1911 lubricant

K

kisamore

Inactive
I am looking for a good quality long lasting lubricant for my 1911. I shoot it, then clean and oil it. I shoot about once a month and i'm currently using hoppe's No.9 lubricant. Is there something better i can use for the frame rails?
 
I would think that any of the gun related lubes/greases would work fine. Pick what you like.

Over the years, I used to use mostly grease on the rails, Lubriplate, TW25b, Frog Lube paste, and a few others. Lately, Ive gotten away from grease altogether, and Ive been using Tetra Gun Lubricant (its oil) on everything.
 
I haven't seen any advantage in some of the new products out there, you can spend a fortune buying one lube or the other, then hear it could damage the finish, cause cancer or anal leakage. I still use 3in1 oil and white lithium grease on the rails.
 
I think grease traps too much debris in a gun ...on rails especially.

Personally, on all of my 1911's whether they are 9mm or .45 acp / I use Break Free as a lube....

and I use it on rails, barrel, bushing, trigger bar, pins for thumb safety, on grip safety, etc..../ the only grease I use is on the hammer strut...and a little bit goes a long way. ( if I use Grease I use Wilson Combat's Ultima Lube grease - he has an oil and a grease in that product - both are very good ).
 
I use Gun Butter on my Nighthawk 1911's as well as most of my other guns. I am going to try some FireClean since I have heard good things about it as well.
 
I am looking for a good quality long lasting lubricant for my 1911. I shoot it, then clean and oil it. I shoot about once a month and i'm currently using hoppe's No.9 lubricant. Is there something better i can use for the frame rails?
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Higher viscosity lasts longer but attracts more debris.I think #9 is a good lubricant but too light,I have a vintage sewing machine oil can so I can pinpoint
where it is needed,20-50 Harley Davidson motorcycle oil.The rationale being if it
works for the bike then it must work for the pistols.
Not much is needed anyway,a little goes a long way and any kind of lubricating oil will keep your pistol from self-destructing.
 
On the recommendation of the gunsmith that does my 1911 work/builds, I use M-Pro7 LPX. I've also tried Wilson's gun oil and grease and have been happy with them.
 
This has been an on-going discussion on the M1911.org forum basically since the forum was started, and I'm sure it was being debated on the M1911 list that preceded the forum. Basically, it seems that everyone is happy with whatever they're using, the gun hasn't broken yet, so that product is the "best."

All the major products seem to get votes, but the two that seem to outscore the others are Gun Butter, and Mobil-1. But even Mobil-1 is a mess, because there's no consensus on what viscosity to use. Personally, I use either Gun Butter or Castrol Syntec motor oil in weight 5W50 (which I think has been discontinued, but a quart goes a loooong way as gun lube). In the summer, I use Lubri-Plate grease on the slide rails and sometimes on the tip of the sear, and oil everywhere else.
 
I prefer FireClean and MPro7 is my distant second. I was using Hoppes oil but it seemed to get....gummy after a while.
 
Pick a lubricant with a label you like best and go with it. Truthfully if its going to get cleaned and relubed after each use there really isn't a bad one out there.
 
I would agree there are a number of good lubricants. I have used Breakfree CLP but it was a bit "light" on one of my 1911s and switched to Mobil 1 5W-30 full synthetic (yes, the full synthetic makes a difference). I've also used Ed Brown's oil, Militec-1, FP-10, Weapon Shield, and others. No problems with any of them except the CLP in one pistol I mentioned.
 
There are no lube threads that yield answers. Frankly, I would avoid them. I would buy small bottles and confirm your results.

There are corrosion tests that can help which are online. Still, Frog Lube and Hornady One Shot HD Extreme usually win. Great, but considering the lubrication factor, I use neither. I did use the test to help me find what I use.

I would never use grease. Everybody who uses grease ends up with a gun no work thread due to grease/crud build up!

How to determine what lubricant is the best. . . .While I'm sure there is a test, I have not found one other than shooting that I like. So, I buy small samples.

If you look real close at how lube suppliers market their lube, you can see what is driving their product development. . . .Since any product driven by lubrication engineers to lubricate high force, high speed reciprocating assemblies will work, you just need to figure out who is making lube for that purpose.

You will find many lubes are marketed to be tactical, cool, extreme, clicky, standout names. . . .I don't need that for my gun. You will find a few marketed with corrosion testing, cleaning effectiveness, and the ability to create a lubrication boundry under heat, stress, and force. . . .hmmmm.

I just bought a lifetime supply of my lube of choice.
 
I would never use grease. Everybody who uses grease ends up with a gun no work thread due to grease/crud build up!
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Ive never found that to be the case.

Some guns, like the M1 Garand, require grease, and all my guns Ive "greased" have always run fine using it.

I think when problems arise with any of them, its usually due to people using things improperly, and using way more than they should. With most of them, if you can visibly see anything more than a "shine" when its lubed, youre doing it wrong.
 
Nathan said:
I would never use grease. Everybody who uses grease ends up with a gun no work thread due to grease/crud build up!
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I'm sorry, but this is an incorrect statement. I use grease (specifically Lubri-Plate) and I have never experienced a stoppage due to crud building up in the grease. Further, Lubri-Plate was the official military-issue grease for the M1 Garand for a number of years.
 
Strictly speaking for the rails, I love TetraGrease. Contrary to Nathan's opinion, when used at the correct amount, TetraGrease won't have you cranking up a thread on why your 1911 is malfunctioning.

If you're interested in all other aspects of lubing your 1911, I love Eezox.
 
There are no lube threads that yield answers. Frankly, I would avoid them. I would buy small bottles and confirm your results.

There are corrosion tests that can help which are online. Still, Frog Lube and Hornady One Shot HD Extreme usually win. Great, but considering the lubrication factor, I use neither. I did use the test to help me find what I use.

I would never use grease. Everybody who uses grease ends up with a gun no work thread due to grease/crud build up!

How to determine what lubricant is the best. . . .While I'm sure there is a test, I have not found one other than shooting that I like. So, I buy small samples.

If you look real close at how lube suppliers market their lube, you can see what is driving their product development. . . .Since any product driven by lubrication engineers to lubricate high force, high speed reciprocating assemblies will work, you just need to figure out who is making lube for that purpose.

You will find many lubes are marketed to be tactical, cool, extreme, clicky, standout names. . . .I don't need that for my gun. You will find a few marketed with corrosion testing, cleaning effectiveness, and the ability to create a lubrication boundry under heat, stress, and force. . . .hmmmm.

I just bought a lifetime supply of my lube of choice.
Click to expand...

Yet here you are adding nothing but vague if not inaccurate information in a what lube to use thread. Makes me shake my head.

There are tons of good products on the market. Everything from Mobil one to exotic lubes. In 99% of applications all of them will get the job done. IMHO YMMV
 
You may have more concern with cold temperatures than I do, but straight motor oil (10w30) has worked for me for a very long time.
 
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