Given the rising dangers that loom around us every day, many people now opt to buy a handgun for self-defense. And because of the inexperience of many, the availability of easy-to-use pistols that require low maintenance has become a necessity more than ever.
Glock pistols check these boxes in addition to reliable performance; that’s why they’re among the most famous handguns in the world. But how do you keep your gun performing excellently for as long as you own it? The answer is via cleaning.
Handguns need regular cleaning and maintenance to perform as well as they should. And because you’re in luck today, I’ll tell you everything you need to know about Glock cleaning, along with a few secrets no one else will tell you. So jump in!
Table of Contents
Short Answer
Cleaning and lubricating your Glock regularly is of utmost importance to keep it working. To do so:
- Disassemble the gun
- Begin with the firearm barrel and slide
- Clean the receiver using an old toothbrush
- Inspect the handgun’s components and ensure there are no dirt residues
- Lubricate and reassemble your Glock
Now that I’ve told you how to clean a Glock in a nutshell, it’s time to get into more details.
How to Clean Your Glock
You can clean your Glock in nine easy steps. But first, you’ll need the following items:
- Gun cleaner
- Lubricating oil
- Dry patches
- Latex gloves
- Brass bore brush/dry brush
- Cleaning rod with slotted tip
- Old toothbrush
- Q-tips
After gathering all these items, you can start following the next steps.
1. Unload the Pistol
Since safety comes first, you should unload your Glock pistol before cleaning it and remove any live ammunition from the room you’re sitting in.
First, point the muzzle end of your pistol in a safe direction and remove the magazine from its well. Then, pull the slide and eject a round of bullets from the chamber.
Without putting the magazine back in its place, return the slide. And as final assurance, look at the chamber and the well of the gun’s magazine again to ensure that the handgun is empty and safe.
2. Dry-Fire the Glock
After making sure your Glock is empty one more time, rack the handgun’s slide and return it to battery. Then, close the action. While doing all these steps, remember to point the gun in a safe direction, even when dry-firing.
Once you put the slide in battery and point the gun away from you, press the trigger and ensure it’s in a rearward position. You should hear the firing pin as it moves forward now.
Note that in this step and the previous one, you should pay total attention to what you’re doing. Believe me when I say that accidental discharges are more common than you think, and they’re always the result of distraction.
3. Disassemble the Handgun
Before disassembling your Glock pistol, you should check the manual that comes with it for detailed instructions. Luckily for you, a Glock is very easy to field strip. First, you should disassemble it into its main components: the barrel, slide, recoil spring assembly/guide rod, and receiver.
For the regular cleaning session, you won’t need to disassemble it into other parts. So once you have these four components in front of you, you can start cleaning.
4. Clean the Barrel
The first part you should clean in a gun is its barrel because it’s often the dirtiest place. To do so, use the brass bore brush to clean the barrel’s interior and take all the dust and dirt out. Ideally, you should push the brush from the chamber to the muzzle back and forth till you get all the dust.
Next, grab a cleaning patch and wet it with your gun cleaner. Put the wet patch through the cleaning rod’s slotted tip and push it inside the barrel to clean it thoroughly. Move the tip back and forth multiple times. To ensure you don’t push debris further inside the barrel, you should rotate the rod as you move it in and out.
You can alternate these two steps and clean with the patch before the dry brush. But personally, I like using the brush first to get more dirt out.
Using your handgun will probably result in a carbon buildup on the barrel hood. That’s why after cleaning the insides of the barrel, you should use your toothbrush and some cleaner drops to clean the barrel hood and feed ramp.
Wipe the barrel’s exterior with a dry and clean patch, set it aside, and move on to the next step.
5. Clean the Firearm Slide and Recoil Spring Assembly
Wrap your toothbrush with a patch, then use it to clean the slide, and make sure to get the breech face, extractor, and the area around them. One trick I like to do here for a more thorough cleaning is tilt the slide forward a bit with the muzzle facing downwards. This way, I get all the dirt and debris out efficiently.
Note that you shouldn’t get any cleaner in the firing pin channel. Doing so might seriously hinder the performance of your pistol.
Next, use a Q-tip followed by a dampened patch to clean the inside of the slide. For a more thorough gun cleaning, you can use a toothbrush to scrub the slide rails.
After cleaning the slide, you should use the brush to clean the recoil spring assembly and guide rod.
6. Clean the Frame/Receiver
Grab your toothbrush again, and use it to wipe the frame’s locking block and metal contact points clean. You can use a few drops of your cleaner if the dirt is too much. But after applying it, wipe it dry with a cleaning patch.
Use the toothbrush again to clean gunpowder debris from the frame’s interior. Finally, wipe the connector, trigger bar, ejector, and cruciform with a dry patch. If you’re unfamiliar with these parts, you should check your pistol’s manual; all Glock owners should have it.
7. Give the Gun a Quick Function Check
After cleaning your handgun’s major components, you should make sure it’s still functioning properly. Unfortunately, many people skip this step, but let me warn you that it’s essential for your safety.
First, thoroughly examine your barrel, extractor, and ejector and ensure they don’t have any cracks or carbon deposits. Then, make sure the firing pin and firing pin safety are functioning as they should be by pulling the pin without putting the barrel and recoil spring assembly back in their places
Once you’re sure that your firing pin doesn’t move past the safety, you can go on with the inspection.
The last step is checking the slide stop lever. If you pull it upwards, and it normally snaps into the frame, you can continue your gun cleaning. But if it doesn’t snap, your handgun has an issue, and you should give it to an armorer to check it.
8. Lubricate Your Glock Pistol
Before diving into deep details, I’ll tell you a secret that many people don’t notice. Guns differ from one brand to another. And while some need efficient lubrication, excess oil is never good for a Glock. On the contrary, a thin coat will go a long way, and it won’t affect your pistol’s performance.
Back to our topic, grab a dry patch and put a tiny amount of lubricant on it. Then, put it through the cleaning rod’s slot and pass it through the barrel a few times. Repeat the step with a clean patch to remove the extra oil.
Next, lubricate the slide rails and front using the same technique. The last part that needs lubricating is the connector. You should lubricate it at the juncture where it meets the trigger bar.
You can wipe the recoil spring assembly with a tiny amount of oil while you’re at it, but it doesn’t require lubrication to function well. Finally, don’t use more than a couple of oil drops each time, and wipe the oil dry afterward every single time.
9. Reassemble the Glock and Give it a Final Function Check
Just like you pulled the four main parts of your Glock apart, you should reassemble them. After that, you can give your Glock a final check to ensure everything is okay. You can do this by racking the slide and pressing the trigger a few times, all while keeping the muzzle end facing away from you.
Conclusion
To keep your Glock gun as functional as the day you bought it, you should regularly clean and lubricate it. The steps to do so are pretty easy, and you won’t need more than gun cleaning products and a few tools.
First, you should unload the Glock and disassemble it after reading the owner’s manual. Then, you should clean the barrel, slide, and frame in this order. Finally, lubricate the pistol and ensure that it still functions well before using it.