Pistol Cleaning

[Taz]

I have a few cleaning questions
When I bought my Kimber the dealer said to keep the outside wiped down with a silcone cloth this makes the outside greasy and a lint magenet and actually a little slippery is this nessecary on the outside of a gun it drives me nuts when I hold the gun it is greasy
Next question was on magazines what is the proper way to clean them.

[synergy]

Don't mess w/ the mags unless you drop them in mud/sand/gravel. You're far more likely to damage them from taking them apart. Don't worry about them till they act up.

On the finish...having something on there prevents rust. You just don't want it bone dry. Try spraying some Eezox on there, or something along those lines.

[Taz]

Is it as greasy as the silcine colth when I am shoting my hands mags bullets everything becomes slick. Plus OCD bugs the hell out of me

[WellArmedLiberal]

What the gentleman said: don't mess with the mags. Just put a drop or two of any oil on outside of gun, like the slide and frame, then use rag to wipe down whole gun, including slide where you rack, trigger, and other contact points, and wipe away til gun appears dry (there'll still be some left behind). You can also lightly wipe down outside of mag using same rag but no additional oil...keeps fingerprints from starting to corrode.

[FUNDAMENTALS]

There is a Federal Organization that is "Very Paticular" about Magazine
Cleaning and Disassembly. It is the Department of Treasury, United States
Secret Service, Office of Human Resource and Training. Issued Pistol Preventive Maintenance Guide spells out this need.
"The issued magazines that come with your pistol are an integral part of the
weapon. Proper maintenance of your magazines is EQUALLY as important as
the proper maintenance of your pistol. Magazines should always be disassembled, cleaned, and inspected after firing to ensure their continued
reliabilty.
WARNING: EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY.

Cleaning: Cleaning your issued magazines is as simple as using a dry nylon
brush and cleaning cloth to remove any fouling. Scrub the Follower with a
dry nylon brush, then wipe with a clean cloth. The interior of the magazine tube and floorplate should be cleaned in the same manner. If light surface
rust has formed on the magazine tube, a small amount of solvent can be
used on a cleaning cloth to lightly scrub the tube and remove the surface
rust. The use of compressed air can aid in the removal of any debris that
accumulates in the component parts of the issued magazines.
NOTE: All magazine components, to include the interior of the magazine tube
should be wiped clean and dry with a clean cloth (special attention should be
given to the underside of the magazine lips).
REMEMBER, MAINTENANCE ON YOUR ISSSUED PISTOL IS A TWO UNIT PROCESS. THE PISTOL IS NOT CONSIDERED CLEAN, UNLESS THE ISSSUED
MAGAZINES ARE CLEAN.
I had the privilege in my career as a Firearms Instructor to attend there
academy when I was an LEO. There "mission statement" is dedicated to
the mastery of weapons proficency.
I still clean magazines, especially on the pistols that I carry for self defense.
What is the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure"

[rscheckler]

I honestly just clean the whole gun except the mags and then just use a few drops of oil on the moving parts to make sure they don't seize up on you. I also just take a rag and use about 2 drops of oil to go over the outside.

[Taz]

There is a Federal Organization that is "Very Paticular" about Magazine
Cleaning and Disassembly. It is the Department of Treasury, United States
Secret Service, Office of Human Resource and Training. Issued Pistol Preventive Maintenance Guide spells out this need.
"The issued magazines that come with your pistol are an integral part of the
weapon. Proper maintenance of your magazines is EQUALLY as important as
the proper maintenance of your pistol. Magazines should always be disassembled, cleaned, and inspected after firing to ensure their continued
reliabilty.
WARNING: EYE PROTECTION IS MANDATORY.

Cleaning: Cleaning your issued magazines is as simple as using a dry nylon
brush and cleaning cloth to remove any fouling. Scrub the Follower with a
dry nylon brush, then wipe with a clean cloth. The interior of the magazine tube and floorplate should be cleaned in the same manner. If light surface
rust has formed on the magazine tube, a small amount of solvent can be
used on a cleaning cloth to lightly scrub the tube and remove the surface
rust. The use of compressed air can aid in the removal of any debris that
accumulates in the component parts of the issued magazines.
NOTE: All magazine components, to include the interior of the magazine tube
should be wiped clean and dry with a clean cloth (special attention should be
given to the underside of the magazine lips).
REMEMBER, MAINTENANCE ON YOUR ISSSUED PISTOL IS A TWO UNIT PROCESS. THE PISTOL IS NOT CONSIDERED CLEAN, UNLESS THE ISSSUED
MAGAZINES ARE CLEAN.
I had the privilege in my career as a Firearms Instructor to attend there
academy when I was an LEO. There "mission statement" is dedicated to
the mastery of weapons proficency.
I still clean magazines, especially on the pistols that I carry for self defense.
What is the old saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound
of cure"

Great info Thanks

[synergy]

Fair enough.

At the same time, I saw 1 magazine go 20k+ rounds (without and cleaning, nor any repeatable failure) for most auto-pistols (XD's, Glocks, Sigs, HK's, S&W's). These were mags in rental guns, and only the gun itself was ever cleaned. 1911 magazines (Novak's) required replacement more often.

If they get debris in them, that's one thing. But the buildup from firing rounds is inconsequential, IMO. I have seen a number of magazines have failures after folks opened them up and bent/ twisted/ improperly re-assembled the components. You see the same thing with guys who take their guns down too far and don't know how to get them back together (or worse yet, force them back together).

Its a double edge sword.... but in my experience, folks have caused more problems than they've averted by cleaning mags. Institutions which have a formal and comprehensive training program probably see different results than the gun-owning public.

[Cole]

I clean my mags if I've dropped them as a part of a stage or after every few range trips. They're easy to clean and they get filthy as shit inside. Just how I was taught.

[Acetone]

From the factory CZ mags are full of assembly grease and tend to cause FTLs. I cleaned them when I got them and haven't opened them up since.