I clean a lot of 1911 pistols. I've tried everything from ultra sonics to letting the guns get so dirty they crust up and the crud flakes off. Actually, that one didn't work well at all! A few years ago, I decided that the easiest and best way to clean pistols was the way I started back in the '70's. A .50 caliber ammo can with the solvent of your liking (I use plain old odor-less mineral spirits from the big box home fix it store) some nitrile rubber gloves and brushes that fit where you're cleaning.
Assuming you brush your teeth, you've got a ready source of simple bristle brushes. I wanted a set of nylon scrub brushes sized to fit the bore I was cleaning and with the bristles sized to do the right kind of scrubbing job for the kind of crud you were trying to get out. Well, I've gone through a bunch of brushes since then and I've finally got what I think is the right combination of brushes to clean up your 1911.
They come in a 6 brush set with nylon bristles and a twisted steel shaft with a loop. I use them as follows from largest to smallest:
Slide barrel bore and locking lugs
Slide spring tunnel, barrel bore
MSH spring bore
Firing pin tunnel and extractor tunnel
Magazine catch spring bore and grip screw bushing bore
Plunger tube bore
