What do you use to clean inside the nipples? Outside is easy enough, and a nipple pick ensures there is nothing in the channel, but what else do you do?
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What do you use to clean inside the nipples? Outside is easy enough, and a nipple pick ensures there is nothing in the channel, but what else do you do?
After soaking in water I use the corner of a paper towel, rolled up tight, to brush them out. That gets out all the gunk.
I really don’t do anything extra. I like to block the nipple with some soft leather, pour a bit of BP solvent in the muzzle and let it sit for a bit barrel up, then upend the rifle and let the liquid flow out. From there on solvent soaked patches followed by dry till satisfied it’s clean. I leave the nipple in and the force of the solvent coming thu is about all I do for the inside of the nipple. When I take the nipple out will let it sit in solvent while working on the rest of the gun. Making sure the breech and drum is clean is the biggest thing for me. Wether a person uses hot water or BP solvent like T/C 13 is personal preference. I like T/C 13 and have not used hot water for years.
I use a pipe cleaner, not the ones sold at hobby stores, but actual pipe cleaners. I wet the end, twirl it around inside the nipple and repeat until clean. Snip the dirty end and repeat. Follow up with a dry pass and finish with your favorite oil. I’m now cleaning with 1:10 Ballistol and final lubing with Jojoba oil
Hello armoredman,
I let them soak, then before drying I push a piece of copper wire thru them.
AntiqueSledMan.
My caplock is a Hawken style rifle. I remove the barrel from the stock and submerge the breech end in a buckey of soapy water with the nipple still in the barrel. A patch on the end of the rod and the pumping action of cleaning the bore cleans the nipple. After that I remove the nipple and continue to clean the barrel. I will take a pipe cleaner to the nipple to help dry.
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There's no stupid questions; only stupid answers (none of which are usually found here)
Remove nipple(s), flush with running water & air dry - apply a dab of anti-seize to the threads just prior to re-installation.
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Now I lay me down to sleep
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^^^^^ I do the same as above with rifle/smoothbore and do the same with my C & B cylinders - I soak 'em in a plastic bucket of hot soapy water - then use a patch and jag on a short pistol cleaning rod and with the cylinder submerged, pump the hot soapy water in and out of each chamber through each nipple. I don't take the nipples out each time as I use anti-seize on the nipple thread. I dry chambers with patches and use compressed to blow through the chambers/nipples then use a hair dryer to further dry and warm the cylinder if needed. Oil it all lightly. Takes longer to describe than it does to actually do it. + on the pipe cleaners - I always have them in my cleaning stuff as they are handy for a lot of things.
And hey - there are NO stupid questions - the only stupid question is the one which goes unasked!
This is how I have always done it.Originally Posted by Sasquatch-1
NRA Benefactor Member NRA Golden Eagle
This is what I do. I also do an initial soak in vinegar, which loosens and removes a good portion of the fouling.
Me too, only I fold over the tip and it is a very tight fit in my 'Hot Shot nipple. Then I use a paper clip to push thru the smaller flash channel. Give the threads a little lube and back together. hc18flyer
I just pump some hot soapy water through mine while still in the barrel if I am planning on shooting again. For storage, I always take the nipples out and clean with hot soapy water using a pipe cleaner. Rinse, dry, and oil, then anti-seize the threads before replacing in the rifle. I always take a revolver completely apart for cleaning, including the nipples from the cylinder. Soap and water and or TC #13 before drying and re-oiling. I always use anti-seize on the threads. I don't take short cuts with my cleaning. Probably could in many cases, but I would rather do a bit more work now than later find some rust.
73 de n0ubx, Rick
NRA Benefactor Life Member/VFW Life Member
I also clean in a bucket of soapy water. remove barrel when I can or a piece if tygon tubing from bucket to nipple. Jag and a snug jag and damp path will suck the soap water up in to barrel. This cleans the nipple breech and barrel.
Back when I had BP revolvers.
I would pull the nipples and let them soak in a can of Carburator cleaner.
It got all the carbon off and dried them out easily.
Just a suggestion.
But when you are cleaning 4 guns at once , it speeds things up a bit.
A lot of years with a Ruger Old Army, and normal hot water cleaning has kept all 6 nipples in good shape.
However, I got handed a nipple off an Italian rifle, and nobody had a spare nipple with metric threads. It was plugged up almost solid. What finally got it functioning again was a very small drill bit that just fit. And then a small paperclip to clear the fire channel. Finding such a bit would depend on a very good friend who has a numbered drill bit set, so you can find the right bit size and go to the hardware and buy one. This was a case from left field. Hopefully, you won't let yours get in such shape. Clean the gun when you use it. All these above recommendations will work.
I soak in soapy water, my preference being Murphy's Oil Soap but liquid dish soap if I'm just grabbing whatever is in reach or I forgot to buy more Murphy's.
Might twist up paper towels. Might use rag. Might only use the bucket and patch pump method with the nipple attached.
I might hit it with compressed air after the soak.
Just depends on my mood. I don't subscribe to any fixed system other than using Jojoba oil after drying.
Pipe cleaner has always worked for me.
Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!
Men who don't understand women fall into two categories: bachelors and husbands!
Hazzard Fraught sells a little key ring thing with several sizes of tiny round brushes for cleaning air brushes that would work well for scrubbing out the insides of nipples.
cap and ball - let the cylinder soak a few minutes cold water with a dash of dish soap - brush clean the cylinders and rinse under the tap - toothbrush around the nipples -- then aircompressor dry the whole thing - wd40 on a brush into the cylinders - soon as you get it dry or else you get flash rusting. I dont pull the nipples - they have never seize on em - so I crack them back about a quarter turn then screw back in (not tight just two fingers is plenty) . Both my guns are in the safe with cylinders charged (not capped of course) - have left one like that for 6 months with no sign of ill effect when shot (maybe depends on your lube) whether that works or not .
Some great ideas here, thank you!
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