Ar-15 lubricant grease

[sfed]

I use an extreme performance synthetic grease called TW 25B it provides excellent corrosion resistance and is the consistency of 50w oil. It is temperature rated at -90 F to 450+ F, it is white in color so you can tell when it is really dirty after hundreds of rounds. It is also environmentally safe and non toxic also nonflammable. It is made by Milcomm Products Company. A little goes a long ways, I have had this 1.5 oz tube for years and it is still over half full. I still have yet to see any wear marks on any of the moving parts or contact points of any of my upper receivers, I use it on all 3 of my AR`s and I shoot all of them regularly. I clean the bores 3-4 times before I strip the bolt carrier group to clean and relube the BCG. I highly recommend it.

 

[nathan]

Any gun oil in the market. Or just buy the thinnest Mobil synthetic.

 

[1911 guy]

I'm with cfullgraf. If it slides, grease it, if it pivots, oil it. I use a thin film of lithium grease on the outer surfaces of the BCG, oil on all the interior places. Then oil to keep it running until next cleaning. Never had a stoppage that wasn't ammunition (OAL too long to feed correctly - my varmint loads) induced. Never been "too gunked up" to run. This includes active duty, reserves and owning a few AR types as a civilian now.

 

[SuedePflow]

I use Gun Butter. It's my go-to lube for all of my guns. Primarily because of the syringe applicator. It allows me to apply small amounts of lube to precise locations to cut down on excess and a messy rifle.

 

[benEzra]

So what happens when you start to fire(use) the firearm?

If your firearm runs on gasoline and you go 5 million combustion cycles before cleaning and re-lubing, you might have the same issue, yes. If not, unlikely.

Used motor oil is carcinogenic because it absorbs partially unburned combustion products of gasoline from piston ring blow-by, then steeps said combustion products at a couple hundred degrees, with added water, for months. If you filled a crankcase with gun oil and ran it 5000 miles, the gun oil would contain the exact same carcinogens. Neither gun oil nor motor oil is carcinogenic fresh out of the bottle, though.

I get it though. Motor oil does lubricate moving parts as that's what it was designed for... In automotive engines, but regardless it lubricates right? Just keep in mind that it is not optimal and was not designed as such.

Oil has physical properties, not metaphysical purposes, and for *any* use you pick an oil with the best physical properties for that application. A firearm---or a car---doesn't see the label on the bottle; it sees only the physical properties of the oil.

I use Mobil 1 EP 5W30 because its physical properties (film thickness, viscosity, shear strength, temperature curves, additive pack) are in my opinion about as good as you can get for a general purpose gun lubricant, and due to those same properties I again was already using it in my J32A3. I don't use it as an exterior preservative, though, because the properties that make it a good lubricant (film thickness and persistence) make it messy on the outside.

I'd challenge you to compare the physical properties of (say) Rem Oil vs. Mobil 1 EP sometime, and then tell me how Rem Oil is such a superior firearms lubricant because it has a gun company's name on the label.

Remington and other gun-oil companies don''t own any refineries; they buy oils and additive packs from oil companies based on the specs they want, blend them (or have them blended), and market them as gun oils. The blend they come up with is often a compromise between exterior and interior use, which is why Rem Oil is a better exterior coating and preservative than Mobil 1 (because it is thinner and more volatile), but those qualities make it somewhat less robust as a lube.

Regardless, I cleaned a used g26 a few weeks ago that had motor oil used on it. It took me disassembling the entire pistol to get that crap out of it. It was everywhere. Just a magnet for dirt and carbon.

What kind of motor oil? They aren't all created equal.

Having said that, a good gun oil is *supposed* to be a magnet for carbon; it dissolves carbon (or should) and thereby keeps it from accreting into carbon cement on your working parts. It will also keep fine dust fluidized so it doesn't accrete and jam the action. Those two characteristics of *any* good gun oil are why AR's run better wet than dry when they are very dirty. And in my experience, Mobil 1 definitely stays put far longer than most gun oils I've used. I consider that a feature, not a bug. It also makes cleanup a snap; just wipe the bolt, BCG, and receiver with a cloth and re-lube, or (in a pinch) just add more lube to flush the accumulated crap out.

Having said that, I wouldn't use a non-synthetic motor oil on a firearm except in a pinch because fossil-derived oils smell and are inferior to synthetics, and I can see the hassle of trying to get a brown and stinky distillate oil (if that's what you were dealing with) out of a gun's nooks and crannies.

 

[hatt]

Regardless, I cleaned a used g26 a few weeks ago that had motor oil used on it. It took me disassembling the entire pistol to get that crap out of it. It was everywhere. Just a magnet for dirt and carbon.

I would have field stripped it, sprayed it down with non chlorinated brake cleaner, hit it with some compressed air and had it cleaned in 2 minutes.

 

[atomd]

I agree with everything BenEzra just had in his post. That pretty much sums it up.

 

[DoubleMag]

if you live at the north or south pole, i don't know what to tell you. but for most of north america, do not use grease. use oil. i still use slip2000 EWL and haven't found anything better. however, LSA, CLP, mobil1, and nearly any other OIL will work fine.

some, like "machine gunners lube" do an amazing job of lubricating, but a totally crappy job at rust prevention. others gun products like "sheath" or "eezox" are great at rust prevention but kinda sucky at lubricating. most everything else is somewhere in the middle.

there it is. Slip 2000 EWL for me! if you've never used it its kinda like a heavier oil. has both fill properties and coating properties. excellent lube. doesn't migrate very much, which is good, and easier to find, to buy

grease? if I were to use a commercial gun grease its Shooters Choice in the white syringe.

both of these are commercially prepared, for guns, modestly priced and easy to find. although not having those present....synthetic motor oil is a 3rd choice...

 

[B!ngo]

My personal theory is that unless you are caring for automatic weapons where the heat and pressure really stress an oils ability to maintain a protective layer, it matters little what you use.
That said, when I need to oil may firearms, I reach for a small squeeze bottle filled with Mobile 1.
And when I have to place some dabs of grease in selected areas, I reach for a plastic syringe filled with Mobil 1.
Now I have purchased some S2000 and tried that too. It works fine but seemingly no better than the M1 at many multiples of the price. Again, that stuff really was designed for auto weapons so it may have superior properties that I won't see in my use case.
B

 

[Scrubber3]

I would have field stripped it, sprayed it down with non chlorinated brake cleaner, hit it with some compressed air and had it cleaned in 2 minutes.

I don't use brake cleaner on polymer components. I don't have much in the way of compressed air either. So I took my time as it is as much as a decompression activity as it is a cleaning.

As far as using synthetic motor oil to lube a civilian firearm: I guess it has it's merits, but I'll stick to something that sticks to the gun better and doesn't have so much of a chance to be soaked up by my holster. That and without the heat from an engine the rust prevention of motor oil doesn't seem to offer the same degree of protection that oils designed for guns do. (Modern renditions) Albeit, I supposed synthetic motor oil does offer some degree.

So long as a gun is lubed, I guess it really doesn't matter with what. As long as two things don't occur at once(dirty and dry) and you have a quality firearm, you should have no problems with reliability using any lube you choose. I've been known to use some watered down CLP before only because the alternative was worse and it did the trick until I could get back to the rear.

 

[benEzra]

As far as using synthetic motor oil to lube a civilian firearm: I guess it has it's merits, but I'll stick to something that sticks to the gun better and doesn't have so much of a chance to be soaked up by my holster.

I switched to Mobil 1 because the film lasts longer than any other gun oil I've ever used. There are certainly other gun oils that are as good---at 10x the price--but there are none I'm aware of that are better lubricants. Some may be better at long-term corrosion protection, though, so I use Boeshield T-9 for long-term storage.

As far as holsters, I don't use M1 on the exterior of a gun because I don't want a thick film on the outside, for exactly the reason you state; I use a thin, solvent-heavy, fast-evaporating gun oil for that (e.g. Rem Oil) and it works very well in that role.

That and without the heat from an engine the rust prevention of motor oil doesn't seem to offer the same degree of protection that oils designed for guns do. (Modern renditions) Albeit, I supposed synthetic motor oil does offer some degree.

The most critical lubrication condition in a typical internal combustion engine is a cold start---zero initial motion, zero oil pressure, temperatures anywhere from room temp to far below freezing, with direct metal-to-metal contact. Which is not all that unlike conditions in a firearm. Of course, the nice thing about synthetic motor oils is that they retain good lubrication qualities at temps far above normal gun temps (compare the viscosity of Mobil 1 and Rem Oil at 212F and you'll see what I mean).

 

[Warp]

I do not follow "if it slides, grease it" when the manufacturers of the product do not agree.

AR/M4 bolt carriers...oil.

 

[StrutStopper]

Another Mobil 1 guy here.

 

[Fast Frank]

I have a pretty good collection of gun cleaners/lubes here.

It's a by-product of many years of being a gun nut.

For grease, I use a synthetic from silkolene. It's thin but stays where I put it. I doubt that it's substantially better or worse than all the other greases, but it's what I use.

For oil, I used to like Shooter's Choice FP40. It's real slippery and it creeps in like penetrating oil. I like the smell, too.

But the FP40 creeps OUT of the gun, too. After just a short time it's all gone and the gun is dry.

I like Mobil1. It's slippery enough, and it stays put. It's probably the best lube but It doesn't creep like the FP40.

Then, I had the awesome idea of mixing FP40 with Mobil1 50-50.

I think It's the best thing I have found to date.

It creeps into mechanisms, so a drop from the outside gets all the way into the working parts.

It stays put, so after being stored for several months it's still wet where it needs to be.

It smells good.

It's cheap. One bottle of FP40 and the remnants from an oil change in my truck is enough for a lifetime.

I have used it on everything from my lever rifles to my AR15, and on revolvers and my Kimber .45. So far I have not found a situation where it doesn't do it's job.

Is it far superior to another lube?

Maybe. As mentioned, it seems to have the right combination of staying put and creeping. I have had no corrosion issues at all, so I guess it's good enough in that department.

I'm going to stay with it for now, until I find something that I think is better.

 

[armsmaster270]

Froglube or Breakfree CLP

 

[meanmrmustard]

M-Pro 7 user here.

 

[redneck2]

I sell extreme duty industrial lubricants for a living. Oil itself is a pretty poor lubricant. Grease is just oil with something to thicken it up (think Bisquick in pancake batter) and isn't necessarily preferable to oil. There are both oils and greases that perform poorly in typical operating conditions. Additives plus the quality of the base stock make all the difference in the world.

Lately I've been using our PTFE teflon based spray lube on internals. It is our product that is used for corrosion protection and is slickest substance known. Gonna see how it works out. I know that it works quite well in AR's

FWIW, I use RIG on the exterior of my firearms. A RIG rag (actually sheepskin soaked in RIG) has been exceptionally effective for me.

 

[Guntoter]

I sell extreme duty industrial lubricants for a living. Oil itself is a pretty poor lubricant. Grease is just oil with something to thicken it up (think Bisquick in pancake batter) and isn't necessarily preferable to oil. There are both oils and greases that perform poorly in typical operating conditions. Additives plus the quality of the base stock make all the difference in the world.

Lately I've been using our PTFE teflon based spray lube on internals. It is our product that is used for corrosion protection and is slickest substance known. Gonna see how it works out. I know that it works quite well in AR's

FWIW, I use RIG on the exterior of my firearms. A RIG rag (actually sheepskin soaked in RIG) has been exceptionally effective for me.

redneck2, you don't happen to work for LE inc. do you?

 

[redneck2]

No..

 

[Guntoter]

No..

Ok.. since you mentioned industrial lubes I thought you might be with them.