoned with a combination of all three and I can fry shredded cheese without it sticking.

I wonder if my black hawk would smell like cooking lunch in my kitchen if I lubricated it so... Periodically wiped down with a bacon grease soaked micro fiber rag at the gun club when the gun is hot..