Oil or Grease

[TheCytochromeC]

While we're at it I thought I might add you can use WD-40 and paint thinner to clean your guns. I didn't believe it until my great uncle did it to his Kimber Eclipse 2, and every other handgun I've seen him clean. Some cleaning products are as some others suggest, just something they sell you to take your money for making you feel warm and fuzzy inside.

Just be careful with either of these on certain finishes.

Agreed, I would only do it on my stainless. He told me to use "the cheapest" paint thinner I can find. He says that that will leave you with more money for primers, powder and bullets. I use Ballistol though

[Shoot_First]

I get blank stares when I tell people what I use to lube my guns. Mobil 1, or any other full synthetic motor oil in a 10W30 or better range. The higher the heavy viscosity, the better. For grease buy a can of quality auto wheel bearing grease. Synthetic grease is preferred.

What do I use? I use Mobil 1 oil, and Rydol grease. Rydol is a biodegradable grease that has a property of filling the little groves and valleys in eventhe most highly polished metal. It is also slicker than, well you know.

I rarely use anything other than oil on any of my guns but, when grease is used it's only on parts that slide.

+1 for Mobil 1. It will normally stay on the hot barrel while shooting at the range even when 5-6 mags one after the other.

For the record, what viscosity are we talking about?

I used 0w20 on rotating parts and TW25B grease on the sliding parts. I also run the firing pin areas clean and dry. I'm not sure the oil weight makes much difference. The synthetic oils are just good stuff!

Just as Mojo said, a 10-30 W for Mobil 1. A quart will last a lifetime, or several lifetimes given Mojo's and my age. I have used Gun Butter and all of the miracle lubes, but IMHO they are a waste of money and no better than Mobil 1. As for food grade grease, I don't normally stick my 1911 in my mouth so I'm missing the point.

[mewalke]

Just as Mojo said, a 10-30 W for Mobil 1. A quart will last a lifetime, or several lifetimes given Mojo's and my age. I have used Gun Butter and all of the miracle lubes, but IMHO they are a waste of money and no better than Mobil 1. As for food grade grease, I don't normally stick my 1911 in my mouth so I'm missing the point.

Just depends. In my situation I have young children in the house and if I can avoid introducing any toxic substances into our house I try to do so. It isn't something that keeps me up at night, but they work just as well as the automotive lubricants and don't cost any more so that's why I use them.

[Shoot_First]

Just depends. In my situation I have young children in the house and if I can avoid introducing any toxic substances into our house I try to do so. It isn't something that keeps me up at night, but they work just as well as the automotive lubricants and don't cost any more so that's why I use them.

In your situation that makes sense.

[TLE2]

I use Mob One on all my guns. I use high temp axl grease on my AR.

[flechero]

I also use grease (also food grade) on the rails of my carry guns- 1911's and anythings else with rails. Just switched to the food grade last year.

[C-dub]

Frog Lube

and if it matters, this stuff doesn't leave that cleaned gun smell that is oh so familiar to some folks.

[Shoot_First]

Frog Lube

and if it matters, this stuff doesn't leave that cleaned gun smell that is oh so familiar to some folks.

Yep, that Frog Lube looks like a real wonder lubricant with food-grade lubricants, biodegradable, Navy SEAL endorsed, so wow for about 35 bucks for a 4 ounce kit I'm gonna jump on that so I can be right in with the latest and greatest or I might just stick with the $5 quart of Mobil 1.

[bagman45]

OK, so I'm clearly an outlier here, but I've just been using G96 on my guns for years. Maybe a bit of Hoppes to clean stubborn leading in pistols that I've shot my lead bullet reloads through, and maybe some RIG on the blued guns' exteriors before putting them away. Never had a rusty gun, or ANY type of mechanical issue with autos or revolvers. I just spray 'em down with G96, scrub away all of the dirt, wipe 'em down, put 'em together, then back in the safe until the next outing. Maybe it's because I'm a clean gun freak, but this has worked for me for the past 30 years.

NOW, in the name of full disclosure, I've not done multi-thousand round no cleaning torture tests with any of my guns, so my approach might not survive that sort of deal. That said, I'm pretty old school, so am interested to hear how/why you all chose the products you use to clean/maintain your guns, and ALWAYS want to hear about ways to make cleaning easier and better, since shooting's always more fun than cleaning.....

[carlson1]

AR 15 Wilson Ultima-Lube II Grease

1911's I am still using Wilson Combat Grease.

Everything else Gun Butter.

[jimlongley]

I still have a partial can of US Navy Small Arms Grease from the 60s, well, I got it in the 60s, it's from the 40s. I use it sparingly on a variety of things.

A bunch of years ago I shot an IDPA match with a person who was a rabid "oil only" advocate. During a match he shot his gun dry and suddenly he was getting failures to feed and extract. A finger full of grease from my primer tin fixed it for him.

When I was a Teletype mechanic I had a trick I learned in the Navy reinforced. Grease is nothing more than oil with an added binder, and we adjusted the viscosity of both the oil and grease we used on our Teletype equipment. Sure it wasn't very scientific, but the recommended grease and oil were rare, and it was really just slightly heavier oil and lighter grease, and what we did worked. When I refilled the oil bottle in my tool kit, it got about a half teaspoon of grease added to it, and a fresh grease tin got about a tablespoon of oil stirred in.

[Dadtodabone]

When I was a Teletype mechanic...

My wife has a blouse with "adjusted oil" on it. She was a middle school journalism student touring the Las Vegas News Service in 1963 when the machines went crazy. She still has the blouse and the original UPI, AP and DJ wire reports and a copy of the extra edition of her school newspaper that was the first printed report of Kennedy assassination.

[LTUME1978]

I have been using Royal Purple Synfilm (multi-purpose synthetic lubricant with Synertec) for years with great success. They give out 2 oz bottles for free at one of the trade shows I go to but you can purchase it from them as well (you will need to call them as I did not see it on their web site). I use it on all of my pistols and rifles, including my ARs. Never had any indications that the lube was not performing as it should or any signs of wear that was abnormal. The synthetic oil also helps to break down any fouling that gets in the action from shooting cast bullets. I have only been giving my M&Ps a good cleaning once a year (they get shot at least 2 a month for 3 gun and IDPA plus some practice when I can find time). Other than that, they will get lubed every 500 rounds or so per the instruction manual (7 drops of oil at locations directed) and I go back to shooting. I shoot my AR in a 3 gun match once a month. I would add a few drops of lube to the bolt area before every match but had not cleaned it in many months (probably close to a year). I finally felt guilty for the sloppy behavior on cleaning and was worried that I might have a lot of hard build up or wear in/on the bolt) so I pulled the bolt out and took it apart. No crud build up, the bolt cleaned up very easy, and there were no signs of wear. The barrel looked really good so I did not run anything through it (I am using some recent military pull down powder and it is extremely clean burning). Put everything back together went back to shooting with the same lube routine.

While we don't get really cold weather here, wanted to test the oil to see what it would do in cold weather. I took a bottle of the oil and put it in the freezer for two weeks. When I took it out, it seemed to flow just as well as it did before it went in the freezer. Royal Purple reports that it has a pour point of -60 degrees F. I don't have any way to get it that cold to test that but the freezer test works for me.

[bagman45]

TheCytochromeC, how do you like the Balistol? Been thinking of trying it, as it's easier to find than G96? Any issues or particular tips or cautions??

[Shoot_First]

Not trying to hijack the thread, but this is somewhat related. I have been using a "powder blaster" as part of my gun cleaning process. I used the stuff from Wally World, I think it was Safariland and it was $4.97 a can and worked ok. The price has increased to about $8 a can, so I switched to brake cleaner for less than $1 a can, but it does not work as well. Any suggestions on a product that will blow the gunk off a gun at a price that is reasonable?