Heating a gun when lubing it?

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prickett

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I've seen lubes that say you need to heat the metal you apply it to in order for it to bond. I've also heard about heating opening metal's pores. So, I got to thinking - would it be of any advantage to heating a gun when applying its lube? I don't mean those lubes that require it, I'm talking about your average, run of the mill gun oil. Would that result in a longer lasting lube? Would that result in a more corrosion resistant lube?

TIA
 
I doubt it but I'm far from an expert on the matter. Lubricant helps reduce wear by keeping metal parts from being dry when rubbing together from use. I can't see how heating the metal would make much difference in the matter.
 
The heating of the metal is not a requirement for frog lube (Just picked one to use as an example). But the heating does speed up the process. I am not an expert but since heat "causes the metal to expand" then it may help with the regular products that are NOT flammable.
 
Back in the '90s, I had a .45 auto that was eating a steady diet of LSWC reloads. They were "Hard Cast", and had a blue lube on them that smelled like Crayons.

Like, three hundred or so a week. Sometimes more.

It wasn't BAD, but there was some leading.

I would clean it out religiously, and after a while I got a little tired of doing it.

So I went on a kick of looking for that secret sauce that would lube well enough to prevent leading and last for a whole day of shooting.

What I finally ended up doing was warming the barrel up in water, until the water just began to steam but not boiling.

Then, I dunked it in Mobil One synthetic oil.

The whole idea was that heating the barrel just shy of boiling was not enough heat to hurt anything (It was about the temp of a fresh cup of coffee) and applying the lube before it cooled would trap the lube in the steel's pores and make it stay there.

At the time, I believed that the synthetic oil had the smallest molecule available and was the best candidate for this trick.

I don't recall exactly what scientific testing methods I used to determine success on this one, but I remember believing that it did reduce the amount of lead that stuck to the barrel.

Who knows? Maybe it actually did.:p

The truth is that it didn't hurt anything, and I suppose it kept me entertained for a while.

Try it your self. It doesn't cost anything and it didn't take a lot of time.

And it just might be the excuse you need to play with your guns for a while.

Worse things have happened, right?;)
 
Fast Frank said:
Back in the '90s, I had a .45 auto that was eating a steady diet of LSWC reloads. They were "Hard Cast", and had a blue lube on them that smelled like Crayons.

Like, three hundred or so a week. Sometimes more.

It wasn't BAD, but there was some leading.

I would clean it out religiously, and after a while I got a little tired of doing it.

So I went on a kick of looking for that secret sauce that would lube well enough to prevent leading and last for a whole day of shooting.

What I finally ended up doing was warming the barrel up in water, until the water just began to steam but not boiling.

Then, I dunked it in Mobil One synthetic oil.

The whole idea was that heating the barrel just shy of boiling was not enough heat to hurt anything (It was about the temp of a fresh cup of coffee) and applying the lube before it cooled would trap the lube in the steel's pores and make it stay there.

At the time, I believed that the synthetic oil had the smallest molecule available and was the best candidate for this trick.

I don't recall exactly what scientific testing methods I used to determine success on this one, but I remember believing that it did reduce the amount of lead that stuck to the barrel.

Who knows? Maybe it actually did.:p

The truth is that it didn't hurt anything, and I suppose it kept me entertained for a while.

Try it your self. It doesn't cost anything and it didn't take a lot of time.

And it just might be the excuse you need to play with your guns for a while.

Worse things have happened, right?;)
Click to expand...
Boolit lubes can be tricky at times. Lubricity is just one function, gas sealing can be just as important, if not more so.

As to heating one's gun to open it's pores? A gun is not a living breathing being.
 
BSA1 said:
Blackpowder shooters have known about this procedure for decades. It is known as seasoning the bore.
Click to expand...
IMO, seasoning a bore is just so much BS to sell another worthless product. Just saying after over 55 years of shooting BP.
 
I read a fairly scholarly work sometime last year that said concluded that at the current state of lubrication technology, heat doesn't matter.

When I say "fairly scholarly" I mean a whitepaper with actual scientific testing that explained their methodology and cited other source materials.

If I can find it again I'll post the link.
 
The whole idea was that heating the barrel just shy of boiling was not enough heat to hurt anything
Click to expand...
Just a little FYI,the boiling point of water(at sea leavel) is 212 degrees farenheit. Hot bath bluing is done at 295 degrees F. Boiling water will not harm the temper of a gun barrel.
 
to answer the OP - No, no, and no. Heating makes the lube flow or spread better. I don't believe metal has the ability to allow the pores in the metal to open up, soak in lube, and slow release it or retain it longer.

However, I am not a metallurgist, nor have I played one on tv...
 
Steel does not have pores.
It has microscopic pits, and they do help to hold lube, but there are no pores like we have in our skin. Steel does not soak up oil like a sponge.
Liberty1776 is correct; heating just makes lube flow and spread faster.
The oil will 'creep' on its own if you leave it, but gentle heating can accelerate the process if that's what you want to do.
 
Give it a cute little name, with a new sales pitch,and people will buy just about anything. I'm coming out with a lube we call HOG Snot. I know I shouldn't tell you this, but it's really Mobil One Synthetic 20/50.The same oil I use in my Harley in a different package. It not only works great in my Harley that gets extremely hot,but it works great on my guns also. So as an intoductory offer I'll sell you a whole Qt. of HOG Snot (enough to last you a lifetime) for the low /low price of $19.95 plus shipping and handling. Orders will be on a first come first serve basis. :D
 
IMO, seasoning a bore is just so much BS to sell another worthless product. Just saying after over 55 years of shooting BP.

Whatever.

I belong to a antique gun club that shoots blackpowder matches every month so what do we know? Heck we just do it with natural vegetable grease/lubes.
 
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