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What should I use to lube a 1911?
- Thread starter Pants
- Start date
I am a ballistol fan boy.
why on earth people continue to put oil everywhere....its beyond me.
oil burns and turns to sludge when hot and/or meets carbon fouling.
ballistol stays slick and clean....its a formulation primarily w amyl alcohol so it is stable at extreme temps where petroleum products turn to "gunk".
Synthetic oil has greater resistance to heat and cold and an affinity for metal. In truth regular oil may work just as well. I use the oil left over from servicing my truck and motorcycles which happens to be synthetic. The important thing is that it doesn't cost me an arm and a leg.
Conventional oils dries out a little faster. Synthetic though, will migrate more and leave you with less than you thought you had while staining what ever the firearm was on or in.
So kind of a wash unless you really shoot a whole lot of rapid fire, in which case I would go synthetic as it would take more to burn it off.
While I have used Mobil 1 and Redline, I tend to TW25 on rails and Militec1 everywhere else. Mostly as they come in syringe and bottle that make for easy application.
Never used it as a lube it's just an excellent cleaner. I was in shock when I sprayed my AR guts down with it. Barely need any elbow grease, just wipes down. Love it. But hated the smell at first. Now it's like nothing. I need to get the liquid you get more for your money i was told.
I dont bother w ballistol aerosol form....just the liquid.
germans invented it as a "do it all" cleaner + lube
Can emulsify w water-based cleaners like windex for cleaning corrosive salts.
i clean everything from garden tools, jewelry, knives and guns.
rusty old kukri will look brand new w ballistol.
when i mention ballistol my woman literally tells me to shutup she is so sick of hearing about my affair w ballistol.![[smile]](/xen/styles/default/xenforo/smilies.vb/001.gif "Smile [smile]")
germans invented it as a "do it all" cleaner + lube
Can emulsify w water-based cleaners like windex for cleaning corrosive salts.
i clean everything from garden tools, jewelry, knives and guns.
rusty old kukri will look brand new w ballistol.
when i mention ballistol my woman literally tells me to shutup she is so sick of hearing about my affair w ballistol.
71montess
NES Member
Never had an animal that liked gun cleaning products.
Executive
NES Member
The reason for using synthetic instead of regular oil for your firearm is the same as for your car. It works better. Why? Synthetic oil is engineered so that each molecule is exactly the same size. Natural oil can be constituted of many varieties of oil with differing molecules. Synthetic is just more consistent. You may not see an improvement on such a small scale as a firearm, but in an engine, synthetic has been proven to work better, maintaining viscosity under harsh conditions, and remaining more stable under high pressures and temperatures.
Chris
Chris
This is not meant to offend anybody, but I don't understand using automotive oil on a gun. Automotive oil is designed to be light viscosity while cold and grows heavier as it heats up. It's also sticky and is hard to spread evenly. I want my gun oil to be the same or at least close to the same viscosity all the time. I also want it to be light and flow easily. I used expensive synthetic gun oil once which was really thick, and the cylinder on my GP100 would not spin freely. I went to Remoil which is lighter and flows easily, and the cylinder spins all day. Engines have a lot of moving parts that run at very high temperatures and at high speeds so they need engine oil. Guns are a different animal so I just don't see it.
I think part of your issue is not having a firm grasp on automotive oils. Oil does NOT thicken as it heats up. 10W-30 oil, for example, acts as a 10 weight single grade oil would at low temperature. At high temperature, it acts as a single grade 30 weight oil would. It does not get thicker, it acts as if it was an oil that started off thicker. That multi-grade behavior actually keeps the oil at a more consistent viscosity across temperature ranges.
Oil doesn't 'know' what system it's in. The friction between a slide and a frame is probably not much different than a piston/cylinder. Simple sliding friction. I also would wager that, if you calculated slide velocity during firing, it is not that different from piston velocity in a running engine. Heat and friction are heat and friction, whether in a gun or in a motor.
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It really doesn't matter. Seriously. Most any oil will do.
As to why use automotive oil on guns, it is quite cheap per ounce and it works. Your suggestion that it is somehow "stickier" than Rem oil is not something I have experienced and I've used both.
Guns are not a terribly challenging environment. They aren't that hot. Slide velocity is not terribly high. So it really isn't that important what oil you use.
As to why use automotive oil on guns, it is quite cheap per ounce and it works. Your suggestion that it is somehow "stickier" than Rem oil is not something I have experienced and I've used both.
Guns are not a terribly challenging environment. They aren't that hot. Slide velocity is not terribly high. So it really isn't that important what oil you use.
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I like saving money like everyone else and tried motor oil for that very reason. I think we may be talking about two different things as far as oiling a gun.
I have synthetic motor oil in a can I use for certain things and tried it on my guns. I hated it. It didn't run well and it was tacky is the only way I can describe it. I'd never be able to get it into small hard to reach areas. If you soak a rag and use it to wipe down a gun that's different. But for detailed oiling of small interior parts or into small holes or other hard to reach areas I find that very thin oils like Remoil is better suited. It didn't occur to me until just now that I should do just that. Oil up a rag with motor oil for wiping down, and use the other stuff for detail work.
I have synthetic motor oil in a can I use for certain things and tried it on my guns. I hated it. It didn't run well and it was tacky is the only way I can describe it. I'd never be able to get it into small hard to reach areas. If you soak a rag and use it to wipe down a gun that's different. But for detailed oiling of small interior parts or into small holes or other hard to reach areas I find that very thin oils like Remoil is better suited. It didn't occur to me until just now that I should do just that. Oil up a rag with motor oil for wiping down, and use the other stuff for detail work.
UPDATE - so, I did some experimenting. Took my 1911 to the range and used Militec and a little Mil-Comm grease on the rails. One thing I noticed with this combo was a lot of carbon on the exposed part of the barrel/breach and the gun was filthy.
Over the weekend, I tried some FIREClean. I gotta tell you - I'm really impressed with this stuff! The gun ran super slick and there was virtually no carbon. This stuff works great and I'm definitely a fan boy. When I got home, I stripped it, wiped it down and re-lubed.
Over the weekend, I tried some FIREClean. I gotta tell you - I'm really impressed with this stuff! The gun ran super slick and there was virtually no carbon. This stuff works great and I'm definitely a fan boy. When I got home, I stripped it, wiped it down and re-lubed.
StevieP
NES Member
SLiP2000 gun lube
http://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_gunlube.php
Forgot where I picked it up. Maybe Four Seasons?
I also have some Safariland Break Free CLP:
http://www.break-free.com/?location=/products/index.asp
I also have some RemOil in a pump sprayer. I like that for giving my entire shotgun a quick spray and then wipe. I also use the spray on (e.g.) AR buffer springs, mag springs, etc. Good way to cover a larger area than with a dropper bottle.
http://www.slip2000.com/slip2000_gunlube.php
Forgot where I picked it up. Maybe Four Seasons?
I also have some Safariland Break Free CLP:
http://www.break-free.com/?location=/products/index.asp
I also have some RemOil in a pump sprayer. I like that for giving my entire shotgun a quick spray and then wipe. I also use the spray on (e.g.) AR buffer springs, mag springs, etc. Good way to cover a larger area than with a dropper bottle.
Jizz
