A Tikka "Cleaning" Regimen. A Little Brake Clean and Homemade Olive Oil is All You Need.

[mxgsfmdpx]

Saturday a few of my guns sat out in the dust and wind for around 10 hours. One of them, using a poorly designed mountain tactical magazine with side cuts in it, allowed for a significant amount of dust and dirt to enter the chamber area. The gun of course still functioned as it should other than the bolt binding more than usual on a timed drill, but I figured it was a good opportunity to "clean" a few guns.

Usually every few hundred rounds or so I like to pull the bolts on my guns, clean the accessible areas of the action, clean the bolts, remove tape and clean barrel crown/threads on unsuppressed guns, wipe stocks and scopes down, gently clean the glass on the scopes, and re-oil my bolts.

Nothing ever goes goes down the barrel of the gun, not so much as a patch, unless something catastrophic has happened, debris has entered the barrel that can't be cleaned out by banging it out, or a barrel stops shooting well/starts stumbling, etc.




Remove bolt. Soak a rag or old t-shirt, something that doesn't fray or leave behind fuzz in brake clean and wipe bolt down. Ensure to remove all carbon and dust/debris. You can take this time remove the firing pin and brake clean that as well, especially if you never did this from factory to remove the oil that comes in there from Sako. Over time that oil gums up or rusts up in coastal climates and can cause major malfunctions. I can make a reply here on how to remove firing pin and how to degrease by plunging it, in and out until all oil/grease is removed.



Point the barrel upwards and spray brake clean into the action. Avoid letting a ton get into the throat and leade area and none down the barrel. I use a new spot on the rag and my skinny fingers to clean that area.



Work the safety to plunge the pin up and down and clean the entire area.



Should look nice and clean after...



Take whatever olive or avocado oil your wife has in the kitchen to oil the bolt. Our friends up in Northern California cold press their own and send it to us. Do not use a flavored variant of the oil, you want just the natural extra virgin plain oil.




You want to LIGHTLY oil the bolt body and backs/sides of the lugs. Clean your finger and use it to apply the oil. Lots of folks will recommend grease on the back and sides of the bolt lugs ands cocking ramp where I prefer to use oil. Go ahead and let a little bit of the oil onto the cocking ramp which is just in front of the firing pin on the underside of the bolt (see notched area in bolt body).



You should barely be able to tell there is oil there, a nice light even film is all.

Avoid getting any oil on or down in the firing pin and do not get any oil in the bolt face.


Put the bolt back in and cycle the gun a dozen or so times and rock on. It's ready for another 500-1,000 rounds before "cleaning" again.




Also... Do all of this outside not indoors. Brake clean fumes are not good to breathe.

 

[tacks]

So you like the firing pin dry?

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

So you like the firing pin dry?

I do but I’m generally in a low humidity and dry climate. I’ve seen some folks needing appropriately rated grease there for extreme coastal climates.

@B_Reynolds_AK I believe has a product he’s used with success in Alaska.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I'd quite like some recommendations on firing pin lubricant for coastal climates but won't freeze in cold conditions. Being in coastal NC, running it dry probably isn't an option for me.

 

[sickles107]

 

[Dave Thomas]

I'd quite like some recommendations on firing pin lubricant for coastal climates but won't freeze in cold conditions. Being in coastal NC, running it dry probably isn't an option for me.

I like the Hornady cleaner and dry lube spray. I'm in south Louisiana so I can't leave anything unprotected or it will rust.

 

[B_Reynolds_AK]

I'd quite like some recommendations on firing pin lubricant for coastal climates but won't freeze in cold conditions. Being in coastal NC, running it dry probably isn't an option for me.

@Marbles is your man to ask about this and had more experience with Tikka’s than I do. I’ve just been following his lead.

 

[JGRaider]

Leaving a light skim of oil on a bolt body where I hunt will have you cleaning it again the first 10 minutes of the hunt.

 

[omicron1792]

I like the dry lube sprays to coat and dry. Then a little Blaser grease at the main wear spots

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Leaving a light skim of oil on a bolt body where I hunt will have you cleaning it again the first 10 minutes of the hunt.

Yours thinking of too much oil. Shoot the gun before your hunt and the oil works in like it’s supposed to. It’s a non issue even in blowing desert dust where I hunt.

 

[HighUintas]

Yours thinking of too much oil. Shoot the gun before your hunt and the oil works in like it’s supposed to. It’s a non issue even in blowing desert dust where I hunt.

Good tutorial! I've got about a pound of dust to wipe out of my actions.

I usually use a very similar process every 300-500 rounds but I just wipe the action out with hopped instead of spraying with brake cleaner. I've thought about using brake cleaner, but thought it may get into the action screw holes and remove my nail polish thread locker. I like to leave that as untouched as possible.

Does it seem to get into unwanted areas like that or onto stock bedding at all when you do this?

 

[RockAndSage]

Please take no offence OP, but a word of caution on olive oils in guns:

It will polymerize from air and heat, getting sticky over time. It's fine as a short-term surface protectant if applied in an extremely thin coat, especially if its cleaned off regularly and reapplied. But under no circumstances should it ever be allowed to come into contact with friction surfaces in semi-auto firearms, or in the triggers or firing pin mechanisms of any gun whatsoever. In those places, it will gum up over time with air, grit, exposure to any combustion gasses, or other chemicals.

Olive oils and seed oils in general have what are called "unsaturated" molecule chains, meaning they essentially have loose ends on some of their atoms where other atoms and molecules can easily attach. Every attachment adds to the length of the molecule, and in some ways makes it also want to attach to surfaces as well - making it more viscous, sticky, and gummy. Google "fireclean" if you want to see what happens to unsaturated plant oils in guns over time.

To be clear, as applied in this original post, minimally and as a surface protectant, it is not that much of a concern. There are also much better surface protectants out there, however, such as Boeshield, which is common in industry and aerospace, and spray-on furniture wax, which is how museums prevent rust on guns and swords.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Please take no offence OP, but a word of caution on olive oils in guns:

It will polymerize from air and heat, getting sticky over time. It's fine as a short-term surface protectant if applied in an extremely thin coat, especially if its cleaned off regularly and reapplied. But under no circumstances should it ever be allowed to come into contact with friction surfaces in semi-auto firearms, or in the triggers or firing pin mechanisms of any gun whatsoever. In those places, it will gum up over time with air, grit, exposure to any combustion gasses, or other chemicals.

Olive oils and seed oils in general have what are called "unsaturated" molecule chains, meaning they essentially have loose ends on some of their atoms where other atoms and molecules can easily attach. Every attachment adds to the length of the molecule, and in some ways makes it also want to attach to surfaces as well - making it more viscous, sticky, and gummy. Google "fireclean" if you want to see what happens to unsaturated plant oils in guns over time.

To be clear, as applied in this original post, minimally and as a surface protectant, it is not that much of a concern. There are also much better surface protectants out there, however, such as Boeshield, which is common in industry and aerospace, and spray-on furniture wax, which is how museums prevent rust on guns and swords.

No offense taken at all.

I’ve used this method for over 10 years with dozens and dozens of guns and haven’t seen the issue you describe using olive oil.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

Good tutorial! I've got about a pound of dust to wipe out of my actions.

I usually use a very similar process every 300-500 rounds but I just wipe the action out with hopped instead of spraying with brake cleaner. I've thought about using brake cleaner, but thought it may get into the action screw holes and remove my nail polish thread locker. I like to leave that as untouched as possible.

Does it seem to get into unwanted areas like that or onto stock bedding at all when you do this?

Wiping works fine. I don’t spray a ton but enough to clean it, then soaked rag to wipe it free.

There won’t be enough when I spray to affect anything, you can see here, this one was cleaned last night and there is still orange paint pen on the rear action screw.

 

[Marbles]

I'd quite like some recommendations on firing pin lubricant for coastal climates but won't freeze in cold conditions. Being in coastal NC, running it dry probably isn't an option for me.

For any oil in question, see if the manufacturer lists operating temperature ranges.

The two I have used are:
1. M-Pro 7, currently this is rated down to -85 F, the bottle I have is old and says something like -40 F, I'm guessing the formula was changed. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1937252287
2. Battle Born, which is rated down to -90

Breakthrough Clean Technologies Battle Born High Purity Gun Oil 6oz

Battle Born High Purity Oil is a blend of the finest quality synthetic oils available and treated with the most effective extreme pressure,...

www.midwayusa.com

Of the two, I like M-Pro 7 better. The bottle of Battle Born has turned from clear to yellow just sitting on the shelf, I feel it doesn't clean off carbon build up as well, and I suspect it doesn't stay on the surface as long. My subjective impression is the M-Pro stays on a surface much longer.

I have not had issues down to -20, not used them in colder conditions yet.

@Marbles is your man to ask about this and had more experience with Tikka’s than I do. I’ve just been following his lead.

Just a nerd who overthinks everything.

 

[intunegp]

For any oil in question, see if the manufacturer lists operating temperature ranges.

The two I have used are:
1. M-Pro 7, currently this is rated down to -85 F, the bottle I have is old and says something like -40 F, I'm guessing the formula was changed. https://www.midwayusa.com/product/1937252287
2. Battle Born, which is rated down to -90

Breakthrough Clean Technologies Battle Born High Purity Gun Oil 6oz

Battle Born High Purity Oil is a blend of the finest quality synthetic oils available and treated with the most effective extreme pressure,...

www.midwayusa.com

Of the two, I like M-Pro 7 better. The bottle of Battle Born has turned from clear to yellow just sitting on the shelf, I feel it doesn't clean off carbon build up as well, and I suspect it doesn't stay on the surface as long. My subjective impression is the M-Pro stays on a surface much longer.

I have not had issues down to -20, not used them in colder conditions yet.

Just a nerd who overthinks everything.

FWIW, while I have always really liked it, I have a bottle of M-Pro 7 that is probably 7-10 years old and the remaining contents have turned solid. Haven't cut it open yet to see what is going on in there but it has been stored indoors without exposure to any extremes. A little bit of something still seeps out if I open it and turn the nozzle down but it doesn't look like I remember it looking when I was using it frequently.

 

[Sundodger]

So you like the firing pin dry?

IIRC Tikka recommends a dry firing pin, I would bet this has to do their their northern latitude.

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

IIRC Tikka recommends a dry firing pin, I would bet this has to do their their northern latitude.

The only major issues I've personally seen on Tikka firing pin assemblies is when one gets over oiled from factory and it isn't cleaned out. Or somebody greases it or oils it themselves and lets it sit for very long periods between shooting. Or in very extreme coastal environments exposed to high humid air.

Oil and grease gums up and can rust if not cleaned and ran dry in what I've seen. I've never had any of those issues on dozens of Tikkas when ran dry.

 

[Sundodger]

The only major issues I've personally seen on Tikka firing pin assemblies is when one gets over oiled from factory and it isn't cleaned out. Or somebody greases it or oils it themselves and lets it sit for very long periods between shooting. Or in very extreme coastal environments exposed to high humid air.

Oil and grease gums up and can rust if not cleaned and ran dry in what I've seen. I've never had any of those issues on dozens of Tikkas when ran dry.

Agreed, except for the rust when oiled/greased up. That should only happen if the wrong lube is used. There were some viral gun photos that went around the internet decades ago where someone coated their entire gun collection in a hydrophilic grease. It looked like he was trying to replicate what the military does with cosmoline, but because it was hydrophilic everything turned to rust.

 

[omicron1792]

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