[Superjustable]

Proud owner of a brand new SA1 .40
How often should I clean this weapon ? The Manual recommendation is after every use. I cleaned it out of the box. Put 50 rounds down range with no problems. Went home and cleaned it last night. It seemed very dirty -took many patches etc.. Perhaps the FMJ 180 PMC is the problem? Anyway, if I follow the manual ill be doing a lot of cleaning! LOL

 

[misterlarry]

I clean everything that I shoot, the same day that I shoot it. I guess I'm just old fashioned in that respect (and many others). Congrats on your new S40A1!

 

[Soverign]

Tear it down to start then oil it and grease the slide as directed. And after every range trip.
A great cheap cleaner degreaser is store brand brake cleaner. But it MUST be dechlorinated !!!

 

[Branth]

I wipe down the dirty bits and re-lube after most every range outing unless it's less than 100 rounds. I scrub the bore perhaps every other range trip, and give it a good thorough breakdown once in a blue moon. I should thoroughly break it down much more often - I cleaned my extractor a bit ago and it was DISGUSTING. :barf:

It works fine for me, though, despite a little bit of neglect.

 

[Shooter]

Tear it down to start then oil it and grease the slide as directed. And after every range trip.
A great cheap cleaner degreaser is store brand brake cleaner. But it MUST be dechlorinated !!!

im assuming the chlorinated version degrades the polymer overtime..........? i have been using the chlorinated version for years, with a mix of the non version. So far no problems but i'll definitely switch to the non version for future use..............

 

[ETH77]

I've posted before about my use of mineral spirits to clean the weapon. Now I just use Ed's Red. Home brew cleaner lube with 25-25-25-25, kerosene, acetone, ATF, and mineral spirits. If you like you can add some lanolin to the mix.

 

[tuicatuica]

I use Break Free CLP for all cleaning. Tetra Gun Grease for lube. I clean after every shooting session - cause I like my tools clean. Cheers.

 

[ThaiBoxer]

im assuming the chlorinated version degrades the polymer overtime..........? i have been using the chlorinated version for years, with a mix of the non version. So far no problems but i'll definitely switch to the non version for future use..............

The chlorinated version contains toxic chemicals and probable carcinogens, such as dichloromethane (DCM, aka methylene chloride) and tetrachloroethylene (aka perchloroethylene or PERC). PERC and DCM are probable carcinogens and listed on California’s P65 list of chemicals known to cause cancer or reproductive toxicity. They are also regulated by OSHA as carcinogens. A wide variety of other toxic effects are described in the Scorecard (sponsored by GoodGuide) pages for PERC and DCM.

http://pprc.org/research/epp/EPP_Safer_Auto_Brake_Cleaners_2011.pdf

 

[Pier23]

This is pretty much a matter of personal preference and how OCD you are about your weapons.

Learned posters state that a clean weapon is less accurate than a fouled weapon, to the point where serious shooters will take a clean weapon and put a couple "fouling shots" through it before serious work is to be done.

The fetish for cleaning after shooting is really a holdover from the days of corrosive primers, in which you HAD to clean after firing or the weapon would corrode. Not so much of a concern with modern ammo.

Having said that, I too clean after each use, whether one shot or 100. I don't panic if I don't get to cleaning the same day, but I do clean sometime during tHe week after shooting.

 

[Superjustable]

This is pretty much a matter of personal preference and how OCD you are about your weapons.

Learned posters state that a clean weapon is less accurate than a fouled weapon, to the point where serious shooters will take a clean weapon and put a couple "fouling shots" through it before serious work is to be done.

The fetish for cleaning after shooting is really a holdover from the days of corrosive primers, in which you HAD to clean after firing or the weapon would corrode. Not so much of a concern with modern ammo.

Having said that, I too clean after each use, whether one shot or 100. I don't panic if I don't get to cleaning the same day, but I do clean sometime during tHe week after shooting.

Thanks to everyone who has been so kind to respond! I'm sticking with the clean after every use method for now ( Hoppes, patches etc..)
I'm really enjoying this gun so far! I've put down about 500 rounds of various ammo; LAX(reload) PMC, Hornady (custom and critical defense) and Winchester (white box). So far only one time did it fail to eject a spent shell and that was one of the Winchester rounds!
Happy Shooting

 

[silentheart]

for original post. pmc is pretty dirty. i use cci blazer as much can. much cleaner and more consistent.

 

[photog22740]

My experience with PMC is that it is pretty dirty running ammo.

 

[JeeperDana]

I use Rand's CLP and find it to be fantastic. Did an initial clean and treatment before ever using the gun, then a quick cleanup after each use takes maybe 15 minutes, tops. A lot of people swear by Frog Lube, a somewhat similar product that has a huge following. Vegetable based cleaners that are biodegradable, both Rand's and Frog Lube. Both are good stuff.

 

[AutoFlotation]

Eezox.

Seems to be little known, but to those familiar with it nothing else will suffice. It's a synthetic dry lubricant (actually an all in one), it cleans deeper and more consistently than any other CLP I've used. Check out the website for details and distributors.
I've replaced wd40 with my Eezox (around the home) and use it on my bikes.