Cleaning/Degreasing My New Mossberg 590A1?

Question

I have finally gotten the 590A1 that I had so much coveted. I have read on so many boards that the gun should be thoroughly degreased before use. A gunsmith wants $60 to 'clean' this gun but I was not told what exactly is a 'cleaning'. I am a new father and I don't know if I want to leave my 'baby' with someone else. Should I send the gun out or should I buy a quality cleaning kit and solvents and do it myself? The gun came with a very informative owner's manual that details its disassembly and there is a lot of help out there on the Net. Can anyone tell me their understanding of the proper way to degrease this Mossberg 590A1?

Answer 1

I have one of these guns. I cary it every night at work. It sits in the rack right above my head in my squad. Basically you need to do is get the shipping and assembly grease out of the gun. What I did to mine is I bought a can of Gun scrubber in an aerosols and flushed the action out from by the bolt as well as the ejection port. I used the whole can. The I oiled the gun it the areas the owners manual shows I Think it worked fine, I trust my life to this gun nightly. I hope this helps.

Answer 2

The first answer was very thorough but I wanted to add one thing: As with cleaning anything else, modern products can be very harsh and destructive. Always "spot-check" in a non-crucial area and wait to see if the solvent in question will do harm or good.

Don't waste your money at the gunsmith; I wouldn't pay $60 to have a quad-rail installed. Happy shooting!  

Answer 3

just clean it yourself mate. buy the right brushes for the caliber gun you own as well as some g96 it's an alround cleaning medium. if it's an old gun then may you should consider having it looked at by more than one gunsmith. if it's new ask the gunsmith on the best method to season your barrel.

Answer 4

I collect, clean and refurbish old military rifles from around the world and have learned by trial and error to cut to the chase.  Get a can of spray brake parts cleaner and a brass bore brush; spray and spray and blow with compressed air.  When it is clean use a little of the teflon based spray on oil and again blow the excess off with compressed air.  Don't leave a lot of oil on as it collects dirt and crud and if fired turns into varnish.  In this case a little bit is more than plenty.  I wish they had had spray brake parts cleaner when I was in the service; nothing gets dirtier than an MG60.  

Answer 5

Congratulations on your purchase of a Mossberg 590A1. I also own one of these, it has a 20 inch barrel with ghost ring sights.

There is no way you should have to send the gun out, or pay anyone to clean it for you. Simply go to any sporting goods store and buy a 12g cleaning kit. I would also buy a couple extra 12g bronze brushes, and a bag of 12g cleaning patches (or cut them out at home from an old white T-shirt). I would buy a spray can of CLP and use that to clean and protect your new shotgun.

Since you already know about the excellent manual that came with the weapon, why not familiarize yourself with the mechanics of your new purchase by taking the weapon down for cleaning? Once it is broken down, wipe each part with a CLP (or solvent of your choice) dampened rag. Use a Q-tip if you like, to get in all the tight places. Spray some cleaner down your bore and let it sit for a few, then give it a dozen passes with a bronze brush. Then switch to a patch and finish swabbing it out until the patches come out clean. Re-assemble according to the manual. If you use just a straight solvent like Hoppes, you should very lightly oil all metal surfaces to protect against rust when you want to store it. A product like CLP and EZox are products that clean as well as protect so you don't need a separate oil.

Good Luck with your 590A1... Got a bayonet for it yet?