That is one thing I think most folks get confused about. Almost any petroleum product will get tacky if left out in open air long enough. Some types of products do it faster than others but almost any petroleum product be it plant based, animal based, mineral based or synthetic will eventually get sticky in an open air environment. I have especially found this to be true with plant based oils such as soy based lubricants. They lubricate extremely well but gum up in a matter of days, especially if applied heavily. The good news here is that like products usually removes like products. If any petroleum product has gummed up on you, applying more of it and then wiping it all away will usually fix the problem without the use of solvents or other degreasers.
Motor oil as a CLP?
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I am a watchmaker and collector in addition to dabbling in several other hobbies, and I specialize primarily in pre-1900 American watches. Up until some time in the 1960s, THE gold standard lubricant for watches and other fine machinery was porpoise jaw oil(although sperm whale oil did see some use). In fact, the Nye lubricant company, which is still around, built their business on porpoise jaw watch oils. Hamilton developed their own synthetic oils in-house in the 1940s, and Elgin in the 1950s. The Elgin synthetic product is quite well regarded, even today. I have probably a 1 1/2 mL of it, which realistically at the rate I use it is probably enough to last the rest of my life. I use it for most of the train jewels in pocket watches, and it continues to be a super lubricant for those(I have some special Swiss magic pixie dust lubricant that costs $40 per 1/2mL for some special purposes, but the Elgin oil is my go-to).
In any case, one nasty habit of animal based lubricants is that after 100 or more years, many of them have gone rancid and congealed into a solid, crystalline mass. I've taken apart watches where it took a fair bit of effort to even get pivots out of jewels, and have broken a handful over the years in the process. Once out, the only real way to get rid of the old oil is to physically chip it off-as a watchmaker, one of your key tools is a stick of peg wood that is sharpened continuously both to expose a clean point and to shape it to a specific application. In any case, I will often sharpen to a chisel tip and scrape the face of the jewel, followed by a point to clean the hole. Running a watch with congealed oil like this through a cleaning machine usually will scarily touch the old porpoise jaw oil-it might soften it up, but you still need to physically remove it. It can take me an hour of manual work to get a 23j railroad watch to where I'm happy with it.
Fortunately at least in watch applications the biggest enemy to synthetic oils(which are now the only thing widely available, with the exception of tallow-based greases) are dust and migration. Using the correct amount of oil(usually less than you think you should use
) and matching the viscosity to the application(one of the reasons why the Moebius lubricant company catalogs about a half dozen different train oils) will minimize migration. The cases on most modern wristwatches do a good job of keeping dust out. The Rolex Oyster case really is the gold standard here, or at least was the first truly successful one, and depending on who you ask a good condition Rolex case will allow you to go anywhere from 5-10 years of daily wear without servicing. Most of the better manufacturers now specify service intervals in that same ballpark.
In any case, one nasty habit of animal based lubricants is that after 100 or more years, many of them have gone rancid and congealed into a solid, crystalline mass. I've taken apart watches where it took a fair bit of effort to even get pivots out of jewels, and have broken a handful over the years in the process. Once out, the only real way to get rid of the old oil is to physically chip it off-as a watchmaker, one of your key tools is a stick of peg wood that is sharpened continuously both to expose a clean point and to shape it to a specific application. In any case, I will often sharpen to a chisel tip and scrape the face of the jewel, followed by a point to clean the hole. Running a watch with congealed oil like this through a cleaning machine usually will scarily touch the old porpoise jaw oil-it might soften it up, but you still need to physically remove it. It can take me an hour of manual work to get a 23j railroad watch to where I'm happy with it.
Fortunately at least in watch applications the biggest enemy to synthetic oils(which are now the only thing widely available, with the exception of tallow-based greases) are dust and migration. Using the correct amount of oil(usually less than you think you should use
Good information bunnspecial!!
This talk of CLP's.
I was cooking eggs the other day, and had no Great Value (Walmart brand) Olive Oil cooking spray, so I used Wesson Cooking oil (liquid/bottle). The eggs stuck terribly. I then tried Canola oil. Same thing. Broke down and bought some more GV spray, and my eggs slide off the pan like magic. Just because an oil is similar to another oil in "class", does NOT mean it will run the same, whether cooking eggs, or lubing a watch or a rifle or whatever.
I was cooking eggs the other day, and had no Great Value (Walmart brand) Olive Oil cooking spray, so I used Wesson Cooking oil (liquid/bottle). The eggs stuck terribly. I then tried Canola oil. Same thing. Broke down and bought some more GV spray, and my eggs slide off the pan like magic. Just because an oil is similar to another oil in "class", does NOT mean it will run the same, whether cooking eggs, or lubing a watch or a rifle or whatever.
Hoppes 9 for cleaning bore, chambers, and harder carbon/lead deposits; synthetic/polymer safe cleaner degreaser for internals & removing Hoppes 9 residue and gunk; lube with leftover 10w-40 or 15w-40 motor oil (motorcycle oil changes)
Originally Posted By: Ws6
I was cooking eggs the other day, and had no Great Value (Walmart brand) Olive Oil cooking spray, so I used Wesson Cooking oil (liquid/bottle). The eggs stuck terribly. I then tried Canola oil. Same thing. Broke down and bought some more GV spray, and my eggs slide off the pan like magic. Just because an oil is similar to another oil in "class", does NOT mean it will run the same, whether cooking eggs, or lubing a watch or a rifle or whatever.
Ditch that Fireclean you're using, and switch to Wal-Mart Cooking Spray! (Probably the same thing).
I was cooking eggs the other day, and had no Great Value (Walmart brand) Olive Oil cooking spray, so I used Wesson Cooking oil (liquid/bottle). The eggs stuck terribly. I then tried Canola oil. Same thing. Broke down and bought some more GV spray, and my eggs slide off the pan like magic. Just because an oil is similar to another oil in "class", does NOT mean it will run the same, whether cooking eggs, or lubing a watch or a rifle or whatever.
Ditch that Fireclean you're using, and switch to Wal-Mart Cooking Spray! (Probably the same thing).
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