Resizing wax as gun grease

[tangolima]

Tried Imperial resizing wax for full length resizing. Quite impressed by its lubricity.

Just a funky thought. How about using as gun grease? Say between sear and full cock notch in a 1911?

Your comments are much appreciated. Thanks.

-TL

[Sevens]

I suppose my knee-jerk reaction to that suggestion would be something on the order of, "well, given the price of Imperial and the size of the container, what are you hoping it will accomplish better than whatever you're currently using?" (at what seems like a radically increased cost?)

I might further ask why anyone would put a lubricant in that very specific place on a handgun? Serious question... is this something that people do? Are you doing a detail tear-down on a 1911 to lube that spot? How often?

I shoot 'em and don't wrench on 'em much and admit that I don't chase down a lot of discussion in that area. Are folks genuinely putting a lubricant (of any sort?) on a hammer/sear engagement surface?

[tangolima]

I do that all the time. When I clean a gun I lube it too. 1911 is probably not a very good example as I do need to strip it down to lube the sear, unlike the other designs. I tried different grease. Currently the one that works the best is poly-graphite grease for car repairs.

Interested in trying resizing wax not because of cost but its lubricity.

-TL

[Bart B.]

When I shot bullseye pistol, the 'smiths building M1911 soft and hard ball ones said never lube the sear - hammer engagement surfaces. All that does is make a place for dust to stick and make the trigger feedback change and not feel the same all the time.

Same for precision match rifle triggers; shoot 'em dry.

[tangolima]

I am afraid I have to disagree to that.
-TL

[Bart B.]

TL, don't be afraid. Disagree by free choice. Many others do.

Meanwhile, contact all the makers of the best triggers to let them know you disagree with them, too.

[Slamfire]

As the manufacturer is they recommend Imperial Sizing Wax for that application. I have no doubt, they would recommend that it not be used.

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by Bart B.

TL, don't be afraid. Disagree by free choice. Many others do.

Meanwhile, contact all the makers of the best triggers to let them know you disagree with them, too.

That's why I'm afraid. But I thank you for your comment.

-TL

[cw308]

I have only used liter fluid to flush out my trigger assemblys when needed & thats it.

[tangolima]

OK, my bad to start the discussion with trigger and sear, which is controversial. How about focusing on using the wax as gun grease?

-TL

[tangolima]

Originally Posted by Slamfire

As the manufacturer is they recommend Imperial Sizing Wax for that application. I have no doubt, they would recommend that it not be used.

Thanks Slam. I don't expect the manufacturer would say yes either, just for the sake of liability alone. Sadly we live in the home of the braves no longer. It will truly be a house of the lames when we stop improvising and exploring.

Off brand use of products is a form of exploration.

-TL

[tangolima]

Tried that on my practice gun, an old Mauser. The clunky bolt all of a sudden becomes silkily smooth. What it takes is a super thin film of resizing wax rubbed on the bolt body, just like lubing up a brass for resizing. Works great.

Also tried that on the sear. Not bad at all. Slightly better than the moly graphite grease I have been using.

I will give it more time before drawing a conclusion.

-TL

[Jim243]

Are folks genuinely putting a lubricant (of any sort?) on a hammer/sear engagement surface?

Lubricant, yes, wax, no. I use Rem Oil or CLP on those parts.

Jim

[Snyper]

I wouldn't substitute sizing wax for a proper lubricant.
It's designed to be used an then removed

The PROPER amount of oil on the trigger mechanism won't hold dust or dirt
OVER oiling is what causes trouble

[Eppie]

Bart B. said: When I shot bullseye pistol, the 'smiths building M1911 soft and hard ball ones said never lube the sear -

I'm with Bart on this one. The seer is a safety and the last thing you want it to do is slip because it has been lubricated. Of course some people think Russian roulette is fun.

[natman]

I might further ask why anyone would put a lubricant in that very specific place on a handgun?

Because it's under tremendous pressure (some force and a very tiny area) and is subject to wear. It also makes the trigger pull much smoother.

Serious question... is this something that people do?

Yes.

Are you doing a detail tear-down on a 1911 to lube that spot? How often?

Yes. Once every decade if you use the proper grease.

And no, it does not make the gun subject to accidental discharges. The hammer is prevented from falling by the physical presence of the sear, not friction.

[tangolima]

A properly adjusted sear will NOT slip, lubed or not. Bart's point is that the lube will attract debris and affect trigger pull. But thank you for your comment.


-TL

[totalloser]

My knee jerk reaction is to avoid any kind of lubricant on the sear that will attract debris, but my reason would be for the abrasives attracted might accelerate wear on critical components.

If I were to choose a lube for something like a sear, I'd choose graphite. And a pencil will lay a nice surface of it. Unlikely to absorb problematic contaminants.

As to wax as a lube, my primary concern would be that it wipes away and won't find it's way back. Liquid oils will work themselves into contacting surfaces. Even if they get pushed out, they get back in- "surface tension" effect. Some tacky greases will tend to work their way in too, but I would guess not the best choice for most firearm uses. There are a few though- like the bolt roller in an m1a for instance takes grease.

I'm not describing this as well as I'd like, but a good demonstration is try and lube a door hinge with wax, then try oil.

[tangolima]

To grease or not to grease is one of those that packs of experts would like to pick a fight on. I no longer have appetite for battles of attrition.

The subject of this discussion is quite specific; resizing wax as gun grease, given one is already using grease on his guns. Anything wrong with using the wax instead of the stuff coming out of the tube with "gun grease" written on it, other than being weird? Does resizing wax contain elements that will make me not interested in women? Will it cause corrosion so bad that will turn my beloved rifle into dust? So on and so forth.

So far I like the performance of the wax. Its lubricity is outstanding, especially when under load.

Thanks in advance for your inputs.

-TL

[BDM 9MM]

We existing shooters live in in a world that has a vast choice of space age grease and oils specifically designed for lubrication of modern firearms. We no longer have to hunt down a bear and render the grease.
And - when you are given all the modern products that tribologist have engineered specifically for firearm lubrication, you think the best choice to lube your firearm is WAX (Yea - I know some grease is made with a wax base) - with totally different design criteria and uses. I just don't know what to say.

Just have to ask - "Got Reloads"?

[tangolima]

Thanks. I thought the thread was long dead, after my refusal to do battle.

I have tried gun grease of many sorts. I ended up giving them away and settled with moly graphite grease for car repair. It works better and cost way less.

Now I have tried resizing wax, and I find it is even better than moly graphite grease.

So why not?

Oh I got reloads. Plenty of them. That's how I came across resizing wax.

Thanks for your comments.

-TL