Ok, after talking to the gentleman about not taking down his 66 to clen it asked me to post one further question:

Can he use break free in the gun and not ruin the stock? Better yet, what can he use to clean the action out and not harm the stock?

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"Laws are like sausages, it's better not to see either being made"--Otto Von Bismark

When in doubt, do a nuclear strike.

I never recommend WD-40 for anything hat has more then one moving part....however-

Saturate the every moving part you can see. Work the action vigorously. Get several fired rounds and insert them in the chamber and 'fire' it. (this gets the oil into firing-pin slot.) When everything feels really loose, put it in hot soapy water and do the same thing.

Repeat this till it's clean enough to suit you. High pressure air helps a lot for drying.

Varsol is the best bet. A dry silicone as a protectant and lube is ok but try to avoid any oils as they just cause the action to gum up.
As I mentioned you can remove the breech cover. This is easily done by pulling the operating handle out and then removing the two screws at the lower edge of the cover front and rear. The cover then lifts straight up. The ejector is located on the left side and is easily identified and removed (this is better than having it fall out and then not knowing where it went!). At this point I would recommend simply washing the action area with varsol and a brush, carefully, and allowing it to drip dry. Blowing it off with and air hose is not a bad idea sometimes but there is always the chance of blowing a pin out or something so think about it. Removal of the barrel and breech block is not too complicated but I'm not going to tell you how anyway because I might leave something out and get you in trouble. I don't want to spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder! regards, Bill.

Bill,

I haven't heard of Varsol, what is it and do you use it a lot?

Varsol is available at any oil product supply depot. Usually used as a cleaner, works great to remove grease. oil, etc. It is considered toxic (it causes cancer if you bathe in it and drink it and live in it, poor rats) so use it in a well ventilated area. Another product we have here in oil country is a chemical mix called rig wash. This works well also. I don't remember the chemical make-up of either of these products, but could probably find out if anyone is interested. - dan

Curtis: If he takes it apart at al, make sure he identifies the ejector. Lots of guys take them apart turn it upside down, the ejector falls on the carpet and it gets put together without it.

Varsol is Light Petroleum Naptha. All Canadians have easy access to it, but I've never seen it in the store in the USA labeled as Varsol. Mineral Spirits will do about the same thing.

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JD

My X-father in law ran a small butcher shop out in California. He used a Nylon 66 semi auto to kill the pigs. One day it quit working. He brought it to my house and asked if I could take it to a gunsmith to have it "fixed". I saw the rifle hanging on the wall of his slaughter house many times when I stopped by to visit with him. I asked him a few questions about the rifle. Turns out he bough it new, took it to the slaughterhouse, hung it up and used it for 13 years. Never a cleaning. I took it apart, gave it a good cleaning, hauled it back and it was still functioning when his daughter and I stopped functioning.