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Oil vs Grease?


tyr264

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I've never really been able to figure out when/where I should be using grease (like lithium gun grease), and when/where I should be applying a more liquid lube, like the oils.

Does it even really matter?

Thanks for the replies.

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I do oils on things that move, grease on things that slide. For my sig that meant grease on slide rails, guide rod, and barrel, oil on most everything else. 

 

My 1911 gets a similar treatment. I do not grease my trigger bow, sear or disconnector. It can cause sticking issues. 

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  • 3 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

Pretty much all lube works, some just works better.  For me I have tried many different types and none compare to CherryBalmz which is a extremely light grease, probably just a tad thicker looking then LSA.  The military uses TW-25b that is very similar and I imagine they are both pretty even but I bought the CherryBalmz first and their black rifle balm even has a very slight cherry smell that smells good. 

 

The reason oil works better then grease for most people is because they are using thick greases not meant for guns.  The grease you find at the hardware store or automotive store will work on most guns in the right conditions and it will work well.  But It will also gum up the gun in the wrong conditions.  The right type of oil will work in all conditions, just not as well as a light grease like Cherrybalmz/TW25b in my opinion. 

 

I do still use regular gun oil for some applications and for that I really like the cheaper Lucas oil that is the reddish color.  It is a fairly reasonable price compared to most other gun oils and has no smell, lubes as well as any other gun oil I've tried and stays put a little better then most.  A lot of people really like Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil and I've tried lots of different weights with it and it works very well I just don't like the consistency of it or the smell.  But best bang for your buck is definitely Mobil 1 synthetic or surplus LSA. 

 

LSA works extremely well but it's a little outdated compared to the newer light greases like mentioned above.  But when you can find gallon jugs of it for a good price it's hard to beat if you plan to run the gun in normal weather.  I'm not sure how well it would do in extreme cold and imagine it would start to gum up at 0F degrees and below.  The black rifle balm from cherrybalmz I use is good to about -10F or -20F in most platforms which is sufficient for where I live.  But they also make a Winter Balm I have used and it's good to around -50F or so and is a little lighter grease then the regular black rifle balm.  It works almost as well, but I prefer the regular stuff if you aren't going to be in arctic conditions.  He also makes some other greases but these are the main 2 I use. 

 

Try some, it may surprise you.  Or some TW25b I imagine it works just as well.  If you clean your gun after every few magazines it may not be for you since the price per volume is a little higher then most oils.  It works best when you put it on a little thick and leave it there.  Most oil burns off after 1k rounds or so or after months in storage.  The grease will still be there after thousands of rounds or months if not years in storage.  I use it on AR platforms more then anything where it really shines but run it on my pistols too. 

 

The Lucas oil is my go to for springs and any areas where I need the lube to drain down into.  I used to use the LSA a decent bit before I tried the Cherrybalmz stuff. 

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4 hours ago, SGT_Schultz said:

This is an oil that doesn't run.  So far it has the best staying power of anything I've tried https://www.amazon.com/Specialist-Lubricant-No-Drip-Formula-Straw-Sprays/dp/B086S8BVN4

 

I Would Stay far away from that personally. It truely is not designed for the type of use. By that I mean even with the thickening agent they added to it, It is Very thin. Its design is creep into tight areas and high solvent levels. I would use just about Any medium density oil to lubricate the firearm. (mobil1, lucas, 2a gunoil, ect.) Using a penetrating oil would have a better benefit in cleaning. Again This is my opinion.

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23 minutes ago, Denato1 said:

I Would Stay far away from that personally. It truely is not designed for the type of use. By that I mean even with the thickening agent they added to it, It is Very thin. Its design is creep into tight areas and high solvent levels. I would use just about Any medium density oil to lubricate the firearm. (mobil1, lucas, 2a gunoil, ect.) Using a penetrating oil would have a better benefit in cleaning. Again This is my opinion.

 

Do you have a copy of the formulation?  How do you know the solvent concentration in it?  Have you used it to lubricate firearms?

 

Or are  you making assumptions because it says WD40 on the can?

 

It's a lubricant.  It's not a solvent or a cleaner.  The fact that it creeps into tight areas (I've seen it do it) and it stays there (unlike the gun oils that I've used) makes it perfect for firearm use. 

 

Why would I stay away from it if I've been using it exclusively in my match pistol since the season started and has performed flawlessly?

Edited by SGT_Schultz
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Grease or oil, we gun nuts tend to over do it. I use SlideGlide Light very sparingly on everything where lube is needed in all my Open 2011s. Applied more and my guns jam sometimes. Im in warm place. Havent known how it will be in temperate and cold countries. Sometimes I use fully synthetic motor oils. It migrates a lot leaving its intended place a bit dry for comfort. If applied liberally it messes my guns’ innards. So I prefer Slideglide Light. It stays put. I clean my comp guns every 700 rnds or so coz my powder is the dirtiest Ive known. 

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Been using the Lucas extreme duty gun oil that came with my gun and so far I like it. It stays put but doesn’t seem to get thick, leaves a nice slick film. I’m in a very dusty area an so far it seems to not gum up or turn into lapping compound. Also works good on small electric motors as it hangs onto the shaft. 

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