OKAY! Another thread on pistol lubricant.

[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.