Cleaning with Hot Water

[Hippie Stomper]

I was having problems with erratic jams every 100-200 rounds and I tried a bunch of other things to fix the problem. I clean my vz-58/cz-858 with boiling water and then again with CLP because i use corrosive ammunition. I decided to try the same thing with my xcr.

I poured a pot of boiling water down my barrel and down the piston tube. A bunch of fouling and crap came out the gas block area I had been cleaning in there with CLP only and it had likely been partially blocked. My rifle is now 100% and I'm 100% happy. Anyone else clean with hot water and then again with CLP?? I can't believe how well it worked.

Clearly I have to get all of the water out and clean again with CLP but it's amazing how well it worked.

Anyone else using this method?

[Underground]

I haven't but I've been meaning to get a small steam cleaner to try out.

[EricCartmann]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

[Underground]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

Yes, but the MSDS for water doesn't look like this:

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/1401,1405,1455.pdf

DANGER! FLAMMABLE LIQUID, TOXIC, MARINE POLLUTANT. Vapor Can Cause Flash Fire. Vapors, Fumes and Mists are Harmful to Eyes. Harmful if Inhaled or Absorbed Through Skin. Harmful if Swallowed, ASPIRATION HAZARD. Can Cause Damage to Internal Organs. Contains material that is known to cause cancer. Wash after handling this product and before eating, smoking or using the bathroom. Promptly remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Destroy contaminated leather articles. SARA Title III Reporting.

[dont_tread_on_me]

  I don't care for CLP as just a cleaner anyway,It just doesn't bring out the fouling as well as other commercial gun cleaners that are designed for it.To me it's more of a lubricant,and it's not especially great for that.

[XCRmonger]

the jams are happening in your XCR? Or another rifle? I'm confused..

[EricCartmann]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

Yes, but the MSDS for water doesn't look like this:

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/1401,1405,1455.pdf

DANGER! FLAMMABLE LIQUID, TOXIC, MARINE POLLUTANT. Vapor Can Cause Flash Fire. Vapors, Fumes and Mists are Harmful to Eyes. Harmful if Inhaled or Absorbed Through Skin. Harmful if Swallowed, ASPIRATION HAZARD. Can Cause Damage to Internal Organs. Contains material that is known to cause cancer. Wash after handling this product and before eating, smoking or using the bathroom. Promptly remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Destroy contaminated leather articles. SARA Title III Reporting.

Yeah should not use Brake Cleaner as a salad dressing.

[gr8santini]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

Yes, but the MSDS for water doesn't look like this:

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/1401,1405,1455.pdf

DANGER! FLAMMABLE LIQUID, TOXIC, MARINE POLLUTANT. Vapor Can Cause Flash Fire. Vapors, Fumes and Mists are Harmful to Eyes. Harmful if Inhaled or Absorbed Through Skin. Harmful if Swallowed, ASPIRATION HAZARD. Can Cause Damage to Internal Organs. Contains material that is known to cause cancer. Wash after handling this product and before eating, smoking or using the bathroom. Promptly remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Destroy contaminated leather articles. SARA Title III Reporting.

Yeah should not use Brake Cleaner as a salad dressing.

It's great for de-greasing parts before applying DuraCoat!  Thanks for the tip on the salad dressing.

[marrandy]

Yeah should not use Brake Cleaner as a salad dressing.

Works great as a marinade though.

[Cid1911]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

Yes, but the MSDS for water doesn't look like this:

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/1401,1405,1455.pdf

DANGER! FLAMMABLE LIQUID, TOXIC, MARINE POLLUTANT. Vapor Can Cause Flash Fire. Vapors, Fumes and Mists are Harmful to Eyes. Harmful if Inhaled or Absorbed Through Skin. Harmful if Swallowed, ASPIRATION HAZARD. Can Cause Damage to Internal Organs. Contains material that is known to cause cancer. Wash after handling this product and before eating, smoking or using the bathroom. Promptly remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Destroy contaminated leather articles. SARA Title III Reporting.

Yeah should not use Brake Cleaner as a salad dressing.

Crap. Looks like it's rasberry vinagarette on the salad tonight then.

[aziator]

I picked up a small steam cleaner recently, I haven't had a chance to try it out yet but next time I shoot x39 I plan to use it.

[Hippie Stomper]

the jams are happening in your XCR? Or another rifle? I'm confused..

Hi Terra,

The jams were happening with my XCR. But the hot water cleaning has fixed the problem.

[Lizardman]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

Yes, but the MSDS for water doesn't look like this:

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/1401,1405,1455.pdf

DANGER! FLAMMABLE LIQUID, TOXIC, MARINE POLLUTANT. Vapor Can Cause Flash Fire. Vapors, Fumes and Mists are Harmful to Eyes. Harmful if Inhaled or Absorbed Through Skin. Harmful if Swallowed, ASPIRATION HAZARD. Can Cause Damage to Internal Organs. Contains material that is known to cause cancer. Wash after handling this product and before eating, smoking or using the bathroom. Promptly remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Destroy contaminated leather articles. SARA Title III Reporting.

Get this,

In the medical field, there is a MSDS for "Sterile Water".

[marrandy]

Get this,

In the medical field, there is a MSDS for "Sterile Water".

Perhaps. but its NOT required.  You should provide a link when making a claim.

http://publicapps.hospira.com/%28fqc2e3451tyrwuj31rgkcsbi%29/TechnicalResources/msdssearch.aspx

[Lizardman]

Well, if I was at work and could scan it, I would have posted a copy.

But, I'm not, so I won't.

[raudi]

Did the hot water thing after shooting some corrosive ammo. I did notice that a lot of crap came out of the barrel. I think the port from the barrel to the gas block might have been clogged a bit. Now I can run my 7.62x39 rifle on gas setting 2 and the recoil feels like what setting 4 was previous to the cleaning. I had about ~1200 rounds through the gun at the time.

I ran about 400 rounds last weekend through the gun and had no malfunctions.

[Underground]

Break cleaner is more convenient and works better.

Yes, but the MSDS for water doesn't look like this:

http://www.berrymanproducts.com/Portals/0/1401,1405,1455.pdf

DANGER! FLAMMABLE LIQUID, TOXIC, MARINE POLLUTANT. Vapor Can Cause Flash Fire. Vapors, Fumes and Mists are Harmful to Eyes. Harmful if Inhaled or Absorbed Through Skin. Harmful if Swallowed, ASPIRATION HAZARD. Can Cause Damage to Internal Organs. Contains material that is known to cause cancer. Wash after handling this product and before eating, smoking or using the bathroom. Promptly remove contaminated clothing and wash before reuse. Destroy contaminated leather articles. SARA Title III Reporting.

Yeah should not use Brake Cleaner as a salad dressing.

Uh huh.  Like heavy metals, a lot of the worst effects of these things are from chronic exposure.  You may not see any ill effect now, but wait a few years.

Not to mention that kids and animals can be more susceptible.  I'm just looking out for ya'.   

[EricCartmann]

Uh huh.  Like heavy metals, a lot of the worst effects of these things are from chronic exposure.  You may not see any ill effect now, but wait a few years.

Not to mention that kids and animals can be more susceptible.  I'm just looking out for ya'.   

Thanks for looking out.  Well I do try to use surgical gloves as much as possible, and when I do use it I make sure the garage is open or I am outside in the backyard.

Powder and lead are not really safe either so you should even go an extra step and wear gloves while shooting, which I try to (have some cool franklin batting gloves).

[SINKER]

My younger Brother served in the Army during the Vietnam era, as did I, in the USAF.  I was out before he went in so I never had the opportunity to do this, BUT, he did well for the time he spent in there.  One of the funniest things he has told me about the things that he did when they were on active duty and using their M16A1 or maybe 2's is that when they went to the shower everyday that they could, they took their 16's in there with them!  He said that his first shirt didn't much care for the idea of this, he really couldn't complain very much because the company's rifles seldom ever didn't run well! 

I think that us washing our weapons, as long as they don't have wooden furniture is a good, well proven idea!


It's still pretty funny to think about it though!  When I think about what my Brother and his guys must have looked like in the shower, I can't help but burst out laughing~!llol!!

[Cid1911]

Gives an all new meaning to the old wisdom "Don't drop the soap!"

[acco]

I've done the rifle in the shower thing as well. It just helps to get all of the grit out, and if the water is hot it can loosen up the fouling and oil.  I haven't seen a need for it in years but I have taken a hose to my rifle to get rid of mud. 

As far as cleaning goes, I would suggest using Hoppes-9 or some other cleaner. I am issued CLP and I still don't like it because it doesn't clean nearly as well, and I find that the teflon leaves a residue that can get gummed up unless it is regularly stripped bare and reapplied. I use Hoppes to clean and straight gun oil to lubricate.

[Bravo]

  I don't care for CLP as just a cleaner anyway [...] To me it's more of a lubricant,and it's not especially great for that.

AMEN! But it's a heck of a good preservative, and that's why I keep it around. The ONLY reason I keep it around.

Hoppes #9? I love the stuff (particularly the #9BR) but it isn't very vigorous as a cleaner. But you're 100% on the teflon in CLP - that messes up some varmint rigs / long range rigs routinely due to teflon build-up in the barrel. There's this 'stuff' (GRIN) that knocks teflon out of the barrel. When my buddy messed up his varmint rig barrel with CLP, I gave him some of that to hit the barrel with. The teflon came out in pieces on the patch - surprised him, he swore up and down that the barrel was 'eat off of' clean.

As far as MSDSs go, lots of them are full of lawyer boilerplate. Including the ones I've helped write. For instance, I maintain MSDSs here for several kinds of ultrapure water (like 18 megaohm water - the stuff that doesn't conduct electricity because it's so pure) and they say that if you get it in your eye, you should wash your eyes out with water. That would be read as 'wash the ultrapure water out of your eyes with mineral and bacterial laiden water'.

[BamaNative]

I've done the rifle in the shower thing as well. It just helps to get all of the grit out, and if the water is hot it can loosen up the fouling and oil.  I haven't seen a need for it in years but I have taken a hose to my rifle to get rid of mud. 

As far as cleaning goes, I would suggest using Hoppes-9 or some other cleaner. I am issued CLP and I still don't like it because it doesn't clean nearly as well, and I find that the teflon leaves a residue that can get gummed up unless it is regularly stripped bare and reapplied. I use Hoppes to clean and straight gun oil to lubricate.

That's the way we did it.... My unit had a prick for an Armor.  Sgt Haulk, will never forget him.  You spend three weeks in the field and 3 days trying to turn your weapon.  Nam Vet hooked us up with tip.  Brake cleaner is really good as well.