Simple Green Cleaner

rep308

rep308

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I was at my favorite gunsmith today and he proceeded to spray this green gunk on to an dirty gun to clean it. I asked him what he used and he said that he switched over to Simple Green about five years ago. It is cheaper, non toxic, and non flammable. He stated that many gunsmiths have quietly switched over to this over the past few years. I bought a bottle for $7 and plan to give it a try. Any comments?
 
I use it to clean my 5.7x28mm FN brass before & after sizing instead of tumbling to keep the polymer coating intact on the case. Works pretty well.
 
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My father introduced simple green to me. He used to work in naval ship yards and they use it all the time by the tanker truck load. Apparently its good in confined places like marine engine rooms where ventilation is a problem, and using nasty solvent based cleaners is not the best solution. I've personally used simple green to clean dirty engine and car parts. Works great on chewing through grime and gunk. You can even soak raw metal parts in it for an extended period to get real crud off - and it wont rust the metal. Its been used in industrial, maratime and automotive industries for a long time. Never thought of using it on guns - I think I will from now on.
 
I've been a fan for many years. Works great on auto parts (soaking), laundry, floors, cleaning, and we even used it on horses. Yeah no lie it works and it does not have any corrosive qualities.

Firearms, guess I gotta give it a shot.
 
I have never used it on a firearm because it is water based. If you get it someplace you cant get it out of, it is going to cause rust. It is also mildly acidic (citrus)
 
I use it in my parts washer 50/50 mix with water for cleaning greasy truck and tractor parts.I do find it to promote rust if metal is left in too long.Mabey i see rust because its diluted with water.
When using straight simple green on a gun how would it be removed without rinsing with water?
 
It's great for removing Cosmoline from MilSurps. You do need to make sure that it's removed after you're done, but that's just part of a complete, detailed, clean. After that use a quality gun oil and you should be fine.

It is water based, but that shouldn't be a problem if you do a good wipe down and lubricate properly afterward.
 
Simple Green is water based and leaves firearms vulnerable to rust if they're not dried and oiled after cleaning.

If you want something cheaper, try a gallon of Purple Power from Wal Mart. Its basically the same thing but concentrated and can be reduced with water to clean all sorts of things. It also works pisser for removing old oil based rifle stock finishes. Just make sure you rinse well with water after using because it leaves a residue.

As for cleaning guns, I'm still sticking with Break Free for general cleaning and WD40 for cosmolene removal.
 
Simple Green works great on removing finish from military stocks. It takes issued M14 stocks down to bare wood very quickly. I do it outside next to the garden hose.
 
Simple green and chrome

I had a drop of it that was left on chrome.
Residue dripped off the aircleaner.

Peeled the chrome.

Was it the simple green or the Harley chrome. Now I am more careful.

My .2 cents
 
Be sure to use it in a ventilated area.

Simple Green and CLP, that's all we used in the Marine Corps. Maybe some oven cleaner when nobody was looking. Simple Green is pretty toxic, so you should wear a face mask and rubber apron.[hmmm]
 
I use it in my ultra-sonic cleaner. Works great, and I don't have to sweat a flammable solvent. Usually drop the entire AR BCG or the .22 conversion right into the tank. I either dry with compressed air, heat in the toaster oven, or use a water displacing lubricant.
 
+1 I use it in my ultrasonic cleaner as well....[grin]

After cleaning I do the same as the other posters have mentioned.... Be sure parts are well dried and lubricated....

ScottS said:
I use it in my ultra-sonic cleaner. Works great, and I don't have to sweat a flammable solvent. Usually drop the entire AR BCG or the .22 conversion right into the tank. I either dry with compressed air, heat in the toaster oven, or use a water displacing lubricant.
Click to expand...
 
I use it to clean guns ONLY when i detail strip. When i do it that way i can make damn sure i get all the water off.

Spray all parts down and let them soak. Then scrub and rinse with clean cool water. Dry with papertowels then blow all parts down with an air compressor. Then i also let the parts sit and dry some more. Then apply your favorite lube and reassemble.

They come out so clean its like they come from the factory.

I only do it if i don't plan on shooting the firearm for awhile, or its a milsurp thats covered in cosmo or its filthy from a few thousand rounds. Every other time its field strip with a standard cleaning.

I had a problem with my cleaning solvent reacting with my lube on my revolvers. It was gumming up the cylinder so much the trigger pull was in the 20 lb. mark. Using the Simply Green enabled me to make sure all of the gunk that was gumming up the works was gone. All that was left behind was whatever lube you decided to use.
 

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