Moly lube in a revolver? Useful?

[drband]

Anyone here use or recommend moly (dry) lube in a revolver trigger group? Just curious-- seems like it could work well without gunking up everything or attracting dust and dirt. I know little about S&W internals so please give me your opinions on lubing (or not) a factory-new gun.

FYI, the revolver is a S&W 625JM. DA is rather stout but smooth, nice break, no grit. SA is comparatively light with a clean break. I do not have a trigger gauge.

 

[natman]

The internals should be lubed with something and if dirt and dust is really a problem then a dry lube is the way to go. Moly works well, but most moly lubes will stain anything they touch black permanently. Dri Slide is famous for this. I used a lot of Dri Slide when it was all that was available and I have the blacks stars to prove it, but there are lots of dry lubes out there now. I like White Lightning.

A trip to your local bicycle shop will give you a wide choice.

 

[drband]

I guess my question really is, should I use some type of grease, or is a dry lube more long lasting/best?

 

[MrBorland]

I know little about S&W internals so please give me your opinions on lubing (or not) a factory-new gun.

Ideally, and IMO, a brand new gun should be opened and completely stripped and cleaned before lubing. You'd be surprised how much crud is in there from the factory. I do this with any new-to-me revolver, but understand it may not be for everyone. At a minimum, the internals should be checked for adequate lubrication and lubed if need be.

I admit to knowing little about dry lubes, but a good oil has always worked well, so I see no reason to change. Grant Cunningham says that good ol' ATF fluid is a good oil for revolvers, and I've used it in the past. I've been using TW-25B lately. I don't skimp on it's application, and have no worries about it lasting for a long time.

 

[BobWright]

A drop or two of light oil (I use a 50/50 mix motor oil and machine oil) is sufficient for revolver use. DA revolvers don't really need a lubricant.

Bob Wright

 

[MrBorland]

DA revolvers don't really need a lubricant.

I'm curious why you think this is so. There are plenty of mechanical linkages (and therefore friction) in there.

 

[natman]

I guess my question really is, should I use some type of grease, or is a dry lube more long lasting/best?

I use oil in most places, grease in a few high pressure spots like trigger/sear interfaces, shotgun hinges, locking lugs and cocking cams. I only use dry lube in unusually dirty environments, such as semiauto 22s. I'd only use it in a revolver if I were hunting in a very dusty environment.

I like Triflow. It flows well, sets up thicker and is very slippery. Get a small bottle with a wand and you can apply a drop exactly where you want to.

 

[gamestalker]

I bought a NIB Taurus 608, and that revolver was terrible, crunchy feeling, it didn't run in good time, just generally very nasty action. So I opened it up, and inside was a bunch of metallic left overs from the factory. I rinsed it out real well with acetone, then lightly lubed it, and that revolver runs so smooth and clean now, world of difference.

Living in dusty Arizona, my carry guns are constantly exposed to dust and grit, so I open them up once or twice per year and give them a good cleaning. I wouldn't just open up a safe queen or something that only gets occasional use, but mine get used constantly, and thus exposed to dust and grit on a regular basis.

GS

 

[BobWright]

MrBorland asked:

I'm curious why you think this is so. There are plenty of mechanical linkages (and therefore friction) in there.

Smith & Wesson has long advised using only two drops of oil on their revolvers, a drop on the extractor rod just in front of the cylinder, and a second drop on the internal face of the hammer. Certainly on carbon steel guns, oil is used for a rust preventative. But armorers at S&W say too much oil is the main problem on guns returned to them. Their advice is the two-drop method. Why? Not too sure, other than the guts of S&W are (were?) case hardened that led to very smooth long lasting interfacing of the parts.

Bob Wright

 

[drband]

That makes sense. I decided to moly treat the trigger rebound slide. Polished the bottom of the slide a bit with 2000 grit sandpaper on a granite slab. Cleaned with acetone, treated with moly, put a drop of moly on sear contact surfaces, and reassembled. Everything was pretty clean on the inside but the rebound slide was not smooth on the bottom (it is now!). I blew it all out with a compressor before reassembly.
I "think" it's a very nice pull but have no idea if there's any reduction in pull weight. Anyway, I know it's clean with no shavings or dirt. The rebound slide should wear very smoothly and evenly now. Btw, there's a Miculek video on changing the springs that really helps on the rebound slide. [emoji41]

 

[Zaydok Allen]

MrBorland asked:

Smith & Wesson has long advised using only two drops of oil on their revolvers, a drop on the extractor rod just in front of the cylinder, and a second drop on the internal face of the hammer. Certainly on carbon steel guns, oil is used for a rust preventative. But armorers at S&W say too much oil is the main problem on guns returned to them. Their advice is the two-drop method. Why? Not too sure, other than the guts of S&W are (were?) case hardened that led to very smooth long lasting interfacing of the parts.

Bob Wright

I guess I'm over lubing my Smiths then, but I haven't had any problems. I'm pretty liberal with my oil too. Is it that they are getting gummed up by dried up oil from over lubing and then sitting n a safe?

 

[Sav .250]

Folks use a lot of different lubes. It works for them

Dry lube is just that................ Get the lube with out any add on`s . Like foreign particles.

If you don`t think it`s working.........use a light grade oil. A little dab will do ya.

 

[mope540]

Knowing that a camshaft takes far more mechanical abuse than any trigger group ever will, I have used a few drops of the moly type camshaft break-in lube on gun internals. Works great, no staining.

 

[natman]

Knowing that a camshaft takes far more mechanical abuse than any trigger group ever will, I have used a few drops of the moly type camshaft break-in lube on gun internals. Works great, no staining.

I'm sure moly grease works fine, but it's not the moly dry lube the OP was asking about.