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How to Treat a New Arrivial

66102 Views 85 Replies 49 Participants Last post by  Matt Helm, 
U
...this is what i would recommend when your new 556 arrives...


...the first thing that i would do is to carefully read the owners manual...geting to know all the major components...some study of the parts diagram would be helpful...i'm sure...

...field strip the entire rifle and throughly clean the entire weapon using Breakfree CLP...removing all grease and perserative oils...then liberally coat the entire weapon with Breakfree CLP and let sit overnight or longer...the Breakfree will migrate overnight...and will form a protective film on the metal surfaces...providing a good degree of corrosion protection...even after the solvent evaportes and the metal appears dry...it will still be protecting the metal and finish of your weapon...

...clean the barrel, chamber and gas tube using a nylon bristle brush of the approprate size...and dry by running clean patches through them...clean the barrel from the rear using a 1 piece coated cleaning rod and do not reverse direction midway...go all the way through and back out again...so that it doesn't bind...normally i only use a patch with CLP to clean...or a nylon brush if needed...i rarely use a bronze brush...only when the accuracy degrades due to fouling...

...lightly lubricate the weapon with CLP...one drop on the hammer and trigger pins...on each side of the hammer and trigger...a drop on the selector shaft...and a drop on all the contact surfaces of the fire control group...lubricate the bolt head, bolt shaft and the bolt/carrier camming area with several drops of CLP or LP...no grease...two drops on the extractor rim...and a drop on the firing pin spring...and several drops on the rails on which the carrier glides...and a drop on anything that pivots or moves...including the takedown pins...the charging handle catch spring and so on...

...do not lubricate the gas valve or piston head...you can place one drop of CLP on the stop pin compression spring to prevent corrosion...and a light film on the recoil spring only...no lubrication fowards of the recoil spring...any lubricant in this area is blown out after the first few rounds...and what remains is carbonized / hardened by the heat, high pressure gases and particulate matter of the combustion process that drives the weapon...and remains as fouling...reducing the efficiency of the system...

...after assembling your rifle...i would hand cycle the rifle about 300 times or so...just pull the charging handle back and forth to cycle the weapon...allowing the carrier to run it's full travel along the rails and also allowing the bolt to cam open / close and lock into battery with each cycle...you don't need to allow the bolt to slam fowards as when charging your rifle...this will burnish the rails in the reciever and flatten out any high spots that may be present from the manufacturing process and debur the bolt /carrier somewhat by removing any small pieces of metal left over from the machining process...this hand cycling helps to reduce any friction inducing surface roughness that may be present in a new weapon...and will also help break in the new recoil spring...reducing the innitial stiffness somewhat and burnishing the gas piston surfaces where it contacts it...

...lastly...i would take a wooden dowel or something similar and work the follower up and down on any new magazine...about 30 times or so...and give the spring "only" a very light coating of CLP as a corrosion inhibitor...

...clean and maintain your weapon properly...use good ammo and mags...and you will have many years of shooting enjoyment from your new 556...


...good luck all...ullie
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restoring
Thanks

This is good information. Much of it would seem to be common "good sense" stuff, and it's great to have it listed out this thoroughly. This counters some of what we're told by the folks who are selling us these rifles!

I'm going to print it out, and keep it handy with my owner's manual and cleaning kit.

Thanks again

Brad
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B
Excellent advice as always Ullie! 8)

I think there's a lot of misinformation out there regarding the 556. I think that break-in procedure would go a long way to make the first range session a good one for the new 556 owner.

I've seen new 556s arrive at the local gun shop just swimming in grease. No doubt, Ullie's advice is likely to help a lot of folks get the most out of their 556.

Thanks for posting Ullie, and as always thanks for the great input..
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C
Great info Ullie.
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P
Is it necessary to go through a process to break in the barrel like with an AR?
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U
...no...i would not be concerned with breaking in the barrel...not necessary...just shoot her...not necessary on an AR either...
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D
ullie said:
i would take a wooden dowel or something similar and work the follower up and down on any new magazine...about 30 times or so.
Click to expand...
Nice post ullie thanks.

You know what I've found to work really well is a wooden paint stir stick.

The ones that are flat. Makes running the follower up & down easier since it is less likely to tilt and or bind as with using a dowel.
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M
millerphys.........
is spot on

It has been said more than once that more m-1 grand barrels were worn out during ww2 due to cleaning than use.

As a previous member of a bullseye shooting club the general consensus on
22 target pistols is to keep the chamber/breach/magazines clean. Only clean the barrel when accuracy starts to fall off. "Nearly" the same for the .45. (some go 300-500 rounds and clean anyways)---THIS IS LEAD NON-JACKETED AMO--

I have enjoyed a few fine custom benchrest rifles. Those guys typically clean after every match but.....with bore guides and rods as millerphys lists.--(keep in mind if they think a rain dance will improve their grouping .002 they will do it)

Personally me on the 556 I see no need to scrub clean the barrel after 100-200 rounds (especially with a metal brush) a quick cleaning with a jag and solvent and patches --with a warm rifle-- is just fine.
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G
I usually just clean it when I get it, then after the first two range shoots all with CLP just to make sure the Teflon and oils are worked in good. Then I keep a Bore Snake Slightly dampened with CLP in my range bag and run it through a couple times before I leave the range just to wipe the barrel quick and replace whatever oils might have burned off. I probably get out the Dewey Stick every 500-1000 rounds. Also depends on what Ammo I've been using. Wolf fouls a lot faster, for example.

Out of curiosity, anyone here ever push the gas cylinder to the fouling point to compromise ejection and switch to the uh-oh setting? If so, notice anything interesting? I couldn't find anything in a simple search here.
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M
What does everyone think of the "Swiss" cleaning kits? Specifically the steel barrel brush it comes with. I asked someone about it, and their reply was "the Swiss wouldn't put anything in their kit that would dammage their rifle" and that makes sense, but then again so does avoiding steel on steel in the barrel so what do I know. I really liked the solid steel rod pieces in the Swiss kit, as well as the swivle piece, but the patch jag sucks pretty bad.

In any case, could someone put together a comprehensive list of what all to get, or the best all in one cleaning kit, for the 556?
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U
...i would "never" use a steel brush to clean "any" weapon...then the swiss also have "graphite" based grease in their kit... :roll: ...go figure ???...


...get yourself a "one piece coated cleaning rod"...see linky

... http://secure.armorholdings.com/kleen-b ... ct277.html

...a 22 cal bronze bore brush...

...a 22 cal nylon bore brush...

...a 40 cal or 45 cal nylon brush for the chamber...test tube brush works fine...

...a bronze patch holder...22 cal

...use a regular toothbrush for the bolt face/under extractor lip...

...22 cal patches

...small rod to push a "small" rag through the gas tube...

...that's all you need and some rags...don't go "crazy" cleaning your 556...i usually just use the "nylon" brushes...some patches...and Breakfree CLP...i only use the bronze brushes and bore cleaner when there is a buildup of fouling in the barrel and chamber...

...to clean heavy carbon deposits...ie...gas valve...piston head...Slip 2000 carbon killer...or...KG coating's KG-1

...heavy copper fouling...ie...the barrel...KG Coating's KG-12

...degreasing...gunscrubber...or any generic non-chlorniated brake cleaner...

...lubrication...general cleaning and to inhibit corrosion...Breakfree CLP...

... https://www.kgcoatings.com/

... http://www.slip2000.com/


...my 2 cents
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M
Thanks! Gotta get shopping!
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tarugs
I bought my sig SWAT last week and only got the chance yesterday to remove factory packing grease as described in this message trail. I noticed on the very end of the operating rod assembly, on the chamber end, there is discoloration (looks like bronzing). There is also bronzing where the springs on the operating rod are held. Is this normal? I also noticed that the gas valve has some carbon deposit. How do I clean it if I'm not supposed to put CLP on it? Reading from this forum I know they factory test fire it, as evidenced by the small scratches near the ejection port, but will that cause carbon deposits on the gas valve?

I followed the instruction to liberally coat the rifle with CLP and allowed it to sit overnight. I did this also on the SWAT forend quadrail and noticed that areas that were not coated with CLP looked like dry blotches. Also, the rail labels (L#, R#, B#) looked faded.

This forum has been very helpful and hopefully I will be able to try my new 556 tomorrow.
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U
...tarugs

...just keep the gas system "relatively" dry except the recoil spring...wipe it down with a patch moistened with Breakfree CLP...

...the idea here it to not "load up" the gas valve/piston interface including the gas tube with lubricant...especially grease...the lubricant just "blows out" after a few shots...what lubricant remains is carbonized/hardened by the heat and pressure from the hot, high pressure gases that drive the weapon...after cleaning her i would wipe down the entire gas system with CLP...let sit a while...and then wipe relatively dry...leaving the "lightest possible coating of CLP" on the surface...to act as a rust inhibitor.


...you can use these products to remove the carbon from your gas valve/piston head...just follow the instructions...after cleaning...always wipe down the metal with a patch moistened with Breakfree CLP to help prevent corrosion from setting in...

... http://www.slip2000.com/carbonkiller.html

... https://www.kgcoatings.com/index.php?_a ... roductId=5

...and don't worry about getting her "white glove" clean...not needed...and don't worry about any discoloration or heat staining...it's perfectly normal...
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Zeus
Great info. Fired mine today and cleaned as soon as I got home. Cleaned off the white looking lithium grease before I fired it and lubed almost as ullie instructed. Got familiar with the breakdown and feel very comfortable with this rifle. Now I have learned some more good info to apply to cleaning. Thanks guys.
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J
Thanks

was nice to have it al layed out made me not miss any thing at all. realy looks and feel nicer that the medal has got the CLP in it now.

thanks to ullie for takeing the time to wright it all out.
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C
I used this diagram to learn what to lubricate on my AR. Is there anything like this for my 556 pistol?

http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=532
They removed the info on that link. It was a chart showing exactly every piece and what to lube.
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S
I should finally have the chance to clean my new 556 (using the great guidance of this thread) for the first time this week, and hopefully taking it to the range soon. Any opinions on using this bore snake instead of the nylon brush?

http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=260083

I would of course be using it with the highly recommended CLP:
http://www.midwayusa.com/eproductpage.e ... mid=840573
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C
new comer to the sig !

Yes you did a very job on care of the 556 ! A must read for all before going shooting and cleaning her! add one more look at gunzzila and mobil 1 syn-oil 15w50 both will help you care for the 556 . most troubles are from owners who dont read how to maintain their weapons!
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S
Ullie, a few questions on this

...field strip the entire rifle and thoroughly clean the entire weapon using Breakfree CLP...

"Entire Rifle" - I did the ENTIRE RIFLE, then down below you state "do not lubricate....". I hope you meant AFTER the overnight soak and clean, to not RE-LUBRICATE? Also, I assume the Piston Head is the "Bolt Head".

...do not lubricate the gas valve or piston head...you can place one drop of CLP on the stop pin compression spring to prevent corrosion...and a light film on the recoil spring only...no lubrication fowards of the recoil spring...any lubricant in this area is blown out after the first few rounds...and what remains is carbonized / hardened by the heat, high pressure gases and particulate matter of the combustion process that drives the weapon...and remains as fouling...reducing the efficiency of the system...
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