Good affordable firearms cleaner

[hickory n Steel]

My brother recently gave me a pre-war Mossberg 26c he picked up dirt cheap at a gun show.
I've been working on it here and there, it functions and I've already replaced the trigger guard plus have an elevation screw on order fro it's s102 rear sight.

What I need now is to clean the bolt and the bore, but I'm not sure what to use in addition to a cleaning kit.
I'd sure love some recommendations for what cleaner to use.


I I'll definitely post some pictures when I can, it seems to be a sweet old single shot rimfire.

[ken w.]

I work on a lot of these older Mossbergs. I spray the bolts with brake parts cleaner then I wash them with the hottest water you can stand and Dawn dish liquid soap. Then I blow them dry with air. I lube all bolts with Kroil. It seems to work the best for Bolts. Hoppes #9 is hard  to beat for a bore cleaner. It's important not to get any solvents on the plastic parts on Mossbergs as it will stat to melt them. 

[hickory n Steel]

I work on a lot of these older Mossbergs. I spray the bolts with brake parts cleaner then I wash them with the hottest water you can stand and Dawn dish liquid soap. Then I blow them dry with air. I lube all bolts with Kroil. It seems to work the best for Bolts. Hoppes #9 is hard  to beat for a bore cleaner. It's important not to get any solvents on the plastic parts on Mossbergs as it will stat to melt them.

Thanks for the info.

I just did 4 test shots in the backyard ( shooting into old towel stuffed into a large plastic cup ) and the base of the cartridge cases are bulged out slightly as well as  around the base .
Do you think there's maybe a headspace / pressure issue caused by a dirty gun, or is this possibly caused by my way of taking " silent " test shots ?
With the muzzle pushed tightly into this towel set up could it be causing high pressure chamber ?

[ken w.]

I would clean the chamber and there should be a spot next to the chamber for the extractor. I would clean this out too. You may need to dig it out with a pick.

[hickory n Steel]

I would clean the chamber and there should be a spot next to the chamber for the extractor. I would clean this out too. You may need to dig it out with a pick.

Will do.

[hickory n Steel]

Here's the best shot I could get of the breach face ( it's the long line with the shorter one going through it ) and it appears to have a bit of damage.

Btw I tested with some primer only cases and as expected no bulging.

[hickory n Steel]

Got some Hoppes #9 and a cheap $15 cleaning kit and went to town, the headspace seems to have improved for sure. Probably about as good as it'll get or has ever been.

The threads in the bolt and on the bolt handle are all but completely stripped, I can only get it tightened with the handle upside down and even then it's not that tight.

I can either have it tack welded in place at the front and back or my other thought was to make a knob to have welded to the back, this would work very well for me as a lefty too.
Here's a " mockup " I made from a carriage bolt, a slightly larger diameter and some knurling would be ideal , a longer spring guide / cocking indicator or an extension for it would be a good idea as well.


What do you guys think ?
Would you rather have a standard bolt handle or a sleek snag free knob on the back of the bolt ?