Motor Oil for Lube

[JohnKSa]

Use the water based one and mix it with Mobile 1 15w/50 for good adhesion, should work like a charm.

Ok, that's pretty funny.

I hadn't looked closely enough to realize that there was that much variety in the different formulations. But...

You do realize that there are four water-based formulas, right?

My offer to do the test (subject to the two caveats) still stands.

 

[jcwit]

Not dead yet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

You do realize that there are four water-based formulas, right?

Use science, flip a coin.

 

[charliewood]

up here in the hills we use a mixin of bacon grease and chewin tobaccie, its cheap, plentiful ,if you put it on when the gun is hot, it runs where it needs to go and as the gun cools ,it stays where it needs to. never had on rust yet. but then again, if you use it daily,and clean as such, it prolly woundnt anyhow .
Just kidding

 

[rifle]

I've used RIG gun grease to lube the outside of my firearms for years. I use "the Rig rag" I have on the outside of the guns to avoid rust.
Inside the gun it depends. Semi-auto guns seem to function best with a thin oil that stays where it's put and doesn't collect fouling much.
Anyway I think STP oil treatment can come in handy for lubricating moving parts. The STP stays where it's put longer than regular oil of any kind.
Single actions and even cap&ballers function well with STP for a lub on moving parts.
I think the insides and the moving parts need one type of lube and the outside another. RIG gun grease can do double duty though. It's too bad RIG isn't going to be made anymore. A regular ole tube of grease for a grease gun can surfice. The kind that's the amber color and not the ugly green or red or yellow stuff.
I look for a lube that doesn't migrate with warmer temps and gravity. Any non migrating oil or grease is what to look for.
I guess in a pinch a Pard could mix up some oil with a little STP Oil Treatment and make a non-migrating oil for guns. I guess a Pard could make his own recipie and put what amount of STP he thought made his oil lube the outside and the inside of a gun. You know....less STP for the outside rust preventative and more inside where dust isn't going to stick to the oil and pure full STP on the moving parts where they make contact and where friction is the most.
All I know is that STP Oil Treatment stays where it's put better than anything else I've tried. Better than grease and better than any oil.
Chainsaw chain and bar oil can come in handy when STP is scarce. It seems to migrate less than regular gun oil or motor oil.
Motor oil after a while will make "Varnish" on yer gun where it collects in nooks and crannies.
Ballistol seems to be a good one for the outsides of the guns to prevent rust.
Oil and greases have some sort of soaps in them that the manufacturers say not to mix. Not to mix different soap types. I don't know much about soap types or even what they are but I guess it makes sense to stick with the same manufacturers stuff so different soaps aren't mixed and foul up the lubricating qualities of the oil or grease.
I picked up (or rather ordered) a grease that is called Moly-graph from NAPAS AUTO PARTS. It seems to be a real slick lub for moving parts. It contains molydeudenum(spell?) and some micro-fine graphite(spell?). Slicks em up Buddy. Slicks em up.Seems to reduce friction well. You know..for the insides where the moving parts are. I could go read off the can and get the proper name and all if someone wanted to know. It's just the only grease NAPA has that contains the molydeudenum and the graphite. Comes in a black can.

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

Rotella 15W40 is an ACEA rated motor oil for use in flat tappet engines. Since my guns don't have roller bearing friction points, I'd stick with an oil that has an A3/B3 rating indicating HTHS shear protection.

That is all.

 

[Gunzy]

I don't see oil getting any better then this
http://www.royalpurple.com/gun-oil.html

 

[AgentAdam]

It seems royal purple is a mix of synthetic oil and ATF fluid or at least some of there there oil is like the Royal Purple Break-in Oil.

"Royal Purple combines highly refined mineral oil, preferred for engine break-in, with advanced additives" & " is compatible with other mineral and synthetic motor oils."

 

[Gun Slinger]

I have tried to somewhat end this meaningless discussion in as much of a civil way as I know how. This now seems to be impossible as I seem to be dealing with someone who knows it all no matter what, If I don.t believe it just ask him and he will once again attempt to tell me just how stupid I really am, and how little I actually know. So be it, I shall let you bask in your knowledge or ignorance whichever it may be and continue to use the products I which to use which have sufficed for 50 plus years for me.

Look, you said you knew something that would outperform Breakfree CLP and cost less. I have said that I am willing to make some per your formula (when you provide a formula) and test it against BF CLP (and other products) to verify your claims. How is that an affront? It's pretty much a win-win-win-win for you.

1. I spend my own money buying the ingredients & testing materials.
2. I spend my own time doing the testing.
3. If the test results favor your formula, no one's going to question that I biased the results to help your product.
4. If the test results don't favor your formula you can dismiss the results by saying that I'm biased against it.

At my age "I must " do nothing of the kind.

I made an offer to test your formula. If you want to take me up on the offer then you "must" indeed satisfy the two included caveats. You are, of course, under zero obligation to take me up on my offer so I'm not sure why you're pretending I'm ordering you around.

I'm old and now tired of your attitude, my you have a good day as I'm sure I will have as today I spend the day at the range, and will clean my arms with my inferior products " at least in your mind". Me I'm happy.

You're forgetting how this all started. A certain person started making claims about "snake oils", "none believers" and making implications that those who disagreed with him weren't using knowledge of scientific facts. My first post on this thread was actually a recommendation for an automotive product--it certainly couldn't be described as trying to make people unhappy nor was I bandying about accusations of inferior products.

I know you meant the quote below to refer to me, but if you read back over this persons initial posts on this thread you will see that the words apply at least equally as well to him.

This now seems to be impossible as I seem to be dealing with someone who knows it all no matter what, If I don.t believe it just ask him and he will once again attempt to tell me just how stupid I really am, and how little I actually know.

My, my, my...

You do seem to be here just for the sake of arguing just to argue.

Since it is patently clear that you have no professional expertise to speak of in the field under discussion (tribology and lubricant engineering) why is it so important to you that everyone here take your opinion as "gospel" when clearly they have no legitimate reason to do so?

What's it to you if someone doesn't use what you consider to be "the best gun lubricant"?

Who cares what anyone else is using as a gun lubricant so long as you are happy with what you are using?



Lighten up! Life is far too short for this kind of nonsense.

 

[Gunzy]

http://www.royal-purple-industrial.com/techi/whyrpi.html

 

[JohnKSa]

What's it to you if someone doesn't use what you consider to be "the best gun lubricant"?

I think you should re-read the thread. The point isn't that I want people to use something different from what they are using, it's that I object to the insults and insinuations levied against those who don't mind paying extra for a specialty product and who have made the effort to find specialty products that actually offer advantages over general purpose oils or price expedient oils engineered for other applications.

Who cares what anyone else is using as a gun lubricant so long as you are happy with what you are using?

I don't care what anyone else is using. I object to people claiming or implying that:

1. Specialty lubes offer no added performance.
2. People who buy specialty lubes are all dupes who are paying extra and getting nothing in return.

Since there are at least some specialty lubes that outperform general purpose lubes in various respects, clearly both of those claims/implications are untrue.

...why is it so important to you that everyone here take your opinion as "gospel"...

It's not important that people take my opinion as "gospel". It is important that people not give opinions and facts exactly the same weight. It is not merely my opinion that some specialty lubes offer advantages over some of the recommended general purpose/price expedient lubes mentioned on this thread. There are easily replicated tests that demonstrate that fact.

 

[Gun Slinger]

I think you should re-read the thread. The point isn't that I want people to use something different from what they are using, it's that I object to the insults and insinuations levied against those who don't mind paying extra for a specialty product and who have made the effort to find specialty products that actually offer advantages over general purpose oils or price expedient oils engineered for other applications.

I do not need to re-read anything. This is an public forum and as such subject to many varied opinions, some of them rather uninformed, others not so much. If you faint at the suggestion that you might be wrong or cannot handle the unvarnished opinions offered herein, perhaps visiting these forums isn't such a good idea for you.

I don't care what anyone else is using. I object to people claiming or implying that:

1. Specialty lubes offer no added performance.
2. People who buy specialty lubes are all dupes who are paying extra and getting nothing in return.

Since there are at least some specialty lubes that outperform general purpose lubes in various respects, clearly both of those claims/implications are untrue.

What you say above (highlighted in red) illustrates the point that I've atempted to convey to you. There will be erroneous information posted here and there is nothing that you can do about it except attempting to correct it and realizing that no one is required to accept your opinion. You are hardly in the position to "object" (at least with any gravitas) on the matter of what members post here in the way of fact and opinion or to judge the validity thereof. As I said earlier, it is patently clear that you possess no demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant egineering and as such have no "over-ruling" opinion here.

Simply put, you do not make the rules here.

It's not important that people take my opinion as "gospel".

By your actions, it would appear otherwise.

It is important that people not give opinions and facts exactly the same weight. It is not merely my opinion that some specialty lubes offer advantages over some of the recommended general purpose/price expedient lubes mentioned on this thread. There are easily replicated tests that demonstrate that fact.

I'd love to see factual information held in higher regard than personal opinion, too. But, that ain't gonna happen here or on any other public forum and to insist that it must happen is just :banghead:

all you want. The membership (and I) always enjoy a good show.

 

[JohnKSa]

If you faint at the suggestion that you might be wrong or cannot handle the unvarnished opinions offered herein, perhaps visiting these forums isn't such a good idea for you.

Objecting to false claims is not the same thing as "fainting at the suggestion that I might be wrong". And I have no problem "handling unvarnished opinions", although I do speak up if they are flawed. I'm not sure how you think someone could last 6 years here if they were that faint of heart or that unable to deal with unvarnished opinions.

There will be erroneous information posted here and there is nothing that you can do about it except attempting to correct it and realizing that no one is required to accept your opinion.

Attempting to correct it is exactly what I'm doing. It goes without saying that no one is required to accept my opinion. They're not even required to accept facts provided although it does say something about a person if they choose to refuse to accept facts.

Simply put, you do not make the rules here.

Which rules did I claim to make? Which rules have I attempted to enforce? Pointing out incorrect claims and providing facts to back up my opinions is not making rules.

I'd love to see factual information held in higher regard than personal opinion, too. But, that ain't gonna happen here or on any other public forum and to insist that it must happen is just

Why should people be less persistant about posting facts than others are about making false claims?

While you're right that it's often a losing battle, that's not a reason to simply give up.

You are hardly in the position to "object" (at least with any gravitas) on the matter of what members post here in the way of fact and opinion or to judge the validity thereof.As I said earlier, it is patently clear that you possess no demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant egineering and as such have no "over-ruling" opinion here.

Ridiculous.

I made NO attempt to support my assertions by presenting credentials or claiming professional expertise. I have not tried to give my opinions weight enough to be "over-ruling" by trying to pass myself off as a specialist. In fact, the whole point is that this argument shouldn't be about OPINIONS but rather about facts.

That is why I presented simple, easy to understand facts. I answered the claim that specialty lubes were no better than snake oil and provided no added performance over general purpose/price expedient lubes by posting the results of two tests which proved that what I was saying is correct.

And for what it's worth, the idea that a person needs "posess demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant egineering" to look at corrosion test results and see that the piece of metal protected by product X has less rust than the piece protected by product Y is simply ludicrous.

 

[sublime167]

I use mobile 1 syntheitc ball bearing grease to lube my Garand. If you don't mind the pink color it works well.

 

[musick]

Wow...this thread had taken a turn for the worse..

Hmmm... my two cents - we are all overthinking this. Cover the metal w/ oil (any oil) and you will most likely be good to go.

Na Zdrowie!

 

[evert]

chainsaw oil

i use plain chainsaw oil for my guns, it stick where you put it, and stays longer than most "gun lubes" ive tried. some moly grease on the trigger components, and chainsawoil on slides/barrels/bushings/cylinderbearings and yer good to go.

 

[Yondering]

If anyone is really curious as to what is in their favorite gun oil, I would suggest having an oil analysis done...

It will give you more info than what is listed in the MSDS, and also some insight into what makes up the "proprietary ingredients."
You'll need a few ounces to submit, and it will cost about $20.
Blackstone Laboratories is one such place to get the testing, but there are others.

If you're brewing up your own homemade stuff using motor oils and additives, be sure & check out the Virgin Oil Analysis threads or even the Used Oil Analysis threads at
Bob is the Oil Guy.com.

 

[Gun Slinger]

I made NO attempt to support my assertions by presenting credentials or claiming professional expertise. I have not tried to give my opinions weight enough to be "over-ruling" by trying to pass myself off as a specialist. In fact, the whole point is that this argument shouldn't be about OPINIONS but rather about facts.

That is why I presented simple, easy to understand facts. I answered the claim that specialty lubes were no better than snake oil and provided no added performance over general purpose/price expedient lubes by posting the results of two tests which proved that what I was saying is correct.

And for what it's worth, the idea that a person needs "posess demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant egineering" to look at corrosion test results and see that the piece of metal protected by product X has less rust than the piece protected by product Y is simply ludicrous.

Cool.

Go on thinking that you are the only one capable of making a "factual" argument or determination here.

The fact still remains though that you are still lacking the professional expertise in the field of lubricant engineering and anything that you might believe to "factual" may or may not be so. Sure, "anyone" can "look" at a "test" and draw a "conclusion". Whether it is the correct conclusion is another issue altogether. Just like everyone else here, yours is just another anonymous and uncredentialed "voice" that carrys no more weight than anyone else's.

Bang away. :banghead:

 

[Gun Slinger]

If anyone is really curious as to what is in their favorite gun oil, I would suggest having an oil analysis done...

It will give you more info than what is listed in the MSDS, and also some insight into what makes up the "proprietary ingredients."
You'll need a few ounces to submit, and it will cost about $20.
Blackstone Laboratories is one such place to get the testing, but there are others.

If you're brewing up your own homemade stuff using motor oils and additives, be sure & check out the Virgin Oil Analysis threads or even the Used Oil Analysis threads at
Bob is the Oil Guy.com.

Excellent point.

I've used Blackstone before for both VOAs and UOAs. It is always nice to know what you are buying (in terms of the specific "add-pack") and how it performs over the "long term" (OCI). You have to know what elements you are looking for and the significance of each and BITOG is a great site from which to gain that education. Picked up my Master's in Organic Chemistry many moons ago and still find that there is plenty to be learned there. They have a few LEs and "Tribologists" on board and it is not usual to have them offer their professional opinion in response to a question. Great site for those looking to expand their knowledge base.

 

[jhco]

I would agree that any is as good as the other so long as its clean and new, but I would get some gun oil in the near future.

 

[ChCx2744]

This is a very interesting read! I've never thought of using motor oil as gun lube...If I had known that 2 years ago, I could have been using the same dadgum bottle of up until now! What a money saver!!!

Oh and to everyone who keeps talking about synthetic auto-trans fluid and mobil1 motor oil...mobil1 makes a synthetic auto-trans fluid....Would it be "HOO" of me to buy a bottle of synthetic auto-trans fluid and be good to go?

 

[lobo9er]

engines are way more intense than guns think about how fast piston move and how meny times compared to our guns

 

[Yondering]

I would definitely choose a synthetic motor oil over tranny fluid.

If you're not willing to mix up your own, Royal Purple's XPR line of racing oils or Red Line's synthetic oil (racing or regular), are a good choice of something that's readily available.
Both of those oil brands contain a fair amount of moly & zinc/phos (ZDDP).

Viscosity-wise... I like to keep things on the thick side. Use what you prefer.

 

[JohnKSa]

Go on thinking that you are the only one capable of making a "factual" argument or determination here.

I never claimed I was "the only one", I'm just pointing out that I did provide facts to back up my opinions.

Just like everyone else here, yours is just another anonymous and uncredentialed "voice" that carrys no more weight than anyone else's.

As you say, we are all, for the most part "anonymous and uncredentialed "voices"" which is EXACTLY why I presented evidence for support and exactly why I've tried to make the point that providing evidence is very important to conducting a reasonable debate in the anonymous environment of an internet forum.

Sure, "anyone" can "look" at a "test" and draw a "conclusion". Whether it is the correct conclusion is another issue altogether.

That is certainly true. However; rather than speaking in generalities, why not directly address the specific claim I made, namely: "...the idea that a person needs "posess demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant egineering" to look at corrosion test results and see that the piece of metal protected by product X has less rust than the piece protected by product Y is simply ludicrous."

It will give you more info than what is listed in the MSDS, and also some insight into what makes up the "proprietary ingredients."
You'll need a few ounces to submit, and it will cost about $20.
Blackstone Laboratories is one such place to get the testing, but there are others.

Very interesting and useful bit of information. I had no idea that such an analysis could be done for such a reasonable price.

I would definitely choose a synthetic motor oil over tranny fluid.

Is that because you add your own corrosion preventives to the motor oil? Or because you aren't concerned with that feature past what any oil provides in terms of corrosion protection?

 

[Two Cold Soakers]

Synthetic or Dino, read the label and use a high shear rated oil.

Both of those oil brands contain a fair amount of moly & zinc/phos (ZDDP).

That's what I'm talking about!!!

 

[Gun Slinger]

However; rather than speaking in generalities, why not directly address the specific claim I made, namely: "...the idea that a person needs "posess demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant engineering" to look at corrosion test results and see that the piece of metal protected by product X has less rust than the piece protected by product Y is simply ludicrous."

Wow, you seem to believe that everyone here answers to you. How arrogant.

I made this statement earlier (post #86) and it still stands:

As I said earlier, it is patently clear that you possess no demonstrable professional expertise in the field of lubricant engineering and as such have no "over-ruling" opinion here.

That you make a claim in an attempt to relate my statement above to what you feel pertains to the acceptable and qualified evaluation of test results does not compel me to justify, prove or "address" your claim and as such yours constitutes an intellectually lazy argument.

You made the claim. Do your own work.