Gun oil vs Motor Oil on your guns

[radiorob]

I started using 0-20 full synthetic motor oil on my firearms in place of Lucas Gun Oil. I haven't noticed any issues so far.

The argument that got me to switch was that if I trust the motor oil for thousands or revolutions per minute in a machine that costs thousands of dollars why wouldn't it be good enough for my guns that only have to endure at most hundreds of cycles a day and cost just hundreds of dollars.

The conditions found in a firearm seems much less demanding that the conditions found in the block of an engine. I know there is a lot of slick marketing behind really expensive gun oils. Also to my knowledge there is no third party agency that establishes minimum standards for gun oil as the API, ILSAC does for motor oil.

I'm curious what you all think of this topic.

 

[Cat City Slim]

Following!

 

[okcBob]

Well I think you are comparing apples to oranges. The lubrication requirements for different machines are not all the same. Now if there is any testing that showed motor oil is superior or cheaper then gun oil & still protects guns as well or better then gun oil, I’m all for it.
But if the only reason for using motor oil on guns is that you trust it on a more expensive machine, that’s not a valid reason to switch, IMO. Would need some scientific evidence & testing to prove motor oil is a better choice.

 

[TANSTAAFL]

A long time ago a friend had an old .380 he picked up for cheap, it was really dirty so he used carburetor cleaner on it and dripped used 10 w40 oil directly from a dipstick to lubricate. The carb cleaner worked great, the bluing was non-existent before the carb cleaner.

 

[okcBob]

Now in full disclosure, I do use cheap Walmart high temp auto grease (the red stuff) on all my M1 garands & 1903 Springers. Got a tub of it about 5 yrs ago & it will last me a lifetime.

The below link has some testing info:
https://www.garandgear.com/m1-garand-grease/

 

[rc508pir]

Breakfree CLP. The military has been using it for 4 decades. Its a high performer in all catagories. Not the best. But it is consistant across the board. Some oils that tought this that and the other will perform great on one or two catagories such as friction tests and wear tests but will totally fail in freezing temps and other catagories.

 

[GlockPride]

I use a combination of clp for cleaning and Mobil 1 OW-20 as lube. No issues and the $5 bottle of Mobil 1 will last a really long time. Still 3/4 full after probably a decade. I use a “syringe” from Amazon to apply the oil to bolts, carriers, slides and rails.

https://a.co/d/1ixe2hQ
I do also have white lithium grease for certain applications and aeroshell grease for threads for suppressors.

 

[GC7]

Hornady One Shot cleaner has become my go-to cleaner/lube now. It's the aerosol can so you can blast all the crud out of barrels and actions and it leaves behind a parrafin wax coating (literally smells like crayons). I like it because it doesn't leave my hands greasy when handled.

But if SHTF and I can't get it anymore, then pretty much any motor oil would suffice.

 

[swampratt]

Dad never cleaned or oiled his 30-30 that he bought new in 1974.
No rust when i got it in 2000. It went to the deer woods every year until 2018.
Does that mean just wipe it down with a shirt after hunting and store it in the house on a gun rack on the wall?

I did some oil/lube testing on a 3 foot stick of flat steel that I sanded to make it shiny.
Sectioned it off with masking tape and applied different oils in the sections.
Let it sit outside until it began rusting until one section was nothing but rust.

Mobli 1 synthetic oil was the first to fail.

Now engine oil in an engine can prevent rust but not for very long unless it is developed to do just that.
That is one reason Joe Gibbs made an oil for long term storage.
Hot rod oil.

You do yourself a favor and get some mild steel and sand it shiny and apply your favorite oils and then set it outside and see your results.

I have pulled apart hundreds of engines with rust in the cylinder walls.
Ones that were not leaking water.. they just sat there not running.

I have also wiped down fresh bored cylinders with transmission fluid and with engine oil and stored them wrapped in a blanket not plastic and they all rusted.

Tube grease did not allow rust to form.

One of my favorite oils for preventing rust is Mercury Quicksilver 2 stroke.
It won my bare steel rust test.

 

[Letfreedomring]

Dad never cleaned or oiled his 30-30 that he bought new in 1974.
No rust when i got it in 2000. It went to the deer woods every year until 2018.
Does that mean just wipe it down with a shirt after hunting and store it in the house on a gun rack on the wall?

I did some oil/lube testing on a 3 foot stick of flat steel that I sanded to make it shiny.
Sectioned it off with masking tape and applied different oils in the sections.
Let it sit outside until it began rusting until one section was nothing but rust.

Mobli 1 synthetic oil was the first to fail.

Now engine oil in an engine can prevent rust but not for very long unless it is developed to do just that.
That is one reason Joe Gibbs made an oil for long term storage.
Hot rod oil.

You do yourself a favor and get some mild steel and sand it shiny and apply your favorite oils and then set it outside and see your results.

I have pulled apart hundreds of engines with rust in the cylinder walls.
Ones that were not leaking water.. they just sat there not running.

I have also wiped down fresh bored cylinders with transmission fluid and with engine oil and stored them wrapped in a blanket not plastic and they all rusted.

Tube grease did not allow rust to form.

One of my favorite oils for preventing rust is Mercury Quicksilver 2 stroke.
It won my bare steel rust test.

I might have to give that hotrod oil a try on my rotors so they don't rust every time it rains!