Care and Maintenance

[surfmaster 5]

Hi Everyone,

 

My dealer just received a shipment of Saiga 12's from FBMG and one of them has my name on them! Yahoo! I've been waiting since February.

 

Now that I'm part of the cult, could I ask where you add lubrication to your Saiga 12? Obvious areas include the bolt, trigger, and recoil springs and guide rod in the receiver. How about other areas, including the gas tube and gas settings (No. 1 and 2)?

 

Also, I read in the forum that I should remove all grease from the Saiga 12 that came from the factory since the Russians use a heavy type of oil that's design to primarily be a rust preventative but may be detrimental to the cycling of the gun. Am I right?

 

Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Bvamp 604]

get a can of "gun scrubber" and blast the action and gas system out. mine was pretty clean when I got it, and I really dont clean it very much. hell, I intentionally didnt clean it for the first two YEARS I had it, and shot thousands of rounds down it before I had to clean it finally, becasue light loads were starting to jam up. when you use a solvent like that to blast it with, you really need to oil the whole gun up real good afterward, as it strips all the crud and lubes right off the metal. the best part is, you do that once, and you really dont have to do it again with a solvent, because the gun is painted, and the bore is chrome lined. I only use wd-40 now to blast out the action of my s12, but Ive long since cleaned the packing grease out of it, so I have no need for solvents. hell, I dont even clean the thing after going out in the pouring rain and shooting for a while. I just shake it out and wipe it off, and toss it in the corner with some crackhead killers in it for home def. use (15 pellet buckshot in case you dont know what I mean by crackhead killer)

 

just be sure you only shoot slugs and buckshot/duck loads on gas setting #1.

[KySoldier 2]

Compared to Bvamp I guess I baby mine...

 

I clean the internals with gun scrubber and rod the barrel with Hoppes then spray down all parts inside with Rem Oil and then wipe all the outside surfaces with an oily rag. I do this with all my guns. Oil is your friend! ...especially if you don't have a humidity controlled cabinet/safe. A dehumidifier was the greatest addition to my safe.

[G O B 3,516]

Inatially- clean everything! After that I use Hoppes #9 to clean the barrel. and wipe the action. Then I use Mobil 1 to lube everything EXCEPT the gas system. Clean the gas system, especialy the piston with scotch bright. DO NOT OIL the gas system. Run it dry. (If you cannot bring yourself to run the gas system dry,use DRY molly-SPARINGLY!)

 

 

G O B

[topmaul 42]

Remove all plastic parts and field stip the gun use carberator cleaner, dry, use an oily rag to wipe all parts, the most important thing is to take the 12 guage wire brush to the gas tube and clean it out. Run an oily rag through it. Maybe use some carb cleaner. Then grease the rails and the bottom of the bolt and your fine.

[inparidel 4]

God thread. Yes. I would recommend removing all lube/rust preventative that comes with the gun (any degreaser/flush you prefer). Then I use a system of lubes that I created for all my guns, except my pistols, which get Milcomm synthetic oils and greases.

 

To clean after using, I haver tried all the urban legend products like auto trans fluid, brake and carb cleaner. The auto trans cleaner is actually a pretty good lead and gunk remover, which is a problem with shotties. After much trial and error, I settled on good old Hoppes #9 and CLP for the lead remover and cleaner. I did find a super quick method of cleaning out all the leading that occurs after long periods of no cleaning: I get a good bronze 12 guage brush, and I roll it in Hoppes and squirt on a good suppply of CLP. Then I stick it in the chamber or bore, and squirt it with both cleaners again once it is just inside the bore, regardless of which end. But, instead of having the shotgun cleaning rod in the handle and my hand, I lock the end into the chuck of my variable speed B&D hand drill. I start the drill and push it back and forth in the bore about 20 passes. Keep it on the clockwise, or tighten direction, or the 2/3 piece rod/end fitting will unscrew. Then run wrapped paper towel therough on your wooly attachment on the regular rod handle to see if any leading is left. If you used enough Hoppes and CLP, after 20 pases your bore should be lead free and clean.

 

Clean up the remainder of the gun's internals with a toothbrush or other stiff nylon gun brush and Hoppes and CLP. Wipe it all clean, and you are ready for lube. I make my own gun oil that consists of 50/50 CLP and Greased Lightning engine oil additive from the local auto parts store. GL is loaded with PTFE, or Teflon. I toothbrush on a film of the 50/50 mix on the rails and all friction surfaces (lug and hammer disconnector surfaces) and swab it into the bore. Then, I use the grease I also make. I get 2/3 pure white lithium grease and 1/3 GL that I mixed thoroughly. I put into a syringe used for refilling computer printer cartridges and squeeze a bead on the rails, the hammer ans disconnector friction points, the bolt carrier and bolt shaft shaft contact surfaces, and the lug surfaces. I get the toothbrush that I used to apply the "oil" mix to lightly spread out the grease, and I am done cleaning and lubing.

 

The difference beween me and the guy above is that I use PURE Greased Lightning additive to coat the cleaned short piston and the head of the operating rod/internal piston (also the insides of my removable muzzle brakes). I use pure GL on all my regular AK piston heads, because it will flame-bake a layer of Teflon onto the steel. Even after many months of use and the piston head looks uncleanably black, with the first layer of GL, some Hoppes with a steel brush and or steel wool, and I can always get down to a very waxy feeling, an absolutely clean, piston face and head after a little brushing or steel wool. On the short Saiga 12 piston, the GL burns into a dry layer of waxy pure Teflon with the chamber and piston permanently Teflon coated.

 

Even after my AKs and other guns (I also use the same system on my ARs) get very dirty, the dirt rides on a flm of Teflon, which reduces that abrasive grinding compound effect that other regular petoleum lubes can become.

 

Then clean up any over smears of the petro chemicals with Ajax dish soap, and use Armorall on the finishes (I used Alumahyde II, which is, after all, plastic) and furniture

Edited June 16, 2006 by inparidel

[Gaddis 1,689]

A picture is usually worth 1,000 words...

 

[shotgun_lobotomy 0]

i just use a oiled rag and wipe whever i can reach and i pull a boresnake thro the brrl a few times and run the cheesy brush thro the gas tube that came with the gun. ive shot soo many rounds thro it that ive lost count, i know that all the surfaces inside have polished on their own i tend to leave the gas system dry as i can cept i oil the rod same as everything in it. its the same as i do to all my guns, cept i always strip the bolt in my sks-d since those fireing pins can turn evil if they get dirty. o yeah i only use areoKroil for everything, stinks but works wonders

ps. mags i only wipe the outsides and always leave the insides super dry, clean em maybe once a year