Grease better than oil?

[jon_in_wv]

I use only a light coat of oil on my M&P. I clean it with oil, lube it with oil, then I wipe the oil off except a very light coat on the frame rails. It doesn't collect dirt or lint and I've fired upwards of 7000 rounds with no noticeable wear anywhere. Getting fancy with the lubes and greases may make you feel better but its totally unnecessary. Most people over lube their weapons rather than under lube. When your grease and oil turn into something that resembles the black sludge you find under and old Chevy's intake manifold I would think that isn't doing your weapon a whole lot or good. If you are in a dusty or sandy environment the grit that it also trapped by the lube will make a nice lapping compound. I'll keep using a very light lube.

Several guys have mentioned how the grease "traps" the carbon and makes it easier to wipe off. Where do you think it goes if it isn't trapped in the grease? Most it migrates out into the air rather than collecting in the grease and fouling up your weapon.

 

[GLOOB]

Grease vs oil depends on your climate. In a dry, hot climate, grease will just dry up and turn into gum. Oil, will dry up and turn into gum, too. But the residue left over will be a lot less.

OTOH, in a cold climate, grease may also become too thick.

I stopped using a specific brand of gun grease on slide rails when I started noticing hard, dried up grease residue on my guns when left for months at a time.

Just get some CLP and forget about it. Works for the military.

 

[Gunner442]

Sentry Solutions/Tuf Cloth

Retired GI: I clean with CLP, and lube with Tuf Cloth from Sentry Solutions. We used Tuf Cloths in the Desert and Navy Seal tested/approved. Worht looking at!

 

[jon_in_wv]

I used CLP for a long time. I started using Mobile 1 and one of the benefits is that it doesn't get thick when it gets cold. Use it your car some cold winter if you don't believe me.

 

[JohnKSa]

I used CLP for a long time. I started using Mobile 1 and one of the benefits is that it doesn't get thick when it gets cold.

Neither does BreakFree CLP, and with good reason. It contains the same oil as a primary ingredient. At least it did the last the last time I could compare the two MSDS'.

 

[jon_in_wv]

I wasn't saying that was a difference between the two. CLP works just as well too.

 

[easyg]

One of the things I like about oils like CLP is that, over time, the metal seems to absorb the oil (molecular bonding perhaps) much like a well seasoned cooking pan does.
This doesn't seem to happen with grease so much.

 

[788Ham]

Get some "Gun Butter" grease, made by the same outfit that makes the oil. This stuff works!, made the slide an older Beretta 1935, .32 auto work like greased lightning!

 

[Bovice]

I use shooter's choice, the red stuff in a syringe for any handgun, except inside the barrel. Regular gun oil goes in there. I switched to it after noticing a little frame rail wear, and the wear has since stopped. It isn't a "lapping compound" after it catches fouling. I'd have more wear to show for it if it was.

 

[jon_in_wv]

Or the wear you saw was from initial break in and the wear you saw stopped no matter what you did. All weapons show initial wear from the seating of the moving parts to each other. My M&P did the same in the first few weeks I fired it. I've used Mobile 1 for 7000 more rounds and the frame rails still look the same so now what?


I don't think any one here, my self included, is implying that either or is going to wear your frame rails to a nub. The fact is with NO lube I doubt any of us would cause enough wear to cause a weapon to break. Its incremental. The debate is about which is better, thats all.

 

[Hi-Lander]

I used to use CLP for lube. Then started using TW25B and will never go back. I use it on my AK, AR, Sigs, Glocks and levers.

 

[GreyCoupe]

Gotta say, I was a skeptic regarding all the exotic lubricants.

Always used a good gun oil everywhere, shotguns, rifles, pistols, except the Garand which always gets LubriPlate.

That was before.

Have been using TW25B on my SIG for a year now, and am very, very impressed. I think part of the problem for people is they are used to using one product everywhere. It was for me.

The issue of oil what turns, grease what slides takes some getting used to, but it makes perfect sense and just changing your routine. Now blued guns get cleaned, then TW25B oil on the blued areas, all the sliding action in semi-autos and over and unders get greased, oil the inside of the barrel and done.

I think what really sold me on TW25B was my Dad's old Walther P-38. We always called it a "one-shot semi-auto" because it would hang up after the first chambered round. Since he brought it home from WWII, it had never worked right, and been subjected to speculation about:

-- new ammo not being as hot as military ammo,

-- new ammo not being as meticulously made and causing FTE because the original 9mm Luger case had a slight taper towards the mouth,

-- per above, lots of chamber cleaning and oiling to permit easy ejection,

-- tired springs, etc., etc.

So after going to the range I decided to strip the old pistol and do the TW25B thing to it.

Guess what, the P-38 went on the next range trip, ate a variety of ammo, bullet weights, and manufacturers, without a FTF or FTE. Wish my Dad had been around to see it. Just oil didn't permit the old Walther's slide to function properly.

So instead of an aging old safe queen, I have a war souvenir that shoots pretty good at the distances it was designed for...

 

[stonecutter2]

I have a big ol' can of Lubriplate 130-A for use on my M1 Garand, I've taken to lubing the slide rails and barrels of my autoloaders. I clean frequently enough so "gunk" doesn't really build up in excess. I use a very light coating of grease and it slicks up the works perfectly. I use Outers or RemOil on other surfaces.

 

[a_just_cause]

GreyCoupe- that is a really cool story about the grease, the p-38 and your dad.

 

[gofastman]

I usually use CLP for everything, but I FINALY found a heavy duty EP fortified grease that doesn't smell like toxic poo.
THIS STUFF really rocks, like I said it has almost no odor, it stays put, and its not overly sticky or messy.

as far as thickness goes,
#0 would be ideal, #1 is ok and fairly easy to find, #2 is getting a bit too thick IMO, but is by far the most common.

 

[Zerodefect]

I want to try Neon Green shock seal lube.

Super slick stuff. Like really thin grease. I don't know if it'll leave a slick layer behind like my mix deos when it's wiped off. I saw a tub of it at a Honda bike dealer years ago. I know I should have bought it........

 

[ArmedBadger]

I use both, grease and oil. This is the first time I've heard of CLP. I went to their website and they say it cleans and lubes to Military specs? So I guess it would be ok to use on poly guns?

 

[Accipere]

I use hi-grade lithium grease. Smells like a tractor, works like a charm and is easy to clean . . .

 

[jmresistance]

I put about 50 rounds through my Taurus Judge today and the cylinder seemed like it was getting sticky (not turning smoothly). I use RemOil on practically everything. Is this where I went wrong? I must admit that I know very little about revolvers...

 

[w2fnt]

Motor oil is just that motor oil and is not good for guns. It is a high detergent composition designed to collect and retain dirt in it's suspension. Plus it is designed to be under pressure circulating in the system at about 20 - 60 psi. Your gun does not have an oil pump and really does not need the dirt and grit collecting on bearing surfaces acting like a grinding compound.

Break Free CLP is a specifically designed Cleaner, Lubricant and Preservative composition expressly designed for firearms in the harshest combat environments. It even has a Mil Spec Number of MIL-L-63460, NATO CODE S-758-9150-01-079-6124. Do you really think the military was just fooling around when they specified this product when lives depend on it? I don't! The choice for me is a real simple one.

 

[Zerodefect]

Break Free CLP evaporates too quickly, leaving my guns dry and prone to friction and wear. I use it to clean only. And never to lube anything.

 

[w2fnt]

Break Free does not evaporate at anytime or under any conditions. It migrates into the surface crevices and texture of the metal. The lubricity and preservative characteristic are still right where you put it to start with. The military does not have any problems with evaporation in any given set of circumstances with Break CLP. They have stress tested it completely before assigning it a Mil Spec number. In all fairness, I would trust the military before I would trust any one persons opinion quite frankly!

 

[481]

Motor oil is just that motor oil and is not good for guns. It is a high detergent composition designed to collect and retain dirt in it's suspension. Plus it is designed to be under pressure circulating in the system at about 20 - 60 psi. Your gun does not have an oil pump and really does not need the dirt and grit collecting on bearing surfaces acting like a grinding compound.

Break Free CLP is a specifically designed Cleaner, Lubricant and Preservative composition expressly designed for firearms in the harshest combat environments. It even has a Mil Spec Number of MIL-L-63460, NATO CODE S-758-9150-01-079-6124. Do you really think the military was just fooling around when they specified this product when lives depend on it? I don't! The choice for me is a real simple one.

Of course, motor oil retains and suspends dirt.

Do you really think "gun" oil doesn't retain and suspend dirt also?

After shooting your gun, even after a short practice session, is the "gun" oil that you used to lubricate it still clean and free of dirt?

MIL-SPEC and NATO codes matter little. The military's primary concern in selecting anything is meeting minimum specifications at minimal cost and those codes hardly stand as a "seal of guaranteed quality".

Just because something meets MIL-SPEC does not mean it is "the best".

 

[w2fnt]

Is it ok with you if I do my own thinking and follow the logic of the greatest military on the face of the planet?

 

[481]

Is it ok with you if I do my own thinking and follow the logic of the greatest military on the face of the planet?

Sure.

Why would any of the questions that I asked above prevent you from doing your own thinking?