Gun oils

[guitar1580]

Since the 1960's, I've used Hoppes 9 gun oil to lube my guns. I recently picked up a bottle of Rem oil. I notice that the Rem seems to be a lighter viscosity, more watery than the Hoppes. I'm guessing that the lighter oil has less chance of gumming up, although I've never had problems with the Hoppes.

Also, I'm wondering if WD 40 can be used on guns. I spray it liberally on my knife hinges after sharpening to flush out the grit, dirt, etc, and then lube with oil. I thought maybe this method could be used to flush out the hammer / trigger area of a revolver, prior to lubing, but am apprehensive about using WD40 on a gun. Any thoughts?

Josh P

[oneounceload]

WD-40 is a Water Displacement product, not really a lubricant. RemOil has Teflon in it to act as a lubricant. I still have Hoppe's gun oil that I use; however I also picked up some Remoil to try. WD-40 will leave a "varnish" type residue after repeated use.

I use, among other things, basic carb/brake cleaner (NOT for plastic or wood),as it evaporates quickly and cleanly

[bangbangshootshoot]

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/...&highlight=oil

[guitar1580]

Thx for the link, Bang. As I suspected, many opinions on lubes. I will stay away from WD40 for sure, and will continue to use my Rem Oil and Hoppes. The CLP sounds worth checking into.

Oneounce, I know the brake cleaner you mention. We used it in the coal mines as degreaser, because it doesnt burn or ignite in explosion proof areas. Same smell, and evaporates fast, and eats any kind of oil or grease ... but you definitely have to lube well after, and do not want to get it near any wood, finish, or plastic parts. I'd use gun solvent before that stuff, except for major grease removal.

Thx for the suggestions.

JP

[Shane Tuttle]

Any thoughts?

Yep. Use the search function located in the toolbar by typing in "WD40" and get ready to do some reading. Let's just say it's been covered a time or two...

[BillCA]

Stick with a gun oil like Hoppe's and you'll be fine. Let's face it, the moving parts of a firearm don't put the kind of heavy duty shear forces on oil that an engine does. Nor do guns heat up like automotive engines (200 + for hours).

On firearms there are two uses for oil. First is lubrication of moving parts. Second is to prevent corrosion. Use oil to lubricate action parts, springs and the like.

For corrosion resistance, there are specialty products like Corrosion-X, Boeshield, etc. that leave a dry film to protect the metal. And there's also plain Johnson Wax (or any good all carnuba wax) that will protect the exterior metal.

Or, you can just use oil.

I avoid oils with Teflon & silicone as they tend to get onto the grips eventually. Spray oils might be best for the end of a rainy day (range or hunt), especially if they displace water.

WD-40 and 3-in-1 oil are both known to leave gummy residue behind after they evaporate. This varnish is easily cleaned with carb-cleaner or a similar degreasing agent.

Gunsmith and expert J-frame artist Grant Cunningham recommends using Dexron ATF to lubricate a handgun's action. Yes, transmission fluid. It's cheap, it's thin enough to creep into tight areas that need lubrication, it doesn't gum/varnish up and it keeps things clean generally speaking. I have one J-Frame so lubricated as a test and it does seem to be just a tad slicker with ATF.

[RickE]

How about Breakfree?

[Mike Irwin]

We've had dozens, if not hundreds, of discussions about gun oils in general and WD-40 specifically.

The search button will help you find many of them.

[45Gunner]

I used Hoppes back when I was a kid, probably before most of you on this Forum were born. No, no, no....don't tell me how old you are, you old guys.

Over the past year or so, I have tried several of the new products that make claims of being a super lubricant and blah, blah, blah. I keep coming back to Hoppes. It works. It does what its supposed to do and I can coat my gun with it before it goes into the safe until the next outing.

My carry gun (Kimber Stainless Pro Carry) gets wiped down at the end of every day, gets a very light coat of Hoppes (which is also on my nightstand) and then gets lightly rubbed in. This gun is over 10 years old and has not given me one problem or malfunction.

[sewerman]

i clean with hoppe's #9

i oil with 10w30 synthetic motor oil.

works great on bolt guns, semi-auto and hand guns.

1 quart for $2.50 and it last a long time.


sewerman

[guitar1580]

I don't that I would mix synthetic and standard oils. Not that guns have friction compared to an engine or anything, but I'd pick one or the other, and stay with it. Just my 2 cents.

JP

[Stumper]

Guitar, FWIW,while not ALL products are compatible, in the realm of motor oils, synthetic and conventional oils are completely compatible. (Furthermore, the dirty little secret is that most of the "synthetic" oils ....ain't. They are specially processed petroleum oils that attain the performance parameters of certain synthetic esters. There was a big lawsuit long ago......(Castrol and Mobil were duking it out IIRC) The courts said it was okay to sell modified petroleum based oils as synthetic if they did the same thing as fully sythesized products. Since tweaking petroleum oils proved cheaper than fully synthesizing, many manufacturers go that route.)

[guitar1580]

Thx Stump, interesting info., so the pet. based synthetic like oil seems that it is kinda in between, making a grey area.

Seems I've read before that, for the purposes of a car engine, that true synthetic does not mix well with pet. based, and that they should not be mixed or intermingled. I'm sure for the purpose of gun lube, it wouldn't matter alot.

I guess it's just my personal preference to clean with solvent, followed up by one type / brand of oil.

JP

[Swampghost]

Hoppe's #9 and some lightweight oil has been working for me in a saltwater/high-humidity enviroment for decades. I do actively embrace new products and am giving RemOil a shot now, I'm also monitoring it closely.