New Lubricating Oil Suggestion

[Dragline45]

I don't go crazy over gun oil as I find one usually works just as good as the other, that is except Rem Oil. Rem Oil I still use for cleaning because even if any gets left behind it is still a lubricant, but it is not the best choice for lubrication. I did find Hoppe's Elite gun oil tends to stay the longest inbetween applications but it's damn pricey for gun oil. These day's though I have switched over to a moly based grease and use Brownell's Action Lube Plus. I use grease on the frame and slide rails as well as any other metal on metal contact points and have found it significantly reduces wear compared to just using oil. The grease also stays put and does not run or dry up like oil. I still use oil for the sear's and action since grease is just too messy for this application, I also use oil on the outside of the gun for corrosion resistance.

[gwpercle]

A couple years ago I bought a small bottle of the Hoppe's Elite Gun Oil simply because I liked the little dispenser bottle it came in . Had a flip top dispenser that could apply a drop and then close very easily. And it said "low Odor". I have bought more since then , it's a good slippery oil, stays put , doesn't gum and harden and doesn't stink to high heaven. I just threw away a can of spray-lube because it smelled so bad I couldn't stand to have the lubed gun on the night stand ( it was in a zippered rug)! Threw the rag away I wiped the gun down with.
Anyway, I have used Hoppe's Elite , it works well , has a low odor and I like the stuff, try it.

Gary

[BLKOUTMky]

In case you are looking for an alternative to oils and petroleum based products, I might suggest FrogLube CLP.

I made the switch a year ago and will not go back to any oil/petroleum based products again unless it is absolutely necessary.

I have come up with my own application process which involves the following:

1. Use FrogLube Solvent to clean all products (not necessary)

2. Apply generous amount of FL CLP to all metal parts to be lubricated

3. Place items in an oven set @ 150 to 225 degrees F for 15 to 30 minutes

4. Once surfaces appear to be sweating, I remove the parts and allow to cool until they are safe to handle but still very warm

5. Wipe excess CLP from all surfaces (run off should be brownish color from mixing with old oils)

Using this method, FrogLube will be absorbed into the metal surface (or any finish on the metal) and will appear smooth rather than oily or slick.

During use, as the parts heat up some of the CLP may liquify and give the parts a wet look.

I have found that using FL CLP allows my AR's and other guns to operate more like they have dry lube applied to prevent the capture of unwanted dust or dirt but still maintain great lubrication.

Removal of carbon and other build up is usually pretty easy, if there are any stubborn spots you can either scrape it off or soak it in more CLP and apply heat (recommend baking again for 5 to 10 min).

Most powder residue and grime simply wipes off with little or no effort and reapplication of the CLP is not always necessary. I only do the application process listed above 2 times then repeat every other use.

Yes this product is pricey, but with less need to reapply after every use it actually lasts a lot longer.

Nice thing is no chemical fumes, concerns over reacting with other materials (some plastics can dissolve) or concerns over flash burns if used near heat sources .... as well as other health and safety concerns.

Works even better on NiB, NP3 and other coatings ... just use caution when handling, they become extra hard to hold onto.

[George Hill]

Froglube can become sticky after sitting unused in the gun after awhile. I'm not impressed with it.

The best lubricant I've used: Slipstream STYX.

It's not a Cleaner. So don't use it as such. But it is the best Lubricant and this version of Slipstream Lubricant is also a Protectant... while some how being slicker than the regular Slipstream.
Also, the more you use it, the less you need to... and you'll get to the point that you don't need to use any at all. It become a permanent treatment.

[Rifleman1776]

Be careful about WD 40. It's sold as a water-displacing fluid, not a lubricant

Wrong.
Wrong as can be.
First description on can says "lubricates".
Fourth use mentioned is water displacing.
The inventor told me personally it is a lubricant that also displaces moisture. It was designed to lubricate very high voltage switches located in a high humidity environment.
I use it for guns and many other things.
I also use CLP Break-Free and Ballistol.

[George Hill]

WD40 still sucks though.

[jimbob86]

I'm not over-lubricating I'm simply using one drop of oil on the 7 spots recommended by the manufacturer.

Use smaller drops.

I won some Nano-Oil on here awhile back ...... a little of that stuff goes a


looooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooong way.

[Garycw]

Originally Posted by George Hill

WD40 still sucks though.

It works great for starting fluid in lawn mowers and to kill wasp nests.

Anyone's that's used eezox will tell you how well it works. I kind of gotten used to and like the smell!

[campbed]

For me as a newb ...

GREASE:
current - Mobil 1 Synthetic http://www.amazon.com/Mobil-Syntheti...mobil+1+grease ($9.99 - lifetime supply)
experimenting - Lubriplate http://www.midwayusa.com/product/379...la=ProductDesc ($11.99 - lifetime supply)
retired - TW25B, Ballistol(yea I know...)
OIL:
current - Ballistol
experimenting - Lubriplate FMO 350 http://store.rsci.com/fmo-350-aw-oil-spray.html ($11.99)
retired - none
CLEANER:
current - Ballistol
experimenting - M-Pro 7 http://www.amazon.com/M-Pro-Cleaner-...+7+Gun+Cleaner
retired - none

[pete2]

I know that supposedly a drop is a drop but I use oil bottles from Brownells that have a needle on them and the drops are a lot smaller than anything else I've found. I use Breakfree CLP but there are a lot of other good oils. I use a mixture of Marvel Mystery oil and solvent on the top bullet in the mag. on my .22 target pistol and it helps it to get thru a match without a malfunction.

[George Hill]

Love MPRO-7 Cleaner. That's all I use anymore - for the last 5 years I guess.

[ClydeFrog]

If you are interested, IGG offers a free 2 fl oz sample, .
See; www.ItalianGunGrease.com . The T&E video is impressive but I take it with a grain of salt. Infomercial style demos can show nearly anything.

Clyde
PS; note, Im not a owner, employee, partner or share-holder of IGG.

[Unclenick]

Originally Posted by Rifleman1776

The inventor told me personally it is a lubricant that also displaces moisture. It was designed to lubricate very high voltage switches located in a high humidity environment.

That's strange. The company's own history says it was invented at the Rocket Chemical Company in 1953 and was first used to protect Atlas missile skins from rust. No mention of high voltage switches or lubrication. It would surprise me to learn it was used in high voltage switches because those big switches draw an arc when they open that has to be extinguished. Unless it's an inert gas or CO2 extinguished type, an arc could vaporize and ignite WD-40 causing an explosion (though some use a controlled hydrogen explosion to blow out arcs). If you look at the foreign MSDS sheets for WD-40, which require revealing the content in greater detail than U.S. MSDS sheets do, you find the primary constituents are:

C9-C11, n-alkanes, isoalkanes, cycloalkanes, <2% aromatics

In other words, a form of kerosene. It's more refined, which is why the odor isn't so strong, but that's basically what's in it. Regular kerosene is mainly dodecane (C12H26) size molecules instead of being centered around decane (C10H22) as WD-40 is. But like any kerosene it will have some lubricating ability, but will have poor high pressure film strength. I don't know what the rust inhibitive element is, but it's a small percentage of the whole, which mostly evaporates. After it's dried for a time, the protective stuff is tacky and attracts dust. It could lubricated some, too, but it's not slippery enough feeling to be great at it.

As an example, a friend of mine I used to do machine tool repair work with when engineering was slow, found a place in south Columbus that needed some repairs. While he was there he saw they were sending a 3-axis machine out for rebuild because of worn ways, and the fellow commented they had to do that every 6 months or so. Well, that's pretty odd. So my friend asked what they were lubricating with, and the fellow proudly told him they sprayed everything down with WD-40 every morning to free it up before starting operation and how great that worked. So, my friend talked them into trying some Mobil Vactra 2 or similar way oil instead. He was back there again a couple of years later and in all that time they hadn't worn out or had to send a single machine back for rebuild. And, they no longer had to free anything up in the morning.

You want to pick your WD-40 apps carefully.


There are a number of good lubes out there. You need to decide what you want them to do and how you want to use them. Gunzilla CLP, if used for cleaning after each shooting session and wiped off with a dry rag will leave a thin lubricating film behind that does not get sticky and attract dust or lint, as dried WD-40 does. They claim they sold a lot to the military in Iraq, and it reduced M4 stoppages 75%. If you clean regularly, it's a good product in that regard. I don't know how well the lube film holds up if you don't get to clean regularly, though, or if you let the carbon age and harden over it, but the military application in Iraq seems like a pretty good test.

I've mainly been using Machine Gunner's Lube from Sprinco's pro line. It contains a NASA patent lube that bonds to the metal surface (as a number of lubes, like MotorKote, do) but it also has a colloidal suspension of micronized, acid-neutralize molybdenum disulfide that gets into and stays in surface imperfections and keeps working even when the main lube film is diminished, so it's a good wear preventive.

I understand from Hummer90 that the Mobil 1 mentioned earlier is used for everything by the AMU now, so it's a good, inexpensive recommendation. Synthetics have an advantage in a bore in that their higher combustion temperatures makes them less prone to burning off and leaving carbon behind. At chamber temperatures a full synthetic is actually going to be best of all to avoid carbon packing of surface imperfections.

Recently, in miscellaneous home and shop applications I've been using a plastic-safe vegetable-based lube sold in two forms (liquid spray and white lithium grease) at Lowe's called Ultra-Lube. It claims 4× better lubrication than other products, and I have to say it does feel that slippery and works extremely well. It also bonds to metal and has a higher combustion temperature than petroleum lubes, so it seems like a good gun lube candidate and will be getting some experimental time out of me. The video at that link shows it tested against WD-40, silicone lube, teflon lube, and a thing synthetic lube.

You can also apply some permanent dry lubrication. A S&W armorer's school technique is to make up a slurry of JB Bore Compound and well-shaken (to get the Teflon in suspension) Break-Free CLP. This is put in the action of a revolver and it is operated until smooth. The Teflon embeds as the JB polishes the surface and the result is what has been described as the "buttery smooth" feel of S&W custom shop actions. I've subsequently played with a variation on this theme. I mixed JB with a little line of TW-25B out of the dispenser syringe to get a higher fluoropolymer concentration, then added a honing oil to thin the consistency to a slurry. I've used this to make some Lee Collet Dies operate more smoothly, and it worked a treat. I'll probably use it on a 1911 next, but I will wait until I next need to tighten one up. The Machine Gunner's Lube is doing fine and I've got a quantity to use up.