Author Topic: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?  (Read 2371 times)

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Offline K.Campbell

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What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« on: October 16, 2018, 04:03:22 PM »
And what’s your favorite cleaner and oil? Hoping this topic hasnt been beat to death... and sorry if it has been.. :-[

Offline Greasemonkey

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2018, 05:34:46 PM »
Hot soapy water or sometimes kerosene, mood dependant, compressed air and syn. engine oil.
I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse......

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

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Offline Phosphorus32

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #2 on: October 17, 2018, 03:08:12 PM »
Depends on the type of ammo I'm shooting; potassium chlorate primed milsurp ("corrosive"), or modern commercial ammo with lead styphnate primers (non-corrosive). Cleaning is just a bit more involved for corrosive to make sure I dissolve (in water) the potassium chloride residue from the potassium chlorate primers, which is the water-attracting residue that mediates oxidation of iron by oxygen.

1. Either type of ammo: Field strip SKS, bolt and gas system break down.

2. Either: Run a bronze brush through the bore to loosen fouling and expose surfaces

3. Corrosive: Using a spray bottle with water (preferably hot but not necessary), optionally containing a few drops of laundry detergent to help wet the surfaces (it foams less than dish soap), spray directly into the chamber, avoiding getting any water outside of the chamber and especially under the wood. Spray down the gas piston, operating rod, and interior of the gas tube. Wipe down the bolt face with a damp patch. Run two or more patches through the bore and gas tube and wipe down other water-wetted parts.

4. Corrosive: Use WaterDisplacing-40 (or Rem-oil or Ballistol; water displacing spray or aerosol) to spray down parts that have been wet. Patch or wipe down.

5. Either: Use spray solvent/lube (WD-40) to clean the bolt, bolt carrier and receiver races. (I've switched from aerosol Rem-oil to WD-40 because the latter is cheap as heck lately).

6. Either: Lightly lubricate bolt carrier group contact points and surface of hammer with a cotton swab dipped in oil (my current favorite is $1/qt 30 weight oil from Ace Hardware, which is a compromise winter/summer lube  :))

7. Periodically: break down bolt completely, clean thoroughly, check for corrosion or damaged firing pin, and reassemble, dry.

Not nearly as laborious as it may sound when writing it down as a list of steps  :o :))

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #3 on: October 17, 2018, 10:10:31 PM »
Good post K Campbell. Since i left the lid loose on my hoppes cleaning solvent and its all over in mt cleaning box I might try these methods and still have that hoppes aroma to the project.

GM Why syn motor oil and where to place it ? Exterior ? Interior ? Wood ?

I really dont shoot the corrosive ammo anymore but the warm water with laundry liquid method and drying with compressed air sounds so simple. Especially in the trigger group assembly. Thanks for the Info

Offline Greasemonkey

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2018, 10:37:50 PM »
Interior and exterior.. why syn. engine oil, cause I got gallons of it  thumb1 a good conventional would probably work as well. Wood, I just use lemon oil or something similar, I don't much care for slick wood. :)
Why......well from a 25+ year truck mechanics point of view...
Find me a worse environment than inside an internal combustion engine for lubrication. I deal with and build engines that last over a million miles between rebuilds. Engine oil can survive high oil temps, temp changes, a turbo spinning 100k rpm and turbo turbine temps over 1200 degrees, sucking in hundreds of gallons of water from the atmosphere, the corrosive effects of combustion and end products and make a $30k engine last that long, why not a $300 rifle.

Besides and no one will do it, fill one of these engines with Remoil, FrogLube or space gun oil of your choice, and let's see the engine hit the million miles mark,  heck let's just see a typical single coast to coast freight drag maxed out at 80,000 pounds, or go heavy hauler, 120,000 lbs and just do a simple lap through the Rocky Mountains..


Besides...what did commies use in the field??  Bet normal engine oil was really easy to find and get and it worked, if 40-60's grades of engine oil worked this well, look how much todays oil has evolved. 3000 mile oil changes, that was the norm 20-40 years ago.... chuckles1 I do 10,000 mile oil changes on my Honda and it's beating on the 300,000 mile mark.  And if you look at it, what's a gun.. in the basic broken down principal, it's a very crude engine. It uses a fuel to produce power and do work. Guns and engines both produce abrasive carbon... both can create acid, guns from primers, engines from burning hydrocarbon fuel and high combustion pressures and temperatures, some acids an engine produced in operation will eat metal, like main and rod bearings etc, everyones favourite smog stuff.....nitric acid and sulphuric acid. Changing engine oil and cleaning a gun both remove the crap produced during use.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2018, 01:42:19 AM by Greasemonkey »
I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse......

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

I said I was an addict........I didn't say I had a problem

Offline K.Campbell

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #5 on: October 18, 2018, 09:09:16 AM »
I’ve never thought of using engine oil... I’m gonna try that. Your just talking the bolt carrier contact points correct? I keep my gas piston clean and dry..trigger lightly lubed. Firing pin completely dry..

Offline Greasemonkey

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #6 on: October 18, 2018, 11:31:33 AM »
I’ve never thought of using engine oil... I’m gonna try that. Your just talking the bolt carrier contact points correct? I keep my gas piston clean and dry..trigger lightly lubed. Firing pin completely dry..

Me.... I give the whole thing, minus the wood a very light coat.. I keep the firing pin and pin channel dry. The piston and gas tube I do oil, some say run it dry, but I use just a very light coating there, just enough to give the parts a light sheen of oil. I would rather have it protected with a light oil coating for the simple fact of I have no clue when I am going to shoot it again. It could be a year..........or more before I get back around to it........there is just so many other things I have, I like to play with more. chuckles1
I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse......

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

I said I was an addict........I didn't say I had a problem

Offline carls sks

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #7 on: October 18, 2018, 06:50:52 PM »
good info. next time I need oil I will be getting some Mobil 1 synthetic.
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Offline K.Campbell

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #8 on: October 18, 2018, 08:31:51 PM »
Now ya have me wondering what all else oil can be used effectively in our firearms? My mind wanders to such oils like transmission fluid, fluid film, along with Teflon based oils. I shoot black powder rifles and those are the main oils I use to keep my bore as pristine and rust free as possible. I’ve never experimented with engine oil... but I may try.

Offline Greasemonkey

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Re: What’s your normal SKS cleaning procedure?
« Reply #9 on: October 18, 2018, 09:23:08 PM »
Now ya have me wondering what all else oil can be used effectively in our firearms? My mind wanders to such oils like transmission fluid, fluid film, along with Teflon based oils. I shoot black powder rifles and those are the main oils I use to keep my bore as pristine and rust free as possible. I’ve never experimented with engine oil... but I may try.

 nea1  stay natural man!!   

I will only use petroleum based oils when I'm not planning on shooting my black powder pistols for an extended period of time..and I will also clean the oil from the cylinder and barrel prior to firing them, that crap makes a tar like residue because it reacts with black powder...a little lesser with BP substitutes.. About the only petroleum based lube you would find while I'm getting my smoke on is a small amount of neverseize on the nipple threads. I have used both Bore Butter or a mix of Crisco/beeswax to keep them lubed up when the urge to get all smoked up hits...just use natural based lubes, I have even heard people using canola oil. Natural oils tend to cause black powder fouling to loosen and wipe away, petroleum and black powder is the opposite..tar and nasty. I love black powder, nothing beats tweaking nipples, popping caps and greasing up your balls thumb1   chuckles1

And on oil.. ATF is an excellent cleaner, it's very high in detergents, ever seen a transmission man with dirty hands...it even makes a great penetrating oil... mix 50/50 with acetone, spray it on and let it sit for a little bit. That teflon stuffs makes great anit-stick frying pans, if oil cant keep it from binding and seizing up, find a heavier oil.
« Last Edit: October 18, 2018, 09:27:58 PM by Greasemonkey »
I'm going to make him an offer he can't refuse......

Leave the gun, take the cannoli.

I said I was an addict........I didn't say I had a problem