Cleaning Uberti 1861 Navy percussion revolver question

[Artie Peltier]

Went to my local shop today and spotted an unfired, mint in the box Uberti 1861 Navy, 36 caliber. It was still wrapped in the original plastic complete with packing grease and all paperwork. Negioated a final price of 145.00 dollars. Thought I did well.
Question is on cleaning. I have years of experience with muzzleloading rifles and single shot pistols. Have shot the revolvers at my club but didn’t have to clean them later. They were other members guns. My question is how far do you do take the revolver down to properly clean it. I can see removing the barrel, cylinder, nipples out, then taking the grips off and removing the trigger guard to clean inside the frame. Do you also disassemble the hammer and trigger parts to clean them too? Any and all help appreciated. Thanks Art

 

[Bad Karma]

I remove the barrel and cylinder. Clean with whatever you like for your rifle, wipe everything else with that solution, getting into the nooks and crannies. Dry everything and apply a protectant/lubricant. I use Eezox. That’s it. I remove every screw and part only when/if I notice the action changing, getting sludge built up internally. Maybe once a year depending on how much you shoot the piece.

 

[Bad Karma]

Oh, and damn! You scored!!!

 

[Zonie]

Normally, I do just like Woodnbow does, Artie. I clean the barrel, cylinders and remove the nipples for cleaning them. I just wipe the rest of the gun down cleaning all exposed surfaces and give everything a light coating of oil. Oh, and I apply a tiny drop of anti-seize on each nipple thread before screwing them back in.
Maybe once a year I remove the grip strap, grips and trigger guard to clean up the little bit of fouling that has found its way into the inner workings.

If you want to remove the trigger and cylinder stop, pay attention to the way the flat spring is installed. It can go in two ways and because the lengths and shapes of the two spring fingers are different, it will only work right if it is installed the right way.

Also, I have learned to screw the screws back into the holes in the frame after I've removed each piece that they were holding. Although the screws appear to be the same, I've found that some of them are a bit longer or shorter than the other screws and work best in the holes they came out of.

 

[Gene L]

I disassemble barrel and cylinder and put them in a warm bath of water and soap. I then use a bore brush and clean the essentials, dry them off and spray with WD 40. I don't take the nipples out ordinarily, but I should. I never would disassemble further than that. Don't trust my self.

 

[Juice Jaws]

Same as Gene L , but after I spray with WD40 let sit a while then wipe down and then applied oil.

 

[jamieorr]

Went to my local shop today and spotted an unfired, mint in the box Uberti 1861 Navy, 36 caliber. It was still wrapped in the original plastic complete with packing grease and all paperwork. Negioated a final price of 145.00 dollars. Thought I did well.
Question is on cleaning. I have years of experience with muzzleloading rifles and single shot pistols. Have shot the revolvers at my club but didn’t have to clean them later. They were other members guns. My question is how far do you do take the revolver down to properly clean it. I can see removing the barrel, cylinder, nipples out, then taking the grips off and removing the trigger guard to clean inside the frame. Do you also disassemble the hammer and trigger parts to clean them too? Any and all help appreciated. Thanks Art

Go to and see a two part video of cleaning a Colt Navy 1851. I followed this for my Dragoon, and it was a great guide. I had it on screen as I worked, pausing it while I did each step. I took it completely apart, never had any experience with doing this but the video made it pretty easy.

 

[DOUBLEDEUCE 1]

I break mine down all the way each time. Everything gets cleaned and inspected. Simple.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Black powder residue is EXTREMELY corrosive, and the substitutes like Pyrodex even more so.

The gun should be detail stripped down to the bare frame each and every time the gun is fired. ALL fouling must be removed.

 

[oldwolf]

Same as Gene L , but after I spray with WD40 let sit a while then wipe down and then applied oil.

Ditto. Same, I remove the cylinder and barrel, clean with hot soapy water. Then I blast WD40 all over to displace water. Also spray a stream of WD40 into the lockwork to flush that area. Also, I remove the nipples and clean them.

Just performed this operation on my Ruger Old Army last night, in fact.

 

[Kansas Jake]

I'm in the clean the cylinder, barrel crowd with a complete tear down at least once or twice a year depending on how much I shoot the piece. I also inspect my cap and ball revolvers at least once every couple of months. If I see any sign of possible rust, then it gets a complete tear down. Tearing them apart is not terribly hard, but scary the first time you do it. Just don't force anything. Also a good set of screw drivers is important so screws don't get marred. Make sure they fit the screw tight and pretty much fill the slot.

 

[Shot deer]

Black powder residue is EXTREMELY corrosive, and the substitutes like Pyrodex even more so.

The gun should be detail stripped down to the bare frame each and every time the gun is fired. ALL fouling must be removed.

This is what I do with all my black powder guns, and I do it as quick as I can, regardless if it is a rifle, smootbore, or pistol/revolver.

 

[drobs]

I have my own range and like to shoot more than I do clean. I'll shoot a couple cylinders everyday for about 3 or 4 days straight and clean on the 5th or 6th day. Guns are stored in my Garage while being used during the week. For cleaning I focus on the barrel, cylinders, and hammer. I might break the gun down to the bare frame once a year.

No issues yet.