Synthetic gun oil / motor oil... am I CRAZY??

Status
Not open for further replies.
Joined
Jul 14, 2005
Messages
11
Location
Texas
Would I be foolish to buy a quart of 100% synthetic Amsoil motor oil to use as lube for my guns?

The gun oil I'm using now is the "regular quality" stuff (if you want to call it quality) that came with my cleaning kit. I clean my guns every time because I plan to have them for a long time and I can already see some wear.
The gun oil that comes with the Outers kit does not appear to be very good at all. So, instead of paying $8 for a 4oz bottle of synthetic gun oil like Militec-1 I was thinking of purchasing a 6 dollar QUART of 100% Amsoil strictly for lubricating my guns.

What do you all think about using a high quaulity 100% synthetic motor oil as gun lube?
It can be had in just about any viscosity you want, why not use it?
If so, which viscosity for my pistols and revolver?

Better yet how about synthetic ATF! Less additives than motor oil.
 
Quote:
The gun oil I'm using now is the "regular quality" stuff (if you want to call it quality) that came with my cleaning kit. I clean my guns every time because I plan to have them for a long time and I can already see some wear.

================================================

The oil used in my bore for storage purposes gets removed before I fire. I wet both sides of a dry patch with alcohol... then both sides of another clean patch for drying. Your sign of wear is probably in the bore throat. Lots of reasons why this occurs. Mainly from barrel makeup, composition/length/diameter of bullet & firing too often with a heated barrel.

The gun oils that usually come in kits like Hoppes are generally very mediocre protectors of rust. Buy a name-brand gun oil that says it either contains synthetics, teflons, labeled as CLP... etc. I avoid all other home remedies... including vehicle oils.
 
quote:

Originally posted by Texasmoto:
Would I be foolish to buy a quart of 100% synthetic Amsoil motor oil to use as lube for my guns?

The gun oil I'm using now is the "regular quality" stuff (if you want to call it quality) that came with my cleaning kit. I clean my guns every time because I plan to have them for a long time and I can already see some wear.
The gun oil that comes with the Outers kit does not appear to be very good at all. So, instead of paying $8 for a 4oz bottle of synthetic gun oil like Militec-1 I was thinking of purchasing a 6 dollar QUART of 100% Amsoil strictly for lubricating my guns.

What do you all think about using a high quaulity 100% synthetic motor oil as gun lube?
It can be had in just about any viscosity you want, why not use it?
If so, which viscosity for my pistols and revolver?

Better yet how about synthetic ATF! Less additives than motor oil.


Look for a formula of Ed's red, there is a cleaning version and a lube version, found on most gun forms now. It is a good way to make some inexpensive gun solvent/lube, and one of the ingredeents is ATF. ATF is a very good lubricant /protectant. maybe not as good as the some of the CLP's, ala break-free, but you can mix it up by the quart for about the same cost as a small bottle of CLP.
Does good at powder fouling, not very agressive on copper fouling though.
 
Spent over 20 years as a Gunsmith, living in humid upstate NY and mostly in Alaska. The best rust preventitives I found were of waxy type, natural oils. I tried ATF, MMO and several Syns on freshly blued firearms and found they trapped the water in the pores. The natural oils breeth and thicken over time. One of the best over the shelf rust preventives I ever found was a product called "Rust Guardit" which seemed to be a spray wax.
Rust preventive: Natural or waxy oils
Lubricant: Modern Syns
 
I apologize I should've been more specific, the bore is in great shape it's the rails on my S&W I'm worried about because they take the most stress. I thought I could be cheap and use synthetic oil/atf as an alternative to high priced gun lubes but so far it sounds like that's not the best way to go.

Some guys say they have used ATF for decades, so I wanted to get some opinions. My line of thinking was if they're using regular automotive lubes and having good luck with them I should use the 100% synthetic counterpart.
Synthetic ATF might be the ticket, it doesnt have the detergents of motor oil and fights rust.

Would a synthetic ATF be suitable for lubricating a gun, that's what I'd like to know.

For bore cleaner I use hoppes #9 or Outers nitro solvent. What viscosity should a gun oil be?

The main goal is to minimize wear on the frame rails the slide rides on. Should I use something thicker, a heavier oil or maybe even a real light grease to lube the rails?

I've put in a request to try Armalube which is a synthetic gun oil. Bob LaSalle who sells it offers free samples upon request. I'll probably end up experimenting with synthetic ATF unless someone says nooooo dont do that!
dunno.gif



Thanks
worshippy.gif


[ July 24, 2005, 11:47 AM: Message edited by: Texasmoto ]
 
Try a lube like the full synthetic Purple Problem Solver which has a anti-wear additives and base oils package that cleans and protects.
 
quote:

Originally posted by MolaKule:
Try a lube like the full synthetic Purple Problem Solver which has a anti-wear additives and base oils package that cleans and protects.

Purple Problem Solver is the best gun lube I've ever used.
worshippy.gif
 
The last 2 rifles I pulled out of storage got a patch of PPS run thru them.In both cases,the patch pulled carbon and residual copper out of the bores.

Pulled a Ruger Super BlackHawk out and pushed a patch thru the bore.Patch was black with carbon and tiny lead sparkles.

Yep,PPS cleans bores.
gr_stretch.gif
 
quote:

Try a lube like the full synthetic Purple Problem Solver which has anti-wear additives and base oils package that cleans and protects.

Why not use a synthetic oil OPTIMIZED for gun cleaning?


PPS continues to clean after wiping or swabbing with a dry cloth since has a special surfactant that keeps penetrating into residual soft metals and combusted powder.

Many times I thought a bore was clean only to pull another patch through it and find that PPS was still lifting crud. Copper, lead, and residual powder is removed over time and at inital wet-patch cleaning.

PPS has rust preventative/penetrating compounds in it to keep rust and corrosion at bay.

It has powerful anti-wear components to keep firing pin, bolt mechanisms, and other sliding or rotating components from wearing.

Oh yes, and don't forget to lube those metal and platic magazines.
 
quote:

The main goal is to minimize wear on the frame rails the slide rides on. Should I use something thicker, a heavier oil or maybe even a real light grease to lube the rails

Grease works fine on rails, I use Mobil 1, any synthetic grease will be fine. Of course it would be best to test fire the weapon to make sure it does not hang up. Synthetic motor oil is fine for general lube, certainly a lot better than Hoppes or whatever $2 little bottle. I wonder how much R&D went into that. They probably spent more time and effort on the color of the bottle. Motor oil is not the best for rust prevention, there is better stuff out there. No one oil seems to do everything the best. But if you're not in the military you can use 3 or 4 different products on the same weapon.
 
I tried some Purple Problem Solver on a Beretta 92 and a Sig P226 9mm. I was surprised by how much crud it removed for the bores. Usually, lubes don't do a good job of cleaning. It seems to leave a waxy film on the surface. I'll try it on some rifles next.
 
I use Mobil 1 0-20 weight on all my guns in all the areas that need lube / me and many others on gun boards do this and we have never had any problems.
 
I use a Royal Purple synthetic lubricant on all of my guns. Works like a champ.

I have plenty of extra bottles lying around if anyone wants to come to Houston and pick up one or two.
smile.gif
 
Thanks for the information. I have been looking forever for a good gun cleaner and gun oil. If Molecule likes this Purple Problem Solver I figure it must be good.

About the best cleaning stuff I have found is MPro7 and Blue Wonder. I often use Formula 3 for cleaning a gun. I have never found a gun oil I am really happy with. About the best I have ever found is MPro7 gun oil.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top