Militec-1, revisited

[51Cards]

I've had this stuff around, and have been putting off using it. Finally, I had more than enough free time ...

Two range sessions with it (following the instructions), followed by a full applications with hair-dryer; another range session. And today, a full strip --- down to the pins --- all parts "marinated" in a pie pan, and into the oven at 150 for an hour.

A full wipe-down; thin film of gun oil on all internal parts; reassembly. Another film of Militec-1 on all "action parts," (no gun oil). Another range session.

The pistol (Colt Defender) functioned flawlessly. (Apart from other "adventures" chronicled in THR, it was particularly slick.) Since I'd done the insides and the outsides of the mags, the outsides seemed like an indicator of the insides. Not greasy, but slick.

As usual, after a range session I did a quickie field strip, cleaned the ramps and pulled a boresnake through.

When I got home, the gun took a fractional time to clean. It was as if nothing stuck to any surfaces. These guys may claim you can run a gun dry, and I might be close to believing that.

For the price, I think it's pretty neat stuff. Especially if you need to wipe it out in the field.

 

[sm]

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

That's a pretty good explanation of what we need - is there anything we should avoid? Of course - any product that contains chlorine compounds. These compounds, usually referred to as chlorinated esters, were used as boundary additives for many years. As boundary lubes they actually work pretty well; the problem is that they promote a phenomenon known as "stress corrosion cracking" (SCC). Essentially, SCC creates microscopic pits and cracks that, under heat and pressure, widen to become noticeable cracks - and sometimes, even broken parts!


What about "miracle products"?
Let's be clear: there are no "new", "revolutionary" lubricant products made for firearms. That's a flat statement, and it's intended to be. All of the lubricants, bases, and additives of suitable use are already well known to the lubricant industry. Specific combinations might be unique, but it's all been tried before - if not necessarily on guns.

There are several such products on the market right now that are simply a well-known boundary additive in a light carrier; at least one of them is a chlorinated ester! These things have been around a long time, and unless you didn't know better the products using them would indeed seem to be "revolutionary." Just remember: any new gun lube is going to be made up of readily available components, perhaps blended especially for the requirement, but will not be a "miracle". 'Nuff said!

Mr. Cunningham is a THR member, never met the man, still his thinking mirrors those of Mentors & Elders I had.

Dang, I sure miss the days when a quart of ATF was only .39 at the Auto Parts store...

 

[Dienekes]

Have gone to Militec grease for the M1 and M1A and they seem to run more smoothly with that than the usual Lubriplate 130-A or chassis grease I used previously.

Am using the Militec-1 lube on an AR but frankly can't tell much difference between that and the military surplus "oil, lubricating, light" that I paid 50 cents a gallon for years back.

And then there's the "Ed's Red" that I mix up a gallon at a time.

I think that gun cleaning nostrums are just the the old medicine wagon health remedy racket reborn.

 

[Black Knight]

Militec-1 is what we use at my Police Force (Department of the Army Civilian Police). I clean the pistols for my entire shift (Beretta Certified Armorer). We don't bake our weapons and still get the same performance. It is also what our troops use in Iraq and Afghanistan. Beretta recommends it as well. I have some at home and it is the best I have used.

 

[51Cards]

SM --- thanks for that link!

I think one of the problems with "stainless steel" surfaces is the "fineness" of the surface structure --- not enough porosity/texture to hold lubricants. So, nice, fine machine oil ("gun oil," "sewing machine oil") is fine, if applied/checked regularly. Which isn't practical. Light oil either migrates, "wicks," or is plain blown out too easily.

As the cited article mentions, firearm lube applications aren't that incredibly demanding --- just limited to a variety of special circumstances.

I've found one of the available grease (of the "glide" variety ) to be so heavy as to make cleaning difficult. And, since it's also advertised as "reducing felt recoil," it would seem that the only way it can do that is by applying drag. So far, it seems to complicate timing more than it's worth. That stuff is now working happily on my garage door rails .

I haven't tried ATF, yet.

Black Knight --- the only reason I "baked" it was because I was detail stripping to begin with. (It seemed like a fast-track to "firing in." The web site details a few approaches, and I had the oven for a day ) I have no problem with initial-treating of parts, but piles of gunk inside mechanisms is not want I want. Which is why I "treated" everything, but use only light oil on trigger bars, pins, etc. (I did not treat the bore. That is just seems wrong --- unless you're in really rotten conditions.) It seemed to me that the Militec-1, after heating/cleaning, retained more "slipperiness" than other things I've used.

I've also been a fan of TW-25B, but only on rails and outer barrel surfaces. Again, cleanup and surface retention seems to be good.

With both the TW and Militec-1, the amount of hard-to remove firing residue seems reduced. It seems to me that an easy strip-and-clean promotes frequent cleaning. While I don't want to damage anything, reliability (under all conditions) is most important to me.

 

[John C]

How well does militec protect against corrosion?

-John

 

[51Cards]

Well, like everyone else they claim to prevent corrosion, rust, etc. I'd think that any "oil"-based coating would.

On the other hand, I can't think of too many of my guns I don't look at/handle/strip/clean often enough that corrosion might sneak in.

 

[JohnBT]

Here's a 3-page article on their troubles with DoD over the lack of corrosion prevention.

www.militec-1.com/articles/md.html

"MiliTec-1 fared badly, earning an "unsatisfactory" rating with "significant rust along bottom" and "rust freckling on top."

MiliTec protested Firriolo's findings, saying that he had not applied the product according to instructions - first applying the oil and then heating the metal in a 175-degree oven to "impregnate" the MiliTec-1. Firriolo responded that he had ignored the instructions, because they were "not realistic for the applications I was testing," such as firearms carried "in the field" where ovens are hard to come by."

 

[51Cards]

I guess that brings up a couple of questions. It would seem that the same organization that thought/thinks that the M9 was a great idea also thinks that the same lubricant/corrosive protectant should be as workable in Antarctica as it is in a rain forest or a desert.

The "nail" test cracks me up. Were they stainless nails?

I really have no idea what the current corrosion requirements are. Seems to me that if you're staking your life on a piece of equipment, you probably check/wipe/oil it pretty often. An oily rag or a silicone flannel goes a long way. In any event, I think the key issue is dependability.

My main concerns are wear and function. I take very good care of my stuff, but to be honest, I'd rather have to replace it eventually than be concerned whether it's choking on a dust bunny.

I don't think there is a chemically complete answer to all of this. If there were, the patent holder would be happy indeed.

 

[Average Joe]

Try this, coat a common nail with Militec-1, then do the same with a nail coated with Breakfree CLP. Put both nails in a glass of water, and come back in 24 hours, you will have your answer....

 

[Old Fuff]

USGI 1911A1's will run dry and be reliable. However most of the "new crop" guns are much tighter and are more likely to require lubrication. That said, I haven't found that "space age" lubricants are necessary, at least on carbon steel guns. It should be noted that some excellent lubricants are not necessarily good rust preservatives. Of course in the military they are always looking for a one-size-fits-all solution.

 

[51Cards]

I hate suspense!

Let me guess --- the CLP-coated nail floats on the surface, the Miltec one disintegrates?

Seriously --- I've been interested in stainless/alloy lubes. The corrosion thing isn't as much of a factor to me. Other circumstances, sure.

But what's the real deal?

 

[Sven]

No need to guess - scroll up a few posts, click and read.

<---------------- previously omitted "winkie", which should have been inserted in the first place.

 

[10-Ring]

I've been using Militec for a few years now...the stuff really works!

 

[Unisaw]

I have been using Militec for about the last six months. No problems with rust so far and I really like it as a lubricant.

 

[gudel]

so, did you have to bake your gun?

 

[Unisaw]

No, but I did borrow my wife's blowdryer!

 

[1 old 0311]

EVERYTHING is a wonder drug of cleaning/lube. Brake Clean, Hoppey's, and Mobil 1 work just fine for me thanks

 

[jonnyc]

I put the Militec on liberally then shoot the gun. I figure that warms it up enough. Seems to work for me.

 

[P95Carry]

I find Militec1 suits very well - but reserve its use for slide/frame lube. Internals etc I use Mobil1.

I had a salutary experience with grease on my 226 ST - and this was perhaps due to SS riding on SS. I used grease like Militec or Tetra - but found that after a not excessive amount of shooting, the grease was collecting some crud and becoming very ''draggy'' - so much so one time that std 9mm would not cycle the slide but +P would. Moving slide on frame with spring removed you could feel the drag.

I use +P for carry but I was very concerned about the compromized function. I now will only use an oil for slides and Militec1 is main choice. It might mean more frequent strip and clean perhaps but that is a small price to pay for the freedom of function and so - reliability. In fact in the SIG example, cleaning would also have to have been over frequent just because of the problem I had found.

 

[kevin387]

I did my own personal rust prevenative test a couple of years ago on some sheet metal. I used CLP, the collectors version LP, 3 in 1, WD-40, car wax, 10w-40, Miltec 1, Hoppes, Accubore and a couple of others that I don't remember off hand. The Miltec1 failed horribly, it rusted more than the untreated sections. To be fair I only slightly warmed the metal under a light bulb. I did that to be fair (IMO) across the board. If I was going to open the pores for one then I felt that I dhould have done them all. I was so disappointed that I threw out the bottle.

Please do not flame me on this. If you like the product and it works for you then please continue to use it. I was just sharing my experience.

Kevin

 

[51Cards]

Sven --- thanks for the !

And thanks all for the input!

Seems like the stuff leaves surfaces slipperier, but there's no appreciable residue --- perhaps the reason for the corrosion reports.

My applications (maybe I should've been more specific to begin with): A SA GI stainless, and a Colt Defender.

What fascinates me is this: I wear a stainless watch most of the time. It's obviously on my skin a lot, I handle it a lot (chronograph, bezel, etc.), and I shower with it, usually sudsing it and rinsing it. May sound weird, but I like things "crud-free." I've been wearing this Breitling for five years. No rust. And I don't oil it or bake it.

Since the guns mentioned (as well as others) get fired --- and cleaned --- frequently, they get lubed often, too. The SS stuff stays pristine. It's just the lube demands that concern me. Oil blows off easily, and the drag of some greases seems to impede reliability. Hence, my interest in this stuff.

What I've been thinking of doing is Militec-ing a few times, then using plain ol' gun oil in between.

The corrosion aspect of the Militec-1 is disappointing, though. (But again, when in the desert ...)

 

[.45&TKD]

Militec-1 is a great lubricant but has almost no corrosion preventive properties.

I switched to FP-10 for the best of both worlds and have not looked back.

 

[NORTEXED]

From an old post, but worth repeating

"After the fluff and buff, I stumbled upon MILITEC-1 lube, (the oil), which I now swear by, so I dissasembled the piece again (along with everything else I owned) and treated it. You clean everything real well (like alcohol or degreaser), warm up the metal parts with a blow dryer, wipe them down good with Militec-1, let it set for a while, and wipe it down dry. That stuff works wonders. Even after the dry wipe, the surface is super slick and the piece functions so smooth, you won't believe it, and the dry surface doesn't attract dust and pocket lint. I had treated my carry knife (a CRKT M-16 12) with it as described, and then lost it for 10-12 months. When I found it, it was in the bottom of a cleaning kit (BIG TACKLE BOX) in which some blueing had spilled, (and that crap is corrosive). A bunch of the stuff in there was rusty, but not the knife, it was amazing."

 

[DMK]

So what is the deal with baking the Miltec in the oven?