I just use an old T-Shirt.

 

not for your hands- he meant for the gun.

 

A member, I don't recall who, sent me a link to a nice Lyman gun cleaning mat in another thread, shown here
The Essential Gun Maintenance Mat| Gun Cleaning Tools

It seems to be a fine mat. I decided to see if Lyman made one a little larger to better ensure I don't get bore solvent on my table tops. Indeed it makes a little, larger, nicer mat it calls Armorers mat. It's only two bucks more than the small mat above.
The Essential Armorer's Mat

This mat looks very suitable for those of us who clean our guns at the kitchen, dining or at our coffee tables!

The Lyman mats are the best I’ve used but the smaller one is a tad small.

 

A member, I don't recall who, sent me a link to a nice Lyman gun cleaning mat in another thread, shown here
The Essential Gun Maintenance Mat| Gun Cleaning Tools

Yes, I use the standard mat and like it.

I really only own it because I happened to see it in the local gun store as I was doing some window shopping. I'd seen them as Lyman's and in various ads in magazines and on line, so I was previously aware of the product and was pleased to see it locally. I can't say I may not have bought the Armorers Mat if it was there, the cost wouldn't have been an obstacle, but the standard mat has been great.

I don't put many tools on the mat, just the gun, and use the compartments for the disassembled gun parts like the mag, barrel, slide, spring, bushing, grip panels, and screws, to keep them in place so they don't roll away. In this role it works well for me.

 

Before buying the Lyman mat, I just used newspapers. It's good I have the Lyman mat, for a couple of years now, since I recently stopped my subscription to the newspaper in the past couple of months. I got a lot of use out of old newspapers, and I probably miss those uses more than actually reading the paper at this point.

 

It seems as if most of the folks on forums use a mat like this

TEK MAT TEKMAT PISTOL GUN CLEANING MATS

Check out TEK MAT TEKMAT PISTOL GUN CLEANING MATS available Online at Brownells Today and many more Bench Mats products are available in our Tools & Cleaning Department.

www.brownells.com

the foam, mouse pad type mat. I like the texture of the Lyman mat better, and I like the Lyman mat has the sections and the rim to keep everything in place.

 

I use the mouse pad material one from Avid and the chemicals eventually eat through them.I going to have try the Lyman ones.Thanks guys.

 

Universal Gun Cleaning Mat for 1911 w/ Parts List View 17"x11" Gunsmithing Pad | eBay

Get a large magnetic dry-erase board to put under it.

They come in various sizes and large ones can be cut.

17x12 Blank Magnetic Dry Erase Board for Fridge Planner Refrigerator White board | eBay

 

The Tek mats are kind of cool with all the gun parts illustrated, but I think the Lyman's win due to having recessed areas.

 

I have a mat but I use those blue paper shop towels on top of it. I get them at the Ware house club.

 

I have a mat but I use those blue paper shop towels on top of it.

Ditto. I lay shop towels down and they absorb most of the oil that doesn’t go where my poor eyesight intended.

If I use spray lube and don’t feel like standing in the garage to clean, I scrub the parts in a drain pan with the mat on top of the battle table.

The BattleCat was always drawn to the battle table.

 

I just use an old bath towel. Once they get too dirty I throw them away.

 

A 1911 guy of your caliber should be using a proper, good quality gun mat! Save the old bath towels to use for general house and car cleaning.

 

I haven't looked but I wonder if Weather Tech has one like a car mat. Just thinking out loud!

 

Good idea! I would bet they would make what you would spec. Give ‘em a call.

 

Thor® Gun Mat | TH1200 | ThorBullets.com

Thor® Gun Maintenance Mat - TH1200 - Firm & Cushioned Surface Perfect for Assembling and Disassembling Firearms. Keep your gun parts and tools organized and easy to find with the Thor Gun Mat.

thorbullets.com

I have one of these that I bought from Walmart.com for like 12 bucks.

 

My cleaning mat is a piece of cardboard (plenty of supply, based upon my purchasing habits), with a cotton cleaning cloth on top. When I'm done, I wash the cloth and grab another one. They're cheap...

 

I have one from Hogue, the pistol grip people. It works well & has lots of deep grooves to catch liquids & dropped small parts.

Hogue Grips Gunsmith Mat

Our Hogue gunsmith mat is made from 100% recycled material left over from our rubber OverMolded® grip and stock manufacturing process. Colors may vary depending on available inventory. Dimensions: 13 3/4" x 10"

www.hogueinc.com

 

Those would be a perfect size for the target range, or for the bench top where you just had to set a gun down.

-

 

A member, I don't recall who, sent me a link to a nice Lyman gun cleaning mat in another thread, shown here
The Essential Gun Maintenance Mat| Gun Cleaning Tools

It seems to be a fine mat. I decided to see if Lyman made one a little larger to better ensure I don't get bore solvent on my table tops. Indeed it makes a little, larger, nicer mat it calls Armorers mat. It's only two bucks more than the small mat above.
The Essential Armorer's Mat

This mat looks very suitable for those of us who clean our guns at the kitchen, dining or at our coffee tables!

I have the smaller Lyman mat. They are nice mats.

I use it mostly for working on the gun, and so just use it to hold all the parts organized. Tools and fixtures set on the bench top.

The larger mat would be better for general cleaning. I should get one. I have been doing most all my field cleaning while at the range.

-

 

Megafiddle,

I finally ordered the Lyman armorers mat from Midway. I want the added protection of its large size.

I now have to close my wallet for a couple of months, as I've been spending money like a maniac for at least three months!

 

Are the Lyman mats made in the US or somewhere else?

 

I didn't notice where they are made. If you're like me, you probably avoid products made in Chia when possible.

Here are the links: Cleaning mat, The Essential Gun Maintenance Mat| Gun Cleaning Tools

Armorers mat, The Essential Armorer's Mat

 

I use the free Trading Post newspaper that comes each week.

 

I have a couple mats like that.
A couple of the rubber, printed design ones as well.

My preference is a lint free towel like they use for car detailing

 

I used to use unused discarded opened surgical drapes for all kinds of jobs like this. Smaller ones were good for covering small area for like gun cleaning. Large ones were good for doing major work on cars, oil changes, brake jobs, anything that could get messy. They are heavy duty and absorbent.

 

I've had that smaller Lyman cleaning mat for several years now. I like the places for keeping files, parts, etc., works well for that. Only negative has been the mat has started curling up at the edge closest to me after a few years, probably from repeated Hoppes exposure. I wipe the excess off after use, which is easy with the rubber like material it is made of. In any event, it is still very usable and my main handgun teardown/cleaning mat.

 

I didn't say I couldn't afford it. I only said that $24 could be put towards another gun instead.

 

Yoga mat huge and cheap

 

Awesome. Clean your guns and get some exercise in at the same time.

Come to think of it, I probably could've used a yoga mat the last time I tried to reassemble a Colt Pocket Hammerless. Or better yet a mat from a game of Twister.

 

Been using these Lyman mats for years. Durable, great for organization and nothing rolls off of them. Every now and then I throw it in the sink with soap and water and it cleans right up. They make a longer version for rifles/shotguns as well.

 

I have a couple of carpet samples I use for cleaning guns. They come in a couple different sizes and some stores will give them to you other may charge a few bucks but they’re cheaper than “Official” gun cleaning mats.

 

I don't get the gun cleaning mat deal. I've never had a gun cleaning session where parts and Hoppe's was flying all over the place.

 

I'm not generally worried about that either, if I'm just doing simple cleaning. But for more extensive cleaning, tear-downs or parts replacement projects, it definitely comes in handy.

 

My wife was tossing an old bath / shower mat. A small thick towel for the floor. Its been my cleaning mat for the past 20 years. For gun parts I use a metal tray. Its from an old toaster oven, a drip tray.

 

Ha-ha, that's a pretty decent setup. I definitely see the value of the toaster oven tray.

I have the Lyman Armorers mat on the way!