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Posted By: bczrx Cleaning and lube question for newbie on SxS - 10/15/17 08:07 AM
I am new to the whole doublegun culture, but am taking to it quickly.
I have 5 double-guns, and expect to do most things for myself- just like all of my other fun stuff.

My 1950s and 60s High Standard handguns came with directions to remove the wood and soak the pistol in Kerosene to remove internal dirt, and then clean appropriately. I was instructed that this worked best in a sealed container, with the firearm setting in there for 2-3 days, at least, before removing and using small scrubbing brushes and swabs to remove rest of dirt. After this, it was lube time- inside and out.

What I am wondering about is if there is any downside to doing this to the action/receiver of a boxlock?

I have my Anson & Deeley inspired JP Sauer Boxlock out of the stock. I removed the trigger guard and trigger plate with no difficulty, and detail cleaned the trigger parts for the single trigger in that plate.

I was able to remove and detail clean the safety mechanism.

I also soaked/flushed the action with CLP as I moved the [originally sticking] locking lever until it moves smoothly.

Originally, there was some brown crud of old fossilized 1960 oil seeping out of the action. Now there is just a hint of this around the pivot area of the locking lever- but the rest has been either scrubbed or flushed out.

What I am wondering is if I should still soak the entire receiver [sans wood] in kerosene for a few days, to penetrate to the inner areas I couldn't reach?

IF I do this, will Kerosene have any impact on the coloring of the metal finish on the outside? I don't know if it is real case coloring, or some chemical wash. CLP didn't do anything to it, that I could tell.



Or, since my flush/soak with CLP and the lack of any hint of 'crud' leaking down afterward, do you think I should just use canned air to blow residual CLP out of the action- so that it doesn't soak the wood, and then reassemble?


Lastly, what is the protocol for lubing the inner parts of the boxlock [or sidelock, like a LC Smith, or whatever it is my Parker has]?

Is it like my 1911 where I put grease on all sliding parts, and oil on rotating parts [except for grease on pivot pin]- and do this to all internal parts every 2 years?

Or is it like some of the threads say- that [after a good cleaning], it is only necessary to add a few drops of oil to the action on a regular basis, and keep the barrel pivot areas greased regularly?

Any tips would be appreciated!

thank you
Just a short answer, Many folks here will probably say this subject has been talked to death with forests of trees sacrificed for paper to supply the reams that have been written. So just surf the net for information on cleaning and lubricating a shotgun! On a personal note soaking a complete action in that wonderful liquid kerosene us Brits know it as paraffin I feel this should only be a prelude to a full strip down and clean. Otherwise the Kerosene could or more likely move fine grit and other contaminants further into the moving parts of the action.
Get yourself a copy of AMATEUR GUNSMITHING by Mills and Barnes.

They devote about 50 pages to tearing down, cleaning and reassembling an A&D boxlock with over 100 photos.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Amateur-Gunsmithing-by-Mills-Desmond-/162616282746?epid=118186526&hash=item25dcaf8e7a:g:Y~YAAOSws19Zg5fy
Thanks!

Just ordered it.
Unfortunately,Desmond Mills passed away recently. A great loss. If you look on You-Tube for the Dave Carrie partridge shooting films set in East Yorkshire,Desmond Mills was his loader.
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