- Your handgun should be cleaned, at the minimum, after every 100 rounds fired from it. Many experts, like those at SafePistol.com, suggest even cleaning the gun after just 50 shots. Before beginning to clean the weapon, remove the clip or shells and verify there is no shell in the chamber. Review your owners manual to see if any parts, such as slides or grips, should be removed before cleaning commences. Lock the gun's chamber in the open position or open the revolver canister. This will allow for your cleaning rod to slide all the way through the barrel.
- Connect a clean patch to a patch holder rod, which is available in any gun-cleaning kit, and saturate with cleaning solvent. Push this patch through the barrel and remove it when it comes out the other end. Pulling it back through the barrel would likely lead to any debris or deposit the patch picked up to be redeposited inside the barrel. Let the solvent soak in the barrel for a half hour and then scrub the inside with the barrel brush. Slide a clean, dry patch through the barrel once you're finished scrubbing and remove it on the opposite end. Repeat this process, according to SafePistol.com, until a clean patch comes out the other end.
- To clean the exterior of the gun, dip a toothbrush in cleaning solvent and scrub the entire shell of the gun. Make sure to brush inside the chamber and along the edges of the slide. Wipe down the gun when finished and then lubricate all moving parts and exposed metal with 3-in-1 oil and then reassemble to complete the process.
