I have been a Mobil 1 full synthetic motor oil/lithium bearing grease for a long time with great success.
Having said that, a gun that starts clean and is well lubed will run on just about any lube to include motor oil, cooking oil, essential oil and even Vagisil. (Thank you Pat Rogers/Mid-MO Carbine Class 2008 for that demo.)
It’s been recommended to me from multiple sources, including S&W armorer instructors for their M&Ps and M&P15s. I’ve bee using it for years at home and at work.
The "official" lube available at my agency is Mobil 1 synthetic oil. It works well enough on a range and the price is right.
But I don't use it personally. I find it burns off sooner than other options and it runs off of weapons stored in vertical racks sooner than oils like Slip 2000 EWL.
Yes, Slip 2000 is much more expensive than a quart of Mobil 1. But even still, a 4 oz bottle of Slip 2000 will last me a long time...
The only time I don't use it is when I can't find it.
I always have a bunch of random stuff lying around from my days with the magazine and also my shop of tools which get maintenance at random, caffiene-based intervals so sometimes I use gun products but my favourite alternative is actually air tool oil. Something about it feels very smooth, subjectively speaking and with no data at all to support this conclusion. But it's a machine oil that withstands pretty severe service, inhibits corrosion and has no combusion-related additives, or at least, I assume it doesn't because why would it?
But I have a 946 millilitres of Mobil 1 and I'm sure I have at least 800 millilitres left, which is the most convenient way to phrase that in metric.
Sigh....frostbacks.Originally Posted by misanthropist
#RESIST
I'm still a silicone spray guy - https://www.amazon.com/CRC-03040-Sil...2912216&sr=8-7
I figure anything that is rated for incidental contact with my mouth-hole is probably okay for being on a gun I handle and wash my hands after handling and shooting.
I find spray works better, for me, plus it's easy as hell to wipe off any excess and has the same properties as a silicone rag (i.e., helps prevent rust on surfaces). I've found it stupid easy to keep guns clean this way, even heavy carbon buildup wipes off with very little work. The only time I have to scrub a gun is if I have a lot of carbon built up on a stainless (for same reason I always find stainless harder to clean).
Motor oil will obviously work as well as a bunch of other lubes, and has been used in other countries for a long time. I don’t understand why someone would want to use it when there are better options with less harmful ingredients. The only reason comes down to price.
On another subject I remember hearing a podcast from a legit person who that is their field of experience talk about grease not being the best option for handguns and rifles and are better for crew served machine guns and equipment. Cannot remember the source unfortunately.
Mobil 1 will work just fine.
Lubricating handguns is simply not a terribly demanding lubrication problem. The important thing is to use some, and to use it in the right places.
3/15/2016
Most likely a brief mention by ARay, who actually holds certification in the Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers.
3/15/2016
It was. I remember the podcast (or one of them if he did multiple).
Chris
Reply With Quote