History of Firearm Lubricants

[shoelessjoe]

A lengthy, but very interesting & informative read! Of particular interest (to me) are the early M-16 woes & the shortcomings of CLP, the latter of which validated my disdain for CLPs. FWIW, I do not have/use Cherrybalmz products.

History of Gun Lubricants | cherrybalmz

www.cherrybalmz.com

 

[nikonNUT]

Best lubricant you can use (at least on a 1911) is the mentioned Sperm oil. It's not actually an oil but a super light wax. IF you can find a wee bottle at some place like an antique store with contents intact grab it! It's good stuff! As an aside... an interesting read is the history of automatic transmission fluid. The orginal GM ATF contained Sperm oil until the early 70s. "The original Dexron (B) fluid, as well as earlier GM transmission fluids, used sperm whale oil as an additive to coat internal transmission parts to prevent corrosion and rust. The U.S. Endangered Species Act banned the import of sperm whale oil, so the Dexron (B) fluid additive package had to be reformulated.[13] In 1973, GM introduced Dexron-II(C) (GM Spec GM6032M).[14][15]"

 

[shoelessjoe]

@nikonNUT -- The loss of sperm oil had a profound impact in the automotive industry,[25] where for example, transmission failures rose from under 1 million in 1972 to over 8 million by 1975.[24]

 

[nortac]

Very informative! Great historical and technical information. I should throw out all of my CLP, but I have a lot of it.

 

[shoelessjoe]

Very informative! Great historical and technical information. I should throw out all of my CLP, but I have a lot of it.

And the historical info actually touched upon cultural influences, too!

For my money & in my limited capacity mind, CLPs (and after reading the above article, dry lubes) make about as much sense as a gallon can of house paint and paint stripper in-one ... and while I am not the sort who sends 5,000 rounds downrange on a weekly basis, I am a lube junkie who believes that certain products are better than others. It began early with me ... as a 16-year-old I asked dad, a lifelong Pontiac mechanic, if I should use Quaker State in my Catalina. He said, "While QS is decent oil, I think there are better. I always use Valvoline because unlike QS, which is paraffin-based, Valvoline is an ash-based oil that, unlike paraffin, will not build-up on engine components'.

The reason for even stumbling onto the Cherrybalmz History of Lubricants write-up was that I was researching a new-to-me grease. A fellow gun club member, a retired Bell Helicopter Textron engineer, and I got to talking about mil-surp rifle greases & he mentioned that while you can't go wrong using Lubriplate 130A(AA) or its successor, Plastilube (aka, Grease, Rifle), whose technologies date back to WW2 & the 1950s, respectively, I like using Thixogrease2 on all my mil-surp rifles ... naturally, I set out to learn all about Thixogrease 2 & after watching this video, I ended up ordering a tube.

 

[jkingrph]

About the only thing I use any clp for is mild barrel cleaning and an external wipedown. Likewise for Rem oil maybe as a wipedown but it is rather thin for a good lube. For rotating parts, I use one of the heavier full synthetic automotive motor oils and for sliding parts a synthetic grease.

 

[dojpros]

I am fairly agnostic to lubricant type (oil v grease) so long as it it properly and liberally applied.

I have seen really dirty carbines run well on grease. I have seen really clean carbines glitch when too lightly lubricated. I have then seen those same carbines run well when generously and repeatedly relubricated with water based gels designed for feminine hygiene.

My go to oil is Mobile 1 fully synthetic motor oil. Good enough for 24 Hours at LeMans, good enough for me on a Glock or 1911 Slide or AR bolt etc.

My go to grease is lithium bearing grease at sub 10USD for a 10oz+ tube.

YMMV Greatly

 

[OkieStubble]

I am fairly agnostic to lubricant type (oil v grease) so long as it it properly and liberally applied.

I have seen really dirty carbines run well on grease. I have seen really clean carbines glitch when too lightly lubricated. I have then seen those same carbines run well when generously and repeatedly relubricated with water based gels designed for feminine hygiene.

My go to oil is Mobile 1 fully synthetic motor oil. Good enough for 24 Hours at LeMans, good enough for me on a Glock or 1911 Slide or AR bolt etc.

My go to grease is lithium bearing grease at sub 10USD for a 10oz+ tube.

YMMV Greatly

I recall you saying in a previous thread about you using the lithium grease on your 1911's. What are the points of contacts that you place the grease on the 1911, AR and Glocks? I'm thinking on obtaining some and giving it a try.

 

[jkingrph]

Since you do not have fittings and cannot pump grease into areas in a firearm, just apply the grease to any sliding surface, barrel bushing, rails, ect. oils for pivoting points,like trigger, hammer pins, where it can migrate into the inner surfaces.

 

[OkieStubble]

Since you do not have fittings and cannot pump grease into areas in a firearm, just apply the grease to any sliding surface, barrel bushing, rails, ect. oils for pivoting points,like trigger, hammer pins, where it can migrate into the inner surfaces.

Other then putting a dab of gun grease on the bolt lug on my Remington 870 Police, I have just been lubricating pistol’s and rifle’s mostly with CLP all these years.

My only concern or thought or question would be, about grease on a carry pistol? Especially in colder weather?

Would the grease on a carry gun harden with the cold or thicken on cold steel parts when being carried but not in use? Wouldn’t want a cold greased pistol and then suddenly need it to heat up and work reliably?

 

[nortac]

I'm not an authority on lubricants, but I would imagine any mil-spec grease would work in pretty cold temperatures, short of extreme arctic/antarctic conditions.

 

[alpster]

I may be paranoid, but I can't help worrying about any grease collecting dirt, powder residue, etc.

 

[nortac]

I would/have restricted the use of grease to the rails on a 1911 and if not used excessively, it should not be a problem with powder residue, etc. Same with any semi auto pistol I suppose but I do tend to run Glocks fairly dry. But truth be told, I have not used grease in a long time. The last grease I used and still have on hand is TW25B, a white synthetic grease, non-toxic, temp range -90 to +450 F. I will probably use it again.

Amazon.com

 

[KW Driver]

I'm not an authority on lubricants, but I would imagine any mil-spec grease would work in pretty cold temperatures, short of extreme arctic/antarctic conditions.

LSA and LSA-T had a min temp rating, but Rob won't see it in OK.

 

[dojpros]

Use of greaseon AR, 1911 and Glock as per OKS request:

AR- Generous application of grease on bolt, bit of the excess on charging handle.

1911- finger swipe of grease on barrel bushing, finger swipe around entire barrel itself in front of chamber, generous dabs on rails. excess on top of chamber at ejection port

Glock- finger swipe around entire barrel itself in front of chamber, generous dabs on rails, small dab on connector, excess from rail on top of chamber at ejection port.

FWIW, I would "oil" in the same places if I was not using grease

Edited to add: My carry gun is nearly always AIWB and my outside in cold temps is limited so "hardening" of grease has never been a concern. While I have trained in bad weather re cold (windy/wet 20s), my greasy carbine/pistol functioned well.

If I was outside regularly in cold weather (sub freezing) I might rethink grease v. oil after consulting with my smarters/betters on the issue.

 

[OkieStubble]

LSA and LSA-T had a min temp rating, but Rob won't see it in OK.

Oklahoma is the 'Korea' of the U.S. It can get really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter. Fall and spring here, only lasts a week each.

 

[OkieStubble]

Oklahoma is the 'Korea' of the U.S. It can get really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter. Fall and spring here, only lasts a week each.

I'm getting too old to hangout in either, for very long.

 

[ColtRevolver]

The only firearms I use grease on are O/U shotguns. I use white lithium grease on the hinge area of them.

 

[OkieStubble]

The only firearms I use grease on are O/U shotguns. I use white lithium grease on the hinge area of them.

I have used the old skool tube of 'Outers' gun grease on my 870. In fact I have that same squeeze tube of grease still in my gun cleaning box. It's almost used up, but I bet I have had it at least as long as my oldest and she will be 40 in not too long.

 

[KW Driver]

Oklahoma is the 'Korea' of the U.S. It can get really hot in the summer and really cold in the winter. Fall and spring here, only lasts a week each.

well, my LSA didn't harden up at -30C. so... I still think you're good.