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Motor Oil???

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Compressor oil is just a non detergent (ND) motor oil. I run ND 30 in all my compressors and have for years. Even in the pumps on my powerwashers.
 
Mobil 1 full synthetic for my car and firearms. Outstanding stuff.
 
I only use Singer sewing machine oil on my original Singer 1911. I carry it daily and did a nice stippling job and curt some front serrations on the slide with my bench grinder last week.
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Jeez, just get it chromed (guys at the bumper shop did mine) and cut for some Bomars, like I did.

:neener:
 
Motor oil makes a decent lube for guns but is a little thicker than is needed and does not offer corrosion protection like say, CLP or Eezox. But if it's all you have available it will work, but there are definitely better lubes available for less money than the name brand "gun oils". I have been trying for almost 30 years to find the best lube for my competition handguns and Dexron is very hard to beat and a quart is inexpensive and lasts a long time. I have been running it in heavily used 1911s and it holds up very well on a long match day. I have run 1000 rounds through them in one day and when torn down the barrels and bushings and rails still have plenty of lube left on them.
 
Actually, motor oils have corrosion and oxidation inhibitors in them- just like the so-called 'gun oils'. I've been using synthetic motor oil for years under some extremely adverse conditions and have yet to see a speck of rust on any of them.

Of course, I am going to feel silly when they (whoever 'they' are) discover all of the secret 'gun oil' factories that produce that stuff.
 
M-Cameron said:
oil in its self is a rust inhibitant.

Rust is FeO2 or Iron Oxide.......essentially you need to expose the iron to the oxygen in the air to create rust.....

what oil does is form a film over the steel so that it is no longer exposed to oxygen.......oil also repels water or H20 (notice the oxygen).....

essentially any non-water based fluid can be used to inhibit rust.....petroleum/ silicone/ wax/ ect.
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Concerning Mobil 1 as a Rust Inhibitor -- here is the test I remember -- Motor Oil is not designed to prevent rust as its main property, just not as necessary inside a combustion engine -- it is a great lubricant.

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

I would not trust Mobil 1 or any Motor Oil to prevent rust inside the barrel, not designed to prevent rust and no way to store weapon where oil will stay in barrel to prevent rust, it will flow and not protect my expensive barrel.

UK
 
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Hm... thanks for the answers... i have two small bottles that came out of hoppes kits... i actually gave one away... ive been shooting... and thoroughly maintaning lots of guns for three years now.. and neither bottle is low! Heh... I cant imagine I'd ever go through a quart.. as was mentioned earlier... the motor oil stinks... thats why I noticed it.. I prefer the hoppes anyways
 
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Concerning Mobil 1 as a Rust Inhibitor -- here is the test I remember -- Motor Oil is not designed to prevent rust as its main property, just not as necessary inside a combustion engine -- it is a great lubricant.

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

I would not trust Mobil 1 or any Motor Oil to prevent rust inside the barrel, not designed to prevent rust and no way to store weapon where oil will stay in barrel to prevent rust.

UK
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i never once claimed that motor oil was the best anti-corosion treatement out there....but its not as bad as that test makes it out to be....

you have to remember that test was a salt water immersion 'torture test'....the simulated environments in that test were FAR harsher than anything any reasonable person would expect to encounter in real life....

its kind of like testing various bullet proof vests, and claiming that most vests arent worth using because they wont stop a .50bmg.....
 
You are correct, the test was/is extreme -- but there were products that offered superior performance in that test.

Motor Oil is designed as a Lubricant First -- all other qualities are secondary -- for protecting the bore of a weapon there are superior products.

I have and will continue to use Motor Oil and Auto Synthetic Grease as lubricants but would not trust to prevent rust.

UK
 
Been using Mobil 1 for years. It leaves a nice shiny sheen on blued steel, much better than Remoil for sure.

Lubricates well and protects perfectly (California dry climate well away from the sea shore).

Dan
 
It used to be that Bullseye shooters said the elbow was the drip point!

Motor oils are superior and cheap lubricants. Work great for M1911's and in AR15's.

I use them, mostly Mobil 1 5W or 10W-30, wipe down lots of gun parts with the stuff. If you want rust prevention there are better products, if you want lubrication, it is hard to find a better product.
 
Deus Machina said:
Motor oil lasts millions of cycles under high temperature and pressure. This is exactly what a gun needs.

For $7, I can get 4 ounces of CLP, or 64 ounces (2 quarts) of Mobil 1 fully synthetic 10W30, and never have to buy it again.

The only reason I don't use the way oil my machine tools take, which is detergent free and doesn't run off, is because I can't find it locally so have to have it shipped.
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I'd like to know where you can buy 2 qts of Mobile 1 for $7 ???

Its more like $7 per qt.

Still cheap as compare to gun oils for sure.



However, I'm on the same page as RC in this regard. Ive used other stuff in a pinch (such as Marvelous Mystery or the cheaper 3-N-1 oil and even some white lithium grease before) but I don't think Ive spent $25 on gun oils in my life. I don't see much savings really so I just use the oils that are made for guns.
 
+1 for mobile 1. I even use this stuff on my belt fed (50's and 30's). John Browning designed these guns to run with petroleum jelly and sperm whale oil but, mobile 1 seems to be suffice:):evil:
 
In the Army when it was very hot, we'd pour 10 weight over the M2HB, work the bolt a couple of times, then let 'er rip!

ECS

Sent from my little slice of Heaven.
 
I am relatively new to guns compared to some of you older guys out there, tho I've been around guns for my whole life. My grandfather uses G96 gun treatment (its like CLP) and I use Mil-Comm TW25B it comes in a one and a half ounce tube. I currently use it on my sig m400 and my savage .22lr Only have around 80 rounds through the ar with this stuff on it. However I put 1500-2000 rounds through my savage model 11 before it ever got cleaned (other than a brush through the barrel) and I had very few malfunctions from cheap bulk ammo (other than FTF due to bad priming compound) I also used this stuff on my .270 when I had it and it worked fine even in 3 below zero for several hours.
 
With any kind of automotive lubricant, I normally turn the empty jugs/bottles upside down and let them drain into a (previously emptied) Lucas bottle for a day. Repeat with the next jug/bottle the next day. Motor oil in one, trans fluid in another.

Trans fluid gets used in air tools, oil on the guns.

Yeah, it stinks, but I cant say it smells any worse than any gun oil I've used.

My autoshop instructor insisted on lubing all the air tools with ATF.
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We used to lube piston rings with ATF when putting an engine together as well.
 
I'm with RC.

I like Break Free CLP. I'm sparing with it. A bottle lasts a LONG time.
Lately I've been using dry lubes for me EDC's. Strictly for the sake of lint. Seems to work ok.


aka108, I generally run Rotella in my Cummins. That stuff smells funny, for the first while after a oil change. Seems to work, though, and I usually find it for a good price.

I HATE the smell of (used) gear oil! But, I think it's because I associate it with past mechanical failures (and ensuing repairs)?

I haven't owned a automatic transmission since...? None of that handy, laying around.

As far as grease goes? As long as it has the properties I want, doesn't need to say "gun" on it.

It's good to know what'll work "in a pinch."
 
For oiling, I use a mixture of equal parts ATF and Marvel Mystery Oil. The latter has about 25% solvent in it, so it would have some cleaning properties too. But for cleaning, I'll add an equal part of acetone and call it "Baz's Red." I do keep Hoppe's #9 around, but just because I like the smell.
 
hell, you can probably lube them with olive oil and not notice a difference in performance.
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No, but it will smell....AWESOME!

Maybe I should start doing that when I get ready to sell one....

(Seriously, for a moment, food-based oils probably aren't a good choice because they'll turn rancid. It's your nose, though.)
 
Sam1911 said:
Yeah. It's oil. Gun oil is just oil, with some modifiers and wonder-whiz additives that make it look and smell a little different. As M-Cameron said, guns aren't really highly complex systems with critical viscosity requirements.

I like ATF (automatic transmission fluid) as I think it does a slightly better job of dissolving soot and gunk, so it makes a better cleaner as well as lubricant. But motor oil will do the job fine. Heck, I've used Singer sewing machine oil before.
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Right on.
A little off-topic, but originally having been developed for use in 1st generation automatic transmissions, Ford type "F" is very high in detergents, and thus has excellent cleaning properties. It also works beautifully in a solvent tank to clean guns. I use 1 qt of type F mixed with 5 gallons of kerosene.
 
We use ATF for all our air nailers and in our airless paint guns. I grease the rails on my Sigma and CLP on the rest but after several years on gun forms I will just use motor oil when the CLP runs out. As far a protection metal I have been wiping down hand tools with motor oil for over 30 years with no rust. YMMV
 
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