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BackInAction · Member

I just bought a Gamo Recon for the family and the manual is worthless with regard to cleaning tips. What should I use to clean out the factory "gunk" in the barrel? Do I need oil for anything? Silicone 'oil' for anything?

AirGunEric · Site Admin

Shoot is for awhile and see what happens. For cleaning you can use a dedicated airgun cleaning kit or whatever (fishing line, very small dowel) to drive or pull a cotton cloth scrap coated in oil through the barrel to clean it up.

fritz · Silver Status Member

It would be best to remove the barrel if you could for a thorough cleaning.

I would start by having the barrel separated from the action, then give it a nice squirt of WD-40, CLP, Hoppes #9 or any other product designed to dissolve lead. Then go for a solvent soaked patch, and finish with dry patches until clean. Run a patch dampened with a protector like silicone to leave an ultra THIN layer to protect the steel. Quickly make sure all solvents are removed from the breach seal, use a dab of silicone on the seal. Reinstall barrel.

Should you not be able to remove the barrel, be sure to use a non-petroleum based solvent like Goo-Gone or Windex. It will take more effort to get things clean like this, but must be done on hard to remove barrels. Do the same things as you would with petrol based solvents to clean.

Slavia · Moderator

I would respectfully disagree with Fritz.

You don't need to separate the barrel from the gun - it's more trouble than it's worth. Just crack the barrel open (without cocking it) and you should be able to run a patch down the bore, like Eric said. Here's another thread where various methods are discussed:
http://www.airgunhome.com/agforum/viewtopic.php?t=1954&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

Airguns don't need bore cleaning as frequently as powder burning guns - far less pressure and temperature. As for lead fouling, it's not an issue (especially with a new barrel). Forget the petroleum-based solvents like WD-40, CLP, Hoppe's #9, or Goo-Gone. They will soften and degrade your breech seal. Go for the Windex, or some other non-petroleum cleaner/degreaser. Afterwards, just a drop of oil on a patch will be enough to protect the bore from corrosion.

Fritz - Goo-Gone is up to 95% petroleum distillates:
http://www.magicamerican.com/media/154654/goo%20gone.pdf

fritz · Silver Status Member

I do suppose it's a good thing I don't use Goo-Gone then. Every thread I've read people have successfully used it without mention of dieseling or other problems associated with petrol products. Possibly it behaves differently?

Just reciting the usual that I've read a thousand times, who would have thought?

Actually Slavia, for myself it's for safety. On my Diana 34 the barrel doesn't open far enough to expose the entire breech face without cocking.I must either A) constantly hold the barrel under tension, or B) cock the gun and mishandle it. So to be safe, it's worth the effort to remove it (only takes 5 minutes to go on and off). On my Super Streak I get someone else to do the work while I hold the gun.

Beartraps don't sound fun... I do not intend to test that statement myself
Mr. Green

...

About the "lead fouling", what exactly should the buildup be called? There's obviously quite a bit of lead left in my barrels after a couple thousand pellets.

Slavia · Moderator

BackInAction · Member

Thanks for the links and directions.

kanyon · Silver Status Member

Hi..use goo gone..use petrol ...use diesal...in the barrel..
What the air got to compress against to reach enough compression
to ignite ????...

waiting for some one to say..PELLET..

Pete

BackInAction · Member

FWIW, the new barrel was filthy. I ran several patches down it and the first few were nearly black. I ran a couple with Windex on them and finally one with a drop of oil. I, then, shot 5-8 pellets at the ground as it was dark.

One thing I noticed that seemed a bit odd was that there wasn't an o-ring on the back end of the barrel. Other break barrel guns that I have looked at seem to have an o-ring of sorts on the breech end of the barrel. Using a flashlight, I do think there was one on the cylinder side of the seal, so maybe that's all that is needed.

Hopefully, I'll get a chance to actually shot at a target tomorrow some time.

RedFeather · Member

Mostly lower powered. I have an old Gem-style Diana (pre-WWII) and it has the seal in the breach face. Because of that, you can use things like Goo-Gone without worrying too much about the seal. Just be sure to wipe it clean before using.