OKAY! Another thread on pistol lubricant.

[littlejack]

A little background.
I purchased a Tisas 9mm Stingray 1911 style pistol a couple weeks ago. Local pawn/firearm
shop didn't carry them, so had to be ordered in. When it came in (last Thursday) they called me to come down and fill out the paperwork. Still waiting for the background check to clear. What a bunch of BS!
Ok, about lubrication. I own two 1911 style pistols, one Llama two tone in 45acp, and one Taurus PT 1911. I'm very partial to the 1911 pistol. I've used different oils, and at times in the past grease for the frame rails and slide.
I've settled on (for now) Tetra Gun Lubricant. Seems to work well. But, I want to make sure the the TGL is going to be sufficient for the alloy (aluminum) frame on the Tisas. It is a thicker oil with I believe teflon. I've looked at videos, and get contradictory opinions. One says use grease, another says never use grease. I know there's gonna be a lot of different opinions on the subject, but I'm ready. What is the best in all y'alls opinion.

[376Steyr]

Lubriplate is my choice, because if it's good for an M1 Garand, it ought to be good for a 1911. https://www.brownells.com/tools-cleaning/gun-cleaning/gun-oils-lubricants/130-a-mil-spec-grease/ Plus, I have a tub of it.

Seriously, I think anything from 3-N-1 oil on up will work, as long as you can keep a coating on the rails, which is why I prefer a grease. WD-40 is right out, as it is a solvent.

Brace yourself to hear from guys who are so frugal that they claim to crawl around under railroad boxcars at night, collecting gobs of axle grease, which they then strain through bandanas they have stolen off dead hobos.

[littlejack]

:shock:Now I can just imagine someone doing that. Thanks for the input.

[challenger_i]

3-In-1 has a product with PTFE in it. I haven't had any issues with it, thus far. In dusty West Texas, I shy away from heavy lube products (read: grease!) as much as possible. But that is just me.

[Leadmad]

Brace yourself to hear from guys who are so frugal that they claim to crawl around under railroad boxcars at night, collecting gobs of axle grease, which they then strain through bandanas they have stolen off dead hobos.

Haha Right on mate, used brand name oils forever but this last year have used Auto trans fluid on a variety of Firearms including my 2 1911`s and all good from what I can see.
Cheers

[stubshaft]

Way back when I shot IPSC and Cup I used Lubriplate white grease on my 1911's.

[shooting on a shoestring]

Look at it the other way. Is there anything that doesn’t work?

I quit using anything marketed as a “gun” lube back in the 1970’s. Any refined light oil will work. Animal oils get stinky but still work. Vegetable oils are better. Refined petroleum is best. Automatic transmission fluid is great at crawling into the small crevices of guns and protecting them. It can also be wiped off to a very thin film that has very little affinity to collect and hold dust/dirt. It also makes a dandy powder solvent and is what I use to clean up my guns. I never worry about storing them after that.

I do use STP or similar product on the rear cylinder ratchet areas to cushion cylinder slap. Seems to work but I’ve only started that in the last decade or so.

My 1911’s and other reciprocators live with just a minimal coat of Dexron III or similar.

[Texas by God]

My Tisas Tank Commander has Cerakote finish and there is little room for oil- as in it will squirt oil on your glasses as you fire the gun.
I’ve done some polishing on the rails and it works just fine with a tiny drop of 3in1 or Remoil or like.
It’s a well made 1911 in my view.


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[sigep1764]

I use a grease on the slide rails and locking lugs. I use the same grease on lever gun receivers, bolt actions, etc. on bolt actions u smear a ver light coat on the rails and a light colt on the bolt body. I’ll wipe the bolt body off when going into the field.

[tunnug]

Tetra gun oil is very good, if you're inclined to use grease Tetra also sells it, I use/have both for various types of needs, a little goes a long way.

[littlejack]

Thank you all for the many options.

[justindad]

I use as little lubricant as I can. My typical is whatever CLP they have at Sportsman’s Warehouse, and I’ll top the bottle off with light mineral oil when it is halfway gone. After I apply the oil, I wipe the gun down with a dry patch so only a film of oil remains. But, I don’t have any custom guns requiring unusual lubricants.

[El Bibliotecario]

I have my favorite lubricant, but it's immaterial. What matters is that one does _regular_ maintenance. A friend serving in Vietnam stripped and cleaned his .45 daily. People repeatedly remarked on the 'new' appearance of his weapon, compared to the unit's worn issue pistols which bore witness to the humid climate. His lubricant: GI motor oil.

[Bigslug]

Unless you're operating in temperature extremes that will kill an insufficiently protected human, so long as you're regularly attentive to the needs of the gun, it really doesn't matter much what you use. The manufacturer of one will tell you it's better than the other because, well, that's their job, but snake oil will likely work as good as any other.

I will pack a 1911's mainspring, magazine catch spring, plunger tube spring, and coat the sear spring with marine grease, more as a moisture barrier than a lube. All the sliding-contact parts exposed at field strip level get Break Free or Ballistol. As a lighter oil and a CLP, they will tend to dissolve and flush carbon away as the action cycles in a way that greases won't. I also like CLP's because I can give one product to the less dedicated operators and not worry about solvents being switched for lubes and vice-versa. I typically reserve grease for the reciprocrating parts of a piston-driven gas gun where the piston head (and the carbon) is well away from the action (AK, SKS, M1, M14, etc...). You can run a 1911 on grease, but if you have a load that isn't good at burning all its powder (Unique or HS6 come to mind), you'll be making an interesting mess.

Further tech tip: If you're joint the ranks of the red-dot sighted, dial back the amount of oil you used to put on the barrel hood and lugs, otherwise it ends up splashed on the front window of your optic.

[Four-Sixty]

I have several cerakoted Tisas. With my first, a duty, I used Balistol. One day, I disassembled a cleaned gun to notice much of the Balistol had evaporated away. That first one of mine has a fair bit of the cerakote worn away on the friction points. I then switched to 5W-20 motor oil, cause that is what I have on hand. My newer Tisas show very little wear on the friction points anymore since the change. At roughly $7 bucks a quart, I find it hard to beat.

[littlejack]

I generally clean my pistols a day or two after a shooting session. As stated in my original post, I have been using the Tetra Gun Lubricant. It works well, but gets thicker the more rounds I put down range. Adding the powder fouling, and NRA 50/50 lubricant from the boolits being fired certainly doesn’t help. This last cleaning, I used
the Slip 2000 EWL (Extreme Wepons Lubricant) that I use on my MSR. It's a little thinner than the Tetra, and has good viscosity. I'm in the process of using up the greaser boolits, and powder coating the replacements. I don't think there is any bad lubricant, other than NO lubricant.

[LabGuy]

We have the choice of a lot of “new” high tech lubes available to us. Some better than others, but not by much. To be honest it’s hard to beat a quart of Mobile One, and a tub of their synthetic grease. $25 and your set for years and years. I do splurge and purchase needle oilers, so I can put just a small amount where I want it. I have been alternating between this and what ever “snake oil” I previously purchased until I get rid of all that stuff. Of course this advice comes from the guy that uses Ed’s Red for most of his cleaning needs.

[littlejack]

Way back, years ago, I read somewhere that automobile oil was as good as any other lubrication that could be manufactured. It went on to say that manufacturer's spent millions upon millions of dollars to manufacture the best lubrication for their automobile engines. If one thinks about, the automobile engine is a lot more strenuous on its lubrication, than any firearm. Figuring the heat that the engine produces, the friction of the parts, and the pressures put on the lubrication, I would agree.

[charlie b]

Out here I frequently shoot in blowing dust. Even if I wiped all the oil off there would be enough 'sticky' left to attract the dirt. Enough that I could tell when cleaning there was sand in the moving parts. I migrated to dry lubes for my semi-autos. The revolvers still get some lube, but, like above, it is mostly ATF.

[Kosh75287]

Of course this advice comes from the guy that uses Ed’s Red for most of his cleaning needs.

I don't find anything wrong with that. I have been a BIG fan of Ed's Red, since the first time I made some. If I remember right, there is a paragraph in the write-up for making Ed's Red, which recommends setting aside 2 or 4 oz. each of ATF and kerosene and combining them for use as general-purpose gun-oil. I recommend the use of both. I have yet to find a firearm that did not respond well to a thorough cleaning with Ed's Red, followed by a thorough application of the ad hoc gun oil.

SHOOTING ON A SHOESTRING probably hit the nail on the head with his assertion that it is more difficult to find a lubricant that DOES NOT work well on most firearms, than to find one that DOES work. Except for the most extreme conditions (high temperatures, high humidity, extremely dusty conditions, or extreme cold, to name a few), I suspect that one could be blindfolded and pic a perfectly good firearm lubricant from the shelf of any hardware or automotive lubricant aisle almost every time.

[Kraschenbirn]

Shortly after receiving my first DCM Garand, I bought a quart can of original Lubriplate...still have about half left. For everything else, 5W-20W Mobile One.

Bill

[littlejack]

Great replies from everyone. Thanks for the input.

[curioushooter]

I have tried all sorts of lubricants. I will say the following:

DO NOT USE BAR AND CHAIN OIL. This the the oil that is used to lubricate chainsaw chain/bars. In theroy it should be the perfect gun oil. Right viscosity. Extremely high film strength and "cling." CHEAP. But give it 3 years inside a revolver or in fine parts in an auto and it gums up. I had to completely disassemble several S&W revolvers that I put this stuff in. One of them the yoke wouldn't swing out it was so gummy.

I have never had a problem with Ballistol, but rust prevention is limited. It is also quite thin. Not the best for slides. It smells like a beagle but this fades after a while. It has good low-temperature performance and doesn't gum over time. It does degrade some plastics however. I apply it with a good quality needle oiler.

I have warmed to USP Mineral Oil (bowel lubricant from the pharmacy). Not only is this stuff clean/food grade and odorless, easing worries of toxicity and apparel/holster staining, it is a fine lubricant, good protectant, and has a higher viscosity than Ballistol or something like 3-in-one oil and clings pretty well to things like slides. It doesn't seem to gum over time, but gets gummier at lower temps (it is higher viscosity than ballistol). I've tried USP Castor oil (another bowel lubricant) and it is more sticky than Mineral oil and a superior lubricant, though I have never tested its low temp claims, or had it on something long enough to observe if it gums. Given that it is a vegetable oil I fear it will be pretty unstable over time.

I use mineral oil for most things now, greatly prefering it in revolvers and pistols, but still use ballistol on my pump shotguns/rifles and other things than need to work in frigid temps. I am testing castor oil on my stainless 1911.

Fluid Film is a superior rust preventative. I put it in barrels and clean out before use. It is a poor lubricant, and hardens greatly at low temps. It is non-toxic.

I have used a lot of "high performance" stuff over the years from Tetragun (the grease and oil), Boesheild, Froglube, Gunzilla, Hoppe's, Rem Oil, and others I've long forgotten. All of them failed to impress me or disappointed compared to Ballistol or USP Mineral Oil, and all of them are potentially toxic. Ballistol has a century of use and claims non-carcinogenic/skin safe, and mineral oil you can literally drink! Castor Oil is also drinkable and low odor.

I really dislike the Moly grease. My goodness. This stuff makes your gun dirty even when it's not. It gets everywhere and stains. And I've never observed any of it's superior lubrication claims. Maybe it's ok mixed with beeswax as a bullet lube, though still dirty. In fact in general grease doesn't have a place on guns with a few exceptions. It seems to work well on the open bolt of a M1/M1A type gun. When I use a grease I use SuperLube brand grease, which is fully synthetic, food contact grade/non-toxic, clean, odorless, and very water repellent. It is about 2x the cost of petroleum based grease, but a grease gun tube of it will lubricate basically every gun you'll ever own, even if you are a like the army of a small country.