Gun lubricant

[jameslovesjammie]

So, Not trying to stir the pot, but why do some people oil the slide and some grease it?

I oil my slide.  If I greased it and tried to shoot it outdoors this time of year...it wouldn't move. 

FWIW, it was -14 when I opened the store this morning at 8:00.  This is one of the reasons I have had good luck with dual-weight automotive oils.

[Rhino]

Where do you live, Siberia?

[jameslovesjammie]

Where do you live, Siberia?

Montana...but it's been an abnormally warm winter this year.

[Joe L]

I oil my slide.  If I greased it and tried to shoot it outdoors this time of year...it wouldn't move. 
FWIW, it was -14 when I opened the store this morning at 8:00.  This is one of the reasons I have had good luck with dual-weight automotive oils.

Agreed.  Lube choice is very dependent on ambient conditions.  I'll be in the mountains later this week, hopefully, and there won't be much grease in anything that I want to move.  Expecting around 10F.  Keep'em wet, not dry, and not sticky.

Joe

[DanR]

Confidence heals and faith saves

[Tracer51]

I use Mobil 1 on all my guns.... works great and much cheaper than other gun  lubricants,

[Wobbly]

Confidence heals and faith saves.

Faith is the belief in things unseen.  I like to see my lubricant. 

Gimme Mobil 1.

[DanR]

Hi Tracer and Wobbly,
Back in 1984, I changed the OEM oil of my Jetta for Mobil 1....I gained 100km per tank.
The car even started in november (cold here) with the four glow plugs defective.
If the stuff is good for a diesel engine, no doubt it will be good for my gun.
I'll give it a try....thanks.
Dan

[Lead Slanger]

I use Ballistol and Tetra Gun Grease.

[Wiley39]

There is a comprehensive write up on "TheFiringLine" forum in the form of a sticky named "Results of gun care product testing" that I found interesting.  Maybe way more thinking involved than needed, but if it ends up preserving a cherished CZ, why not.  Many well known/well advertised products performed poorly.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=92f16abd0377d64ab00bbe2363c2d3de&t=546316

In the end it comes down to three products after extensively comparing numerous advertised as gun care and just stuff around the house.  For what it's worth they are (not necessarily in this order):

1.  Frog Lube
2.  WD 40 Specialist (not the same as basic WD 40 everybody has around)
3.  Hornady One Shot

Read the post for yourselves, Frog Lube it is for me.  (Though I bet I can think of a use or two for the quart of Mobil 1 I have around here also now many of you mention it...)

[bonknhead]

There is a comprehensive write up on "TheFiringLine" forum in the form of a sticky named "Results of gun care product testing" that I found interesting.  Maybe way more thinking involved than needed, but if it ends up preserving a cherished CZ, why not.  Many well known/well advertised products performed poorly.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=92f16abd0377d64ab00bbe2363c2d3de&t=546316

In the end it comes down to three products after extensively comparing numerous advertised as gun care and just stuff around the house.  For what it's worth they are (not necessarily in this order):

1.  Frog Lube
2.  WD 40 Specialist (not the same as basic WD 40 everybody has around)
3.  Hornady One Shot

Read the post for yourselves, Frog Lube it is for me.  (Though I bet I can think of a use or two for the quart of Mobil 1 I have around here also now many of you mention it...)

That's pretty comprehensive all right.  I would have liked to see how Mobil 1's Fully Synthetic Extended Performance would've done instead of Pennzoil.  The picture in that thread was of Pennzoil's dino oil, not their synthetic.  No wonder it did so poorly.

[UncleKim]

BreakFree and Mil-Comm TW25B grease.
Will and do use up whatever else I have around.

[painter]

Where do you live, Siberia?

Montana...but it's been an abnormally warm winter this year.

[Wiley39]

That's pretty comprehensive all right.  I would have liked to see how Mobil 1's Fully Synthetic Extended Performance would've done instead of Pennzoil.  The picture in that thread was of Pennzoil's dino oil, not their synthetic.  No wonder it did so poorly.

In his write up I think he said he got a small amount of Pennzoil synthetic from a local oil change outfit.  Might have just used that bottle to bring it home.  Dunno, but considering how specific he was about the various products tested it was probably the synthetic.

Just seemed like a good batch of info for anyone interested.

[brianh]

As someone who goes through a lot of gun cleaning supplies in a year I look for products that provide the most bang for the buck (pun intended). While I agree that synthetic motor oil is an excellent gun lube (some non-military federal agencies used it almost exclusively in their M-4's and reported zero lube related failures) it is a poor cleaning solvent. After 23 years in the military some things stick, and what stuck in regards to weapons cleaning is BreakFree CLP. It works great under a wide variety of environmental conditions, can be found in any Wal-Mart and most gun stores and if you buy it in the 'large economy size' it is fairly economical.

So BreakFree and a small tube of a good grease (I use Tetra) should be all you need to keep everything in your gun safe running smoothly.