maintenance, revolver, coltI’ve got ’70s era Colt Detective Special in .38 Special from my grandfather. It’s in good shape and shoots well. After the a range trip, I do a simple, no-disassembly-required cleaning. This is just scrubbing out the short barrel and each of the chambers, wiping off all the surfaces I can get to with some cleaner, then lubricating everywhere I notice metal-on-metal wear.
Should be doing any sort of detail strip and maintenance at least once just as a general checkup? With a semi-auto pistol, I typically do one detail strip to be sure I get grease where I want it. Revolvers are a bit like magic to me, I have little understanding of the various internal parts. Any advice is appreciated.
While I don’t have much experience with the Detective Special or Colt revolvers in general, it is my understanding that most revolvers can be detail stripped by removing the grip and then removing a plate on one side of the gun (a proper hollow-ground flat head screwdriver should be used on both components). I would be very careful in doing so; I don’t know what might be under tension or ready to fly all over the place when you open it up.
I do know that older revolvers may fall out of time to the point where the firing pin misses the primer. At this point, they would probably need gunsmithing to fix.
For regular use, though, it sounds like your cleaning procedure is right on. A rule of thumb I like is: if one part rotates within another, use oil. If two parts slide against one another, use grease.
The manual does not call for a detail strip, but considering its age, I would at least pull the grip and check the spring for rust. If you have concerns beyond that, I’d consider looking for a gunsmith if you’re not comfortable with pulling the plates and or having to reassemble it.
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