Gun Lube Opinion

[clandestine]

Thanks for your perspective. In what application woud you use differnet lubes on the same firearm? I've always used the same oil for all the action lube points on a gun action. Is that not how i should be doing it after cleaning? I only do tange shooting fo practcie and no competetive events. I do conceal carry so lube that stays put while moving and traveling is benefical.

People mix things for various reasons.

1) Some people run out of their preferred lube, and switch to a different lube in a pinch. They don't always comprehend that different lubes may not cooperate.

2) Some people use different lubes and protectants on specific areas of the weapon and when they mix, bad things happen.

3) Some decide to change to another lube and fail to remove all traces of a previous lube. This can cause problems for the new lube if they are not compatible.

Not all lubes play well so test before mixing two types of lubes/protectants on your gun. Do a mix text before hand in a dish and see if the two or more lubes/protectants clump up, get sticky, or something else. A test like this can take several month so don't rush to a conclusion.

 

[trickg]

My Dad always used plain old 40 weight (meaning 10w40) motor oil. His claim at the time (and keep in mind, he passed away 25 years ago and clearly things can change in that amount of time) was that he'd read article after article regarding gun lubricants and the one that always seemed to do as well as anything else, and the one that was easily available and cheap, was plain old 10w40. This lends a fair bit of credence to why people use Mobil 1.

 

[RJRjr]

I use ballistol to clean and lubricate my handguns. Do the method I learned watching the Sotar video on my ar's. I do use Penn Grade partial synthetic though instead of mobil 1 because thats what I use in my GTO. Been doing this for a while now and all good.

 

[omegared24]

I don't bother wearing gloves when I change my dirty motor oil either, so no. I'm past the mid point of life so I'm sure I'll die of something else before motor oil or gun lube toxicity. Someone less than half my age that will be wearing a firearm for the next 1/3 of their lifetime may have a different outlook.



Do you have feces in a holster strapped to your belt? It isn't even remotely comparable.

When you touch the firearm to holster it, you'll also touch the outside of the holster, your duty belt, any other items on your duty belt, your clothes. Unless you clean and holster your weapon while wearing hazmat gear, you are going to get traces on your hands after washing them, from re-touching things you touched before.

The amount will be minimal, but again we're talking about daily contact with miniscule amounts, over a long time, every single day.

People stress over far more trivial things than that in their environment all the time.

I don't think we are really disagreeing here. The only way to avoid toxicity is by completely sanitizing your firearm after a trip to the range and then use non toxic lube. If you apply non toxic lube on a gun that has carcinogenic residue on it then your non toxic lube is now toxic.

I agree that we should be careful but part of being careful is keeping that firearm holstered and for gods sake, stop touching it. And wash your hands before you eat...it's proper hygiene.

 

[Bullfrog]

I don't think we are really disagreeing here. The only way to avoid toxicity is by completely sanitizing your firearm after a trip to the range and then use non toxic lube. If you apply non toxic lube on a gun that has carcinogenic residue on it then your non toxic lube is now toxic.

I agree that we should be careful but part of being careful is keeping that firearm holstered and for gods sake, stop touching it. And wash your hands before you eat...it's proper hygiene.

I agree. For most people it is never going to be an issue.

 

[hobiecat590]

So based on your comment I assume you're sanitizing the firearm after shooting. Then you lube with non toxic lube. Does that sound realistic to you?

The point is this, you shouldn't be handling your firearm throughout the day. Wash your hands before you eat. I'd be more worried about touching door handles with feces and urine than some "toxic" lube.

While you are cleaning and lubing toys, non-toxics should be preferable to toxic potentially harmful chemicals for most folks. I don't even use gloves when cleaning and Ballistol was even used to treat wounds in WWI amongst other uses.

I never thought about issues regarding handling things on a daily basis treated w/ toxic oils, but w/ Ballistol, this should be a non issue. Use whatever you want, but this cleaner/lube works great and is safe to use to boot. YMMV

 

[jrumann59]

Avoid dihydrogen monoxide......

 

[Bountied]

Frog lube dries out and isn't good for storage. I use Remoil for cleaning and Ballistol to lube and protect.

 

[JohnnyE]

Avoid dihydrogen monoxide......

That stuff can kill you!

 

[Pinecone]

I have used a lot of lubes over the years. And they work. No differences to speak of.

Mobil 1 oil and grease are stupidly cheap versus "gun lubes." So if they work as well, why not.

 

[jrumann59]

the one good thing about automotive oil is it can be used as an anti-seize as well in a bind. Mobil 1 and the like if exposed to enough heat will bake on a "lubricious" film. maybe not as good as regular anti-seize but better than no anti-seize.

 

[smileycloser]

i use rapeseed oil.

 

[Hibs]

No one else here use just plain old RemOil? It's my go-to.

 

[smokey]

I mix militec, frog lube, and wd40 in an old astroglide bottle. It's 3% better than sweet lemonade after two weeks.

 

[smileycloser]

I mix militec, frog lube, and wd40 in an old astroglide bottle. It's 3% better than sweet lemonade after two weeks.

yes but does it produce sweet schrooms?

 

[Boats]

Ask 100 gun guys their choice of lube, and you'll get 100 different answers. To each of them, their lube is the best for different reasons: performance, experience, availability, cost, heritage, etc, etc.

Is Cherrybalmz a good lube? Dunno, never tried it. I think the best answer is:. better than nothing. Is it worth the price they are asking? probably not.

Doesn't really matter if it is used non detergent 40w or the latest high-speed low drag goop......Anything is better than a bone dry gun.


I have my own personal favorite (depending on the metals that are reciprocating). But honestly, whatever staves off rust and makes the slidey things not jam is fine. At the end of
the day, it's all just machinery.

 

[Harrys]

3 in 1 oil mixed with clock oil 1 to 1 ratio, have been using since I was a kid. Was taught by our hometown gun smith. Both light weight and provide excellent protection and lubrication. I was gifted a 1923 Model 94 Winchester by my father-in-law which used 3 in one oil and still had its bluing.

https://www.hipointfirearmsforums.com/threads/3-in-one-oil-is-still-ok-for-guns.336419/

 

[gm1ll]

No one else here use just plain old RemOil? It's my go-to.

Yes! I've tried multiple and keep coming back to RemOil. It's never let me down storage or shooting.

 

[trickg]

I've read where certain gun lubricants are actually types of food-grade vegetable oil. Someone mentioned rapeseed/canola oil - that's one example.

Like others have said, there are dozens of answers, and each one is valid for their own reasons. I tend to use CLP because that's what I have on hand and it seems to work ok. I'm not the kind of shooter who will need extreme performance, so the gun lube I use is kind of immaterial.

I also have Militec-1 that I use on my pistol rails, but only because I got some as the suggested lubricant for the break-in of Dan Wesson 1911s.

 

[mike74]

Project Farm did a test of CLPs