Full Synthetic Oil and Lube

[Lifeislarge]

It's been a few weeks since I cleaned and lubed my gun (about 800-1000 rounds) and so this morning I had some time and figured, why not? So I unpack my gear and realize that I'm out of gun oil. Crap. I've been reading a ton about everything on here in the last couple months and remembered seeing several threads regarding the use of Mobile 1 synthetic as gun oil. As a guy with a professional automotive background, it really started to make sense. I remember years back, when I was in school, my teacher switched from standard oil to synthetic in his Super Stock NHRA Corvette. This was an 8 second car and the switch took 3-5 tenths of a second off his time consistently. Now I have to be honest, I have never run synthetic in my vehicles, as I was also taught that today's engines run just fine on regular petroleum products, as long as you replace them regularly. That and I'm too cheap to buy the stuff.

But it was this exact frugality that made me decide to give it a shot. Knowing what kind of mechanical abuse an engine takes, the temperatures, pressures and friction, I could not for the life of me see how my gun, with it's tight tolerances, wouldn't benefit from the same protection. So I looked at the cost per ounce of the most highly recommended gun oils and grease, then did the math with Mobile 1 full synthetic oil and grease. Yikes....

At an average of $7-13 an ounce for gun oil, and the same for a tube of grease, VS .28 cents for an ounce of Mobile 1 and .72 cents per ounce of fully synthetic grease, I was satisfied that I was doing the fiscally responsible thing. I chose to go with the 10W30 oil, as here in Florida temperatures rarely drop below 60 degrees, and I figured a bit of viscosity might not be a bad idea.

I brought my goodies home, stripped and cleaned my pistol and then proceeded to oil and grease it. I ended up filling my empty oil pen with the with the Mobile 1, and using a small paint brush to apply the grease out of the tube. I ended up replacing my recoil spring with a 14lb spring as when I pulled the gun apart, there was quite a bit of wear on my Dawson Alumi-Buff, and aluminum shavings all over the place. It kind of freaked me out that the new spring was almost an inch and a half longer than the one I took out. Obviously this tightened up the slide quite a bit, but the action was smooth and felt like it was well lubed. I haven't shot this pistol with the new springs so I can's say for sure how it's going to work out, but I feel like the lubrication is going to be fine and hold up well. I'm shooting a match on Saturday and hoping to hit the range this week to practice so I will report back with the results.

[twodownzero]

I just don't see how synthetic oil could be of any benefit to a pistol. The tolerances we're talking about are wide enough to allow grease to be used, and the temperatures of the parts that we're lubing are not beyond the temperature restrictions of petro motor oil.

I know a lot of guys are using Mobil 1 oil, I'm just not sure that synthetic motor oil provides any benefit in this instance. It sure can't hurt, though.

I use grease on all of my guns. It's definitely a trade off in the sense that it holds the dirt, but it stays where you put it.

As long as there's some sort of lubricant between the moving parts, though, that's probably all that matters.

[Seth]

My guns are so tight that oil is too thin to stay in place and gets slung out quickly. I like a little more clingy. Motor oil works fine, but its really designed for engine temps.

[Carmoney]

This is a religious debate--the people who have their minds made up on this issue are not going to budge.

I don't believe grease should be used on handguns. Especially not for handguns that will be used in cold weather.

I have found that synthetic motor oil stays in place and continues to lubricate better and longer than any product marketed as gun oil that I have ever tried.

That's my experience. But then again I'm probably just as much a religious zealot on this issue as anybody else!

[Merlin Orr]

Mobile One.

[Seth]

Mobile One.

That in Alabama? ;-)

[Lifeislarge]

I'm neither here nor there. The only thin that I AM certain of, is that I am one cheap SOB, and that if I can save a few bucks and get the same result, I am on board!!! I also know that lab tests have proven that synthetic creates a covalent bond with metal, so even when machinery slings out the viscous portion of lubricant, the film remains to protect. As for grease, I Googled 1911 lubrication and more answers, threads, and videos than not recommended greasing certain spots and oiling others. I make it a point to never subject my guns to cold weather. I really don't see much difference between the Mobile 1 synthetic grease and Slide Glide (please don't tell Brian that). Like I said in the beginning, I'll try it out, stay on top of things and see how it works. Worst case scenario is that my lawn mower gets a taste of the good stuff and I've got some really good grease in the garage. Oh, and finally, I really have no idea how tight my guns tolerances are. I've never had another race gun to compare it to.

[al503]

Mobile 1 on the rails and hammer/FP stop, and bbl to slide/bushing. SG light on the bbl lugs an slide stop. CLP to wipe it down before putting it back in the safe.

[Ming the Merciless]

I've found that synthetic 2 stroke oils work better than synthetic motor oils. It doesn't produces less carbon when it's burnt (AR bolt carriers), it sticks better and doesn't sling out, and it comes in cool colors (orange, red, blue, purple) just like the expensive gun oils (because most of them are just repackaged 2 stroke oils). Motul 800, ELF HTX976, Castrol RS TTS, Maxima 927, Bel-Ray Si-7 are all very good oils.

And just for you guys that religiously change the oil in your vehicles every 3,000 miles.

Stop Changing Your Oil

Edited September 12, 2012 by Ming the Merciless

[Sarge]

And just for you guys that religiously change the oil in your vehicles every 3,000 miles.

Stop Changing Your Oil

I tried to go over 5000 miles on my Sienna and of course completely sludged up the motor and had to have it completely rebuilt with less than 10k miles on it. There was a problem with the sizes of the return portals or something and it was cooking to oil too much. It was under warranty as they had found the defect but not really published it very well.

Sorry I change it every 3000 miles OR LESS because the next engine rebuild is on me. My Tacoma has a 5000 mile oil change indicator that rarely gets activated. I change it at way less than 5000 miles as well.

[Lifeislarge]

Mobile 1 on the rails and hammer/FP stop, and bbl to slide/bushing. SG light on the bbl lugs an slide stop. CLP to wipe it down before putting it back in the safe.

:huh: :huh: I wasn't in the military. Don't speak acronym.

[Lifeislarge]

And just for you guys that religiously change the oil in your vehicles every 3,000 miles.

Stop Changing Your Oil

I tried to go over 5000 miles on my Sienna and of course completely sludged up the motor and had to have it completely rebuilt with less than 10k miles on it. There was a problem with the sizes of the return portals or something and it was cooking to oil too much. It was under warranty as they had found the defect but not really published it very well.

Sorry I change it every 3000 miles OR LESS because the next engine rebuild is on me. My Tacoma has a 5000 mile oil change indicator that rarely gets activated. I change it at way less than 5000 miles as well.

From many years of experience giving bad news... There is absolutely nothing you can do to your vehicle that will keep it running for hundreds of thousands of miles, better than a $20 oil change religiously (<3K miles interval). These days a full oil change at the local parts store is cheaper than a quarter tank of fuel for my truck. I'm still trying to figure out what the best gun cleaning schedule is to keep it running for thousands of miles.

[blind bat]

I drive over 4k per month. No way I'm going to be changing my oil every few weeks. Owners manual says 10k with a special synthetic (required due to cam driven diesel injectors) and that's what I've done for <296k. I pulled the valve cover around 120k and the valve train looked brand new. Hard to believe seeing how black diesel oil gets.

[mitchiepinoy]

NAPA NO. 105 engine assembly and synthetic oil together for my open and limited guns... Works great...

[twodownzero]

And just for you guys that religiously change the oil in your vehicles every 3,000 miles.

Stop Changing Your Oil

I have a vehicle with over 200k miles on it that I bought with 62k. I have changed the oil maybe 5 times in the 9 years I've owned it. I'm thinking about never changing it again!

I tried to go over 5000 miles on my Sienna and of course completely sludged up the motor and had to have it completely rebuilt with less than 10k miles on it. There was a problem with the sizes of the return portals or something and it was cooking to oil too much. It was under warranty as they had found the defect but not really published it very well.

Sorry I change it every 3000 miles OR LESS because the next engine rebuild is on me. My Tacoma has a 5000 mile oil change indicator that rarely gets activated. I change it at way less than 5000 miles as well.

If the drain holes in the upper end of the engine were clogged with casting flash or something, no amount of oil changing would keep that engine going. That is a design defect. It's a shame that vehicles like that are out there on the road, but they definitely are. I've torn down engines and seen what should have been a 3/4" hole was only maybe 3/8" across, the rest was casting flash covering the hole. No amount of throwing away perfectly good oil can fix a design defect.

I have saved more than enough money in the last nine years of owning my truck that I could probably replace the engine and still have cash in my pocket. I don't know about you, but I'd rather have a brand new engine than one with 200k that had religious oil changes.

Then again, can anyone reading this name the last time they had a vehicle go to the junkyard due to a lubrication-based failure? I've blown up my fair share of engines in my day, but all of them suffered from being overreved, leaked so bad that they were constantly out of oil, etc. I can only recall one that simply developed a rod knock out of the blue despite being full of oil, and it's still sitting (assembled) in my garage so I haven't had the chance to diagnose it yet.

I wouldn't recommend my oil change plan(I know I've driven 30k+ miles on the same oil), but the fact that my truck still runs, just passed emissions, and does not leak or burn a drop of oil after 13 years of age, 9 years with me bouncing it off the rev limiter every time I drive it, you could say that I'm deeply skeptical of the people who say oil must be replaced religiously or an engine will fail from a lubrication related issue.

I do think synthetic motor oil is a benefit for towing vehicles, OTR trucks, and other instances where long drain intervals and extreme temperatures are the norm. I'm not aware of those conditions existing inside of our pistols, so if motor oil works, any motor oil, dino or synthetic, should produce the same results.

Also, on the topic of grease in a pistol, I agree with Carmoney that something like wheel bearing grease (NGLI #2) is likely too heavy for pistols. The grease I use is a Lubriplate product that is NGLI #0, which about the consistency of shortening at room temperature, maybe thinner. I'm very happy with it.

[al503]

Mobile 1 on the rails and hammer/FP stop, and bbl to slide/bushing. SG light on the bbl lugs an slide stop. CLP to wipe it down before putting it back in the safe.

:huh: :huh: I wasn't in the military. Don't speak acronym.

Me neither.

Mobile 1 on the rails and hammer and firing pin stop, and barrel to slide/bushing. Slide Glide light on the barrel lugs an slide stop. Break free cleaner/lubricant/protectant? to wipe it down before putting it back in the safe.

Edited September 13, 2012 by al503

[Glk21C]

I've found that synthetic 2 stroke oils work better than synthetic motor oils. It doesn't produces less carbon when it's burnt (AR bolt carriers), it sticks better and doesn't sling out, and it comes in cool colors (orange, red, blue, purple) just like the expensive gun oils (because most of them are just repackaged 2 stroke oils). Motul 800, ELF HTX976, Castrol RS TTS, Maxima 927, Bel-Ray Si-7 are all very good oils.

Couldn't agree more. I use AMSOIL SABER PROFESSIONAL, but something like Quicksilver Premium 2-Cycle TC-W3 oil works as well, easily found at such places as Walmart

Edited September 15, 2012 by Glk21C

[Lifeislarge]

I've found that synthetic 2 stroke oils work better than synthetic motor oils. It doesn't produces less carbon when it's burnt (AR bolt carriers), it sticks better and doesn't sling out, and it comes in cool colors (orange, red, blue, purple) just like the expensive gun oils (because most of them are just repackaged 2 stroke oils). Motul 800, ELF HTX976, Castrol RS TTS, Maxima 927, Bel-Ray Si-7 are all very good oils.

Couldn't agree more.

Have to try that next. Figure I'm sitting on about ten years worth of Mobile 1 gun oil though...

[Seeker]

No one has tried the Mobil 1 oil / ATF, 50/50 mix?

[Tom D.]

Why??

[hitman]

Been using Mobil 1 for years on my guns, no problem.

Best gun oil I found was Speed X, skateboard oil but it's pricey and hard to get where i live.

[Sarge]

Mobile 1 on the rails and hammer/FP stop, and bbl to slide/bushing. SG light on the bbl lugs an slide stop. CLP to wipe it down before putting it back in the safe.

:huh: :huh: I wasn't in the military. Don't speak acronym.

I was in the military and I don't see one single military acronym in that post.

[Lifeislarge]

Mobile 1 on the rails and hammer/FP stop, and bbl to slide/bushing. SG light on the bbl lugs an slide stop. CLP to wipe it down before putting it back in the safe.

:huh: :huh: I wasn't in the military. Don't speak acronym.

I was in the military and I don't see one single military acronym in that post.

FP, bbl, SG, CLP, DUH, WTF, WWJD, :blink:

[Service Desk]

I bought a 20 liter drum of Mobil DTE light for my lathe and mill...... I used about 4 liters in the machines now I have 3641 years supply of gun oil... hope I don't run out

[Trivialis]

+1 for Mobil One. It stays on longer than any gun oil I've used. Its not wet to touch but its definitely slick after a few hundred rounds.

Also wanted to try some Frog Lube....heard good things about it. Plus it was developed by SEALS but I will probably only use that on Airsoft Wednesdays!