Grease for general lubrication?

[Kalos]

Ok, we all know Garands love grease. And I've heard quite a few people mention using grease on, say, the slide rails of 1911s. What I'm curious about is if there's any situation in which you should -not- use grease to lubricate a gun.

I just picked up a CMP Garand a few weeks ago, and a tin of lubriplate that'll last me a lifetime from Brownell's a few days after that. While I was using it on the Garand, I noticed something: I really -like- grease. That may sound a little silly, but it's true--grease stays where I put it, it's easy to control the amount you apply, and it does a fantastic job of making things slippery. So the next thing I know, I'm putting grease on the slide rails of my 1911, and then I'm using it on my Yugo 59/66. Right now I've got my eye on a 91/30 Mosin that's starting to show some bluing wear right on the top lip of the receiver, where the front part of the bolt handle cams on opening and closing--it seems to be a perfect spot for grease, since oil would just drip down into the receiver, and from there probably into the magazine somewhere. But before I completely succumb to the siren call of Grease, I figured it might be a good idea to check and see if there's anywhere it absolutely should not be used--where it might cause damage to the gun, for example, in a sort of reverse of the way that improper lubrication of a Garand can cause damage to it. I'm still using oil (ballistol, actually) for rust prevention, and am quite happy with it--a Mosin Nagant tool with imperial markings has been dangling from my keychain in the heat, humidity, and occasionally rain for several months now with just a coat of ballistol applied back before it wound up on my keychain and it shows no signs of corrosion. All I want grease to do is make things slippery.

So, any ideas? Or am I free to grease to my heart's content?

 

[redneck2]

I sell grease and industrial lubricants..

general rule...grease is used where lubrication is necessary and oil won't stay in place. Oil is almost always preferred if it can be used.

Grease will trap and hold abrasives (dirt, etc).

Grease does not flow (move) well at low temperatures. Therefore, you would not want to use grease on a firing pin on a hunting rifle in Wyoming.

Unless the manufacturer recommends grease, I'd stick with what they recommend. Since they designed, built, and tested the product, they probably have better knowledge.

HTH

 

[griz]

A bolt full of grease in cold weather will slow the firing pin down enough to where the gun will not fire. This is probably an argument against too MUCH grease, but I have seen it happen.

 

[Doc]

here's the problem:
most of the time it WON'T cause a problem,
but then most of the time our lives don't depend on our guns function.
BUT redneck is correct: oil is always preferable,
only use grease where oil won't/can't work.
if grease were superior
we'd all have been using grease...

 

[geekWithA.45]

Don't use grease on the bolt carrier of an AR/M16 pattern rifle. Once you fire a few rounds to heat things up, it'll goto gunk, and start short stroking on you.

Found out the hard way.

 

[JPL]

There are a number of excellent high/low temperature greases on the market.

I don't know about gun greases, per se, but I've used some machine greases that claim to remain free flowing down to 100 deg. F below zero.

 

[GunGeek]

Don't use grease on the bolt carrier of an AR/M16 pattern rifle. Once you fire a few rounds to heat things up, it'll goto gunk, and start short stroking on you.

I just coated my new AR-15 Bolt in Militec1 grease and went to the range to shoot it since Militec1 needs to heat up to bond to the metal. Had no problems like the one you suggested and I caked the grease on since it was the first time and I wanted to insure everything got coated durring breakin. Once the Militec1 has bonded and the rifle is broke in I planned to pull it all off and go to normal oiling. I want to put 200-300 more rounds through it before I consider it broken in so maybe the problem will develope before then.

 

[Werewolf]

I use grease on the slide rails of all my semi-auto pistols and pretty liberally on my garand and the bolt/receiver rails in my Win 94. I also use a mixture of grease and CLP to coat the outside of the barrel and the barrel lug and slide bushing on my semi-auto pistols (and I swear this improved the accuracy on my Glock 22). In addition I use a thin coat of grease/CLP mix on the rod that goes thru the cylinders on my Ruger Vaqueros. There has never been a problem caused as a result.

Of course I don't go shooting in the middle of the occasional dust storms we have here in Oklahoma either and I'm not a hunter so the opportunity for getting grease lubed points crudded up with dust (which is a heck of an abrasive) and dirt is not all that great. Oil will collect dust under those conditions too - although probably not as much. If dust is a real problem a dry lube should probably be used anyway.

I do 95% of all my shooting outdoors and usually push at least a 100 rounds or so out of each weapon I'm shooting. Afterwards my weapons always get a thorough cleaning which may be why using grease hasn't caused me any problems.

I use grease because it sticks around. I got tired of using CLP or Hoppes oil to lube my weapons only to find them bone dry after a day of shooting. The grease I use is guaranteed to 500 degrees. After a days shooting the weapon is still lubed and I've never noticed any collection of gunk other than the grease collecting carbon from firing (which hurts nothing and may actually improve the lubricity of the grease).

This is my experience using grease - your mileage may vary.

 

[Mikul]

I use grease on the slide rails of my pistols. I apply a thin (just enough to make it shine) film of grease with a small paintbrush.

My FAL likes lots of oil, but grease makes things dirty in a hurry.

 

[benEzra]

I use a high-quality grease (Browning's silicone grease in the syringe applicator is my favorite, followed by Tetra Grease) on the slide rails of my 3913, and I notice that it stays lubricated MUCH better. I also use grease on any camming surfaces subject to very high forces, like the bolt lockup points and the aforementioned camming point on my Mosins, since grease tends to work better than oil under high contact forces. My mini-14 likes judiciously applied grease much better than it likes oil (I switched to grease when some gun-oil-lubricated parts on my mini started noticeably galling). I think the Browning silicone grease actually attracts less dirt and dust than regular gun oil does.

My SAR-1, on the other hand, doesn't seem to like grease as well. It doesn't malfunction, but the action seems to hand-cycle more smoothly with gun oil than with grease (although this may be my imagination).

 

[geekWithA.45]

I was using tetra grease on the AR, when it started short stroking. (Wow! I live in PA! I can call it an AR instead of an XM! Woot!)

When I tried out the militec, it struck me as more of an oil than a grease, and it seemed just fine.

 

[Stebalo]

How does Militec-1 work out in Garands?

 

[Kalos]

Thanks for the replies guys. As I'm not a hunter (or soldier!) the dirt issue is not as much of a concern, though I will remember to keep a particular eye out for any grittiness. For the basic powder and other dirt that will show up, it seems that a judiciously applied amount of grease should attract no more dirt than a great honkin' drop of oil--I'm new to this gun thing yet , and have tended to err rather significantly on the side of caution for fear of attracting dirt or having the oil run/splatter out during operation, to the point of almost running my guns dry. I'll also remember to consider a change to oil in cold weather, though I think I'll play it by ear. I'll also have to remember the AR thing for when I get one. In general, the rule seems to be to play it by ear and use common sense (as with the camming point of the mosin).

While on the subject of grease, another question occured to me. I know it's recommended to avoid field stripping the M1 Garand any more than absolutely necessary, as a deterioration in accuracy can result. Obviously, a lot of the spots that get grease are under the woodline. How often should I break it down for a regreasing (and cleaning, while it's open)?

 

[sm]

From reading Pat Rodgers
( uh...err...is it okay I reference him since I have not attended his class? )
IIRC he is suggesting a syn lubricant and prefers the TW25B as it does not attract dirt, wash off, burn off, etc.
From what I have read from him and students, they run the guns hard and this is one of the products suggested.

Okay, Denny, El Tejon....somebody bail me out and correct me if wrong.

I have used TW25B, RIG+P, ATF, Mobil 1 and Kellube, G96 synthetic oil ( in the bottle, not the spray gun treatment)....

 

[crewchief]

I use a nice dry-film lube on some of my guns. It does not run oil can, does not freeze like grease or attract dirt, cleans easy and stays to the parts you want. I forget the name as I am not near my range bag, but I got mine from Lowes and it has Teflon in it as well. I believe it is made by Dupont or 3M sorry but I am not sure, but I will try to get back with the name. You can find it usually where the tool section is right by where they keep the penetrating and 3 in 1 oil.

 

[G.I.Jew]

I like to use TW-25 on my rifles. It is a rather thin grease, which works quite well. I apply a very thin coat to the moving parts, and the rifle operates well.

 

[Chris Rhines]

I use Brian Enos' Slide-Glide #1 grease exclusively on all my guns. It really does work better - I've never found it to attract dirt or grit.

- Chris

 

[Diecinueve Once]

I use grease on the slide rails of my pistols. I apply a thin (just enough to make it shine) film of grease with a small paintbrush.

Ditto. I've been using el cheapo white lithium grease on my guns with good results.

 

[Red_SC]

What about 3-in-1 brand spray grease? I just put some on my Rem 700 bolt for the first time last night. It is a very soft lithium grease.

 

[Burt Blade]

For fireams requiring grease, I have had a great deal of success using a high-temperature bearing grease intended for bicycle wheel bearings. It is the white-lithium type with teflon added.

A lil dab will do ya.

 

[Trebor]

While on the subject of grease, another question occured to me. I know it's recommended to avoid field stripping the M1 Garand any more than absolutely necessary, as a deterioration in accuracy can result. Obviously, a lot of the spots that get grease are under the woodline. How often should I break it down for a regreasing (and cleaning, while it's open)?

Match shooters would start the season with a clean, lubed rifle and then not tear it down again until the end of the season when they'd prep it for next year. Those were match rifles though and the bedding on a standard grade M-1 is not going to be as finicky, nor will it be as accurate as a match rifle.

I'd say give it a good, thorough, cleaning and lube and then just clean the barrel and chamber with the gun assembled most of the time. Turn the rifle upside down when you are doing the barrel to keep the solvents and crud from getting into the gas system.

Depending on how much you shoot, and the weather/humidity conditions in your area, I'd say only tear it down about once a year or so.

 

[4570Rick]

I use oil on all of my guns with two exceptions. I use Slick 50 ONE grease on the bolts of the M1-A and M1 Garand.

 

[Calhoun]

Grease is Great! I use it on all my weapons. Someone had it right though, a little goes a looooong way. Just get a thin film. It does make dirt/grit stick, but unless you are living and shooting in the desert it probably won't be an issue. Just keep an eye on it. It you notice alot of grit, switch back to an oil. Might I recomend Phil Wood Grease. It's made specifically for bicycle bearings (I'm a shade-tree bike mechanic) but it is the highest quality grease I have ever found. It's also green and smells good. As far as oil goes, check out TriFlow. Again, I started using it on bikes, but it works very well in guns too. Either of these can be found in any decient bike shop, or off the internet. Try them out. They work great.

Peace out,
Calhoun

 

[ninjaj448]

Mobil One synthectic.