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degreasing confusion

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3.1K views 16 replies 8 participants last post by  smokefrog  
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#1 ·
I'm confused with degreasing parts, relative to scope mounting and other rifle work and was after some guidance please.

I degrease the following with shellite and let evaporate.
Receiver top, receiver holes, mounting bases, mounting base screws, ring bases, inside rings, ring screws.

Now the confusion.
After the degrease, these metal parts are bare.

Do you give any of these parts treatment with the products that you'd normally wipe the rifle down as a rust preventative?

I can't help but feel that rust will occur with the screws in the receiver and the receiver tops under the mounting bases etc.

I guess my main concern is putting dry screws in with no protection, particularly the receiver as that's not an area I want to ruin on the rifle.

I've got Birchwood Casey Barricade as a wipe down rust preventative but these protection/cleaning products state they lubricate too.

Isn't that what we wanted to get rid of to prevent slipping?
What protects the metal then?

thanks for any help. :)
 
#5 ·
What I do really depends on the exact rifle/scope set-up.

For rimfires, you really don't need to do much. I usually degrease the scope tube and the inside of the rings. If it has a dovetail instead of an actual base, I'll degrease the dovetail groove and the clamps of the rings. With rimfires I actually oil the screws for the base and the rings as proper torque (too much is as bad as too little) is the key issue. The only rimfires I've ever had a scope slip on is semi-autos that use only a dovetail groove. There, I've had a couple where the scope and rings (as one unit) would scoot along the dovetail. Using quality rings and degreasing the dovetail groove and the ring clamps will prevent that issue.

For centerfires that generate a lot of recoil I go to the opposite end of the spectrum. In that case I degrease everything and use threadlocker on all screws. For most rifles that would be serious overkill, but I have had trouble keeping scopes in place on a couple magnum rifles wearing heavy scopes.

When I'm done, everything that I can see and touch (except the aluminum parts like the scope tube) gets a thin film of oil wiped over it.
 
#6 ·
I've always cleaned & degreased everything whether it was mounted on a rimfire or centerfire. I agree that it might be overkill on rimifres but that's the way I was taught so that's what i do. Never had a problem with metal parts being unprotected.
 
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#8 ·
Thankyou all for the input.

Like anything, it appears everyone has a preference and a method that suits them, so i'll take it all on board and figure out what's best for my situation and if any issues arise i'll rectify the situation.

I'm not so much concerned about scope slip as much as rust issues as the scope issue will show up almost instantly, where potential rust might not be found until say changing mounts or similar.

I stress out a bit as i've had exposed surfaces (outer barrel) rust overnight in my tent whilst camping, though come to think of it I didn't find rust in the action screws or similar (that one was a dovetail rifle no receiver holes).

Whenever I think I've undertaken a step properly, i'll come back and find some damage to a good investment (and prices here are steep).

If i'm overly worried i'll wipe all screws etc with a protectant post degreasing (if i continue to degrease any if at all) and monitor any issues.


Food for thought, thanks for everyones help :bthumb:
 
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#11 ·
That's very true Flint Mitch, and even though I will depend on the rifles, thorough testing procedure prior should give me a potential indication of issues. I think i'll sneak 'em out, reinstall and give thing a very light wipe with Barricade to keep my mind from worrying, especially as we are coming into winter hunting.

Al, i'm not too sure how to interpret that, as most if not all rifles and bits come treated one way or another to prevent rust etc., so i'm not too sure if that has any influence on the way the manufacturer intended the end user to treat their product.
In the same thought process, if i'm interpreting you correctly, a rifle covered in cosmoline was intended to be kept covered in cosmoline, where realistically it was simply to preserve parts before it got to the end user and the user was to clean it up, then of course (or maybe not, i guess that's my dilemma) treat it with something again, but it still makes me go round in my question.
Maybe you were supposed to degrease the pre oiled holes? and they were simply factory treated not to rust up the threads and screws prior to customer purchase.
 
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#13 · (Edited)
cheers p5200,
I just found rust on the inner (visually noticeable at the joins on the outer) of my sling swivels/screws on a cz 452 full stock, these hadn't been degreased or treated by me, but now i'll be paying more attention to detail with these bits and checking the rest of my collection.

To clarify to people (should have done this at the start) the initial post was for a centrefire winchester mod 70, but am applying knowledge across rimfires and centrefires. I guess I should have added the centrefire bit especially in regards to people mentioning scope slip or screw slip etc. if they were thinking in context to a rimfire, as .30-06 recoil is a bit more than a rimfire ;) I'll probably look into some loctite like has been suggested for the centrefires :)
 
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#15 ·
I'm yet again confused Al ;) the internet is all about communication and I don't quite understand your posts.

I think you are saying that the oil isn't there as a rust preventative due to that aluminium isn't as prone to rust as steel (as far as I understand) and possibly just as lubricant for the threads, therefore if it's there to lube the threads it's also a non-issue regarding torque/coming loose via recoil.

Am I in the ballpark? :confused:
 
#16 ·
smokefrog said:
I'm yet again confused Al ;) the internet is all about communication and I don't quite understand your posts.

I think you are saying that the oil isn't there as a rust preventative due to that aluminium isn't as prone to rust as steel (as far as I understand) and possibly just as lubricant for the threads, therefore if it's there to lube the threads it's also a non-issue regarding torque/coming loose via recoil.

Am I in the ballpark? :confused:
Click to expand...
Correct mate. :bthumb:
 
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