Well, in the grand scheme of things, maybe that is taking it a bit TOO far, but the sentiment is a good one for our guns.
The bad news: When you get a brand spanking new Crosman gun (Co2 or pump), it will most likely NOT be as clean and smooth and lubed up as it needs to be to start its long life of service to its new owner. The catch is that what I am about to recommend (what I ALWAYS do) will most certainly void your warranty. So if that bothers you in any way, stop reading NOW. I understand that this is not for everybody. I know two truths for myself: I want to clean and re-lube my new gun... and there is no scenario in this world where I personally would ever need to send anything back to Crosman to fix for me. Even if in my cleaning I find a defective part, the gun will not go back to Crosman. They may be sending me a replacement part... and they may request that I send the bad part back to them. Fine. WIthin days or weeks, my gun will be so changed that there is no way the warranty means anything to me whatsoever. So please take this into consideration before you do ANYTHING.
The good news: Our guns are easily dis-assembled and just as easily reassembled. And if you are new to "our guns", what better way to learn how it works and become familiar with all the parts and how they are assembled than to go through it for a good initial cleaning, polishing and lubing? I can guarantee you that this was the best way for me to learn them inside and out when I first began.
Knowing the parts intimately and truly understanding their functions and interactions is absolutely a MUST for the serious modder / builder to make certain they wind up with a truly improved air gun. It sure helps to thoroughly know your gun before you try to change something you don't even fully understand, especially if you are the type that might actually come up with new modifications, procedures, new designs for improvement... or to solve a problem.
Second only to this one-on-one communion between you and your new gun during this initial cleaning exercise, I recommend that you join the CAPOF forum and start reading, pondering, looking and asking questions. In a short time you will know the answers to questions that you read from the new batch of newbies that come after you.
Finally, do not forget internet searches and Youtube videos (both best taken with a grain of salt at times, but usually educational and informative). I actually found out about the CAPOF (Crosman Air Pistol Owners Forum) by watching interesting videos made by BRUTUZ the creator and web master of the forum!
Notice: Dear Reader, I am telling you what I do and why. I do not know your mechanical aptitude, what tools you have, whether you know how to use tools, what your fine motor skills and eye/hand coordination are, whether you can look at an exploded drawing from the Crosman site and see how things work, or whether you have the ability to have a clue where parts you just removed go back together. Bottom line: Disassemble, clean and reassemble your gun if YOU want to do it... if YOU feel comfortable doing it, and YOU take full responsibility for attempting it. If this disclaimer causes you to pause and/or doubt yourself, then do not do it. Do not call me asking for the safety ball and spring you lost because you were following my recommendation to disassemble and clean your gun.
Back to cleanliness! I am not going to detail dis-assembly and reassembly. There are some good Youtube videos to help you if you need it. Watch them first before you begin and as many times as you need to do the job.
While you are doing this total (or near total) tear down, wipe every part down with a clean cloth. Terry towel scrap or rag is just fine. Just don't leave anything behind. I use white just so I get to look at all that black and brown gunk that covers much of the internals. Feel every surface that you can with your fingers and make note of any raised edges or burrs. There should be none, but most times there are. Maybe not anything totally absurd, but just not clean and smooth. Now I do not recommend that you do any metal material removal at all. But if the hammer looks like it was picked up off a greasy tray that it had been laying on for awhile... and the discoloration will not wipe off, then perhaps a very light sanding... or solvent bath... or tumbling in your reload vibratory tumbler if you have one... is in order.
I do have both a vibratory tumbler and a solvent bath. My set method for cleaning is to toss the hammer, the sear, the springs and the brass bolt (o-ring removed) in it on top of some walnut shell media for a couple of hours. Afterward, I blow them off with the air hose and finally I give them a bath in acetone or naptha or lacquer thinner, etc. Of course remember that nothing rubber (o-rings, seals, gasket) or blued gets the tumbler or the solvent bath. If you have neither of these then you can do just fine with your cloth and perhaps some 60 grit paper if needed. Do not sand anything blued and/or external, of course. I suppose only the hammer and the outside of the 22xx valve are the only two light sanding candidates.
Push some cleaning pellets down the barrel until one comes out really clean. It is usually the third one for me. Then take that clean one and run it through once more from the opposite end.
Do not forget the inside of the tube. I hold it up to the light and peer into it to look for anything that is not a smooth shine. I run a cloth through it until it is clean.
If this is your first time, perhaps skip over taking the valve apart (the two halves of the body just unscrews... and they only have seven parts including the o-rings and the valve housing halves on the pumpers... and only six for the CO2 valves). But if you are game, go for it. To unscrew the valve halves, I wrap a piece of business card around one end for scratch protection, then clamp it securely with vise grips... and turn the other end with the chuck end of a drill bit that just fills the valve port opening. I can do this over and over without scratching the outside of the valve. You may have a different or better idea. I know my ways works just fine for me.
I certainly do find little "treasures" from time to time in the valves: a piece of grit, or excessive locktite on the threads of the 22x valves... an occasional tiny piece of metal shaving (swarf)... and certainly more of the discolored lubricant that you will have already seen on the outside of the valve, on the hammer and spring and inside the tube.
So now you have it all apart and everything is clean. Now we need to re-lubricate before we re-assemble. I use my own Cart Gun Oil (same as Pellgunoil) and just put a drop on my fingers and then rub over all the surfaces as I re-assemble. No heavy application on anything, just a light surface film is all it needs. This includes the threads of the CO2 cap, the springs, the hammer, the hammer pin, the valve parts inside and out, the sear, the bolt/probe, all o-rings, etc. etc. I do not lube the barrel at all. It will get mistings later as it is being used. Use a tiny amount of a lithium or synthetic grease on the sear and trigger pins, on the sear spot where the trigger contacts one end and on the sear spot where it contacts both the spring from below and the hammer catch from above.
Until next time... Have fun shooting!
The bad news: When you get a brand spanking new Crosman gun (Co2 or pump), it will most likely NOT be as clean and smooth and lubed up as it needs to be to start its long life of service to its new owner. The catch is that what I am about to recommend (what I ALWAYS do) will most certainly void your warranty. So if that bothers you in any way, stop reading NOW. I understand that this is not for everybody. I know two truths for myself: I want to clean and re-lube my new gun... and there is no scenario in this world where I personally would ever need to send anything back to Crosman to fix for me. Even if in my cleaning I find a defective part, the gun will not go back to Crosman. They may be sending me a replacement part... and they may request that I send the bad part back to them. Fine. WIthin days or weeks, my gun will be so changed that there is no way the warranty means anything to me whatsoever. So please take this into consideration before you do ANYTHING.
The good news: Our guns are easily dis-assembled and just as easily reassembled. And if you are new to "our guns", what better way to learn how it works and become familiar with all the parts and how they are assembled than to go through it for a good initial cleaning, polishing and lubing? I can guarantee you that this was the best way for me to learn them inside and out when I first began.
Knowing the parts intimately and truly understanding their functions and interactions is absolutely a MUST for the serious modder / builder to make certain they wind up with a truly improved air gun. It sure helps to thoroughly know your gun before you try to change something you don't even fully understand, especially if you are the type that might actually come up with new modifications, procedures, new designs for improvement... or to solve a problem.
Second only to this one-on-one communion between you and your new gun during this initial cleaning exercise, I recommend that you join the CAPOF forum and start reading, pondering, looking and asking questions. In a short time you will know the answers to questions that you read from the new batch of newbies that come after you.
Finally, do not forget internet searches and Youtube videos (both best taken with a grain of salt at times, but usually educational and informative). I actually found out about the CAPOF (Crosman Air Pistol Owners Forum) by watching interesting videos made by BRUTUZ the creator and web master of the forum!
Notice: Dear Reader, I am telling you what I do and why. I do not know your mechanical aptitude, what tools you have, whether you know how to use tools, what your fine motor skills and eye/hand coordination are, whether you can look at an exploded drawing from the Crosman site and see how things work, or whether you have the ability to have a clue where parts you just removed go back together. Bottom line: Disassemble, clean and reassemble your gun if YOU want to do it... if YOU feel comfortable doing it, and YOU take full responsibility for attempting it. If this disclaimer causes you to pause and/or doubt yourself, then do not do it. Do not call me asking for the safety ball and spring you lost because you were following my recommendation to disassemble and clean your gun.
Back to cleanliness! I am not going to detail dis-assembly and reassembly. There are some good Youtube videos to help you if you need it. Watch them first before you begin and as many times as you need to do the job.
While you are doing this total (or near total) tear down, wipe every part down with a clean cloth. Terry towel scrap or rag is just fine. Just don't leave anything behind. I use white just so I get to look at all that black and brown gunk that covers much of the internals. Feel every surface that you can with your fingers and make note of any raised edges or burrs. There should be none, but most times there are. Maybe not anything totally absurd, but just not clean and smooth. Now I do not recommend that you do any metal material removal at all. But if the hammer looks like it was picked up off a greasy tray that it had been laying on for awhile... and the discoloration will not wipe off, then perhaps a very light sanding... or solvent bath... or tumbling in your reload vibratory tumbler if you have one... is in order.
I do have both a vibratory tumbler and a solvent bath. My set method for cleaning is to toss the hammer, the sear, the springs and the brass bolt (o-ring removed) in it on top of some walnut shell media for a couple of hours. Afterward, I blow them off with the air hose and finally I give them a bath in acetone or naptha or lacquer thinner, etc. Of course remember that nothing rubber (o-rings, seals, gasket) or blued gets the tumbler or the solvent bath. If you have neither of these then you can do just fine with your cloth and perhaps some 60 grit paper if needed. Do not sand anything blued and/or external, of course. I suppose only the hammer and the outside of the 22xx valve are the only two light sanding candidates.
Push some cleaning pellets down the barrel until one comes out really clean. It is usually the third one for me. Then take that clean one and run it through once more from the opposite end.
Do not forget the inside of the tube. I hold it up to the light and peer into it to look for anything that is not a smooth shine. I run a cloth through it until it is clean.
If this is your first time, perhaps skip over taking the valve apart (the two halves of the body just unscrews... and they only have seven parts including the o-rings and the valve housing halves on the pumpers... and only six for the CO2 valves). But if you are game, go for it. To unscrew the valve halves, I wrap a piece of business card around one end for scratch protection, then clamp it securely with vise grips... and turn the other end with the chuck end of a drill bit that just fills the valve port opening. I can do this over and over without scratching the outside of the valve. You may have a different or better idea. I know my ways works just fine for me.
I certainly do find little "treasures" from time to time in the valves: a piece of grit, or excessive locktite on the threads of the 22x valves... an occasional tiny piece of metal shaving (swarf)... and certainly more of the discolored lubricant that you will have already seen on the outside of the valve, on the hammer and spring and inside the tube.
So now you have it all apart and everything is clean. Now we need to re-lubricate before we re-assemble. I use my own Cart Gun Oil (same as Pellgunoil) and just put a drop on my fingers and then rub over all the surfaces as I re-assemble. No heavy application on anything, just a light surface film is all it needs. This includes the threads of the CO2 cap, the springs, the hammer, the hammer pin, the valve parts inside and out, the sear, the bolt/probe, all o-rings, etc. etc. I do not lube the barrel at all. It will get mistings later as it is being used. Use a tiny amount of a lithium or synthetic grease on the sear and trigger pins, on the sear spot where the trigger contacts one end and on the sear spot where it contacts both the spring from below and the hammer catch from above.
Until next time... Have fun shooting!
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