Easy RMS Cleaning

Remember when Oskar Schindler told the Nazis that he needed the small children to polish the inside of the 40mm shells in Spielberg's 1993 movie "Schindler's List"? He would have needed them for the 38mm RMS housings too. Schindler's factory is long gone, so I guess we have to clean the housings ourselves. Being an unrepentant "gun nut", I have a good collection of gun cleaning rods and brushes, as well a long history with Hoppes No. 9 (I've even been accused of liking the smell so much that I would use it for cologne). We have a soaking jar that works well for closures and Slimline rings. A terry cloth rag wrapped around a brass shotgun brush and dipped in solvent works fairly well for the inside of the housings. However, the quantities of No. 9 required for RMS cleaning are greatly in excess of those required for any gun cleaning effort and the last quart I bought was over $15.00. I'm sure the internet or a gun show could reduce the $ amount, but that's another story.

The liberal amounts of grease recommended in the Aerotech instructions make clean-up slightly easier, but we think we've found something even better. Dry lubricants with Teflon are available in aerosol cans and are sold as mold release agents by a number of vendors. We are currently using S00708 T.F.E. DRYLUBE. It's made by Spraylube and sold at W.W.Grainger as Part# 2W757 for a little over $5.00 per can. It sprays on very evenly and dries to an opaque, durable white film.

Spray the closures and housing I.D. with a liberal amount of the stuff and let it dry. If the dried film has any gaps, apply a second coat. After motor burn, the liner will be slightly "gummy" in the housing, but if you push it evenly, it will slowly slide out of the housing. Hoppes No. 9, baby wipes, or most other solvents will easily remove the burn residue without soaking.  Some dry lube coating will remain and you'll have to decide whether to recoat between uses. Acetone will completely remove the dry lube coating if you don't like it.

Unfortunately, this suggestion is not a substitute for cleaning immediately after motor use. The burn residue is still corrosive and will pit through the anodizing on the Aluminum parts if left unremoved for long periods of time.