This may be an incredibly stupid question but...
 

Has anyone ever used CLR cleaner on their gun? Obviously metal pieces such as rusting screws and very dirty externals? I understand you would need to do a hefty oiling of the gun afterward but would CLR chew up your gun and slowly eat it away?

Cheers
-Brett

PS im already wearing my rain jacket on this one just in case.

If it contains petroleum at all, it's not good to use on internals because it will eat rubber seals etc.

If i used it on screws that are beginning to oxidize would it even after cleaning still transfer over to the gun when putting them back in?

Cheers
-Brett

CLR doesn't contain petroleum. What it does contain are various acids (citric and lactic, I believe) used to break down stains (lime, rust, etc.). If you're screws are oxidizing, it should be OK to soak them. For any other metal parts, I would think you should strip them of all plastic, rubber & silicon parts before soaking.

Soaked parts should be scrubbed to remove any rust (wear glove - the stuff is corrosive), then rinsed in hot water to remove acid residue. Preheat your oven to about 200-250 degF, place metal parts on a cooking sheet, and place in oven for about 3-5 minutes to rapidly dry the parts. Coat with silicon oil and wipe down.

Or, if you know the screw size & pitch, get new screws from the hardware store.

If you're paranoid, test with some scrap plastic or out of sight location on the gun (e.g., inside surface of your stock) before going whole hog.

Do NOT get CLR on anything made of aluminum!!! It oxidizes aluminum badly and can cause pitting and severe damage to anything on your gun made of aluminum. Saw a gent destroy a $500 set of carbs from a motorcycle because someone told him to use CLR to clean them. This guy was advised against it, but chose not to listen. If you are just going to put steel screws in it you should be ok, just do not get it near a receiver or your mechbox.

or you could just not clean your gun, looks cool when it's dirty

i second frank....nothing like a dirty weathered ar or ak.....

Or just remove the screws, shoot em with WD40, wait 30 seconds, wipe them off, let them dry for 10 mins and put them back on. You really don't need CLR.