Mobil 1 for AR 15 lube?

Status
Not open for further replies.
R

Randy1911

Member
Joined
Mar 15, 2009
Messages
914
Location
Arkansas
Not sure if this is the right place for this question, but I will ask anyway. Move if needed.

I was told by the local AR expert at my local gunshop that any good synthetic oil will make a good AR lube. He specificly mentioned Mobil 1. I have been using Mobil 1 15W-50 for the last few cleanings with no problems in how it functions. Is this a good lube to use or am I making a mistake by using it?
 
Should work as well as any other synthetic gun lube.

Lots of folks use motor oil for guns.
I just never could get by the smell.

Maybe Mobil 1 smells better the Castrol GTX 10W30 when it gets hot?

rc
 
Good point RC, but I'm too busy enjoying the smell of the gunpowder burning..:D:D The reason I ask is because I happened to have a new bottle of Mobil 1 sitting on my shelf in the garage. There seems to be plenty of oil left in the action when I take it apart to clean it. And it is a lot cheaper than those "specilized gun oils"on the market.
 
FWIW, I've used Mobil1 on 1911's. I keep a small squirt bottle with my range bag. It's my just in case lube, though I have used just Mobil1 on occasion, with no ill effects......
 
I have used Mobil One on my 1911's and it works well. I used to use it on my AR, but switched to CLP because it is convient. I use CLP to clean my 1911 and then use Mobil one for the final lube.
 
I have pulled the dipstick more than once to get a few drops of oil for a draggy action.
Hey, it works fine for tight tolerances and temps inside an engine....I figured it would work just as well in my 'ol 1100.
 
Thanks Guys

I will keep using it as it seems to work fine for me. I will get a small dropper bottle to keep in my range box. I wonder how well it will work in a trigger spray bottle like they sell for a buck at Wally World. I will have to give that a try. I use one for Hoppe's #9 and it works fine. The chemicals don't seem to eat it up or any thing.
 
I've used it for several years, none of my firearms have rusted, become carbon encrusted, ka-Boomed, or suffered excessive wear.

I look at the specialty/boutique gun oils the same way I do at bug cleaner - - You can pay 4.99 for 12 ounces at the store, or 3.00 a gallon at the service station if you don't mind that it doesn't have any fancy perfume in it.
 
Most people will find this hard to believe but motor oils work great for lubrication but lousy for corrosion prevention. The inside of an engine is a closed environment and corrosion protection isn't really needed. Don't believe it? Walk through any junkyard and look at all of the engine blocks covered in rust. They were all coated with engine oil when they towed them in there. It evaporates off in time. I have tried just about everything out there for gun lubes and Breakfree CLP is the best one I have found. Over twenty years of use on competition guns firing a thousand rounds a week in hot humid summer weather with sweaty hands and never had any rust on any of them. Dexron Automatic Transmission Fluid is also a great lubricant but I don't think I would trust it for preventing corrosion. It does a great job dissolving carbon residue and keeps my 1911s running all day and is still in the gun when I tear it down. Breakfree Collector is the best protection I have found for corrosion. The maker claims it will protect for 5 years in open air storage and will not evaporate off or turn to varnish. Everything in my safe wears a thin film of it.
 
Last edited:
And if you left your gun out in the same environment that those junk yard engines are in, and with the same standard of care, they'd look the same as the engines do no matter where in the world you live.
Motor oils have a reasonably high level of corrosion inhibitors in them, precisely because an engine IS NOT a closed environment, and never has been. It also has to deal with some very corrosive combustion byproducts.

Think PCV, and road draft tube before that.
 
Unofficially

We used Mobil 1 50wt on our M60's and it worked fine...unofficially. I also like the new industrial strength Simple Green for pre cleaning the heavy gunk and then use good ole' Break Free. Has anyone used the Grease Lightning by Break Free?
 
I've been experimenting with Penzz Ultra Synthetic 5w-20 on everything I've been shooting in the last month; 1911, AR15, Savage .17HMR. Seems to be fine nothing remarkable one way or the other.
 
And if you left your gun out in the same environment that those junk yard engines are in, and with the same standard of care, they'd look the same as the engines do no matter where in the world you live.
Motor oils have a reasonably high level of corrosion inhibitors in them, precisely because an engine IS NOT a closed environment, and never has been. It also has to deal with some very corrosive combustion byproducts.
Click to expand...

I was able to look at the SAE Oil spec. I don't recall a specific corrosion test, but there were lots of scuff tests, shear tests, etc. I was looking for a test similiar to what the military tests CLP, which is tested against corrosion and a corrosion test is included.

Neither CLP or motor oil should be considered in any sense of the word long term corrosion inhibitors. There may be oxygen migration blockers in CLP, but I expect the main corrosion protection is simply a thick layer of oil. Ditto for motor oil. Once the oil is gone through evaporation or oxidation, an iron rich surface is going to rust.

Regardless, motor oil is highly spec'd, it is an outstanding lubricant. It is a best buy considering the price.

I have used Mobile One for at least decade on my Match AR's. I have used 5W-30 and 10W-30 because that is what I buy for my vehicles. I prefer oils to greases in the AR because the stuff is easier to wipe out. I occasionally use a light lithium grease on the cam pin, because I have a can of that stuff on my gun bench.

The main thing with AR’s is to keep them well lubricated. They run better wet than dry.
 
Breakfree has PTFE or Teflon which remains even after the treated surface becomes dry. Prolly why it works as well as it does for anti-corrosion. To be honest I just clean my 1911s with the break free and the same with the ARs. If I go to the range and they appear dry I shoot anyway. Personally never had a problem. Just my experience.
 
I use it on all my guns. I work on the water and all my duty weapons get exposed to salt water daily (most are direct exposure). Out of all the ones in our department mine have shown the most resistant to corrosion and zero problems. If it is not a corrosion inhibitor, it sure works like one.
 
one thing I do know from my antique machine tools is that not all oils are created equal. if your guns have any copper/brass parts (some old ones do) you might beware of using just "any old oil" and yes, engine oil falls into that category, regardless of how it is made.

they have a separate test where they actually do check for corrosion of copper based alloys in various motor/hydraulic/transmission oils. grades IIRC are A,B,C,D. A shows no corrosion, B shows discoloration of the copper based metals, and I can't remember the exact standards of C, and D. but they involve the metal being eaten away to some noticable extent.

Don't know how aluminum behaves in such situations, but I do know that the very alakaline cleaners, and I think the "Purple Power" and "Greased Lightning" are highly alkaline (why they cut grease so well). Aluminum is easily etched by alkaline cleaners... so be hesitant about using on your mossbergs, and possibly some other light alloy frames.

when it comes down to it, the gun oils are not necessarily anything exotic, but if you want your guns to function well, it pays to use oils in the proper amounts (we all know) and proper viscosities (not so clear to some).

this reminds me a lot of the people who want to use ATF for their lathe ways, cause they are too cheap to spend a few bucks on real way oil. sometimes the purpose made product really is better, even if it costs a bit more. and really, if you are going to spend hundreds, if not thousands on a nice firearm, whats a few bucks for good oil to take care of it? my grandfather used to swear by 3 in 1 oil for everything, and all of my granny's old sewing machines were totally gummed up because of it. you buy proper spindle oil (which is what that expensive sewing machine oil is) and they stay running great forever, with narry a cleaning.

likewise, I would think that the rails on a semi-auto pistol would do better and wear less with a really light, but sticky oil. I don't think the fine spindle oil would be as good as a really light way oil for machine tools. a good way oil actually has ingredients that help it stick to the metal and stay there, while still maintaining viscosity. and at $65/5 gallons of the stuff, the few drops you need per cleaning of each gun, you could buy that and have enough to share with all of your friends. or have enough for a lifetime.

sorry for the long semi-rant, but I work in a place where people just LOVE to use the wrong tool for the job whenever they can. and when you have plenty good tools at yourdisposal, why cheap out completely?
 
Mobil 1 works great, but be careful on bolt carriers in the winter time. Use one of the thinner grades when it gets down below freezing. I use 20-50w on everything with good results, but last winter on a well below freezing day, my AR-10 was jamming from the oil thickening up and slowing down the BCG enough to cause short stroking. When I got home I cleaned it and relubed with some 5-30w I had and it worked fine the next day in the same temps...
 
Mobil 1 is an awesome lube, for an engine. Engines continually pump, slosh and splash oil on everything, and it contains chemicals and detergents to combat the effects of cumbustion. Guns need an oil that is designed to keep the metal coated without being continually relubricated like in an engine. Luckily guns don't put much of a demand on oil so just about anything will work. Considering how little oil is really needed in a gun I would just rather use oil that was designed for that purpose. I also know that a lot of people aren't worried about the ingredients in motor oil, but they are harmful to skin. It's kind of like the arguement that not all smokers get lung cancer. While that might be true it's not a good reason to start smoking. Take it from a guy who has chemical induced eczema on my hands, why use something that could be harmful when there are alternatives, just to save a few dollars.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

G
  • Locked
"Cerflon", and other Lubricants...
Replies
3
Views
2K
Jolly Rogers
J
B
  • Locked
Mobile 1 synthetic oil or grease?
Replies
8
Views
1K
Hummer70
Hummer70
F
  • Locked
Mobil 1 or ATF??
2
Replies
29
Views
5K
Risasi
R
G
  • Locked
Can you use syn 2 cycle oil in place of Mobil 1
2
Replies
41
Views
4K
gizmodog
G
elktrout
  • Locked
AR15 lube
2
Replies
37
Views
4K
Rubber_Duck
R
Back
Top