Pardini SP cleaning solvent recommendation, Ammo preference

FYI, when I was shooting  way back, Don recommended RWS Target Rifle. That was for the old 4 piston recoil systems.

Hoppes 9.
Wolf, SK Pistol, Aguila Pistol.

I got my Pardini's mid 2019 and have put about 10,000 rounds through the SP22, initially practised with a stash of very cheap Federal Blue box standard velocity - dirty, not very accurate, regular misfires. When I'd finished that I bought a stash of Aguila Super Extra (which is standard velocity), dead reliable, quite accurate, waxy bullets, relatively clean, but quite smokey. Based on reports from others on this forum I'm considering to switch to GECO Semi-Auto as a practise round next.

Last year I used Eley Target for matches and had no problems, but I know that it might be unreliable in cooler weather, so I bought a case of Lapua Pistol King and have been using that for matches during the past month (all indoors). It is very clean, minimal lubrication on the bullets, nice. I've not done any testing on a rest and everything is at 50 feet currently, but all shots have been on call - it is me that misses!

I'm also now thinking that I'm over-cleaning the SP22, but, on the other hand, it was proven to me a week ago that I'm not cleaning my 45 wad gun thoroughly enough! Grrr.... Just can't win that game!

I know I am going to get killed here but I swear by CRC Red Can brake clean! Works better than anything I have ever tried! I use almost a whole can on the lower and barrel and rinse off with hot water. After hand towel drying I take q tips and try to find some carbon residue. Most of the time the head of a tips stays completely white! After I am done I put Lucas gun oil on a rag and coat the whole pistol. I use Penn reel grease and apply with a tooth pick. 

Laugh if you want to but my Pistol looks brand new and you can not find a post where I have ever mentioned an alibi or malfunction ever!

James Hensler wrote:I know I am going to get killed here but I swear by CRC Red Can brake clean! Works better than anything I have ever tried! I use almost a whole can on the lower and barrel and rinse off with hot water. After hand towel drying I take q tips and try to find some carbon residue. Most of the time the head of a tips stays completely white! After I am done I put Lucas gun oil on a rag and coat the whole pistol. I use Penn reel grease and apply with a tooth pick. 

Laugh if you want to but my Pistol looks brand new and you can not find a post where I have ever mentioned an alibi or malfunction ever!

Clearly a former Marine method of cleaning!  I once saw a M-16 melt in a dishwasher!!!  

Imagine trying to get an armory to take it back!

James swears by CRC Red Can brake clean.

Well, no doubt I will also get killed for my choice too:-

I've struggled to find a "relatively low odour" method that I can use the night before a match when I'm typically in a motel (my home is far away from any match venues on the west coast). Recently I've settled on the foaming Hoppe's that comes in a can with the long application tube, then soft scrubbing with a tooth brush and a narrow soft bristle armorers brush on the slide, frame and breech. Dig out any hardened residue from any nooks and crannies with a fine chisel tooth nylon probe. But then I'm left with a grimy residue all over. I've found that WD40 in the can with the easy nozzle works very well as a flushing medium. I keep a pair of shallow Dollar Store Aluminum cookie trays in my tool box and use them to catch all of the liquid/debris, then wipe off the gun parts with kitchen towel and use those to soak up the liquid and clean the trays. Dump those rags in a plastic bag and knot it - in the garbage can in the bathroom! Finally a light spray with Rem Oil and I'm good to go.

I've read several different opinions here about cleaning the bore. The most convenient for me is a bore snake after I've injected some Hoppe's foam through the bore. Then a light scrub with the bent brush for the chamber. Am I over-doing it? Not sure, but I'm currently putting about 1,000 rounds through it between cleanings so it does get quite dirty. 

If anyone has a strong opinion against any of this I'd appreciate hearing it.

I see nothing wrong and it’s working so it it was going to hurt something I think it would have by now.

My fear would be any tiny rubber parts that might eventually degrade..  i.e the little ball in the pardini trigger!  Is it not rubber?  The buffer?  Just guessing here

Yes I can see rubber degrade if it was Submerged in solvent for a long time. Brake clean and if solvents used in the Auto industry are not corrosive and are routinely used on rubber

Interesting comments about rubber components - I knew about the buffer, but not the rubber ball.

Anyhow, FWIW,  I took a look at the WD-40 technical spec and found this information:-

Surface Compatibility
For all variations : WD-40 demonstrates none to negligible deleterious effect to
plastic, rubber, and metal hard surfaces. This includes Acetal, neoprene/hard
rubber, HDPE, PPS Copolymer Polysulfone, Teflon, Viton, steel, galvanized steel
hot dip, electroplated, copper, brass, magnesium, nickel, tin plate, titanium, and
zinc.

Surface Cautions
Nearly all surfaces interact with WD-40 as they would any high grade aliphatic petroleum spirit. Certain types of rubber will swell upon prolonged immersion. Wax polishes and certain wax coatings may be softened by WD40. Clear polycarbonate and polystyrene may stress craze or crack. Always test surfaces first.

I use Ed's Red to clean the bore every 500-600 rounds. I apply brownell's special action lube(a moly grease) using a toothpick to the sear as described on the Pardini web site every 5K rounds. Alex at Pardini told me not to flush the lower with any solvents unless you or Pardini USA does a relube of the lower. I get the impression that they drive out the frame pins for the hammer and sear to lube up the pin bores of the hammer and sear and sides of the hammer and sear with a small amount of light oil. He says he uses compressed air to blow debris out of the slide channel etc. in lieu of a solvent flush of the lower. I did a relube this way with after about 10K rounds and doing a flush of the lower with mineral spirits. 

I also run a 12 gauge patch  wet with Ed's Red solvent on a 45 caliber nylon brush to clean out the excess lube and powder residue in the frame bolt channel when I clean the bore. I lube all moving parts except the sear (greased as described above) with Mobil 1 10W-30W synthetic motor oil. 

I run CCI SV, SK Jagd and SK pistol in mine. I have 15K rounds of CCI SV through mine in 1.5 years and the alibi count is very low, maybe one every 1K rounds.

The Eds Red recipie is widely published on the internet. I mix it one gallon at a time and it lasts for about 5 years. It works great on all my firearms. The Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil is way cheaper than buying any special gun oils in small bottles.