Maintenance: cleaning the Gas Block

[US Marine1833]

Any advice on how to clean the gas cylinder, especially the end near the receiver. Would a plastic bore brush be harmful?

[TazmanFL]

Howdy USM, what i do is to pull a patch through a jig and wet it. Run the patch through the gas system all the while turning the cleaning rod so to wipe the whole tube. I go back and forth a few times so i know it got wetted up, i then take a dry patch and do the same thing with the rod as before. I do this until the patch comes out clean, the tube where the piston contacts the wall is very hard chrome and will not be affected by a brush but i see no reason to use one if it is cleaned after every shooting. Just make sure that you dry the tube before it is put back together. I ussually spray a SMALL amout of Sheath down this tube and then wipe it once more to dry it hoping to leave a thin coat inside to protect from rusting down here in Florida. I also wipe the piston down with a patch wetted with Sheath as well, not that the chrome piston will rust up on me but to make cleaning it a bit easier. Now when i say lite coat, i mean LITE coat- same goes for the spring. It will dry to a tack free film if left out for a day or so. RTF :D

[EMDII]

A plastic brush will be fine. So will a bronze brush.

Solvent, scrub, dry it and leave it dry to shoot. Brake cleaner works well. For long-term storage, lube lightly.

[Super B]

I use mil bore cleaner and scrub with the plastic .38 bore brush that came with a Taurus revolver. Then I lube with T-plus oil, the Wal mart equivalent of Slik 50.

[US Marine1833]

Iam just have a hell of a time cleaning the end near the receiver. There is a small area where the gas cylinder meets the receiver. I just don't want to leave any nastiness in my rifle! I know that DSArms have a cut gas cylinder....My rifle has a straight tube....Does the cut cylinder allow for easier cleaning?

[EMDII]

Originally posted by USMarine1833:
<STRONG>I am just have a hell of a time cleaning the end near the receiver. There is a small area where the gas cylinder meets the receiver. I just don't want to leave any nastiness in my rifle! I know that DSArms have a cut gas cylinder....My rifle has a straight tube....Does the cut cylinder allow for easier cleaning?</STRONG>


Get some serious Brake Cleaner at the auto parts store. I generally use an entire bottle for serious cleaning. Spray into the nooks and crannies to remove the sludge. Get the USGI/USMC plastic toothbrush-on-both-ends for digging stuff out. Ask your dentist for reject tools to pick & break carbon free.

Last, go the the computer store and get a can of compressed air. Blow-dry your stuff. Lube lightly, and NO lube inside the gas system or on the piston.

If you want, remove the 'bushing, gas cylinder' that screws into the front of the receiver. The short tube does make this easier, BTW.

VOILA!
;)

[TazmanFL]

You can put a lite coat of a rust inhibitor in the gas system. When i use Sheath i let it air dry to a tack free film Ted and then put it together. The film of Sheath does not attract any fouling whatsoever and actually helps to keep the tube and piston free of carbon. Try it sometime Ted, you will like it. RTF :D

[EMDII]

RTF (love that!)

I haven't seen any Sheath. I'll have to try it! Sans the Sheath, a dry system is de rigeur. Sheath may not be a lube per se, or perhaps is DFT (dry film technology?). Sort of like Moly-diSulfide?

[Kevin]

Sheath is (was?) made by Birchwood Casey and is a very light polarized oil. I use it to wipe down my guns before storing them. It's good stuff. You wipe a thin coat on and it "sticks like Elmer's".

Unfortunately, it's gotten rather hard to find in recent years.

Try it. I think you'll like it.

Regards,

[TazmanFL]

Ya Ted it will dry to the point that you wouldnt even know it was on the gun. I cleaned an old cheap revolver once for my father, it was a blued h&r 32. After cleaning i sprayed with brake cleaner then a blow dryer. After it had cooled i sprayed it down with Sheath and let it sit out a day so it would completely dry. The next day i put it together, loaded it for him and wrapped it in a towel and put it in his van. 5 years later there is still not even a speck of rust on it and we live in S. FL. and the van is kept outside. Nough said. I am a beleaver in Sheath. RTF

PS. Do you know where i took the RTF from? :D

[W.E.G.]

You gotta keep the rust away. OK, actually you don't. Rusty FAL's still work. But, I don't like having rusty guns in my collection.

When it comes to cleaning the upper assembly of my FAL's I remove the handguards, then drown everything (yes, including the gas tube) with Break Free. I set it in the corner to drain on a paper towel and some newspaper, then I wipe off as much of the excess as possible.

A cotton patch wrapped around a bronze bore brush will make a fine swab to clean out the excess CLP from your gas tube.

Of course, the bore should be cleaned with a proper bore cleaner. Break Free is way better than not cleaning the bore at all. But, a little copper solvent does a better job.

[US Marine1833]

How does the break cleaner, etc. affect the original Austrian stocks..any problems with the material being ruined or anything else to worry about?

[TazmanFL]

I would not get the brake cleaner on anything but metal. I have seen it destroy a plastic frame of an expessive RC car. RTF

[Scott Jimenez]

as far as Birchwood Casey Sheath, i thought the idea of keeping the gas system dry was that the hot gas burns up everything in the leeading end of the tube and on the end of the piston.

even when clean and absolutely dry, my StG58 piston heads get burned/baked on combustion products that are difficult to even scrape off.

with cleaning after every range session, it really should not be much of an issue. Sheath may also not burn up dirty so could be okay.

i prefer to allow the chrome to perform as it should. and i try to follow EMDII's tech advice. (he's BTDT, eh? ;-D )

scott out

[EMDII]

BTDT- Should I buy you a beer or slap you!?

JK- but what is it!? Big Ted, Dumb Ted? :p

[Scott Jimenez]

BTDT = "been there, done that"

heh heh. Ted, you need to scan those SOF pics of you at work(in Saudi). ;-p

scott out
PS. DOH! on my part for mis-spelling [_s_can].

[ July 22, 2001: Message edited by: Scott Jimenez ]

[EMDII]

Dooh!

Where's the Reactor Trip switch!?

[Scott Jimenez]

whoops, mis-spelling corrected in post above.

hey, how come the power in Atlanta just went off?? and what is that mushroom cloud in the east??

;-D

scott out

[Farmer from Hell]

At the recommendation of a smith, who will remain nameless at this time, I am wipeing down the gas piston with a rag sprayed with gun oil before reassembly. It makes cleanup very easy and doesnt seem to effect the functioning of the rifle.

FfH