Question about gun oil

[jimmyraythomason]

In the '70s I overhauled cylinder heads for diesel engines at the Caterpillar dealership in Birmingham. Since some of the heads may hang on the rack for up to a year,the valve stems had to be lubed with something that would not run off leaving the valve stem to prematurely wear out. In those days,30 weight was THE oil for a diesel engine but would not stay to protect the valves. The solution was a 50/50 mix of 30w oil and STP oil treatment. I haven't used this on guns as it is fairly thick but on a weapon put away for long term storage it might be just the ticket.

 

[rhinoh]

WD-40 did very well. Probably due to the silicone that stays on the surface when the light oil evaporates.

There is no silicone in WD40.

BTW I'm in the "never had a gumming problem with WD-40" camp.

 

[jcwit]

BTW I'm in the "never had a gumming problem with WD-40" camp.

I'll second that, in fact I've never had a problem with any petroleum oil really gumming up. Natural oils such as olive oil, neatsfoot oil, linseed oil, yes they gum up as in dry out.

I'm still in the camp of using a light 5w/30 or 0w/20 Mobil 1 or Penzoil Patium syn for a gun oil as it works for me and I get plenty from letting the bottles drain when I change the oil in my cars, if I consider its still to thick a very little auto tranny fluid takes care of the problem. Also just a little RIG added to the mix for rust protection helpes, but my stach of RIG is getting smaller all the time.

BTW, Olive oil is one of the best patch lubes for round ball shooting in a muzzleloader plus it seasons the bore. Just a thought I wonder how the fish oil the Dr. prescribes for my heart and colostrial (sp) would work for a patch lube, it might be similar to the old sperm whale oil. It sure greases up the old insides.

Just some randum thoughts jcwit

 

[JohnKSa]

I bought it mainly for when I put a few drops on a rag to wipe down my a gun surfaces before it goes back in the locker.

Most folks (including Grant Cunningham) seem to agree that while there are some oils that outperform others in terms of lubrication, most any decent oil that tends to stay put and doesn't gum will do a more than sufficient job of lubrication for firearms applications. In other words while the superior lubrication properties of motor oil may truly be beyond debate, that sort of performance is not required to keep a gun running and to prevent premature or abnormal wear.

On the other hand, the corrosion preventive properties of various lubrication products can differ markedly, and the informal tests that I've seen indicate that premium gun oils handily outperform motor oils (and other tested price expedient lubrication products) in terms of providing corrosion protection. Ironically, you're relying on your price expedient product to provide corrosion protection which is the very application in which it is demonstrably inferior to a premium gun oil.

ATF(s) actually offer quite a bit less protection and corrosion resistance than the PCMOs.

I've not found any testing comparing the corrosion protection properties (in a firearm similar application) of motor oil & ATF but would be interested in seeing something like that if you know of a source for such data/results.

 

[Gun Slinger]

BTW, Olive oil is one of the best patch lubes for round ball shooting in a muzzleloader plus it seasons the bore.

j-

I've heard that but don't own a muzzleloader anymore so I s'pose I'll never know.

I also can't help but wonder how our forebearers got along without all of the "wonder lubes" that we have these days.

I suspect that as long as you have adequate barrier strength where there is metal to metal contact and sufficient metal deactivation/anti-oxidation properties almost anything will do (including olive oil) since our guns just don't rise to the level of being very "demanding" in those requirements.

 

[Horsemany]

I've been running my own corrosion tests on bare steel nails for over 6 years. ATF outperforms all motor oils I've ever tested but not by much. That would include mobil 1 10w30 and regular Pennzoil 10w30. Neither ATF or motor oil protected as well as the average gun oils. Internal areas such as crankcases and transmissions are sealed systems splashing and pushing lube around constantly. This is a less demanding corrosion situation than a firearm in your duck blind or deer stand IMO.

A good gun oil like BF CLP, Outers, Eezox, Corrosion-X, etc will keep nails free of rust for DAYS of twice daily saltwater sprays. ATF or Motor oil will show rust after only 2 or 3 applications in my tests.

 

[agoodpeter]

does silicone spray work/is safe in side the gun?

 

[1SOW]

Keep it 'oiled'.

I keep the "empty" Mobil1 oil containers after I change my truck and car oil.

I drain them into one container and have enough Mobil1 for years of gun oiling.
Mobil1 is 'touted' to coat, stick and withstand heat better than non-sythetics. Whether it does or not it seems to work fine in my guns.

Rem oil works too.


P.S. Empirical evidence/experience: My truck door hinge squeaked loudly. I sprayed it with Wd 40. It stopped squeaking. Two days later it started again. I tried again---same result.

I sprayed the hinge with Break Free CLP about a month ago. It's still smooth and quiet.