Reddit reviews 70% Isopropyl Alcohol 32 oz.

As far as "need" goes, that's it. Just make sure the lube is water based and unscented. Gun oil h2o seems to be the favorite around here, but there are cheaper options.

Here are the possibilities along with everything you should know beforehand...

Talc - It's gonna come sticky or get sticky over time. There are two options for getting rid of this. 100% pure talc is one of them and corstarch is the other.

https://www.amazon.com/Silver-Cup-Premium-Talcum-Powder/dp/B07N6MRWNB

ILF used to talc all sleeves until Johnson and Johnson got sued for using contaminated talc that caused ovarian cancer. This is a Johnson and Johnson problem and not a talc problem (hence the reason it's still for sale). Take an old sock and pour some in it. Use a good rubber band to keep it shut and dab the sleeve with it. A little bit of the powder will come out each time and get rid of the sticky. I also do the same thing with the fingers of a cheap clothe glove to do the inside of it. You might not need this as much with a pilot. If you choose to go the cornstarch route, you can do the exact same thing only you have to do it almost every time. Talc is a once every couple months type of thing.

70% Isopropyl alcohol - Basically rubbing alcohol only some have other ingredients in it. You don't want the other ingredients as it may hurt the sleeve.

https://www.amazon.com/70-Isopropyl-Alcohol-32-oz/dp/B0006Q0062

Currently sold out, but you can find it from their own online store. An empty spray bottle to put it in is a good idea too. Be careful if you go with an old one that had cleaner in it because the cleaner may have left a residue in the container that can mix with the alcohol and hurt your sleeve over time. This is for disinfecting once every month or two. Just give the inside a spray and rub all the different little nooks and crannies with it and let it dry. I know somebody who has been using these things for years and never done this, so.......Up to you. I paid 3 bucks for the alcohol and 1.5 for the spray bottle.

The only other real need I can think of is how are you gonna dry it? Anything fibrous leaves lint behind. Especially if you don't talc or cornstarch it. I tape a microfiber cloth for wiping sunglasses and tape it around a chopstick or a piece of a plastic coat hanger in a way that it wraps around it and enables me to push the cloth through and take out any excess water really quickly. Improves dry time immensely and is reusable. With a pilot, ou might not need the stick. Just the microfiber cloth might do the trick.

To let it finish drying, it's best to have it hanging vertically somehow. Taking a wire hanger and bending it in a way that you can slide it on it so it hangs up and down so any excess water can drip out is great and you can hang it in a closet or just about anywhere until it dries. One of the more important things about these is to NOT put it in the closed case while damp or wet. That moisture can lead to mold or mildew that pretty much means you have to toss it. That's also why even though I'm a talc user, I also have cornstarch. If I ever put a sleeve away for an extended period of time, I alcohol it to clean up anything that may be in there and it also makes it dry super fast. I then cornstarch it to absorb any moisture that might build up before next use. If this is your one and only, this is a bit of overkill. You'll probably be using it a lot and hence cleaning it a lot.

In closing, I talc sleeves about once every 6 months or so. They probably get the alcohol treatment once every couple months. You can do without these, but I recommend them. Especially the powder treatment (talc or cornstarch) and making sure it's dry before you put it away is very important. If for some reason you can't find a way to hang it up overnight in a closet, then maybe a small fan to blow it dry.