shelf life of gun oil and solvents

UpstateGlocker · January 14, 2011, 01:00 PM

My apologies if this has been discussed before, but I never seem to find the right info when searching past threads...

Is there a shelf life to RemOil and other gun oils? Hobbes No 9? I've got a few bottles of cleaning solvents and gun oils sitting around that I never used up and wonder if I should throw them (excuse me, dispose of in a green manner) or if they are still usable after 4-5 years.

**Unclenick** · January 14, 2011, 02:36 PM

Crude oil sits in the ground for many millions of years without going bad, and that's often in heat. So petroleum distillates in general are not prone to spontaneous break-down. The only thing I can think of would be thickening of a refined product that included higher fractions that evaporate easily. If you had a container with an improperly tightened lid, that might happen. A plastic bottle of the wrong kind might be an issue. Polyethylene will soften and start permeating alkenes (paraffins) if you store it at temperatures above about 84°F. That's why polyethylene gas cans and fuel tanks are lined or co-extruded with layers of other plastics to line them. Leaving the lid off is also a bad plan.

Same applies to bore cleaners. They may have some more volatile constituents, such as the acetone in Ed's Red, which is prone to evaporation. Ammonia in copper solvents will outgas into air, too. Use glass containers with good caps and I doubt you'll see an issue with any of them, except maybe No-Lead, which is shipped in two unmixed parts because of a tendency to outgas after mixing.

lashlaroe · January 15, 2011, 09:51 AM

I've used Hoppes 9 that sat unused for over twenty years and it seemed to work as well as ever. A totally un-scientific answer for sure, but true nonetheless.

jaguarxk120 · January 15, 2011, 04:40 PM

20 year old Hoppes should work better than the present offering on the shelf's now.

Peter M. Eick · January 16, 2011, 08:56 AM

Educational side point here....

Unclenick,

As a geologist/geophysicist working for a major oil company I must take issue with your statement that oil sits underground and does not degrade for millions of years.

Actually oil is constantly degrading and fracing down to lighter and lighter products. It occurs all day long every day of the week. It is just not a fast process. Also there are biologics that eat the oil if it gets too shallow in some formations which cause biodegredation of the oil.

There is also a reasonably strong argument that most of the oil is not as old as one would think. Oil is being generated all day long by the same processes that made it in the first place. We are only capturing the accumulations that have occurred in a steady state system.

This is occurring as the source rock is being heated and forced through the oil then later the gas generation window with continued loading of sediments or subsistence. If you take the accumulations that have been captured and then force them though the same windows, the same process will occur and they will frac off to lighter constituents.

Remember, Geology is not "static".

Back to the topic at hand.

Rifleman1776 · January 16, 2011, 09:05 AM

Peter, scientists have a way of taking fun out of things with facts.

But, for the question, no problem. They last and last and last.

**Unclenick** · January 21, 2011, 11:37 AM

Peter,

Interesting post. I take it the new creation argument verses the older carboniferous period plant remain origin idea has been winning, then. I think I heard about it first about a decade ago, but have not followed it.

When you say the process is slow, then, what sort of shelf life are we looking at?

Nick

Peter M. Eick · January 22, 2011, 06:24 PM

The argument has been made that from shale source to oil can be done in under million years but we are not sure by how much. The main issue is how quickly the oil becomes mobile. In peat bogs it can be in the range of 100,000 years or so or at least that is the last I heard on the matter.

The key with geology is to remember it is not a frozen thing. Geologic processes are happening every day at the normal rate and we just don't see them. Thus oil is being generated today, it just happens slowly.

We have one field that has produced now 4 times as much oil as could possible hold in the structure. Obviously a deeper target is perking out the oil filling our shallower reservoir. We have drilled for the deeper target several times and never found it. Finally we concluded that due to a very well connected deep growth fault, we just are getting enough leakage up to keep our reservoir doing fine and nearly full. As long as we don't pull too hard or long it will probably produce forever. Not a lot of oil, just a consistent amount. I know of two examples of this. One in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Indonesia. In both cases they were small fields that have produced more then can possibly hold in the structure.

Now back to the shelf life of cleaning products.

My opinion is if they are not highly volatile, then they should last decades on the shelf.

rc · January 8, 2024, 02:15 PM

I wouldn't worry about 5 year old solvent. The stuff I use when I clean is probably 20 years old. It's not like stale food.

Jim Watson · January 8, 2024, 02:56 PM

I had an old bottle of FP10 that I wanted to transfer to a more convenient needle oiler. Instead of popping out the dropper tip, I just gave the bottle a good squeeze to squirt oil from old bottle to new. On the third squeeze, the old bottle fragmented, dumping oil on the counter and in my shoe. So whatever the service life of the oil might be - and it is still plenty slick - the plastic bottle had degraded.

MarkCO · January 8, 2024, 03:27 PM

Some oils do degrade over short time, most don't. And the word degrade is probably not entirely correct as it relates to the oils themselves, but the usability. If they are a blend with different length polymer strings, they can stratify. Synthetic Motor Oils (according to tests and manufacturer statements) have about a 5 year shelf life, in that they start to degrade after 5 years. But if the bottle is unsealed, that makes the degradation start sooner.

Some greases have a stated shelf life, because they are blends and they will separate over time if not somehow "kept mixed". Some "super-lubes" that are blends will also separate sooner than 5 years, but each component may not necessarily be degraded.

Rem Oil comes "pre-degraded".

But yes, if a lube is more than 5 years old, it has lost some of it's beneficial properties. Maybe not a lot. If you see a milkiness or cloudiness to a lube, that is a good sign it has oxidized and or absorbed water and should not be used. But it was probably degraded some before that became apparent.

Solvents will lose a little of their mass to vaporization every time you open a bottle. Many high powered solvents are found in aerosol cans, and as long as there is propellent, should be fine for decades.

orionengnr · January 8, 2024, 08:23 PM

This thread is 13 years old, and was resting in peace until a new poster (2 posts) decided to resurrect it.
Really?
The thread is already far older than the lube in question....
Please close.

**Mal H** · January 8, 2024, 11:04 PM

"Please close."

Good idea.

Note: The offending post has been deleted and was not by member "rc".

January 14, 2011, 01:00 PM	#1
UpstateGlocker Senior Member Join Date: July 18, 2009 Location: Upstate NY Posts: 104	shelf life of gun oil and solvents My apologies if this has been discussed before, but I never seem to find the right info when searching past threads... Is there a shelf life to RemOil and other gun oils? Hobbes No 9? I've got a few bottles of cleaning solvents and gun oils sitting around that I never used up and wonder if I should throw them (excuse me, dispose of in a green manner) or if they are still usable after 4-5 years.

January 14, 2011, 02:36 PM	#2
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Crude oil sits in the ground for many millions of years without going bad, and that's often in heat. So petroleum distillates in general are not prone to spontaneous break-down. The only thing I can think of would be thickening of a refined product that included higher fractions that evaporate easily. If you had a container with an improperly tightened lid, that might happen. A plastic bottle of the wrong kind might be an issue. Polyethylene will soften and start permeating alkenes (paraffins) if you store it at temperatures above about 84°F. That's why polyethylene gas cans and fuel tanks are lined or co-extruded with layers of other plastics to line them. Leaving the lid off is also a bad plan. Same applies to bore cleaners. They may have some more volatile constituents, such as the acetone in Ed's Red, which is prone to evaporation. Ammonia in copper solvents will outgas into air, too. Use glass containers with good caps and I doubt you'll see an issue with any of them, except maybe No-Lead, which is shipped in two unmixed parts because of a tendency to outgas after mixing. __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle Last edited by Unclenick; January 15, 2011 at 10:10 AM.

January 15, 2011, 09:51 AM	#3
lashlaroe Senior Member Join Date: November 20, 2010 Location: Central Florida Posts: 180	I've used Hoppes 9 that sat unused for over twenty years and it seemed to work as well as ever. A totally un-scientific answer for sure, but true nonetheless. __________________ Mike As much as I believe that there is good in every person, I'm not so naive as to think that all people are essentially good. Evil and evil people exist. Deny that fact at your own risk.

January 16, 2011, 08:56 AM	#5
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	Educational side point here.... Unclenick, As a geologist/geophysicist working for a major oil company I must take issue with your statement that oil sits underground and does not degrade for millions of years. Actually oil is constantly degrading and fracing down to lighter and lighter products. It occurs all day long every day of the week. It is just not a fast process. Also there are biologics that eat the oil if it gets too shallow in some formations which cause biodegredation of the oil. There is also a reasonably strong argument that most of the oil is not as old as one would think. Oil is being generated all day long by the same processes that made it in the first place. We are only capturing the accumulations that have occurred in a steady state system. This is occurring as the source rock is being heated and forced through the oil then later the gas generation window with continued loading of sediments or subsistence. If you take the accumulations that have been captured and then force them though the same windows, the same process will occur and they will frac off to lighter constituents. Remember, Geology is not "static". Back to the topic at hand. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

January 21, 2011, 11:37 AM	#7
Unclenick Staff Join Date: March 4, 2005 Location: Ohio Posts: 21,063	Peter, Interesting post. I take it the new creation argument verses the older carboniferous period plant remain origin idea has been winning, then. I think I heard about it first about a decade ago, but have not followed it. When you say the process is slow, then, what sort of shelf life are we looking at? Nick __________________ Gunsite Orange Hat Family Member CMP Certified GSM Master Instructor NRA Certified Rifle Instructor NRA Benefactor Member and Golden Eagle

January 15, 2011, 04:40 PM	#4
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,620	20 year old Hoppes should work better than the present offering on the shelf's now.

January 16, 2011, 09:05 AM	#6
Rifleman1776 Senior Member Join Date: April 25, 2010 Location: Arkansas Posts: 3,309	Peter, scientists have a way of taking fun out of things with facts. But, for the question, no problem. They last and last and last.

January 22, 2011, 06:24 PM	#8
Peter M. Eick Senior Member Join Date: August 3, 1999 Location: Houston, Texas Posts: 2,991	The argument has been made that from shale source to oil can be done in under million years but we are not sure by how much. The main issue is how quickly the oil becomes mobile. In peat bogs it can be in the range of 100,000 years or so or at least that is the last I heard on the matter. The key with geology is to remember it is not a frozen thing. Geologic processes are happening every day at the normal rate and we just don't see them. Thus oil is being generated today, it just happens slowly. We have one field that has produced now 4 times as much oil as could possible hold in the structure. Obviously a deeper target is perking out the oil filling our shallower reservoir. We have drilled for the deeper target several times and never found it. Finally we concluded that due to a very well connected deep growth fault, we just are getting enough leakage up to keep our reservoir doing fine and nearly full. As long as we don't pull too hard or long it will probably produce forever. Not a lot of oil, just a consistent amount. I know of two examples of this. One in the Gulf of Mexico and one in Indonesia. In both cases they were small fields that have produced more then can possibly hold in the structure. Now back to the shelf life of cleaning products. My opinion is if they are not highly volatile, then they should last decades on the shelf. __________________ 10mm and 357sig, the best things to come along since the 38 super!

January 8, 2024, 02:15 PM	#9
rc Senior Member Join Date: April 28, 2001 Location: CA Posts: 1,767	I wouldn't worry about 5 year old solvent. The stuff I use when I clean is probably 20 years old. It's not like stale food.

January 8, 2024, 02:56 PM	#10
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,542	I had an old bottle of FP10 that I wanted to transfer to a more convenient needle oiler. Instead of popping out the dropper tip, I just gave the bottle a good squeeze to squirt oil from old bottle to new. On the third squeeze, the old bottle fragmented, dumping oil on the counter and in my shoe. So whatever the service life of the oil might be - and it is still plenty slick - the plastic bottle had degraded.

January 8, 2024, 03:27 PM	#11
MarkCO Senior Member Join Date: October 21, 1998 Location: Colorado, USA Posts: 4,308	Some oils do degrade over short time, most don't. And the word degrade is probably not entirely correct as it relates to the oils themselves, but the usability. If they are a blend with different length polymer strings, they can stratify. Synthetic Motor Oils (according to tests and manufacturer statements) have about a 5 year shelf life, in that they start to degrade after 5 years. But if the bottle is unsealed, that makes the degradation start sooner. Some greases have a stated shelf life, because they are blends and they will separate over time if not somehow "kept mixed". Some "super-lubes" that are blends will also separate sooner than 5 years, but each component may not necessarily be degraded. Rem Oil comes "pre-degraded". But yes, if a lube is more than 5 years old, it has lost some of it's beneficial properties. Maybe not a lot. If you see a milkiness or cloudiness to a lube, that is a good sign it has oxidized and or absorbed water and should not be used. But it was probably degraded some before that became apparent. Solvents will lose a little of their mass to vaporization every time you open a bottle. Many high powered solvents are found in aerosol cans, and as long as there is propellent, should be fine for decades. __________________ Good Shooting, MarkCO www.CarbonArms.us

January 8, 2024, 08:23 PM	#12
orionengnr Senior Member Join Date: July 9, 2004 Posts: 5,177	This thread is 13 years old, and was resting in peace until a new poster (2 posts) decided to resurrect it. Really? The thread is already far older than the lube in question.... Please close.

January 8, 2024, 11:04 PM	#13
Mal H Staff Join Date: March 20, 1999 Location: Somewhere in the woods of Northern Virginia Posts: 16,955	"Please close." Good idea. Note: The offending post has been deleted and was not by member "rc".