what do you lubricate your firearms with!?

[481]

A great reference on gun lubricants:

http://www.grantcunningham.com/lubricants101.html

Not so much.

Mr. Cunningham might be a fine gunsmith, but he is a lousy lubricant engineer and chemist.

Mr. Cunningham fails in his ignorance of the differences between ATF and motor oil in that ATF has much less in the way of an additive package than motor oil. (which he eschews in favor of the less adequate ATF)

The additive package in motor oil is higher in EP/AW (Extreme Pressure/AntiWear) and anti-corrosion additives as well as detergents/dispersants (which keep dirt in suspension making clean-up easier) than ATF and both fluids are composed of the same or very similar basestock oils.

The only other difference between the two fluids is color. Motor oil uses a yellow or gold dye; ATF uses red.

Mr. Cunningham has no validity in his stance, well-intentioned though it might be. There is very little in Mr. Cunningham's article that is correct in Mr. Cunningham's article.

 

[Steven Youngblood]

3 in 1 oil, marvel mystery oil in a pinch.
bore butter for black powder guns.

 

[inherentical]

Cleaning the gun more than once a year.

 

[BlisteringSilence]

Personally, I use lithium grease on the autoloaders and pumps, and graphite on my O/U's.

Never tried motor oil. I love the lithium grease though. Doesn't melt away, stays where I put it, and keeps things running smoothly.

 

[Werewolf]

Did ya ever see that movie with Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz? Yu know - the one where Stiller follows her down to FL or someplace...

No - Really.

Isn't that what everyone uses to lube their guns?

 

[MinnMooney]

When I was 11 or 12 and hunted with a Remington 11-87 auto-loader, I'd complain 'cause my shotgun would only cycle sporaticly.

My dad said, "Oil it."

That night I'd clean and lube it but the same ejection problems the next day.

My dad would say, "Oil it."

I'd clean and lube again but the problem persisted.

I'd complain.

My dad emptied my gun, got a qt of 10W30 out of the car, took off the fore-end and poured oil onto the recoil spring. He put it back together, loaded it with 5 rounds and shot the hell out of a corncob with 5 evenly spaced shots within about 2-3 seconds............. no failures to feed.

He handed the gun back to me.

It worked great from then on.

My dad knew more than his 12 year old son.

Go figure.

 

[jkingrph]

motor oil seems like a good option to stock pile gun oil. would non detergent motor oil be better for guns?

I don't think it really matters on a gun. The detergents are to keep dirt suspended so the filter can get out what it is supposed to get. That's not an issue with guns. That said I have been using Mobil-1 10-30, which is a high detergent oil with good success. It seems to stay in place and last longer than many "gun oils"

 

[Kangspec]

Weapon shield CLP and grease.

 

[ol' scratch]

For my handguns I use Moble One Synthetic to lube and CRP to clean them.
AR-15-CRP
M1 Garand Lubriplate or moly grease
Shotguns-pump and semi Moble one
1903 Springfield Lubriplate

 

[ol' scratch]

Did ya ever see that movie with Ben Stiller and Cameron Diaz? Yu know - the one where Stiller follows her down to FL or someplace...

No - Really.

Isn't that what everyone uses to lube their guns?

That's gross. I am going to look at used guns in a whole different way if someone is using THAT as lube.

 

[sig220mw]

What Rcmodel said.....

I use break free and never had a problem

 

[Toml]

ProLink Chain Lube on external parts, Wilson's light grease on internals.

 

[sarduy]

wd-40 and CRC lubricant (the one made for boats)

 

[ChCx2744]

Mobil 1 10w30 fully synthetic

 

[ir3e971]

I use these three in different applications.

Shooters Choice Grease (slides)
Rem Oil
Mobil One

 

[possum]

high temp lithium bearing grease.

 

[doc2rn]

+1 for Mr BerryHills wonder lube

 

[rlp]

I too have heard a lot of good things for Mobil1 5w and will get some when, if ever, my stock of lube runs out.

 

[DougD]

For most everything: Whatever kind of gun oil is handy (Breakfree, RemOil, 3-in-1, etc.)

For slides and bolts: 70% Marvel Mystery Oil and 30% Slick 50. Mixed some up about 5 years ago and I still have about half a quart left. It works very, very well but don't get it on any part of the weapon that you have to actually grip!

Truth be told, I'm thinking about taking the mixture I have left and adding it to some leftover synthetic Rotella 5W-40 I have sitting in the garage and making that my new magic formula.

 

[NCdrummer]

Brake-Kleen and Safari Charlie!

For total cleaning use Brake-Kleen, available from auto parts stores. But wear gloves and realize it removes ALL lubricants and dirt from metal parts. Takes it all the way down.

There's a new product out for lubricating that I have just started using and it is AMAZING. It's called Safari Charlie Gun Lubricant/Cleaner. It's hard to find, but if you want some I have a few cases. Just send me an IM or email and I'll sell you can or two.