Gun Oil?

[buck1]

Playing with lubes got me to thinking about gun oil.
I have always used good old 3 in 1 oil when I needed some for a moving part. And I use a oil with teflon to wipe guns down (the teflon helps seal the blue agenst rust, or so I was told by a gunsmith), for this I use Rem oil or Slick50-1 lube.
But since I started shooting CBs I want a slight lube in the bbl for the first shot.
I came up with Marvel Mystery oil on a patch , followed by one dry patch.

I think ATF would work I have no Idea how to spell it but (I think its Jojoba Oil based), But I smell that all day , and dont want my guns to smell like it at home.
Any way I was thinking the marvel would be better than the 3 in 1 oil for the few places I want oil on a moving part.
What oils /Grease do you use and for what?? ....Buck

[carpetman]

Buck1---I use Ed's Red for cleaning and finish up with silicone spray(I use the prestone silicone---that Wal Mart carries). The Ed's red,takes 4 liquid ingredients and a dab of anhydrous lanolin. Get a qt each of ATF,turpentine(or mineral spirits)kerosene and acetone. I store it in a Coleman fuel can and fill up an empty Hoppes jar as needed. For the kerosene,you can get lamp oil--which costs more and I don't know that diesel might not work just as well.

[NVcurmudgeon]

I use Ed's Red, Hoppe's #9, and Butch's Bore Shine for cleaning depending on the degree of fouling I anticipate, which depends on whether I have been shooting cast or jacketed bullets. I use Hoppe's Gun Oil for lubrication, mainly because I can get it in a large bottle from mail order sources. FWIW, I have seen Three in One condemned as ineffective for rust prevention or lubrication in at least one gunsmithing book.

[lar45]

Ed's Red cleans so much better than Hoppes no.9 it's almost embarassing.

I still like Break free CLP for an oil.
I did buy a gallon of Jojoba for trying in a black powder lube. I'll have to try some as a gun oil.

[Buckshot]

.............I wipe all my guns down with a silicone impregnated flannel rag. Bolt lugs or other high pressure sliding/rubbing surfaces get Sta-Lube Engine Assembly moly EP grease. I used to use an assortment of oils for other action lubing duties but have switched to Mobil Spindle oil. A 10wt non-detergent oil used in the lathe. It's a highly refined light clear oil and best of all, only costs $13 a gallon!

.............Buckshot

[Junior1942]

>but have switched to Mobil Spindle oil. A 10wt non-detergent oil used in the lathe.

Buckshot, where would a fellow buy that oil?

[Linstrum]

Teflon is a wax-like extremely slippery solid and when oil contains it as an ingredient it is in a finely divided or colloidal form. A particulate material will not help seal a blued surface since there are discreet spaces between the particles where moisture and other liquids and gases will penetrate right through. Sealing materials have to be a liquid at some point to form a barrier film to ensure a complete coherent coverage, and particles are not capable of doing that. Pour some water on some sand to see what I mean. Teflon will form into a coherent film, but it takes a large amount of pressure for it to cold weld into an impenetrable layer. Even though Teflon is an excellent lubricant material, a major problem with it is that it does decompose when the temperature gets high enough, like in gun bores. When it decomposes it turns into hydrofluoric acid, which is among the most reactive and powerful of acids, besides also being a super poison. I use Teflon, but limit it to where the temperature doesn’t get above about 550° F. Silicone spray is also good for high temps and doesn’t decompose into hazardous and corrosive compounds, so I use it instead on my guns.

For high pressure lubrication, such as small points of contact that bear a large load, like a sear, safety, trigger cam or catch, slide, bolt roller, etc, I use molybdenum disulfide automotive type grease. The stuff Buckshot mentioned is good stuff for that. I avoid graphite because even though it is a fantastic lubricant, it conducts electricity and will greatly enhance or even start corrosion.

Engine lubricant chemical engineers spend a lot of time and fantastic sums of money developing lubricants to protect steel, babbit, copper, brass, and aluminum from corroding when hot, wet, and in contact with acidic compounds while at the same time also having cleaning agents in them that dissolve, remove, neutralize, and suspend the gummy corrosive products of combustion that are encountered in engines and other machinery. Those are the very toughest of the tough conditions that will destroy very expensive fine machinery. Some Caterpillar and Cummins truck engines cost $50,000 and more, and are full of hundreds of very costly finely fitted parts that are ground, honed, lapped, and polished. Some of their fuel injection parts are fitted to tolerances measured in millionths of an inch, and even slight rusting of their surfaces that is hard to see will completely destroy the function of those parts. You can bet that the oils that get put in those engines are DAMNED GOOD at preventing corrosion as well as friction damage to those parts, which are made from the same exact steel alloys that are used in guns. There are a lot of similarities between engine lubricant requirements and gun lubricant requirements, and the products that work very well in engines also work very well for guns. When I put my guns away in storage I use a top grade engine lubricating oil with an API SL service rating to wipe them down with and coat the bores to protect them from moisture, corrosive gunpowder combustion residues that inevitably get left behind after cleaning, environmental dust and fingerprint dirt that contains salt, as well as to generally lubricate and clean them. The only major caveat on using engine oils is to keep them off of some types of wood finishes because the cleaning agents/detergents in them will dissolve the finish.

To sum it up, I use several oils and lubes on my guns. I use silicone spray, the same exact oil that goes in my $40,000 Caterpillar D4D dozer engine, and high-pressure moly grease for certain specific high pressure points. I rely on the characteristics of the silicone spray, the additives in the engine oil, and the moly high pressure grease to clean, protect, lubricate, and preserve my guns.

[Willbird]

I have heard that detergeant oil does not "stick" as good to metal as non det. oil does, and also it is not as slippery, the slickery part may not matter for gun stuff, and I understand in engines it is a trade off between lubrication and longevity, and they like to keep crud flushed out so the filter can grab it.

That said, I have just been using the outers gun oil, a little goes a long way...I use break free clp on 1911 moving parts per instructions of my gunsmith.

I have some Tetra gun oil with teflon, but man does that stuff smell bad....I use it on bolt action locking lugs.

Bill

[shooter2]

For overall protection. You know, that final wipe down before it goes back into the safe I use Brownell's "Polar Active Rust Preventive #2".

For "fast" sliding surfaces like the slides on my 1911's and that little spot where the hammer gets recocked I use R.I.G. "+P Stainless Steel Lube".

On slow sliding surfaces like cylinder pins I use STOS. I am not sure if this is still made or goes under a different name, but I bought a large jar around twenty years ago and still use it. Very slick. I was told that STOS stood for "Slicker Than Owl ****".

The final patch in a bore before storage gets either Marvel's Mystery Oil or Butch's gun oil.

[Buckshot]

>but have switched to Mobil Spindle oil. A 10wt non-detergent oil used in the lathe.

Buckshot, where would a fellow buy that oil?

You can get it through any machine tool distributer, but then you're paying freight. Just look locally for a oil distributer, and they can get it. Several others besides Mobil produce basicly the same stuff. If you have a machine tool company locally they'll have it.

The exact name is: Mobil Velocite oil #6, Spindle oil-Light.

It says:

Mobil Velocite Oil #6 is a premium quality, light grade (ISO VG 10) spindle lubricant for use in very high speed spindle bearings in precision grinders and other machine tools. It can also be used in sensative equipment such as precision lathes, jig borers and tracer systems.

Mobil Velocite #6 meets the requirements of Cincinnati Milacron spec P-62 and it can also be used to lubricate high speed bearings in textile machinery.

Mobil Velocite #6 is formulated from stable low viscosity base stocks, and selected additives. It provides the following benefits: Good wear protection, Long service life and excellent system rust protection.

I'm sure there may be better firearm oils out there for severe climate protection, like hunting in a blizzard or dropping your rifle in a swamp possibly. If you look in the guncare sections of most any retailer's catalog, there are eleventy bazillion oils and lubes and goop and they're all the best. I've read and seen salt spray tests, etc and some are amazing what they can do.

However, none of mine are subjected to month long stays out in salt spray, or any other hazards other then having me jerking on the trigger every so often. I've had a tendancy to simplify and cheapify things down to a minimum. So it's a wipedown with the silicon oil rag. Hoppes #9, Sweets 7.62 (when needed) Engine assembly moly grease, and now this spindle oil taking the place of the $4.95 for 2 oz gun oil. Heck, they LOOK the same :D.

................Buckshot

[Jumptrap]

I just piss down the bore of my guns and wipe the outside with lard.

[StarMetal]

Willbird

Motor oil detergents are oil-soluble metals that operate in a manner similar to the water soluble laundry detergents we are all familiar with. Some of the more com mon detergents are barium, calcium, magnesium, and sodium. Neither detergents nor dispersants do any lubricating themselves. Therefore, the more detergents in the package, the less lubricant. Also, being metallic in nature, detergents form ash deposits when burned in the combustion chamber.

So basically speaking detergent oil doesn't have as much lubricant in it as non-detergent oil.

Joe

[sundog]

Okay, Jump, we know how you handle the bore. Now what exactly are you wiping the outside of with the lard???? Huh? {BSEG}

Felix gave me a little hahoba oil a while back. I tried it on a Beretta 92FS that we put a whole bunch of rounds thru on Friday and it did a fine job! The slide was smooth as silk and it seemed to hold up well to heavy use and extreme heat. Had never used it before, and don't know that I would as a steady thing, but it did work very well, especially on the slide.

I remember one time getting ready for a pistol match in VERY cold wx. For three days prior I cleaned and reapplied a teflon base lube. Day of the match I made sure to wipe dry before going into the cold. That worked well. I saw more than one auto freeze that day. It were purdy cold! sundog

[45 2.1]

So, what is the effectiveness of Automotive Transmission Fluid that has worked for me for a long time?

[floodgate]

"FWIW, I have seen Three in One condemned as ineffective for rust prevention or lubrication in at least one gunsmithing book."

The original 3-in-1 oil was pretty poor stuff; it oxidized rapidly, and I have scraped pounds (well, ounces, at least) of "3-in-1 varnish" out of older guns. That is probably the reason for this statement. The current 3-in-1 seems OK, but I am still leery of it. I am curently using a spray oil put up in a "shotgun shell" can by Browning. I tried Ballistol, but can't take the awful stench it puts out. floodgate

[lar45]

I just piss down the bore of my guns and wipe the outside with lard.
When my Mom started shooting Black powder and built a Hawken from a kit, she put a small funnel in her possibles bag. She said you don't need as good of aim that way.
For her shot pouch, she tanned the scrotum of a Mulie.
Being small boys at the time, we couldn't help but laugh and call it her "Ball bag" well, it did have lead balls in it.

[StarMetal]

45 2.1

It's a very highly refined thin oil that not only has to serve a lubricating role, but hydraulic fluid function, AND be compadible with clutch friction material, in addition to cleaning, and keeping seals pliable. Did you know that the red color in ATF is a dye put there originally to spot leaks? Also there's two basic types of ATF's. One is friction modified ATF and the other is friction un-modified ATF. The Ford type is of the un-modified type. What this means is that modified lets the clutch friction plates slip some and give a smoother shift and the un-modified lets the clutchs grab quicker and harder. By the way the fast harder grab is better and the only reason they wanted the slipping type was for a smoother shift for those rich people that didn't want their big high dollar luxury cars jerking between shift. So which one is better for making bullet lubes and/or lubing your guns? Don't know, don't know if the friction modifiers apply to metals or not, or just clutch materials. Hey we'll have to manufacture a gun oil for automatic weapons. Call it AFF...automatic firearms fluids. By the way I have a can of Military Light Machine Gun Oil and by god if it does look very similar to ATF.

Sundog

It doesn't get that cold in Oklahoma, don't forget I lived there alot of years. It doesn't get as cold as it does in say New York.

Joe

[felix]

Be careful, Joe. New York used to be Sundog's HOME for MANY years. ... felix

[StarMetal]

Felix

That's why I used it. Felix I can't tell you the number of times I froze my ass off in PA deer huntine when alot of times it was in the minus 20's. When we lived in Ohio the town we were in had a record low of 29 below zero one night. It's rare for OK to bet to -10, or even zero for that fact.

Joe

[carpetman]

Starmetal---I sure don't want a smooth shift. Don't want people thinking I'm a rich snob. I put sand in my ATF(modified)so it grabs,jerks,makes noise and often times my transmission actually falls out. People see me stopping to put the transmission back in after I get this modified shift but they can't say there goes that shiftless SOB

[KCSO]

Since the demise of sperm oil I have had to resort to refining my own oil. I use bear oil. This was Ned Roberts favorite gun oil and I have found it to work nearly as well as sperm oil and at least as good as 3 in 1. My other oil is LSA military issue, I got 5 gallons free a few years ago and am just stubborn enough to use it all up if I have to live for another 40 years.

In all truth I don't think it matters what oil ou use as long as yo use it. Most of the guns I see have never seen an oil can or not till they quit working and someone slopped on the 30 wt.

[Depreacher]

Many of the guys on AR-15.com use FP-10 as an all around lube on their AR's. Supposidly this is the lube of choice for the special forces on their AR's. I use it for my AR, except for automotive "moly" on the Bushmaster match trigger sear contact. It smells great. Like cinammon. The FP-10 that is, not the moly. Shooters choice sells it. I use it as a wipedown on all my guns. so far no complaints.

[NVcurmudgeon]

Ed's Red cleans so much better than Hoppes no.9 it's almost embarassing.

I still like Break free CLP for an oil.
I did buy a gallon of Jojoba for trying in a black powder lube. I'll have to try some as a gun oil.

Lar, I find Ed's Red to be OK for cleaning .22 RF and moderate velocity cast boolit rifles, but not as good as Hoppe's for other purposes. However, I make my Ed's without acetone because I use it indoors. Is your better-cleaning Ed's made with acetone?

[StarMetal]

Face it, Hoppe's has a copper solvent in it. Ed's Red is never going to do that unless you add it. I love Ed's Red for keeping my guns after shooting casts but I don't use it for jacketed cleaning.

Joe

[jh45gun]

About that spindle oil I bought a CO2 Pistol this spring at the local sportsmans show that they have each spring. Not that I needed it or really had a interest in one at the time but the price was right more about that later. It used to be good with a gun show and lots of sporting goods shops attending. Now it has developed to a catch all show with every thing from some sportsmens groups like white tails unlimited, same with the bear and turky guys ect. Deer mounts and the biggest thing is travel trailers, 4 wheelers and boats ect. Even Vendors like Watkins :( oh well. Not as good as it used to be but still better than nothing. Anyway Wall Mart or as some call it wally world has had a space there for the last several years.This year they sold some closed out pellet gun pistols that were cheap I mean real Cheap I bought a Crossman one that looks like a Python 357 for 7 bucks NIB. They normally sell for around 60 bucks. They had some Daisy ones too for 11 bucks. I should have bought them all but just bought one. When I came back they were sold out. Anyway the instructions said to use a drop of pel gun oil on the top of the CO2 cylinder before putting it into the gun I could not find any anywhere no one handled it. I talkd to my gunsmith and he gave me some spindle oil. Now Crossman said use their oil or no warranty well I am not going to pay 3 bucks for a little tube of oil and pay another 5 bucks probably for shipping they can stick it so I tried the spindle oil and it seemed to work fine. Jim

[lar45]

I used the Acetone, but didn't put in the optional Lanolin.

I was cleaning out my 35 whelen to shoot cast in. I scrubbed with Hoppes no 9 until I got clean patches. I saw my Ed's sitting there and thought I'd run a patch through. It came out black. I then put another no 9 patch through and it came out clean. Back to the Ed's and I got dirty patches. I kept scrubbing with Ed's until I got clean patches with it.
It could have just been this one gun, but it was a huge difference in cleaning power.
If you need a copper solvent, use one like Sweets or similar.
For cleaning I'm completley sold on Ed's now. So now what am I going to do with the big bottle of Hoppes I still have in the gun room? The wife only uses it for perfume on special occasions.

[carpetman]

lar45--Wife uses Hoppes as perfume only on special occasions----need to create more special occasions.

[utk]

The acetone makes a big difference in Ed's Red. Only drawback is it's volatility - you need a tight cap on your oil bottle or a topping up now and then if the acetone smell seem faint.

As far as I've found out, acetone is only "mildly hazardeous", probably no worse than the rest of the ingredients. As far as smell is concerned, it quickly disappears anyway. And it compensates for the smell of the ATF.

Crosman pellgunoil: I have a tube which I use on my CO2 gun's O-rings.
The color is red, just like ATF. And ATF is supposed to be non-harmful to gaskets etc. Maybe pellgunoil IS ATF?

As for a general lubricant, I've started to use straight ATF to see if it works. It doesn't have to be the "world's best superduper lube". Good enough works for me. Way cheaper and easy to find. I don't think a gun is a very demanding piece of equipment to lubricate. Could use Ed's Red as well - when the more volatile ingredients have evaporated a thin film of ATF remains.

The "gun-cleaning-and-lubricating" business has similarities to the cosmetics industry, in my opiniom. They try to make us buy way overpriced products when more common stuff works just fine.
Urban

[NVcurmudgeon]

Urban, Don't forget the reloading industry! I have been using the same pint of STP for over twenty years as case sizing lube. It looks like, feels like, smells like, and tastes like RCBS sizing lube. I can't hear it, but four of five senses say RCBS must buy a lot of STP.


The acetone makes a big difference in Ed's Red. Only drawback is it's volatility - you need a tight cap on your oil bottle or a topping up now and then if the acetone smell seem faint.

As far as I've found out, acetone is only "mildly hazardeous", probably no worse than the rest of the ingredients. As far as smell is concerned, it quickly disappears anyway. And it compensates for the smell of the ATF.

Crosman pellgunoil: I have a tube which I use on my CO2 gun's O-rings.
The color is red, just like ATF. And ATF is supposed to be non-harmful to gaskets etc. Maybe pellgunoil IS ATF?

As for a general lubricant, I've started to use straight ATF to see if it works. It doesn't have to be the "world's best superduper lube". Good enough works for me. Way cheaper and easy to find. I don't think a gun is a very demanding piece of equipment to lubricate. Could use Ed's Red as well - when the more volatile ingredients have evaporated a thin film of ATF remains.

The "gun-cleaning-and-lubricating" business has similarities to the cosmetics industry, in my opiniom. They try to make us buy way overpriced products when more common stuff works just fine.
Urban

[StarMetal]

Bill,

The last RCBS case lube I used was water soluable, STP is not. The previous RCBS case lube was not water soluable. I gaurantee you that RCBS's case lube is not STP. In my opinion I think you should go to one of the dry spray on lubes because your cases are alot easier to clean, plus they don't load up your tumble media as fast. With Hornady's lube I don't believe you even have to clean it off. STP is was too messy to use. I only use RCBS case lube for extreme resizing operations where there's a chance the case may stick in the die as it's more slippery then the dry films.

The important thing with pneumatic pellet/bb guns is to use an oil that is non-dieseling AND one that won't harm the seals. With CO2 the concern would be just the seals. With those two things in mind, ATF seems to fill the bill.

Joe

[woody1]

I was going to stay out of this but.....Ed's Red for cleaning period. My Ed's has acetone, no lanolin and I use terpentine and paint thinner one pint each. Smells better that way. I use Sweets for getting copper out. Gun oil is mostly Ed's Red or ATF. For storage I wipe down with a mix of STP, ATF and Hoppe's No. 9. Case lube is STP and Hoppe's 50/50 mix. Regards, Woody

[twotoescharlie]

I have a bottle I bought from DGW in 1964 (when it was still legal), it is still very fluid and has no rank odor other than the slight fishy smell that came with it originally. I have used only a very little of on fishing reels and it does not get gummy or rancid. had it for a long time and don't remember what I got it for.
at the time I was heavily into muzzle loading and it was probably for something for the muzzle loaders. Hell I'm 68 years old and have a bad case of CRS so I just don't know.

TTC

[carpetman]

Speaking of products possibly being one in the same,Lee's case lube seems to be about the same as GB Wire Aide(Gardner Bender). I bought the Wire Aide in the electrical section of Lowes and a quart is about the same price as 4 OZ of Lee's case lube. Put it on your fingers and it lubes the cases as you handle them. Water soluble and tumbles off easily. Air gun lube---DONT lube the bore--pellets leave a residue that takes care of that and anything more is just trouble,in fact you are better off not cleaning the bore at all. If you do dry patch it--using a piece of heavy weed trimmer line makes a very good push rod. You can also double a piece of smaller weed trimmer line and push the loop through and drag out your patch in larger cals. You can drag a tighter patch and no danger of harming anything.

[StarMetal]

My Ed's Red has acetone in it also, because I clean my shotgun with it and acetone disolves the plastic left on the bore from the plastic shotwads. As for storage of guns I wipe mine down with TC's bore butter. I wouldn't use Hoppe's to wipe a gun down for storage especially a nickel plated one. One time my frient got a new cylinder for his Colt 45 Single action, which was a nickel plated one. We did an experiment with the old cylinder. We soaked it in Hoppe's #9 and sure enough the next day it ate a good bit of the nickel plating off by attacking the copper plating underneath it. I wouldn't wipe my guns down with anything that could effect the wood finish either. STP isn't a rust inhibitor it's a friction inhibitor. Only thing I use STP for on my guns is just a tad on sear and other trigger internal parts as it sure does slick them up, but I use it with a mixture of something else.

Joe

[utk]

For large quantities of cases I use a pump sprayer filled with one tube of Lee Case Lubricant plus 3 or 4 tubes of denaturated ethanol. Shake well before use because the lube will settle on the bottom after some time. It is not dissolved, merely suspended in the ethanol.
Works fine for my .30 Luger cases which are sized in larger quantities...

Urban

[BD]

I really don't need to hear you southern boys wine about the cold. New York?, that's down near Miami isn't it? (in northern Maine where it was 48 deg. this morning)

Back on topic: I use Ed's red for all my general purpose gun cleaning, and storage oil. I use FP-10 on the match AR, and exclusively on everything in the really cold weather. A little goes a long way. In the summer I use moly grease on the 1911 slides, stops and barrel ends as you can use very little and get good results, and it doesn't seem to attract grit as much as oil. Most of the matches are shot in gravel pits up here and they can get pretty dusty in the summer. With the moly grease I can go 700- 800 rounds through the 1911, dropping my mags on the ground, with no failures due to dirty guns. In general a good cleaning with Ed's Red followed by a wipe down will get you through any shortage of yuppie lube. I used Ed's Red for years in the tannery to coat the fleshing machine knives at the end of the day. These knives are carbon steel and live in a salt/acid solution through the day. Ed's Red would keep them shiney and bright for weeks. The Lanolin is to make it stay where it's put. This becomes real obvious when you're using it on round things that spin fast. Without the lanolin the ER would fly off onto the operator as soon as he turned the machine on. A few years ago we were all complaining about a lanolin shortage, It was nice for the guns, but i really needed it in the tannery.
BD

[Scrounger]

I really don't need to hear you southern boys wine about the cold. New York?, that's down near Miami isn't it? BD
(in northern Maine where it was 48 deg. this morning)

BD, I'll trade you some 115 for some 48... Say,,, two months worth?

[No_1]

[QUOTE=BD]I really don't need to hear you southern boys wine about the cold. New York?, that's down near Miami isn't it? (in northern Maine where it was 48 deg. this morning)

48 degress this morning? It was 80 degrees @ 0600 this morning when I walked out the door.......

I have not spoken here in a while old and new friends but I am still here in the background.

[Depreacher]

Hello folks, back to the case lube mentioned a few posts back. After my first try with "one shot", I was sold. I line up 50 or so cases on a clean 4ft. 1x4 board sitting on newspapers on the bed (do this while she's cooking supper). Moving the spray tube horizontally down the line-up, try to angle down about 45 degrees, 3" to 4" away to hit the inside of the neck, also outside of neck and shoulder. Do this quickly, as a little goes a long way. Then make another sweep, nozzle about 3" away hitting just below the shoulder. Go a little slower so it will cover all that side by running down the case wall. Go to other side of lined up cases and do the same. Let cases dry out for 15 minutes. Will then have a slightly waxy feel to them. First case or two may FL size a little sluggish but after that everything goes OK. Easy to wipe off. A lazy mans lube for sure!!! If you neck size only, then only do the first sweep on each side. If I can ever find a carbide neck sizer for 8mm and 06 I will use Hornady one shot for FL sizing only. It works for me. Just my 2 bits worth. Be sure and shake well. Easy to use and almost no mess.

[buck1]

Heres one I read about somewhere, automotive air conditioner oil for guns in very cold places, I havent tryed it but it makes sence. BD may have use for such a lube? .. ...Buck

[BeeMan]

...If I can ever find a carbide neck sizer for 8mm and 06 I will use Hornady one shot for FL sizing only...

The Lee collet neck size dies work well for me. No lube required and as a bonus the brass is worked less.

BeeMan

[Depreacher]

Thanks BeeMan, I never even thought about the lee. I'm going to try it. cbp

[mroliver77]

I use the acetone in my Eds Red. I also have used turpentine with good results. Last batch I made I didnt have any lanoline left so I poured off a quart and added some Lee Liquid Alox. I have been using cut Alox for my muzzleloader storage for years now with great success. Here is another cleaner I found listed on the net.


Steve's Squeeze
Steve's Squeeze
1 quart deodorized mineral spirits or Exxon ClearLite fuel.
1 quart xylene
1 quart MEK
1 quart ATF or Marvel Mystery Oil

For rust protection in storage, add 4 ounces of Lee Liquid Alox per gallon.
There will be a precipitate in the bottom of the storage container. Do not
shake the storage container, pour the cleaner off the precipitate for use.

Because of the increased solvent power of Steve's Squeeze, store it in glass
or metal containers. Do not store this mixture in plastic bottles. It can
destroy plastic, and it will evaporate through the plastic. You can use
polyethylene squeeze bottles for application, but not for storage. Steve's
Squeeze is harmless to bluing and nickel plating, however it will damage
many stock finishes.

Print this label and place on the container:

RIFLE BORE CLEANER

CAUTION: HARMFUL IF SWALLOWED.
KEEP OUT OF REACH OF CHILDREN

Flammable mixture, Keep away from heat, sparks or flame.

Use with adequate ventilation. Avoid breathing vapors or
spray mist. Avoid contact with skin.
Keep container tightly closed when not in use.

FIRST AID, If swallowed DO NOT induce vomiting, call a
physician immediately. In case of eye contact, immediately
flush thoroughly with water and call a physician.
In case of skin contact, wash thoroughly.

Safe compounding and use are your responsibility.

Storage

After cleaning with Steve's Squeeze and rinsing with mineral spirits, I
apply Steve's Squeeze with Liquid Alox for storage. I wear gloves to avoid
fingerprints, and wrap the gun in a polyethylene plastic wrap, one-gallon
plastic bags work well for pistols and revolvers, kitchen garbage bags for
rifles. This prevents removing the coating if you place the gun in a gun
case and prevents accidental fingerprints when you handle the gun. I put the
gun in the plastic bag while still wet, the solvents evaporate through the
plastic and the gun is dry the next time it is used.

For long term (decades) storage of firearms and ferrous metals, Cosmoline
has long been the gold standard. For an easy to use replacement for
Cosmoline, I mix Lee Liquid Alox with an equal amount of deodorized mineral
spirits and brush it onto the gun. Submerged complex parts like trigger
assemblies and drip-dry. The same plastic bag system works for long-term
storage. Heavy plastic bags specifically made for firearms storage are
available, and may be better in extreme conditions.

It is easy to remove dried Lee Liquid Alox with mineral spirits or any of
the spray solvents like carburetor or brake cleaner. Immediately coat the
gun with Steve's Squeeze, to prevent rust.

You are free to copy this article provided you send it in its entirety.

Steve Hurst

[utk]

I think that both Xylene and MEK are "nasty stuff". I wouldn't use it unless there is an "emergency". The cleaning power of regular Ed's Red is enough, IMO.

Urban

[fiberoptik]

Speaking of products possibly being one in the same,Lee's case lube seems to be about the same as GB Wire Aide(Gardner Bender). I bought the Wire Aide in the electrical section of Lowes and a quart is about the same price as 4 OZ of Lee's case lube. Put it on your fingers and it lubes the cases as you handle them. Water soluble and tumbles off easily. ...
I read over on surplusrifle.com they did a test of different lubes, & the Wire Aide beat them all hands down. See it under articles or reloading. Here's the link.http://www.surplusrifle.com/shooting/homestretch2/index.asp

[fiberoptik]

I have a bottle I bought from DGW in 1964 (when it was still legal), it is still very fluid and has no rank odor other than the slight fishy smell that came with it originally. I have used only a very little of on fishing reels and it does not get gummy or rancid. had it for a long time and don't remember what I got it for.
at the time I was heavily into muzzle loading and it was probably for something for the muzzle loaders. Hell I'm 68 years old and have a bad case of CRS so I just don't know.

TTC
It was supposed to be the best patch lube around back in the "old days". Kinda hard to find now unless you're an Eskimo...

[Ricochet]

.............I wipe all my guns down with a silicone impregnated flannel rag. Bolt lugs or other high pressure sliding/rubbing surfaces get Sta-Lube Engine Assembly moly EP grease. I used to use an assortment of oils for other action lubing duties but have switched to Mobil Spindle oil. A 10wt non-detergent oil used in the lathe. It's a highly refined light clear oil and best of all, only costs $13 a gallon!

.............BuckshotLike Buckshot, I now use spindle oil. (I use it in the tone generator of my old Hammond organ, too.) I use the ISO 22 viscosity grade, though. That's a lighter grade than SAE 10. (It's between the long-defunct SAE 5 and SAE 10 viscosities.) Transmission fluid is about ISO 34, and ISO 6 is about the viscosity of #2 Diesel fuel.

Here's where I get mine:
http://www.use-enco.com/CGI/INSRIT?PARTPG=INSRAR2&PMAKA=505-1994&PMPXNO=944170

I do use grease on the bolt lugs of rifles. Regular automotive sort for high-temp disk brake wheel bearings and chassis lube.