slide grease?

[JTQ]

If they prefer to use oil and that is what works for them...

I want you and everybody to be happy with their choices.

However, you're concern is oil is trapping contaminants, while I suspect the consensus is it is grease that would be more likely to trap contaminants.

You're probably going to continue to use whatever you feel works best for you, and that's great, but I'm clarifying this point for those that may be making the choice between oil and grease.

 

[Steve in NC]

Bought it off Amazon. Then use the brass air tool adaptor and needle to rig up the nozzle your see installed. The OEM nozzle you can see on the towel at the base of the grease can. It was $12 dollars ?? and works good to get into tight spots when greasing slide rails or something like that during a field strip.

Steve

 

[Slamfire]

The basic problem of firearm lubrication is that none of my firearms come with an oil sump nor oil pump. Therefore what ever lubricant is applied is not refreshed during shooting. So we shooters have to live with that. And my solution, keep them clean and lubricated. During Bullseye Pistol matches I frequently add a drop to the muzzle of my 1911, because I want the area between the bushing and barrel to stay wet. If the rest of the pistol looks dry, I will add a drop where needed.

I will say, if you oil your cartridges, your semi auto pistol will become self lubricating. Oil will be blown up the barrel, reducing, if not preventing jacket fouling, and it removes powder fouling. Oil will be squeezed back into the mechanism, oiling the slide rails, locking lugs, and barrel link locations. The more oiled cartridges fired, the more I have to wipe the pistol during the match as my 1911's will positively ooze oil. But, clean up is a whiz. The motor oils I use do a good job of solvating gunpowder, so gunpowder residue stays moist, and effortlessly wipes out and the surfaces are clean.

I always wash my hands before driving home, as I will have oil residue on them. Them's the trade offs.

 

[MikeInOr]

I want you and everybody to be happy with their choices.

However, you're concern is oil is trapping contaminants, while I suspect the consensus is it is grease that would be more likely to trap contaminants.

You're probably going to continue to use whatever you feel works best for you, and that's great, but I'm clarifying this point for those that may be making the choice between oil and grease.

I do not believe that oil traps contaminants. I believe that oil will migrate out of where it is originally applied and coat adjacent surfaces. This is great for blued and parkerized weapons where the oil protects against corrosion. On my carry pistols, especially my pocket pistols, this attracts dust, lint and other contaminants to these surfaces and also attracts powder residue to these surfaces when the weapon is fired. For surfaces where the oil is not needed to protect against corrosion it tends to make for dirtier internals.

When I sparingly apply Tetra Lube to the rails and other key parts of my carry guns it does not migrate like oil and my guns stay cleaner for much longer.

P.S. "I" am not discussing the general properties of grease. I am trying to convey the specific properties of the Tetra lube gun grease that I prefer. I am not going to pack axle bearings of my truck with Tetra Lube gun grease and I am not going to pack the internals of my gun with axle grease.

Just curious, have you tried Tetra Lube gun grease? If so where do you feel oil performs better than the Tetra?

 

[JTQ]

Just curious, have you tried Tetra Lube gun grease? If so where do you feel oil performs better than the Tetra?

I have not used Tetra Lube Gun Grease. I have not commented on whether oil performs better, or worse than Tetra Lube Gun Grease.

To me this is easier than oiling a gun then wiping it down then having to deal with the extra dust and powder residue that oil seems to attract.

My only comments were in regards to your posts indicating you felt grease was easier to apply than oil and that you felt oil attracted extra dust and powder residue above what grease attracts. That was it. Both statements seemed contrary to my own experiences, and I suspect different than most users of lubricating products would find. I was asking for clarification.

Seriously, I want everybody to find the lubricating product they like, if Tetra is your lube of choice, rock on. I was merely pointing out, since the OP was asking about using grease on his slides, most would find oil easier to apply than grease, and it would be more likely for a typical grease to trap dust/dirt/debris than would be the case for oil. Those would be the general characteristics of the different types of lubes.

Grease has advantages, ease of application and trapping less debris are typically not among those advantages.

 

[Jim Watson]

Tetra shares a disadvantage with Ballistol. It smells bad. I think the enemy could smell you approaching in the dark.

 

[generic sportsshooter]

i tried all sorts of oils and grease.

oil:

• leaks out especially if the gun isn't used for a while.
• takes the fouling through the entire gun.
• gets on my hands, trigger, clothes.
• when it leaks out, the gun is bone dry and has no lubrication
• it can gum up over time and cause problems.

grease:

• stays where i put it
• can be a problem on tight guns in the cold
• traps the fouling, so have to clean after x rounds

now i just use a dry moly spray, spray on, let it dry for a few minutes, assemble the gun.

• doesnt trap fouling.
• doesnt take the fouling everywhere.
• doesnt leak out.
• no temperature problems.
• doesn't wipe off when cleaning, with or without cleaning products.
• i can use a solvent to flush out fouling from trigger mechanism without having to disassemble the entire mechanism for relubing.

for a while i used to remove the moly to check the metal underneath for corrosion, never saw any.
and i only put it where it has to be, so no problems with stains or whatever.

the reason some guns have a lot of wear is not the "wrong" oil or grease, it's because of the lazy owner.
if you dont replace oil that leaked out, the gun wil wear.
if you dont replace grease that is mixed with carbon fouling, the gun will wear.
so whatever you use, make sure it is there and the gun is clean.
if you have a super tight custom gun, don't use grease, the slide will push it out when you assemble it.
if you have a super loose gun, dont use oil, it'll leak right out.

p.s. one thing that really doesnt work: dry ptfe spray. it wipes right off and provides no lubrication whatsoever. also has to much resistance because of its waxy properties.

for corrosion protection on the outside of blued guns i use renaissance wax.

 

[MikeInOr]

Tetra shares a disadvantage with Ballistol. It smells bad. I think the enemy could smell you approaching in the dark.

???? Tetra Gun Grease? I have never smelled a foul odor from it in the decades I have been using it. I know they have some other products, could it be one of them?

 

[desmobob]

???? Tetra Gun Grease? I have never smelled a foul odor from it in the decades I have been using it. I know they have some other products, could it be one of them?

Many years ago, I bought a Tetra kit. Nothing had much scent initially but after a couple of years, the oil downright stank! I never noticed any odor from the grease. I love the Tetra grease except for the fact that it tends to separate in the tube.

Anyway, all these opinions and favorites sort of show that everything works... just keep 'em lubed.

 

[Nuke8401]

I've used oil on all my guns from ARs (running it wet) to pistols but never grease. I recently bought a Dan Wesson and learned from their website
FAQ "We recommend, FP-10 , Miltec-1 and TW25b grease for the rails. These are the only products we recommend to grease the rails."
So I bought some TW25b and put on the rails and it seems smoother to hand cycle than just oil (FP-10, Mobil 1). I think the Dan Wesson slide to frame fit is on the tight side and I'll be going with the grease on it and other semi-autos from now on. So there are definitely different opinions from gun makers (Wilson=oil, no grease, DW=grease ok).
I think what is missing in discussions like this is data from controlled testing with thousands of rounds.

 

[Walkalong]

The bottom line is, it really doesn't matter WHAT you lubricate with, what matters is that you DO lubricate.
Squirting something on your gun than not checking it regularly could leave you embarrassed when your dry gun malfunctions.

Yep.

Old post of mine on lubing.

Keeping it clean and lubricated is far more important than which lube.

I see guns all the time that have been shot, and shot, and shot, with no lube, or lubed so long ago it has long since vaporized, until they stop functioning. If they had used almost anything at all the gun would still be serviceable. A buddy brought an auto to me that I could not move the the slide on it was so jammed up from dry grime. After soaking it was still hard to get loose.

Yes, I have "gun" lubes I like, and I have tried a lot of them. Not sure they are any better than a good car oil for simple lubrication.

Mobile 1 Racing 4T is what I put in my four wheeler, and it works fine on guns too. I prefer something thinner for revolvers, but it works.

 

[dfariswheel]

It's just amazing at the amount of discussion there is on decomposed dinosaur fat for guns.

I've said before, that if a top shooter like a Rob Leatham announced that he put a dab of goose grease on his front sights, in 24 hours there wouldn't be a goose left alive in America that hadn't been rendered into grease..

 

[Slamfire]

Did you watch the Atlas Gunworks video linked above. Their assertion is grease will trap the powder residue, and every thing else, while the oil will wash it away. This seems to track with my experience, but I understand others can have different experiences.

Grease will absorb residue, so will oil. At some point in the future, whether the firearm is oiled or greased, it has to be cleaned. Generally speaking, as long as the lubricant has not dried out, it will provide some lubrication.

A shooting bud of mine was on an Army Divisional Bullseye Pistol team. They were not issued match pistols, rather they were issued standard 1911's. Probably hand selected, but still, issue. The coach, an ex Marine Gunny, told all the pistol shooters to pack their 1911's with grease and fire them 500 rounds, and not to clean the pistols! The theory was, all that grease and residue would take up the slack in the parts. And guess what, those standard issue 1911's would then hold the black at 50 yards, and if the pistol will hold the black, the shooter will get tens and X's. Obviously not as good as a pistol that would hold the ten ring, but, few people, myself included, can hold the black at fifty yards with a 1911 that shoots two inch groups off the bench. Cleans are rare, 99's are rare, a 98 was shot last match and that was the best that shooter ever did.

Pistol lubrication is not that stressing, just keep them clean and lubricated.

 

[JTQ]

It's just amazing at the amount of discussion there is on decomposed dinosaur fat for guns.

Hey, pal, it's full synthetics, or wait, no, it's bio-lubes. Oh, heck, now I can't remember.

 

[trackskippy]

I think, as with a lot of things, marketing has a big part in all of this. Its just snake oil at a higher level.

Big bucks to be made on "little" bottles/tubes of "gun lube", when a $5 quart of synthetic motor oil works just as well, if not better, and the same quart will last you years, used on multiple guns on a weekly basis.

If you "really" want to be in with the cool crowd, and waste money on high dollar gun lubes, that lube of choice is Frog Lube. Its not if you plan on counting on the guns you use it on working when you need them.

 

[tws3b2]

I've been oiling my 1911's slide for years with good effect, but it occurred to me this morning, while contemplating not getting out of bed because every day is Saturday when you're retired, that maybe some kind of grease would be better in this application.

Your thoughts?

I'm about the same as you. I've been retired for about 15 years now. I don't remember where I was or what day it was but a some months ago it just popped into my head that I should try grease on handgun slides.
I've been using oil since my first gun back many years ago when I was around 14 years old. I've probably used every oil from 3 in one to Mobile 1 full synthetic on my guns and every brand you gonna find on the store shelves. Never had a problem with any of them. I even used Nothing but WD40 on my made in 1975 Remington 700 bolt action that I deer hunted with for all these years. Still have it. Never a fail, never any part replaced. Still going And I have no doubt it will go another 50.
Anyway, I got me some EWG and have been using it on all my slides for a few months now. Been keeping an eye on my slides. Watching the slides for wear marks. Any changes at all. So far, Nothing. Guns keep shooting in the heat. Keeps shooting in the cold. No hang ups. No gum ups. No problems what so ever.
Is grease any better or worse than oil, You ask?
I don't know. So far, I can't say one is better or worse than the other.
I do keep my guns cleaned,oiled/greased.
" Just between me and you. I think all this nay saying and going on about oil and grease on guns is just ridiculous H W <<hog wash."
But, Just me.

 

[obiwan1]

Years ago I used Tetra grease and oil. I put one of my 1911s in long term storage and when I took it out I found all of the Tetra grease had solidified. I stopped using it and now mostly use Weapon Shield cleaner, grease and oil. Hornady One Shot dry lube is my go to on EDC guns.

 

[Zaydok Allen]

I actually use both. very light grease on rails follwed by a drop of oil on each side. Never had a problem. I carry IWB though so my body keeps the gun warm in cooler temps.

 

[WVRJ]

I own an auto/agricultural equipment repair shop and the question gets asked very often-what's the best brand of oil for my car or tractor or whatever?My answer is simple-all motor oils are good if you change them and none of them are good if you don't.Same with firearms.I use Butch's gun oil on the slide and anywhere else a pistol needs lubrication.It also depends on what I'm using the pistol for.My carry gun gets a thin coat of oil on the slide rails once a week or two at the most.My target guns get oiled lightly before each shooting session.My hunting pistols will get oiled lightly before season starts.

 

[Bcwitt]

It seems to me grease picks up a lot of dirt. Ive tried many different lubes, but i always go back to light oil.

 

[Walkalong]

Here are some good ones. I also have Wilson & Shooters Choice grease in syringes that I use to lube bolt lugs on centerfire guns.

I have a small tube of Lucas grease, not wild about it, it separates, love their oil. I lube my .22 bolts with the Benchrite oil. There

are a ton of choices out there, and very few of them are bad choices as long as you clean and lube regularly.
The grease with the blue label you can't read is Berryhills