Cleaning a nasty old Kahr K9

[Adamt]

I took an older K9 in on a trade. It's been carried by more than one person and shot and not pampered. This isn't a safe queen at this point but it hasn't been abused. It's been treated like a working gun. I'm trying to restore this thing to it's original (or my idea of it's original) glory. I've detail stripped the entire gun, frame and slide.

Now what's the best way to clean it? Sounds like from what I see online, I should let it soak in non-chlorinated brake cleaner over night. Can I put everything in this bath? Even springs?

When people say soak it, do they mean spray it and leave it or do they mean put it in a bucket full of the brake cleaner?

Any suggestions?

[AJBert]

I'll be watching this thread as I just picked up a used K40 yesterday. Haven't torn it down yet but looks like it was taken care of by the PO.

[Bawanna]

I'm not a soaker myself. Everything on the Kahr is pretty accessible especially if you've detail stripped the slide. I'd just use regular old Hoppes #9 but brake cleaner will work. Spray it on, use a brass brush or a tooth brush if it really bad and wipe it down with patches, q tips whatever it takes.

[muggsy]

Non-chlorinated brake cleaner is only used to clean the striker channel. I'd used something like Gun Scrubber to clean the rest of the gun.

[Adamt]

What would be wrong with using the brake cleaner on the rest of the gun?

[JFootin]

What would be wrong with using the brake cleaner on the rest of the gun?

Sight paint coming off.

[Bawanna]

Brake Cleaner and Gun Scrubber are essentially the same thing. Jfootin nailed it though. Of course most any strong cleaner is going to attack paint if left to soak any length of time.

[Adamt]

Oh yes, thanks. That's the one thing I didn't remove. I don't have a sight pusher. No soaking for me.

[csman22]

No need to soak it. Just spray the non-chlorinated break cleaner in the 2 holes for the firing pin - one hole is to help clean the other is the actual hole itself. Use the little red tube they providde you with the get right in there if you do not want to detail strip the entire slide assembly.

You can also spray the slide down and then wipe it dry. For the frame, use some swabs or brush...whatever you're accustomed to.

I don't think you need to "soak" anything with non-chlorinated break cleaner.

Most importantly - Please be sure to check out

"Proper Prep of a Kahr" thread for details and the
"Kahr Lube Diagram"


FInally, and thereafter, you can use a solvent for cleaning the Barrel. Many here use a combination solvent/lubricant. I'm a fan of Ballistol for everything. Some like Gunzilla or CLP...use whatever you like. Or...you can do the solvent first then oil second approach.

Enjoy.
c

[Tinman507]

I have an NYPD trade in K9 that was filthy. I've cleaned it several times and still getting gunk from it. I was looking into a system from Cylinder & Slide called Dunk-kit. Any one have experience with this? It's pricey but if it works, I'd do it.

http://www.cylinder-slide.com/GWdunkit.shtml

[JFootin]

It says not to use it on nickel plating, so our Kahr barrels can't go in it.

[Tinman507]

Yeah, I saw that. Wouldn't be worth it to me if I couldn't toss the barrel in there too. Bummer.

[Adamt]

Here's another one. When people say polish the "internals" what exactly are they polishing?

[Adamt]

Are all kahr barrels nickel plated?

[JFootin]

Here's another one. When people say polish the "internals" what exactly are they polishing?

Generally, polish wear points, such as the barrel hood, feed ramp, chamber opening, inside of slide where the barrel rubs and locks, the slide lock, the breach face, any rough spots. Although many polish the entire barrel for appearance sake. Some also polish the extractor a little and the sharp edge that is sometimes there on the ejection port.

[JFootin]

Are all kahr barrels nickel plated?

Yes.

[Adamt]

I have completely disassembled the gun and am in the process of cleaning it and sanding/polishing various places on the slide and frame. I don't know if the frame is cast or what but there are places around the trigger guard that look "lumpy" when you look very close. Maybe this is where it was cast. I just want those places to look smooth. After I polish it, I'm going to have it bead blasted.

I'm pretty sure my frame and slide are both stainless but I don't know how to tell for sure.

What other parts are nickel plated? I'm trying to figure out what I can polish and bead blast and what I can't/shouldn't.

Can you polish nickel with mother's mag?

[TheTman]

I've seen automatic transmission fluid used as a gun soak, tried it on my Dan Wesson internal parts and seemed to work well.

[Bug Splat]

I had the same dirty issue with a K40 I picked up online. It was bad enough that it needed a soak. Never had a gun bad enough to need it so it was my first. After some searching I read that if you heat water close to boiling, add some dish soap, and let the metal parts (not the grips) soak for 30-60min. The heat and soap dissolve all the oil from the gun and will not damage the finish. When the water is cool enough use a soft brush (I used an old tooth brush) and go to town. Next dry off the parts with a towel. Then give every part a nice rub down with your fav gun oil. Let it soak in for a few minutes then lightly towel off. Assemble the gun and oil in the key places like you would with a new Kahr. This process completely cleaned my gun to where it looked NIB.

[Shadow Catcher]

I took an older K9 in on a trade. It's been carried by more than one person and shot and not pampered. This isn't a safe queen at this point but it hasn't been abused. It's been treated like a working gun. I'm trying to restore this thing to it's original (or my idea of it's original) glory. I've detail stripped the entire gun, frame and slide.

Now what's the best way to clean it? Sounds like from what I see online, I should let it soak in non-chlorinated brake cleaner over night. Can I put everything in this bath? Even springs?

When people say soak it, do they mean spray it and leave it or do they mean put it in a bucket full of the brake cleaner?

Any suggestions?
Field strip the gun and remove the grips. Then go get a bottle of Hoppe's or any other good cleaner, and wet everything down with that. Scrub everything with a good brass or plastic brush until all the crap is removed and the steel is clean. Use a Q-tip or rag with solvent as needed, and wipe or scrub everywhere. The barrel might need a copper reducing solvent, but otherwise should also clean up. If you aren't sure how clean it is spray with break cleaner and wipe dry. Repeat the scrubbing process until it's clean. It shouldn't require more than an hour or two of effort for all that!

After it's clean throughout - spray with Ballistol, or any oil of your preference, and go shoot it some more. Cleaning guns is easy - it's easier with black powder - but this is a modern new-fangled design, so we'll stay with the petroleum based approach!

I don't care how cruddy it appears, a good cleaner will dissolve it all fast - if you use a little elbow grease . . .

Shadow Catcher