# Breakfree CLP



## Zahnarzt (Jun 6, 2021)

Breakfree CLP...is it the best type of solution for cleaning/maintenance, or is it better for the gun to use a bore cleaner and separate oil?


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Zahnarzt said:


> Breakfree CLP...is it the best type of solution for cleaning/maintenance, or is it better for the gun to use a bore cleaner and separate oil?


I use Hoppe's No.9 for the bore. Breakfree CLP on pivot points and a good quality gun grease on the slide rails and contact points of the sear. Just don't over do it, you don't need much. Too much oil or grease attracts dirt and forms an abrasive paste. On a striker fired pistol the striker assembly and channel should be clean, dry and free of all lubricants. I use Breakfree CLP or Birchwood Casey's "Gun scrubber" to clean those parts then blow them out and off with compressed air. I then dry the channel out with a Q-tip before installing the striker assembly. Birchwood Casey's "Gun scrubber" cleans the parts and dissolves any of the old lubricants. For parts and contact points that require lubricants they will have to be re applied.


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## Zahnarzt (Jun 6, 2021)

desertman said:


> I use Hoppe's No.9 for the bore. Breakfree CLP on pivot points and a good quality gun grease on the slide rails and contact points of the sear. Just don't over do it, you don't need much. Too much oil or grease attracts dirt and forms an abrasive paste. On a striker fired pistol the striker assembly and channel should be clean, dry and free of all lubricants. I use Breakfree CLP or Birchwood Casey's "Gun scrubber" to clean those parts then blow them out and off with compressed air. I then dry the channel out with a Q-tip before installing the striker assembly. Birchwood Casey's "Gun scrubber" cleans the parts and dissolves any of the old lubricants. For parts and contact points that require lubricants they will have to be re applied.


Would you mind posting a picture of the striker assembly and channel? Excuse my ignorance, but it would be great to see exactly where to avoid placement of the oil.


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## desertman (Aug 29, 2013)

Zahnarzt said:


> Would you mind posting a picture of the striker assembly and channel? Excuse my ignorance, but it would be great to see exactly where to avoid placement of the oil.


Here you go.

You want to clean that assembly along with the channel it sits in then dry it out. Birchwood Casey's "Gun scrubber" works great as it cleans the assembly free of dirt and grit then evaporates without leaving behind any residue. These guns do not come with a push button slide plate or (red) aluminum striker sleeve. You can get them from HKParts | The Largest Store for H&K Parts And Accessories in the USA Glocks don't have them either. In fact I don't think that any striker fired guns do? They come with plastic striker sleeves. You need two hands to remove the striker assembly. One hand to push the sleeve forward with a small punch or jeweler's screwdriver and the other hand to remove the slide plate from the slide. With the push button slide plate you avoid chewing up the plastic sleeve. As it pushes against the back of the sleeve.

I always clean and dry out that assembly whenever I'm cleaning my guns whether I'm firing 50 rounds or a coupla' hundred. I'm guessing that you can probably fire off several hundred or even a thousand rounds before having to clean that assembly and channel? A lot of people are not that fastidious when cleaning their guns. Quality guns can get pretty dirty before they start giving you problems after all they could be exposed to all types of conditions. I just can't stand a filthy gun and I do like working on them. 

*Gun Scrubber® Synthetic Firearm Cleaner ... - Birchwood Casey*
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Cleaning your firearm just got a whole lot easier and faster thanks to Birchwood Casey’s GunScrubber® Firearm Cleaner. Gun Scrubber® Firearm Cleaner is a pressurized, fast evaporating firearm cleaner that cleans internal metal firearm parts and firearms effectively.


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## Zahnarzt (Jun 6, 2021)

Great! Thanks!


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## Steve M1911A1 (Feb 6, 2008)

...And, Zahnartzt, with a chuckle I have to ask you: Would you please explain how to do an amalgam filling in a molar? 

Your Porsche (911?) reminds me of the song "Be A Dentist," from _Little Shop of Horrors_.


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## Zahnarzt (Jun 6, 2021)

Steve M1911A1 said:


> ...And, Zahnartzt, with a chuckle I have to ask you: Would you please explain how to do an amalgam filling in a molar?
> 
> Your Porsche (911?) reminds me of the song "Be A Dentist," from _Little Shop of Horrors_.


Steve, I haven’t done an amalgam filling in over 15 years. That stuff is all but obsolete in dentistry now.

And yes, that is my tag on a 911 C4S (991.2 for any Porsche enthusiasts out there).


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

You might put your gun brand in there. Some tell you right up front to leave the lubricant out of the striker channel.
There are plenty of "best" products, meaning they all work just fine. Hoppe's is a fin choice, for sure.
Bore cleaner is just that. A special blend that dissolves copper residue and is fairly harsh. Just use a mild brush and regular solvent (cleaner of your choice) for 99.9% of your cleaning. If you don't shoot a lot of soft cast you shouldn't have a leading problem either.
For the most part, hot water and motor oil will keep things clean and running and trouble free for decades. Unless the manufacturer specifically calls for grease, and few do, one might avoid that practice, even though it seems popular on the internet. 
Yes it is that simple, we just make it complicated. For storage and protection, I like G96. It has proven effective and has never let me down in temps between -30F and +120F. Not the best lubricant, but works for limited use very well, think bolt action. When I don't have any G96, plain old kitchen grade mineral oil will fit the bill nicely. I use that stuff on everything from air tools to vent hoods.
Happy Obsessing


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## Zahnarzt (Jun 6, 2021)

Posted on another thread but got no responses…reposting here…

Regarding proper cleaning of the bore, makes me nervous to run those brass brushes down the inside of the bore. They seem awfully abrasive. Worried I’m going to damage the rifling, no?

Although I have appropriate sized brushes, I’ve relied instead on a cable with brass-end loop that holds patches. Seems to work well with Breakfree CLP. 

Other thing that I don’t quite get…I’ve read and watched video that state the importance of cleaning the bore from breech to muzzle, and not the reverse, so as to not damage the rifling. So how is this possible when using a jag or brush. You can insert from the breech-end, but you have to pull those instruments back out in the reverse direction. How is that not damaging to the bore? At least with a cable or bore snake, the motion of the instrument thru the bore is only in the correct direction.


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

Run the rod muzzle to the breech. Screw on brush. Apply cleaner. Pull.
It is pretty anal, and some really are. The biggest thing is to make sure you are very careful with the crown of the barrel. The practice comes from not wanting to get more contamination into the breech and chamber areas. Brass brushes are pretty soft, but there are better brush medias. Nylon is a favorite these days. 
Some folks get very carried away with metal brushes and it has shown up.
One or two passes is all that is needed for a brush, usually. You may not even need a brush for the large majority of cleaning as long as you don't get the barrel overheated, and clean every shooting or two. If you want to go once every two years or thousand rounds, then you will have to get with your business.
Cheers.


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## Zahnarzt (Jun 6, 2021)

Thanks for the reply.
Another question…is there any harm done if you shoot say 200 rds and then clean a few days later (and prior to the next range session)? Meaning, is it more ideal that the gun is cleaned immediately after/same day that it is fired?


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

I like mine stored clean. They seem to clean a bit more easy. YMMV
If working a load up, I will usually just run a dry patch in the barrel and call it good, if that, and as long as I'm going to the range in the next few days or several times over the next month. It is a balancing act and subjective.
During hunting season, I'll shoot a few proving rounds. and leave it. I am a "Fouled barrel" kind of guy. I find a barrel with a few rounds is more consistent than a shiny clean one. Hunting season will have only a few rounds down range, so I don't bother the barrel after is is settled in. Fingerprints and moisture need to be addressed, but that is a given.
Just my opinion. I also worked for Uncle Sugar for a decade, so the stuff is stored ready to go. with the very few exceptions.


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## nrd515525 (Feb 12, 2007)

I used to be really anal about cleaning my guns. The only time I really worry about it now is if I'm shooting lead bullets from one of my revolvers. I clean those guns right away, but others I let sit a little dirty, until one day I get bored and clean any of them that need it. I mostly use Break Free, but I use Hoppe's on the revolver bores and sometimes on used guns that come really nasty.


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

A thought came to me this morning. Letting one sit is fine. With the new interest of steel cased and even brass cased ammo from ComBlock countries, you might want to make sure that the primers aren't corrosive before letting one sit.
Corrosive ammo isn't the end of the world and the corrosive primers have a place in the world, but they are corrosive and should be cleaned before storage.
Some of my favorite brass ammo for the AK is corrosive, if you can still find it, but even the stuff marked non corrosive should be eyed carefully. Lots of primers have been known to be mixed or let a run finish when switching to non .mil ammo in some places.
If you only shoot US ammo, you should be good, but it is soemthing to watch, especially with all the rebranding today, and it is certain to get worse.


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## BackyardCowboy (Aug 27, 2014)

LostinTexas said:


> For the most part, hot water and motor oil will keep things clean and running and trouble free for decades. Unless the manufacturer specifically calls for grease, and few do, one might avoid that practice, even though it seems popular on the internet.
> Happy Obsessing


Comment regarding grease or thick lubricants and storage...
If your weapons are going to sit for several months between uses, I would suggest even Monthly to work the action/bolt and make sure that the lubricant or grease has not thickened. 
I had used Frog lube, which I like and had been to the range fairly often (ammo and wife allowing), but I had put handguns up for several months before using again and was getting FTF's fairly often. Source of the problem was that over several months' time, the volatiles had all evaporated and the lube had thickened to more of a paste consistency, causing the slide to move slower and getting light strikes from the striker on the primer. 
Thorough cleaning resolved the problem. 
I do think Froglube is a good product (YRMV), but I suspect that this can/will happen with many different lubes, so check your weapons in storage periodically to prevent problems in a time of great need. 
BYC


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## LostinTexas (Oct 1, 2018)

BackyardCowboy said:


> Comment regarding grease or thick lubricants and storage...
> If your weapons are going to sit for several months between uses, I would suggest even Monthly to work the action/bolt and make sure that the lubricant or grease has not thickened.
> I had used Frog lube, which I like and had been to the range fairly often (ammo and wife allowing), but I had put handguns up for several months before using again and was getting FTF's fairly often. Source of the problem was that over several months' time, the volatiles had all evaporated and the lube had thickened to more of a paste consistency, causing the slide to move slower and getting light strikes from the striker on the primer.
> Thorough cleaning resolved the problem.
> ...


No that doesn't happen with the better lubes. They are designed for storage and to not dry up. I have never used Frog Lube, but yours isn't the first account of it going rancid that I have heard. How common? Dunno, but it seems to pop up a lot more often that everyone else, combined.
Most dedicated "gun oil" is rather low viscosity. If you pay attention, the best ones are anyway. I seriously use mineral oil for general use, and storage when G96 isn't available. G96 smells purdy and LostWife's allergies are getting to the point I rarely use it any more, so mineral oil gets the protection nod and light motor oil for the heavy lube. 
Mobile 1 gets good marks, but I use diesel engine oil. Both destroy carbon and keep things moving and cleanup is much easier. Yes it looks more dirty because carbon and residue are dissolved and floating instead of sticking to parts. Both are top shelf on degrading and break down resistance, Kitchen grade mineral oil has been keeping kitchens running smooth and uncorroded for longer than most of us have been alive.


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## Jeb Stuart (Jan 19, 2020)

I clean my striker channels with Ballistol milk. 90% water and 10% ballistol. It is the best thing I have ever used. It cleans well, and I use a can of compressed air to blow it out. It leaves a very Fine, very thin layer of lubricant that does not gum up and it is super slick. I use it as well to clean my magazines. And again makes the very slick. I also use it on Trigger parts for both revolvers and Pistols. And I use it in my sonic cleaners. 
For the barrels, I use WipeOut. No brushes and it does a terrific job. I also use RamRodz. They are tough and fit the barrel precisely. So much better than any jag etc I have used.


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