rfwobbly
Member
I've search the numerous threads on RemOil and can't determine if it's a synthetic oil or a dinosaur-based mineral oil. Anyone know for sure?
RemOil: Synthetic or Mineral?
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JohnBT
Member
Maybe he's a strict vegetablearian and doesn't use animal products, even from long dead ones.
IsoMAcK
Member
Thanks, JohnBT. I just HAD to read that last comment mid-sip of my mid-afternoon coffee! Now I need to dry out my keyboard! 
Shadow 7D
Member
Om Om Om
sorry trying to practice my teleportation, since I can't drive anywhere, damn dead animals.
Anywho, why would it make a difference, since synthetics are usually derived from either plant oils or natural gas.
sorry trying to practice my teleportation, since I can't drive anywhere, damn dead animals.
Anywho, why would it make a difference, since synthetics are usually derived from either plant oils or natural gas.
There are massive quantities of hydrocarbons all over the Solar System, but I don't see NASA claiming that there were dinosaurs on Titan or belching cows on Neptune.
It's obvious where coal came from, as it often contains plant fossils and is still being formed today, but the origin of petroleum is a big mystery, and I seriously doubt that it's made of dinosaurs. 
Synthetics often have different physical properties, and there may be some compatibility issues with certain materials. One may need more specific information than whether it's based on petroleum distillates or synthetic oils, and hopefully the MSDS is sufficient in this case.
Shadow 7D
Member
Yeah, but so are different fractions and advance hydrocarbons, so once you get past simple refined oil it's all kinda moot anyways.
jcwit
member
Its my understanding most auto synthetic oils start life out as petroleum oil.
Most synthetic oils are modified petroleum fractions that have been altered to reduce gumming or polymerization.
BTW, the "dino-oil" thing is tongue in cheek. No adult has believed that interred dinosaurs are the source material for petroleum in decades and no scientists have for much longer. Very few scientists believe the abiogenic theories, though. Remember the Sinclair Dino? Imagery not science.
BTW, the "dino-oil" thing is tongue in cheek. No adult has believed that interred dinosaurs are the source material for petroleum in decades and no scientists have for much longer. Very few scientists believe the abiogenic theories, though. Remember the Sinclair Dino? Imagery not science.
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'Sinclair' Gasolene
http://www.library.gsu.edu/img/research/105/exhibit-nightday-08.jpg
"Mellowed 60 Million Years"
( Lol...)
jcwit
member
hso, next you're going to tell me that Santa Claus and the Easter Bunney aren't real. Hey leave well enough alone and me in my fantasy world.
benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
And 4140 steel is derived from dirt, but compressed dirt makes lousy barrels...
Synthetics are superior lubricants, any way you slice it.
As to Rem Oil, my main beef with that product as a lubricant is the very high solvent content. It is super thin and the residue dries out in a relatively short time compared to full-on oils, or Mobil 1. I like Rem Oil for lightly oiling the exterior of a blued firearm, but not for lubrication of slide rails and other places with metal-on-metal contact.
Chemistry Guy
Member
When dead things decay in the open air their carbon ends up in the form of carbon dioxide. When things die and sink to the bottom of something like a peat bog, where there is little oxygen, they undergo a long, slow decay process to produce hydrocarbons. After millions of years of pressure and thermal cycles, they end up as a mixture of coal, crude oil, and natural gas, with an equilibrium ratio based on the conditions of the decomposition.
Conventional oil is just a fraction of crude oil that is between specific molecular weights based on where it comes off of a distillation column. If the crude oil is instead separated much more thoroughly into more fractions (not quite a full separation into molecular components, though), the components can then be recombined in engineered ratios to produce high quality oils with the desired chemical properties.
As far as I know, RemOil is based on mineral spirits, which are essentially a volatile distillate of crude petroleum. In the chemistry lab, mineral spirits are often used as a solvent when we are not particularly concerned with having a uniform molecular weight. Hydrocarbons can be named based on the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, with methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, and decane having 1-10 carbons on a straight chain respectively. The more carbons the molecule has, the less volatile it is and the longer it stays on a distillation column. Crude petroleum contains all of the liquid straight chain hydrocarbons, as well as hundreds or thousands of ringed, branched chain, and other conformations. Natural gas contains mostly methane, but also contains volatile ethane, propane, butane, and some pentane. The hexanes are the most volatile of the liquid hydrocarbons that are stable as a liquid at toom temperature, and they are the principle component of mineral spirits. Gasoline is a little heavier, around octane, but it is still more volatile than motor oil, which averages heavier molecules, depending on the grade. Molecules with an even higher number of carbons are the components of tar.
The lighter (hexanes, etc) fractions make very good solvents, but since they are so volatile, they make poor lubricants, as they evaporate quickly. Some gun cleaning products make the solvent and lubricant separate, with a low molecular weight solvent for cleaning and a higher molecular weight oil for lubricating. Other products blend the two components together for convenience and/or some performance benefit. The challenge that the engineers face is how to balance the cleaning, lubricating, and protecting components of the oil.
The field is mature enough that none of the mixtures are really far superior to any others, but, as usual, you get what you pay for in many cases. A cheaper oil may have more sulfur or alcohol impurities, and may turn to sludge faster if left open to the air. Then again, the cheaper oil could be chemically superior but less marketed, no way to tell without thorough testing.
Conventional oil is just a fraction of crude oil that is between specific molecular weights based on where it comes off of a distillation column. If the crude oil is instead separated much more thoroughly into more fractions (not quite a full separation into molecular components, though), the components can then be recombined in engineered ratios to produce high quality oils with the desired chemical properties.
As far as I know, RemOil is based on mineral spirits, which are essentially a volatile distillate of crude petroleum. In the chemistry lab, mineral spirits are often used as a solvent when we are not particularly concerned with having a uniform molecular weight. Hydrocarbons can be named based on the number of carbon atoms in the molecule, with methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane, and decane having 1-10 carbons on a straight chain respectively. The more carbons the molecule has, the less volatile it is and the longer it stays on a distillation column. Crude petroleum contains all of the liquid straight chain hydrocarbons, as well as hundreds or thousands of ringed, branched chain, and other conformations. Natural gas contains mostly methane, but also contains volatile ethane, propane, butane, and some pentane. The hexanes are the most volatile of the liquid hydrocarbons that are stable as a liquid at toom temperature, and they are the principle component of mineral spirits. Gasoline is a little heavier, around octane, but it is still more volatile than motor oil, which averages heavier molecules, depending on the grade. Molecules with an even higher number of carbons are the components of tar.
The lighter (hexanes, etc) fractions make very good solvents, but since they are so volatile, they make poor lubricants, as they evaporate quickly. Some gun cleaning products make the solvent and lubricant separate, with a low molecular weight solvent for cleaning and a higher molecular weight oil for lubricating. Other products blend the two components together for convenience and/or some performance benefit. The challenge that the engineers face is how to balance the cleaning, lubricating, and protecting components of the oil.
The field is mature enough that none of the mixtures are really far superior to any others, but, as usual, you get what you pay for in many cases. A cheaper oil may have more sulfur or alcohol impurities, and may turn to sludge faster if left open to the air. Then again, the cheaper oil could be chemically superior but less marketed, no way to tell without thorough testing.
benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
That's very true of the petroleum distillates. It is also true, though, that lubricants in other chemical classes, e.g. low-molecular-weight poly-α-olefins (API Group IV base stocks) and synthetic esters (API Group V) do have superior properties, albeit at increased cost. A blend of Group III/IV base stocks, not to mention full-on IV/V blends, have better lubricity, cold/heat tolerance, and longevity than oils using regular petroleum distillate base stocks.
VA27
Member
Kerosene...in a high priced container.
OP
OP
rfwobbly
Member
Besides firearms, I also have old clocks which need annual lubrication. Some mineral oils oxidize over time and leave a gummy residue behind. This year I used RemOil and they seem to be running better, so I was wondering.
Thanks.
JohnBT
Member
I use RemOil for one thing and one thing only - cleaning and lubing the trigger groups in 1100s and 870s as recommended in the manuals. You spray them, let them soak and then shake the excess off.
I have never had a problem with gumming or anything else in more than 20 years. I wasn't real keen on using oil on a trigger group, but it works exactly as recommended. And these are 2 of the 3 guns that get exposed to the worst of the duck hunting weather. Fwiw, the other is a 3.5" SX-2 camo.
I have never had a problem with gumming or anything else in more than 20 years. I wasn't real keen on using oil on a trigger group, but it works exactly as recommended. And these are 2 of the 3 guns that get exposed to the worst of the duck hunting weather. Fwiw, the other is a 3.5" SX-2 camo.
Onward Allusion
Member
I use RemOil mostly for cleaning and quick lubes at the range. Long term lubrication is done with Hoppe's #9 Gun Oil. RemOil with Teflon separates and dries out too easily.
Cards81fan
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Same here, I used Rem Oil on my LCP and XD as they need very little lube. My 1911 (a Colt) sees a slightly heavier oil for lubrication.
FWIW, I have a really old sliding class patio door that door two hands and 200 pounds man-handling it to open and close. A couple heavy doses of Rem Oil, and my wife can now open and close it with two fingers
But it does need retreated about every 3-4 weeks.
benEzra
Moderator Emeritus
IIRC, Rem Oil is fairly thin and seems to contain a fair amount of solvent, so it would probably be good on clocks (I do know that it works well in lock cylinders, from personal experience). My biggest complaint with Rem Oil is that it is volatile enough that it evaporates over time, but on the other hand it certainly doesn't seem to gum up.
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