-I would recommend dental tools for weapons maintenance. They have two little picks with different heads that are perfect for scraping microscopic, unwanted detritus from teeth and WEAPONS. The dental techs have hundreds of these things laying around in little sterile packages... go find you some.

-CLP is not very sexy but it works.

-Outside, bone dry. Inside, "moist." Keep your ejection port closed, keep a mag or a cloth in your mag well and cap your barrel, all the time. These are the entry points for crud in your baby. Keep crap from getting in and you want have to worry about whats coming out.

-Carry two brushes everywhere. A large circular artist's brush to dust of the exterior of your M "whatever," it takes two seconds and saves you soooo much when you do overhaul and a little one, preferably a no joke lens brush with retractable bristles to fleck out the crap from the inner ring of your ACOG (you know what I am talking about). Rags retain the dirt, and are really only feasible in the rear... flip your bristles and your brush is ready to rock rain or shine.