Do you grease your rails?

P

Prof Young

New member
Smithers:

So one of the things I've learned from buying a used Bauer Pistol is this thing called galling. To prevent it in the Bauer I bought some "anit-galling" gun grease to use on the slide/rails. As I was cleaning my Kel-Tec P3AT yesterday, in the reassembly process, I went ahead and greased the slide rails, lightly, on it.

Is it common practice to grease slide/rails? Does it increase gun longevity?

Life is good.
Prof Young
 
I use Slip 2000 EWG grease on rails/slides. A thin application works great. I have no significant wear indications at all. I recommend some type of lightweight grease on the rails.
 
Back in the 1980s, RIG grease was the ticket. Nowadays, there are lots of options. Militec grease is what I use in the shop, but I used to use the old blue waterproof marine bearing grease on stainless guns and never had a problem. Just about any good quality grease will work. There are a number of very slick synthetic greases out there, I would gravitate towards those.
 
Done a variety of things, but for more than two decades i never greased the rails on any gun and never had a problem. In fact, several of my guns back in the day just got a bit of WD-40 everywhere you'd normally put RemOil and never had a problem.

For the last ten years or so I've been using a tiny amount of WD-40s' lithium grease on the rails. Seems to be working A-OK.
 
It is a common malady to have like metals rub together and "gall" in firearms when the rubbing is done in a dry condition.
This condition is often seen in Ruger Mark pistols when the upper and lower is separated. The tab in the grip frame and the receptacle in the receiver will loosen up after just a few disassemblies and reassemblies unless some anti-seize lube is used to prevent the dry metal from galling. I prefer, and stock, a product that has copper (Copper-Coat) dust imbedded in the compound:

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This product will prevent parts that fit tightly together from wearing and becoming loose. It's also a very good lube to lightly smear on over/under and side X side shotguns where the forearm iron and receiver iron rub together when the action is broken open.
 
Yes, I usually use grease on my auto pistols and semi rifles. I bought a tub of red Mobil 1 wheel bearing grease years ago still have most of of it left. A little goes a long way. I ended up with a 5 gallon pail of winter rated grease, for equipment auto lube systems so in the cold i use that now. With that pail and the 5 gallon pail of Mobil 007 I ended up with, I will literally never have to buy grease for a gun ever.
 
I apply one or another oil in a quick cleanup for match prep.

I apply one or another grease to the rails only in a strip and clean.
I have a little Lubriplate and a little Gunslick graphited grease.
Back when the hardware store was the only gun dealer in town, he would throw in a tube of lube with a gun purchase to cushion the impact of his full retail price.
I even have a sample of Froglube that I will apply to a gun to be shot the same day and then recleaned.

My heavy artillery on the lube front is an unmarked jar of MoS2 loaded grease that a maintenance man at my plant gave me.
Moly and even graphite lubes are slick but they sure are black, application and cleaning are a messy business.
 
I've started using Breakthough Battle Born grease on my 2011 and both my Ruger PC Carbines. So far all guns are running flawless.
Temp range is -75 to +510 F grease fortified with PTFE
 
SGW Gunsmith said:
This condition is often seen in Ruger Mark pistols when the upper and lower is separated. The tab in the grip frame and the receptacle in the receiver will loosen up after just a few disassemblies and reassemblies unless some anti-seize lube is used to prevent the dry metal from galling.
Click to expand...
Isn't that a picture of a 22/45 polymer frame?
 
If I feel like doing things right, and know the pistol doesn't mind, I'll grease with whatever is handy -- red axle grease, moly grease, or even white lithium if I know it won't sit long enough to get crusty.
If the pistol doesn't like being greased, or I'm feeling lazy, a little oil is all it gets. (I use FP-10, primarily.)
 
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