A suggestion is to get some formal training if possible, especially a detailed armorer course if you want to learn about what happens underneath the hood. This will give you a better understanding of giving the rifle a thorough breakdown, cleaning, visual inspection, gauging, inspection for stress & wear, and parts replacement (especially nice to catch parts as they are wearing and before they break, as after a part wears to the point it breaks you may also have many other things that are effected by it).
What we teach in armorer courses & instructor courses is to use the proper cleaning equipment, and to give the entire rifle a thorough cleaning when you either need to or want to. To dispel any possible myths, the rifle doesn't need to be spotlessly white glove clean, it will run clean or dirty as long as the friction surfaces of the bolt carrier assembly are wet.
Recommended Cleaning Equipment:
Tooth Brush (Military style works well)
Bore Brush with 1-piece cleaning rod
Chamber Brush with chamber rod
Bore guide
Brass Jag in whatever calibers you shoot
Solvent (My preference is Slip2000 725 Cleaner Degreaser)
Copper Solvent when necessary (My preference is Sweet's 762 Solvent)
Cotton Patches
Denatured Alcohol
Brass Jag in any caliber you shoot
Pipe Cleaners with Bristles
Gun Lubricant (My recommendation is Slip2000 "EWL")
Bolt Carrier Scraper
Start by separating the upper receiver from lower receiver, as it is easier to handle when cleaning. Next remove the bolt carrier assembly and charging handle, and set aside.
Remove the buffer and action spring from the lower receiver. Scrub the buffer and action spring with a solvent and tooth brush, then either rinse or wipe them off, and run them dry as they are low friction and won't rust, and lube will find its way onto them as you shoot the gun as it will come off the bolt carrier assembly.
Scrub the inside of the lower receiver using a good solvent and tooth brush, scrubbing loose any fouling build up inside the magazine well and trigger group area. With the fouling loose in the lower receiver, rinse of wipe away all fouling. Lubricate the trigger group and sear engagement surfaces, the lube all steel parts like the safety selector and pivot/takedown pins to protect from corrosion.
Scrub the inside of the upper receiver, making sure you get the area where the bolt cam pin rotates into when the bolt locks into battery with the barrel extension lugs, which is on the left side when working with a traditional right side ejection port. Rinse or wipe away all fouling.
Scrub the charging handle inside/outside with a tooth brush and solvent, then wipe away all loose fouling. Before you reinstall it back into the cleaned upper receiver, apply lubricant so the exterior rails are good and wet.
Clean the chamber using a chamber brush, and good solvent. Do this by inserting a solvent soaked chamber brush into the chamber, and give the solvent soaked brush about 5-6 rotations to get the fouling loose. Rinse or wipe away all fouling.
Insert the bore guide into the upper receiver. Using a solvent soaked bore brush with cleaning rod, insert the brush into the upper, and through the bore guide, allowing the bristles of the brush to scrub the bore. My preference is to scrub only one direction, from chamber towards the muzzle only, and not to scrub from rearward or back and forth, as by only going from chamber to muzzle you reduce the potential of causing damage. Once you have the fouling loose inside the barrel, use solvent soaked patches on a jag to remove all fouling, repeat using fresh solvent soaked patches through the barrel until they come out clean. Once clean, remove all solvent by dry patches, then my preference is to follow up with a few patches soaked in denatured alcohol to remove any solvent present. If you need to clean out copper fouling, follow the copper solvent makers directions, specifically making sure not to leave any ammonia based solvents soaking inside a barrel for more than 15-minutes max, and I prefer to rinse with several patches soaked in alcohol to remove any solvent.
Remove the firing pin, cam pin, and bolt from the bolt carrier. Scrape the inside of the bolt carrier to loosen fouling at the back where it is hard to brush. Scrub the inside and outside of the bolt carrier with a brush and solvent, once all fouling is loose you can either rinse or wipe it away. Remove the extractor, and clean the entire thing, making sure the lip where it grabs the ammunition is clean. Scrub the firing pin track with a solvent soaked pipe cleaner, then rinse and wipe dry. Scrub the outside of the bolt, lugs, tail, extractor area, and bolt face, getting all fouling loose, then rinse of wipe the fouling away. Scrub the cam pin and firing pin, and scrape away any carbon build up. Lubricate the bolt carrier, ejector channel, extractor, cam pin, bolt, and reassemble the bolt carrier. Lube the entire bolt carrier assembly liberally so it is glistening like a glazed donut, making sure the 7 bolt lugs and rails of the bolt carrier are good and wet.
With a clean chamber, barrel, upper receiver, charging handle, bolt carrier assembly, it is time to put things back together. Insert the lubricated charging handle, and bolt carrier assembly into the upper. Put the upper receiver and lower receiver assemblies back together, and manually cycle the action a few times. Function check to make sure everything is good internally. Scrub the outside of the rifle, once clean, wipe all steel surfaces with a lube for corrosion protection.
From there clean & inspect the magazines. Use quality ammunition from a USA Reputable Manufacturer. Lubricate all steel parts that could rust, using a lubricant that has corrosion protection. Lubricate all friction points.
I would also suggest that the rifle be inspected and gauged on a regular basis, as parts wear out, and if you can spot problems ahead of time it will allow you get get better performance and longevity out of the rifle.
CY6
Greg Sullivan "Sully"
SLR15 Rifles
TheDefensiveEdge.com
(763) 712-0123
