? about moly grease on firearms

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good evening fellas. i like to use grease on my auto pistol slide rails and my ak's rails and my bolts in my bolt action guns. i have since ran outta my supply of slick 50 one grease that had ptfe(teflon) in it. i searched every where but it appears that slick 50 dc'd my beloved grease. so, i picked up some john deere hd grease that was fortified with molybdenum,3% i believe. so to my question. will my new wonder grease with moly in it harm any of my firearms finishes? in question mainly is glock polymers,arsenal paint, and standard blueing.
thanks,
whitearrow
 
Originally Posted By: whitearrow
will my new wonder grease with moly in it harm any of my firearms finishes?


Actually, yes, it will damage the finish.

Moly is great stuff, but it has an incredibly thin lubrication boundary. Teflon is the clear choice here.
 
This not correct. Moly is greatly superior to Teflon. Moly will continue to lubricate even after the grease is nearly gone, as it forms a tenacious layer on the underlying metal. It's only drawback is it is dark-colored. The film it leaves still lubricates although it is thin. "Thin" boundary lubrication is fine if it works, and it will, bearing loads beyond anything Teflon can do. As a chemistry professor, I have examined this issue carefully.

I am concerned that the grease you mention which contains the moly is too thick for your firearms applications. Maybe, maybe not. Cold weather might affect functioning.

PTFE or Teflon is okay in cleaners like BreakFree but not particularly of value for superior, durable lubrication. When it is used, the carrier oil or grease is as important as the Teflon. I have yet to see it give superior, long-lasting lubrication the way moly does. I use both and know which I clearly prefer.

You could try one of the DuPont lubes which you can find at various places, like hardware stores or on Amazon, Teflon is DuPont's own product, and they make good product.

A VERY good, very cheap answer is to use a good quality Mercon ATF such as by Valvoline or Mobil, as a gun lube and protectant. Synthetic is best. I like Mobil 1 brand ATF. Or Valvoline Maxlife. Cheap, and it cleans well. It is a great lube, and penetrates well; it is physically and to a degree, chemically similar to sperm whale oil, long considered the very best lubricant oil for fine guns. If it isn't thick enough, follow gunsmith Grant Cunningham's advice and thicken the ATF with some STP oil additive. It will then stay in place on auto gun rails.

Power Steering fluid as sold by Valvoline is similar or identical to ATF, but without he red dye if the dye is staining clothes.

I imagine you can mix in a little of the moly grease, as well, but it might not work. Experiment.

To use ATF as a truly superior cleaner, Google "Ed's Red" on the Internet ( skip.the acetone and lanolin if you want).

Be cautious about lubing the lugs on bolts! This can be dangerous.
 
i don't like moly grease on guns because its messy and impossible to clean off of clothes if one were to get it on them.

Get some superlube grease. has teflon in it and its clear
 
Hi Whitearrow!
Before I give my $.02, I've gotta ask a fellow Philadelphian; does your "Philly" have cheese-steaks and soft-pretzels too?

I second the notion of Ed's Rd and ATF for guns. On the slides of an auto-pistol, I've started using Froglube. It smells like wintergreen. They call it a cleaner, lubricant, and protectant. It is a soft grease, and is non-toxic and made from natural sources. The nice part is that it's pretty much invisible when you spread it out, unlike moly grease. Either way, use a toothpick to apply. You don't need much for the job.
 
I hear that Frog Lube is good stuff for sure but remember it is NOT compatible with other oils/greases. You will need to do a complete degrease job before you use Frog Lube. Never mix Frog Lube with other oils, ever.
 
I like moly grease for trigger, sear, and hammer engagement surfaces. However, it can stain clothing and such so I wouldn't put it on a bolt, rails, slide, etc.

It's old-tech, but plain white lithium grease works well on slides, M1 Garands, etc. For hunting in sub-zero temps, I'd skip the grease and use oil.

On my ARs and as a general lube, I use a 50/50 mix of ATF and synthetic 5w-30 (Supertech brand for both). I find my bolts and receivers are easier to clean with the 50/50 mix versus straight engine oil. Straight ATF burns off too quickly. I use old contact lens solution bottles to store and apply it.
 
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