Synthetic motor oil in a gun

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I like break free CLP for lubrication.....

Good stuff.

BTW-Ballistol is nectar of the Gods for cleaning.... That stuff eats fowuing like nothing else, and it doesn't have harsh fumes.
 
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Originally Posted by Sgtgold
Originally Posted by Brigadier
Originally Posted by Elkins45
An old National Guard armorer told me he used a mix of 50% ATF, 25% Mobil1 30W, and 25% STP. I mixed up a quart of it and am still using it many years later. The ATF penetrates well, the Mobil1 lubricates and withstands high temps well and the STP clings to surfaces forever. I have yet to find a specialty product that performs better.



I have been told that you do not want any type of penetrating oil on a firearm as it may penetrate ammunition and render them duds.


As an old National Guard armorer I can tell you that we've been using mixes like this for a long long time, and I've never heard of a primer getting deactivated due to 'exposure' to a penetrating oil. Military ammo is sealed against moisture. Even if you sprayed your ammo with something like Kroil or WD40 it wouldn't do anything in the short term. Bullseye shooters frequently oil the top round in a magazine to aid in feeding, and some run their pistols almost dripping wet.

I can tell you that the military has been using motor oil as a weapon lube since before WWII, and it's mentioned in field manuals. There is nothing that goes on in any small arm that is any more severe than what happens to the internal parts of a gasoline or diesel engine. Also, if you have the money to actually wear out a firearm you also can afford to replace it. There is no measurable advantage in firearm longevity between gun oils.


Makes perfect sense to me
Thanks for the info ðŸ‘
 
My best friend recently told me a few of his friends & family have been using synthetic motor oil for years as a gun cleaner/lube. I looked into the pros & cons a fair bit and honestly it's not that great for the application.

Motor oil will oxidize rapidly compared to a firearm purposed lubricant, decreasing its AW/anti-corrosive efficiency. It also contains carcinogenic compounds and skin & eye irritants. It's not really even that cheap to use as a cleaning agent. Most of the people that he mentioned that use motor oil carry their EDC & range weapons excessively wet and appreciate that it doesn't run and is cost effective.

A quality ATF will do all of the above better and cheaper, although it has to be applied more conservatively, unless you don't mind the color and sticky texture.

Mobil 1/Castrol Edge/Valvoline VR1 all run about $9-10/quart at my shop, or $30 for a five quart jug. The Dexron VI or CVT runs $7-8/qt., or $22 for a gallon of multi-vehicle ATF. So if you're looking for bulk, go grab a quart of Castrol Dex VI ATF and your needle applicator will find its home through the cap; you will have enough for your lifetime and be comforted that you saved a dollar.

The biggest downside of using ATF is that you can't experiment with viscosites, just different ATFs. The people I know that use motor oil use Mobil 1 5w30 exclusively, which surprised me. I would have expected a 20w50 or perhaps straight 50 like VR1 or Castrol.

Also, you could forget that nonsense and just buy that $4 tiny can of purpose-engineered, food safe gun lube. Maybe hit an auto parts shop and pick up some Moly fortified & ceramic fortified brake grease tubes/packets and a tube of copper or tungsten anti-seize for your springs and slide rails. Set for life.
 
Originally Posted by ammolab
"Used Motor oil" is the carcinogenic item. Not so dangerous out of the bottle I bet.

Used Mobil 1 dripp'ns on my guns since the 1970s. No issues, no rust.

This !!!!
 
"For 99% of this stuff you just need to apply some common sense. You have people out there who have used Mobil 1 on their guns for decades, and have never had any type of issue or problem. I have, and still do from time to time. You have others who buy every new lube that comes on the market. And nothing seems to work well for them.... Or so they say. As I said, a gun is a very simple machine to keep lubricated and rust free. It's far more important where and how much lubricant is applied, than it is what type or brand."

Yep. It's where and how much. It's proper application. It's clean out and replace. And I'd bet a C-note far more gun problems are caused by over-oiling then under-oiling.
Get a needle oiler, get a grease syringe and go lightly, IMO.

Personally, I don't use motor oil on my guns. And the only place I use a tacky grease is on choke tube threads.
From carry pistols to clays guns that see a couple hundred shells per weekend, I like a good synthetic oil such as FP-10 and a lotion-like consistency light grease like TW25B, Tetra or Lubriplate SFL-0. If I go wacky and drop $50 a year on lubes and CLPs, I'm going to let that weigh on my mind when the (for me) expensive goodies in the safe or on my hip or in my pocket are in primo condition and running as well as any simple machine can? Nah.

We all choose our guns, we all choose our gun-care products. My own choices don't make me more "right" than the committed M1 user, but, personally, I think the "it's not complicated" guys -- Grant Cunningham included -- have it right.
 
Motor oil works just fine on guns. I don't use it to clean guns just lubricate. A quart of Mobil 1 will last the rest of your life and your kids. Most gun oils are nothing special and the tales are that one is nothing but repackaged Mobil 1 and the other trendy one is coconut oil with a few additives. Any oil is not that good of protectant for storage and I use the specialized products for that use. Some oils will cause fam padding in cases to kind of dissolve over time and will etch even S/S guns. Ask me how I know.,,,,,,,,

If I was buying gun oil I like Slip 2000.
 
Originally Posted by BigdaddyG
Motor oil works just fine on guns. I don't use it to clean guns just lubricate. A quart of Mobil 1 will last the rest of your life and your kids. Most gun oils are nothing special and the tales are that one is nothing but repackaged Mobil 1 and the other trendy one is coconut oil with a few additives. Any oil is not that good of protectant for storage and I use the specialized products for that use. Some oils will cause fam padding in cases to kind of dissolve over time and will etch even S/S guns. Ask me how I know.,,,,,,,,

If I was buying gun oil I like Slip 2000.

Who cares that it's runny, smelly and highly toxic when eating that sandwich, right after putting that pistol on the kitchen counter with your bare hands after work.
No big deal! Look at all the money you saved.
 
Buy a quart ob BIO chainsaw bar oil then....if you are that worried
laugh.gif
 
Unless one is of the "run 'em soaking wet" persuasion, the amount of oil or grease needed on most firearms is so small I have no idea why any shooter would worry over it or try to save $10 or $20 over a lifetime by using motor oil.
I keep two oils on my gun table: FP-10 Lubricant Elite and Lubriplate FMO 350 AW.
I keep two greases: Lubriplate FL-0 and Shooter's Choice High-Tech All-Weather Grease, the former a light consistency creamlike product and the latter a heavier, tackier option.
Additionally, there's a can of G-96 Treatment. It's mainly used as an exterior protectant.
I also will use RemOil as a bore solvent because I generally have no need for a heavy-duty copper solvent and removing carbon, leading and plastic fouling is no great chore. Practically any CLP will handle it. RemOil is relatively cheap and available anywhere, so the tall can of that gets the nod. I'd make Ed's Red, but don't particularly see it as convenient for me.
The oils and greases I choose have all the characteristics I need (lubrication, proper migration, corrosion protection, etc). Including the G96 -- which I acknowledge is a bit pricey -- the products I use every weekend and are sitting on my gun table probably ran me $50 and are literally multiple years worth, save perhaps an occasional reload on the inexpensive RemOil (I'm cleaning some gun or the other every weekend).
Considering there's a safe full of goodies from pocket pistols to full-size semiauto pistols and revolvers to an AR to a handful of rather decent shotguns (Beretta, Browning, etc) and they're all running perfectly and looking downright snappy, I'm personally not inclined to save a few bucks and will stay with purpose-specific products that come with the option of precise application.
Lube lightly, clean and replace regularly. It's sort of that simple, really.
Grant Cunningham's article -- "Lubrication 101: Gun oil, snake oil, and how to tell the difference'' -- hits it smack on the nose, AFIC.
 
Get the one in the pretty can you really like, you are paying more for the can than for the oil. At the shooting range, when some young guy comes up and asks me if I have some oil, I tell them to pull their dipstick on their truck. Yep, it is a point applicator.
 
Originally Posted by meadows
Get the one in the pretty can you really like, you are paying more for the can than for the oil. At the shooting range, when some young guy comes up and asks me if I have some oil, I tell them to pull their dipstick on their truck. Yep, it is a point applicator.



At the shooting range, when some young guy comes up and asks me if I have some oil, I give 'em the little bottle of gun oil from my range bag or the little can of Ballistol from the same.
 
Another oil I have heard mentioned alone or in home brew blends : Air Tool / Impact Wrench Oil (I suppose the high RPM's of air tools require a fairly slick oil ?)
 
I think most guns are simply not picky. They will run dry, they will run with canola oil, with motor oil, with gun oil, or even air tool oil.

Air tool oil looks very thin, I reckon that's because of the high RPM of the air tools. I'm sure it works, even if it's thin.

I would choose oil over no oil, and in a pinch, a drop or two from the dipstick off a diesel HMMV sure beats dry.

But given time, like when the gun is on my bench, I would choose a tailored gun product. I don't want extraneous additives (like those in motor oil, which is 25% additive) that could be potentially detrimental to performance in the long run. I want a viscosity that is appropriate to the conditions.

As I've said before, gun oil is less than 1% of my annual shooting expenses. Saving money on gun oil isn't really saving anything. Why not simply the tailored product?
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
I think most guns are simply not picky. They will run dry, they will run with canola oil, with motor oil, with gun oil, or even air tool oil.

Air tool oil looks very thin, I reckon that's because of the high RPM of the air tools. I'm sure it works, even if it's thin.

I would choose oil over no oil, and in a pinch, a drop or two from the dipstick off a diesel HMMV sure beats dry.

But given time, like when the gun is on my bench, I would choose a tailored gun product. I don't want extraneous additives (like those in motor oil, which is 25% additive) that could be potentially detrimental to performance in the long run. I want a viscosity that is appropriate to the conditions.

As I've said before, gun oil is less than 1% of my annual shooting expenses. Saving money on gun oil isn't really saving anything. Why not simply the tailored product?



As Astro14 says, darn near anything will if you find yourself in a pinch. Personally, I don't end up in a pinch very often when it comes to shooting. First, the guns are properly prepared to run when I leave the house.

Second, I've got dedicated bags set up for shotgun clay targets, pistol/rifle shooting and upland bird hunting. Case the guns, add the day's ammunition, and I'm set to go.
Each bag has a pouch of cleaning stuff in it. I set it up so I could break down a gun if necessary and give it a fairly complete cleaning. However, the only kit from my purpose-dedicated bags that actually gets used much is the one in the hunting bag, as I tend to clean that day's firearm after the hunt is done, especially if I'm staying overnight or there's a long drive home ahead. Otherwise, something from those kits more often gets borrowed by someone else having an issue, and what they need is usually something simple ... a brush, a drop of oil, a squirt of Ballistol, a RemOil wipe, a little grease for a choke tube, etc.

I'm with Astro14 re choices for firearm care. If shooting's enough of your life that you've got a bench or table dedicated to it at home, why not use tailored products? The cost is a tiny fraction compared to the other costs, including guns, ammo, gear and even the expense of gas to get to the range and/or hunting spots and back home. Begrudging the smallest fraction makes no sense to me, nor does using a less than optimum product on valuable tools when the net expense of using the tailored product is such a small fraction of the overall cost of the shooting sports.
 
Originally Posted by Astro14
I think most guns are simply not picky. They will run dry, they will run with canola oil, with motor oil, with gun oil, or even air tool oil.

Air tool oil looks very thin, I reckon that's because of the high RPM of the air tools. I'm sure it works, even if it's thin.

I would choose oil over no oil, and in a pinch, a drop or two from the dipstick off a diesel HMMV sure beats dry.

But given time, like when the gun is on my bench, I would choose a tailored gun product. I don't want extraneous additives (like those in motor oil, which is 25% additive) that could be potentially detrimental to performance in the long run. I want a viscosity that is appropriate to the conditions.

As I've said before, gun oil is less than 1% of my annual shooting expenses. Saving money on gun oil isn't really saving anything. Why not simply the tailored product?

This!! I am amazed this thread is so long. Used to make Browning gun oil, gun oil is nothing special.
 
"I am amazed this thread is so long. Used to make Browning gun oil, gun oil is nothing special."

Well, yeah, in a way.
If someone wants to use Mobile 1, ATF or even pull the dipstick from his vehicle and use the drippings from that, hey, it's America. Fly your cheap flag if that's your thing.
Personally, I'll take gun oil. And I actually like a couple different kinds for slightly different applications or outcomes.
To reiterate, why would I worry about the 1 percent of my total shooting costs that C, L & P products represent?
No point in being penny wise and pound foolish.

Grant Cunningham re motor oil on guns:
"Generally good boundary lubrication (particularly the Havoline formulations), but very poor corrosion resistance and poor resistance to open-air oxidation. The biggest problem is that their pour-point additives often contain benzene compounds, which aren't a good thing to have next to your skin on a regular basis! I recommend staying away from motor oils; if you must use something from the auto parts store, ATF performs better for firearms use on every count, even if it is a tad more expensive. (ATF is still 1/10 to 1/100th the cost of a specialty "gun oil.")"
 
ATF Dexron VI is VERY slick ! ... It also has to play nice with different materials as an ATF , so might be better in a gun than motor oil .
 
Just a thought re which products.
I've had two infantry Marines work for me in recent years. One fought in Afghanistan, the other was never deployed into combat but did a full 4-year hitch including two FMF deployments and was based out of 29 Palms and had a lot of time in desert, jungle and mountain environments, including in the Philippines. He ran a SAW (M249) for a couple years, then was a fire team leader (NCO for a half-squad) for a couple years.
I ask 'em both about weapon cleaning and maintenance.
Each told me the same thing re products: They used what the company armorers gave 'em, which was CLP and nylon brushes. Both said they could remembered zero or next--to zero failures attributable to improper cleaning or lubing, either for their own issued weapons or among the Marines they humped a ruck with or led.
The SAW gunner, BTW, said CLP was standard for the SAWs, while the .30 caliber machine guns (7.62 x 51 M240) and .50-caliber machine guns (M2s) got LSA.
Not an ad for CLP or LSA ... just illustrative, IMO, that with routine (frequent) and proper maintenance, decently designed and built guns run pretty well.
Also, just FYI, each said there was no running the M16 sopping wet. The NCOs inspecting 'em expected a light sheen. If they came out with more than a tiny bit of barely gray CLP on a fingertip, it was do-it-again time.
Also, and again just FYI, neither had a problem with the quality or performance of the issued M16s. SAW gunner said the SAWs could be on the finicky side, but SAW gunners knew how to keep 'em up and running.
 
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Originally Posted by chrisri
I wander if a chainsaw ( for lubricating chain) lube will work on guns.


Almost anything that's vaguely wet will work as a firearm lube.

A good gun oil will be creepy, to get in between parts that aren't going to be disassembled, prevent rust, provide lubrication including extreme pressure protection to prevent galling of parts that are heavily loaded intermittently.

BSW
 
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