Metal Conditioning Lubricants?

I like froglube, I've used it with balistol for a while now so far no ill effects lol

you know, everyone claims XXX lube does this, and XXX lube is better and so on....


ive probably used half a dozen different lubes, ive honestly never really been able to tell a difference between any of them. my guns all shoot the same regardless of what lube i use.

so long as you are using an appropriate type of lubrication, i dont see the need to spend a lot of money on the next latest and greatest wonder lube....and i honestly dont think anyone in a blind test will be able to tell the difference between lube X and lube Y

i simply buy a quart of cheap motor oil and use that on all my guns.

I find myself in the same corner as M-Cameron. Years ago I would call it the lube of the month club as it seemed every month a new solvent and lube came out with more magic ingredients. About ten or 15 years ago it was Tetra products and then some.

For solvents I like and use the Hoppes line and a few others. Motor oil works fine and I only use Tetra greases because I still have a case left over from my old gun shop days. Maintain the firearm and keep it clean and lubed and I have never seen much difference in the products.

I have never heard or seen where changing a product will cause a problem.

Just My Take
Ron

There are a few combinations of cleaners/solvents which can be dangerious. For example, mixing chlorinated brake cleaner with an ammonia based copper solvent.

Also, certain cleaners/solvents can degrade certain lubricants.

Generally, you would find this information on the MSDS sheet, rather than the advertisement lit.

All that molecular bonding crap is just a bunch of marketing horsehockey. Many of the crankcase additives, e.g., Militec, have been making those claims to the ignorant proletariat for years.

I thought lubes were pretty much the same. I had been using Tetra Lube for some years now. Then I decided to try Slip 2000. My ARs went from feeling like they were greased to feeling like they had no oil in them at all, but water. I didn't like the metal to metal feel I got from the Slip and went back to Tetra. I lubed up with Tetra, shot it in, cleaned and relubed with Tetra, and everything became smooth moving again.

That is the only time I really felt a real significant difference between two lubes.

I have also found I have a fondness for Gun Butter on the moving parts of bolt action rifles. It is pretty good at keeping things smooth and staying put when used in moderation.

Snake oil salesmen.

See this lube test I did some time ago.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showpost.php?p=5960210&postcount=15

rc

Um.

Lubrication requirements for high speed continuous rotation is rather different than for most firearms.

Maybe testing lube for the axial bearing on a mini-gun?

No, but film strength is Very important for a firearm.

Rather then setting around rubbing two pieces of dissimilar metal together as hard as I could until my arm fell off?

I used my lathe.

rc

Actually there is moly disulphide which you can get from sprinco.

It does indeed treat your metal. But there are good and bad properties to it.

It is temporary, but it does last quite a while. Depends on your use of course.

It smooths the surface of a finely polished metal. Makes it slicker. I have been using it for years and it works great.

For example I treated my Browning HP with the mag safety. Made it slick as glass. Still had creep but it was smooth. I have treated many revolvers and it slicks up the action very nicely. I routinely treat the bolts of my rifles. I have a Marlin 1985 that has a bolt so slick you would think it was either ancient or worked on. But all I did was treat it. It turns silver metal to a gray silver color.

But, if you live in a high moisture location it is not that good. Moly disulphide in the presence of moisture becomes acidic. It will take the blue off of your barrel if you get it on the outside of the barrel and expose it to moisture. Treating the rifling or internal parts is not an issue for me in Colorado, really bad news for someone in for example Florida.

It absolutely slows fouling. It makes cleanup easier after shooting.

I have heard of but never tried any of the other products mentioned above.

Whenever a lubricant salesman starts talking about his product "in the pores of the metal" I just kind of turn my ears off. I have looked at steels under a metallurgist's microscope and saw no pores.

I use 3 in one oil.No problems what so ever ! Cliff

I won a quart of Millitec at a shoot, works as well as motor oil. A 1lb tin of Lubtiplate 130A (Garand grease) cost about the same as 1oz tube of Tetra grease and they look, feel and function the same.

One product I do have high regard for is Eezox. As a solvent and rust preventive it's the best I have used. Cleaning up old mil-surps and dealing with surface rust it's unsurpassed.

Metal Conditioning Lubricants?

That would be something like this rubbed in real good & wiped off good......

I am not a tribologist. I did pick up a couple of books on the topic because it is very interesting.

What I can say, material technology has really improved in my life time. That material technology is reflected in the absolutely wonderful lubricants that we have today.

Got to talk to a gentleman who is a race vehicle mechanic. Bearing tolerances are much smaller than they used to be and one reason is the wonderful lubricants available.

So, do these things condition surfaces?, heck if I know. Could be, might be, you just have to try the stuff and see if you notice a difference.

If you don’t, don’t spend extra money on something that makes no difference.

The reason I like froglube is because it doesn't attract dust, it works, and it smells kind of like tooth paste instead of the nasty chemical smell most cleaners and lubes have. Honestly though I use balistol more then I use froglube, balistol is convenient because it is in an aerosol can and does what I need it to. I used to use rem oil but balistol lasts a ton longer.

I just condition the metal of my firearms with a high-quality synthetic 20w50 automotive oil. Almost fifteen years of doing it this way and I have yet to see a problem in the way of wear (I've seen nothing perceptible), corrosion (none at all), or function (smooth sailing so far).

I am surprised to see so many posts about lubing guns with motor oil. I would think that one would want to use a lighter oil. Is the Quaker State Warranty good for your guns, too?

Conditioning hardened gun metals with oil or grease is laughable. It might work for your old lady's hair but we are talking about heat treated steel and anodized aluminum. There are industrial coatings and cryo but dont believe for one second something out of a bottle is going to alter the structure of the base metal.

Lighter oils? that's what 0w-20 is for. 20w-50 is what I use in warmer weather. Mobile One for me - it is essentially free due to left over oil from changes.

Sent by someone using something.

Conditioning hardened gun metals with oil or grease is laughable. It might work for your old lady's hair but we are talking about heat treated steel and anodized aluminum. There are industrial coatings and cryo but dont believe for one second something out of a bottle is going to alter the structure of the base metal.

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Correct. I happen to use synthetic motor oil such as Mobil 1 or Pennzoil Platinum, does this make for smoother operation? Yup in that it reduces the metal to metal contact.

Lighter oils? that's what 0w-20 is for. 20w-50 is what I use in warmer weather. Mobile One for me - it is essentially free due to left over oil from changes.

Sent by someone using something.

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This too. Left over bottle drippings.

Like that sig line! hehe

adelbridge said:

Conditioning hardened gun metals with oil or grease is laughable. It might work for your old lady's hair but we are talking about heat treated steel and anodized aluminum. There are industrial coatings and cryo but dont believe for one second something out of a bottle is going to alter the structure of the base metal.

Click to expand...

LOL

You're absolutely not defeating atomic forces. It takes heat (a lot of it) to diffuse atoms into a metallic lattice.

But rub it on like Clairol if you think it helps!

Eesox is what I use. Good product,although I'm not a fan of the initial smell of the product LOL!