cleaning

[derekr]

Hi This is my first post so please be gentle with me !
I have a pair of No4T's and everone I speak to seems to have diferent ideas on what to use to clean the barrel and wood on an enfield. I have had everyting from washing up liquid for the barrel to Mr Sheen for the wood. They are expensive guns and needless to say I haven't taken anyone up on their advice. If in doubt ask an expert. So, it's over to you guys. Can anyone give me the definative answer.
Thanks Derek[IMG][/IMG]

Information

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[Peter Laidler]

Regular maintenance cleaning, just pull through to clean and then pull through with an oily piece of 4x2. After shooting, TREAT ALL AMMUNITION AS CORROSIVE AND ERROSIVE. Pour boiling water through bore then for the next few days clean as a maintenance task. Don't over clean.

Woodwork, Wipe clean with linseed oil. Please, please, please don't varnish. If you want to polish it, use a beeswax furniture polish.

While we're here, you could get the correct front trigger guard sling looop on the top rifle and get one fitted to the bottom rifle too!

You'll have many answers over the next week or so but just don't resort to scrubbing anything - and I've never heard of using washing up liquid

[jmoore]

"Washing up liquid" I guess means something similar to dishwashing liquid. Or window cleaner.
I don't much care for the "Windex" or similar, but have been known to use a mixture of "Murphy's Oil Soap" and isopropyl alcohol. (Because it's what I use as a black powder bore solvent.)
Hot water with or without soap is fine for initial cleaning to remove any corrosive water soluable salts left from expended primers. Then clean as you would any other precision rifle.

Raw linseed oil (easier to find in the US as "Flax seed oil" in the grocers' health food section) leaves less sheen and soaks in better than boiled linseed oil. But both were approved for military use. (BLO as a substitute for RLO, if the latter was not available.)

[bigduke6]

"Washing up liquid" I guess means something similar to dishwashing liquid

Jmoore , washing up liquid, is what we use to wash the plates, cups etc in the sink.

[Beerhunter]

A nice pair. [Snick, Snick, Fnarr, Fnarr] (Only Brits will understand that reference to Viz Comic.) I can understand your reluctance to do well-intentioned damage.
Attachment 29760

I only have one No.4T ("Can there really be such poverty in this day and age".) and although not a nice as either of yours, I look after it because I could not afford to replace it. So I clean mine in the manner that PL suggests. As to the woodwork, I run a little BLO over it from time to time.

Do you shoot either/both of them?

[derekr]

Thanks for the advice. I will order a pair of sling loops as soon as the wife has recovered from the shock of my new Christmas present.
The top one is 1945 vintage, all matching and is in what I can only describe as "nearly new" condition. The bottom rifle is 1944 but the mount, although genuine doesn't match. This was imported from the US last year. It has clearly been well used but still shoots really well. Both scopes are mk1's and I would guess, not the originals. The plan is to use the newer of the two as much as possible and save the older for special occasions. It will have it's first outing with me this weekend.

[5thBatt]

Washing up liquid is corrosive, never use it to clean your rifles or your car.