PS Magazine - TB 43-PS-564
PS, The Preventative Maintenance Monthly
ISSUE 564
NOVEMBER 1999
Small Arms . . .
Cleaning
If your CO tells you a weapon must
be cleaned three times before it’s clean
enough for storage and inspection, tell
him respectfully “No, sir, not if we do
it right the first time.”
Once is enough if a weapon’s cleaned
like the -10 TM says.
Once a weapon’s cleaned right, it
doesn’t need to be cleaned again for 90
days, unless it leaves the arms room or
shows signs of corrosion.
Solvents
It’s OK to use dry cleaning solvent
to clean your rifles, machine guns, and
pistols. There are some sealed assem-
blies, however, like the MK19’s sear
housing, that shouldn’t be dunked
in solvent. Solvent breaks down
the lubricant inside the sealed assem-
blies. See your -10 TM for cautions
on solvent.
But once you’ve finished cleaning
with solvent,
wipe the solvent com-
pletely off and lube the weapons
.
If you have trouble with humidity in
the arms room, get a dehumidifier,
NSN 4440-00-566-0616. It will suck
up most of that moisture. Use Chap
63 of CTA 50-909 as your ordering
authority.
Last but not least, store all your
weapons with the bolts forward. If you
store them cocked, their springs are
left compressed. Soon the springs have
little spring and you’ve got problems
like poor recoil and feeding.
Solvent completely removes lubri-
cant, so if weapons are stored without
lube, corrosion is on the way.
Shiny Spots
Shiny spots on your weapons mean
their finish has worn off and they’re
helpless against corrosion. You can pro-
tect against shiny spots with solid film
lubricant, NSN 9150-00-754-0064.
Storage
Barrel caps are for the field, not
the arms room. They trap condensa-
tion inside the barrel, which leads to
corrosion.
like some
good advice
that
will make your
jobs
easier
, armorers?
then sit back and
listen up
.
sir,
one
cleaning is
enough if it's
done
right
.
solvent
cleans me
well
,
but don't forget
to
relube
me
!
PS 564
PS 564
36
NOV 99
37
see these
shiny
spots
?
i need a little
sfl
!
don't
they know
we
only wear
caps
in the
field
?
so
take
aim
with
small
arms pm
!
our bolts
are
locked back
!
that'll kill our
springs
.
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