What gun oils are best and WHY...notice the emphasis on why

[longdayjake]

What gun oils do you guys use and WHY do you use them. I have just used the hoppes oil because that is what came with my bore snakes but I was curious as to which ones are optimal. I have read posts before about oils... a lot of opinions as to which ones are best, but one thing that I find lacking is an explanation as to why they are the best. The point of this thread is not to ask which oil you use but rather why you think the oil you use is the best.

 

[Kind of Blued]

But it's the best BECAUSE I use it...

I still use Hoppes No. 9 for cleaning but after reading a thread on here, I recently started using high-viscosity motor oil on my guns. I like it because it STAYS where I put it, even when the gun gets really hot. Some guys were adding oil treatments to increase viscosity, but it seems to work fine right out of the bottle. It won't do much for corrosion or rust, but I live in a dry climate and my guns do too.

I figure for every penny that has gone in to researching gun oils, $5 has gone in to researching motor oils. I think I've been using 15W50, but I'm not sure. I pour small amounts into cosmetic spray bottles and big eye-dropper-style bottles from Wal-Mart. They were $.74 or something. I'll use the dropper bottle on pistols to get a drop on slide rails and the like, and I'll use the spray bottle to mist entire AR bolts, 1911 barrels, etc.

 

[tkaction]

Do a search on Cerflon. It comes in a dry lube spray from Smith and Wesson and is industrially tested to be slightly more slippery than
moly disulfide and just as durable. I have used it on my SKS trigger group with amazing results. Regular oil does not even get started in these tests and it fails.

 

[FoMoGo]

Mobil 1 15-50.
Some of the most researched and tested lubricant you can buy.
It has worked better for me than any other and on a cost per oz basis, compared with traditional gun lubes, its dirt cheap.


Jim

 

[Brian Dale]

Mobil 1, 10W-40. Its additives are designed, in part, to keep combustion products from harming steel, and it maintains its viscosity over a wide temperature range.

It's also convenient - I use it in my car, so I always have small amounts of leftover Mobil 1 around. That's not enough reason by itself to use it on guns but, given that its physical and chemical attributes make it a good gun oil, having it on my shelf already makes Mobil 1 my first choice.

The short answer: it's a good, protective lubricant and I already have some on hand.

 

[Dr. Peter Venkman]

I use Tetra Gun GREASE. I can apply it more specifically than oil and it works.

 

[Rubber_Duck]

Automatic transmission fluid. It works well for high temperature, high friction applications, and it contains detergents that float dirt and particles away from the surface of the metal. It also stays where you put it, and lasts a very long time. I've actually never had it dry up on me. And it's cheaper than a "gun-specific" lubricant.

Yes, there are better lubricants, but ATF works very well in my AR and AK and I have no reason to switch to something else. I use ATF for the bolt and bolt carriers of both. For everything/anything else, I use CLP. And Hoppes #9 for all my bores.


Interesting article regarding firearm lubrication: http://grantcunningham.com/lubricants101.html

 

[expvideo]

How's Marvel Mystery oil? It seemed to work great on the Mosin I used to own, but I don't know how it would do on something more finicky like an AR-15. Anyone used this on an AR? Good or bad results?

 

[Daniel1120]

Would anyone recomend amsoil over mobil 1 and why or why not?

 

[7.62X25mm]

Hoppe's No. 9 is a bore solvent, NOT an "oil."

I use Tetra Lube because of it's molecular characteristics. Penetrates the suface of the steel and prevents oxidation.

Gun grease on contact surfaces in semi-autos.

We greased an M-60 with peanut butter from the C-Rats when I was in the Army, out on a bivouac and not able to get at the lube back in garrison. Clean off the fouling w/ a rag, grease up the bolt w/ peanut butter, creamy style.

 

[Treo]

I use Castrol Syntec 5W/50 just because that's what I have in my car.

I have a bottle of Hoppes that's I've had for 12 years that I use sometimes ( sat forgotten in a toolbox for 10 years) Hoppes gaurantees it won't go rancid and it hasn't yet.

I like Starret tool oil ( it was on hand when I quit working in a machine shop to go back to school) for a really light mineral oil I use it for trigger groups or firing pins ( will not use ANYHTHING else on micrometers or calipers)

 

[Lone_Gunman]

I have a bunch of Wilson't gun oil from a few years ago that I can't seem to use up. I may give the motor oil thing a try if I ever run out.

I also have a small tin can of Lubriplate that I use for all my grease needs... I think it is a lifetime supply.

 

[bcurry]

I use FP-10 because some of those making the guns recommend it as do some of the pistolsmiths. Good enough for them...
bcurry

 

[usp9]

I use a combination. I don't know that there is a "best" one. I use what I'd call the "most appropriate" for the specific use.
Hoppes is fine oil for general use
TW25b on hard contact areas such as rails. because it stays put.
Militec oil on high use/ friction areas such as barrel and recoil spring.
Zero Friction comes in a neat pin-point oiler for those tiny spots.
Eezox because it is a good cleaner and rust inhibitor as well as a dry lube. I always use a wet oil with it though.

All of my guns probably end up with three of these lubes in one spot or another, depending on the gun's use/storage/design etc.

 

[ar10]

Why would a person buy the SW 4oz can for 7.00 when you can get Liquid Wrench 11oz can for 6.00 locally, (no shipping).

 

[Rimmer]

Yep, Mobil 1 right off the dip-stick.

Seriously though, I use Mobile 1 for everything.

 

[Thin Black Line]

Shooters Choice --doesn't freeze or turn to jelly in sub-0 temps.

 

[Flame Red]

+1 on Mobil-1. Why? Because my experience has shown me that it does not not dry up, gum up, crud up, varnish up, or fail in any firearm I have. Actually, any fully synthetic will be fine in the lightest weight you can find. I got turned on to Mobil-1 when I could not find anything that could stand up to full auto in a class-3. So I asked the manufacturer and they recommended a full synthetic.

Now I still use grease on those that need grease, like my M1 and M1a.

But other than that, throw out all those expensive snake oils.

 

[red_cedar]

I have been useing REM OIL. I had heard that the metal absorbs some it therefore a little better protection.

 

[Matrix187]

I just slap CLP all over/in my guns (light coat obviously) since it works for cleaning, and lubing. I use hoppes no.9 for the barrel though since it "supposedly" helps achieve better accuracy than using clp.

 

[Klusterbuck]

Anyone else using Lucas Gun Oil? I got some free, and it seems to be working really well for me.

 

[saltydog452]

Marvel Mystery Oil?...I still have a small amt in a can somewhere , but haven't seen any for sale since 'Fearless Fosdick' cartoons, Bardall commercials, and Burma Shave road signs.

For me, it does not make much difference.

For a hi-speed machine shooting gawd-awful bunches of bullets at warp 8, an 'ultimate' lube that gets into molecular wicking might be the cat's whiskers.

I'm more concerned with lint and grit accumulation.

salty

 

[jbauch357]

For cleaning ProShot is the way to go, works way better than Hoppe's 9 and doesn't stink like hell. I was amazed at how much easier it was to clean my guns when using ProShot, and then each cleaning after that takes half the time it used to take with Hoppe's...

For light lube and oiling, I use tetra in the aerosol can. It's a very lightweight and just right for leaving a protective layer on my guns - it's easy to apply also by spraying on and wiping off...

For semi-auto rails, actions, bolt carriers, etc I use the tetra gun grease. It embeds itself into the metal for lube and protection beyond the surface level, along with staying in place where a lighter lube would fly off...

 

[Kurt S.]

For most applications, I use Hoppes to clean and Tetra to lube. I formerly used CLP, and I still have some bottles and spray cans of it around which I discover occasionally.
The exception is my Mosins, for which I use Windex to clean and WD40 to lubricate.

 

[benEzra]

Would anyone recomend amsoil over mobil 1 and why or why not?

Amsoil and Mobil 1 in any given weight are pretty much the same thing, so I'd say use whichever one you have.

I personally use Mobil 1 10W30 as a gun oil, Tetra or Shooters Choice gun grease on slide rails and bolt lugs, and either Rem Oil or Boeshield T-9 as an external corrosion protectant.

I have a can of Break-Free CLP but intensely dislike the residual smell it leaves on the gun.