Is gun oil snake oil?

[Gabriel]

In house secret recipe I see. You must infiltrate and gather the ingredients for INGO

I got the recipe from ILEA, which I'm guessing is where Denny347 got it also. It's 1 quart of Mobil 1 synthetic 15W50 mixed with 1/2 quart of Mobil 1 synthetic ATF transmission fluid. I just went through my old notes to find it.

 

[Trapper Jim]

Just a footnote that long before CLP was invented we used Kerosene to clean and mineral oil to finish.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

But seriously guys how much cleaner and lube does the average person go through in a year.

I'll have you know that I use SEVERAL drops a year, thank you very much!

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Just a footnote that long before CLP was invented we used Kerosene to clean and mineral oil to finish.

Growing up, Dad always just used Hoppes No. 9 to clean, and 3-in-1 oil to lube. But his only gun was an old Stevens SxS that I still have.

When I got my first guns, that's what I used too. Wasn't until I got back into shooting again and joining that I learned about other options.

 

[gregkl]

I'll have you know that I use SEVERAL drops a year, thank you very much!

That's me. These mixtures of 1/2 quart this and a quart of this and 3 droppers of pixie dust would be enough to hand down to my grandkids.

 

[DadSmith]

That's me. These mixtures of 1/2 quart this and a quart of this and 3 droppers of pixie dust would be enough to hand down to my grandkids.

Yet it's good to know if there comes a time when you cannot find gun lube.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Yet it's good to know if there comes a time when you cannot find gun lube.

Heck, with some of those WWII era belt fed guns, they'd just dump motor oil in the action pretty much.

 

[DadSmith]

Heck, with some of those WWII era belt fed guns, they'd just dump motor oil in the action pretty much.

I would lean to a light weight synthetic oil if I run out of Ballisto or MPro7 and cannot find anything else.

 

[Gabriel]

That's me. These mixtures of 1/2 quart this and a quart of this and 3 droppers of pixie dust would be enough to hand down to my grandkids.

The recipe I posted is really just 2 parts to 1 part. I just posted it as it was written, but you could make a much smaller batch (although you probably can't get the oil or ATF in a smaller container).

 

[Cameramonkey]

Let’s try this a different way. Twice at a USPSA match I have had to take someone to the safe table, wipe the motor oil out of the gun and properly lubricate it to get them back into the match. Have also seen the same thing happen during a training class. I have never seen a gun malfunction from over lubrication but my limited experience with motor oil would suggest there are better options. Most people aren’t packing around AKs.

I have seen more then one bottle of “Billy’s Best” miracle gun oil that looked and smelled like ATF. Heck even the red Lucas might be nothing more then transmission fluid. I have no doubt motor oil mixed with ATF can be used to lube guns. Would be a great mix to keep in the barrel beside the Vietnam era CLP. But seriously guys how much cleaner and lube does the average person go through in a year.

Remember this is the same crowd that swears by dusty lizard bedding instead of treated Tumbler media. They must tumble the crap out of stuff or think you can only use it once.
I’m on my second jug in 8 years.
And the same folks also complain about the dust instead of using the right tool for the job.

 

[Leo]

It is all good, whatever a person likes. A firearm is really not very demanding on lubrication. It is not like we are keeping up with a 24,000 rpm turbine or protecting gears against the pressure from a 1500 ft lb diesel for 3/4 million miles..

Keep it clean and some lube wherever two parts rub together, plus a quick rub down against rust, and it will probably out last you. Jokes have been that Italian firearms will run on olive oil. That is probably right. Our forefathers lubed their long guns with the grease that dripped when they cooked the days game meat. We all know people that used 3 in 1 oil all their lives and never had any trouble.

no wrong answer except neglect.

 

[jsx1043]

In another life, in a galaxy far, far away, I was taken to the makeshift firing line to go qualify on a SIG P226. When I met the instructor/armorer on site, he handed me a SIG gun box, to which I opened and you know the sound Dracula’s coffin makes when he opens it? That long “creeeeeeeak” sound? That’s the sound this box made. I’m pretty sure a family of spiders jumped out and ran away.

So, I removed said P226 and coonfingered that mickey fickey and could barely work the slide. I looked at the armorer with disgust and he just did his best sour-face Robert De Niro and shrugged his shoulders and expected me to shoot it. I promptly broke down the pistol, went to my vehicle and removed the dipstick and squeegeed off a dollop of the government’s finest black 5w20 motor oil on to the working parts. Said P226 was in fine order to get qualified, and the armorer just looked at me with smug satisfaction.

Needless to say, I completely cleaned up and lubed that exquisite (purple?) piece of German engineering with the proper accoutrements when I got back to ______________.

 

[peterock]

Why do you guys use so much oil?

I started using Brian Enos Slide Glide a few years ago. I use a toothpick to place it after I clean my gun maybe every 5-600 rounds. Haven’t thought about it since then.

https://brianenos.com/slide-glide/

 

[bwframe]

Old guns need a good oiling and I've been having good luck with Ballistol on firearms and gun leather. Soaking in kerosene or #2 diesel works for me as well.

I use FP10 on the internals and a Balistol soaked towel for the external and kydex holster wipe downs.

If I can't smell both of them during press check, its time for more.

 

[thompal]

Growing up, Dad always just used Hoppes No. 9 to clean, and 3-in-1 oil to lube.

That's exactly what my dad used. I always thought that the 3-in-1 was a little thin, but it seemed to work and didn't dry out.

 

[Airtevron1]

Been trying the rattle can of dry lube lately...

 

[BigMoose]

I like wheel bearing grease for everything but ARs… the grease stays on the frame rails of the m1911a1 and m9 much better.

for the AR? I have a bunch of surplus LSA

but yes, any lube is better then no lube.

 

[Tactically Fat]

Is it snake oil? Maybe.

Is it more expensive than it needs to be? Probably.

Is a lot of it over-hyped marketing? Probably maybe.

Not a hard situation. If it's a carry gun, you want lubricants that A) stay in place where applied B) don't stiffen up when cold, and C) Still stay in place when it's hot or the gun is hot.

Sliding surfaces should get a grease of some kind.

Guns that need a protectant need a protectant. Some gun-specific stuffs have this, some don't. Some have it better than others.

All in all, it really doesn't matter what's used as long as it gets the job done. Plenty of automotive products fill the bill at a fraction of the cost of firearms-specific stuffs.

 

[Bugzilla]

Talking to a friend in Canada. He went to a dry lube and likes the results. Using regular gun oil, in the minus double digit temperature the oil got thick enough to cause lite strikes. States he lost a moose this way. Told him I like to hunt like I golf, in the 70’s and 80’s, degree F that is.

 

[DoggyDaddy]

Talking to a friend in Canada. He went to a dry lube and likes the results. Using regular gun oil, in the minus double digit temperature the oil got thick enough to cause lite strikes. States he lost a moose this way. Told him I like to hunt like I golf, in the 70’s and 80’s, degree F that is.

I remember when Frog Lube was all the rage. It was crap IMHO. My guns were stored out in our family room which gets down into the low 60's during winter and they just flat out wouldn't run. Thankfully I only tried it on a couple of guns and cleaned it off and started using "real" gun lubes again. But Frog Lube is non-toxic and mint flavored, so I guess if you were one of the kids that liked eating paste in grade school, it would be perfect.