lube??

O

old fart

New member
i went to my local wal mart tonight to pick up a few things and ended up at automotive and sporting goods:), their rem oil was up to $7 a can. i went across and looked at oil and remembered about people liking mobile 1, i looked and most was$8 - $10 a quart, then i saw some on clearence, i hope this is ok cause i bought a quart of mobile 1 advanced full synthetic 15w50 for $3, the salesman said that weight didn't sell good. then i went by camping and found wd40 specialist silicone 11oz spray on sale for $2.50, was told 3 in 1 out sells it even tho its made by the same company. are these good lubes for not only my shotgun but also for my ruger lcr handgun? thanks
 
Mobile 1 is a good lubricant and will work fine on a gun. There are subtle differences in oil that some of us have preferences for but that does not mean other oils do not work. I am a firm believer that proper care, cleaning and lube is far more important than the brand name you use. Im not familure with that silicone spray but be carful with spray silicone for general or automotive use. They often contain propellants that can be harmful to plastics and other nonmetallic parts. Be sure to test it first. You can also spray onto a cloth and allow the propellants to evaporate before use. I buy silicone paste in a tube and massage it into a cloth and keep it in a ziplock bag.
 
The manual for every gun I own (at least the ones that have manuals) says to use a "high quality firearms oil" or a "light machine oil" (i.e. 3-in-1), so that's what I've been using for the last 40 years without any problem.

You shouldn't have any issues using a motor oil assuming it doesn't prove too thick for the purpose.
 
old fart - do you live in a tropical climate? If so, that 15W-50 oil might work ok. But, if you live any place that experiences winter temperatures, and you expect to fire your gun in that temperature, then you chose the wrong motor oil weight. 15W (winter rating) oil is pretty viscous when compared with lower rated oils (e.g., 0W, 5W). And the 50 part is also very viscous at higher temperatures. That was not $3 well spent for the purposes of lubing a gun.

WD40 is not a satisfactory lubricant for guns. It is great for cleaning up things, or even for some temporary lube. My experience using it on door hinges shows that it will readily gum up and be worse than no lube at all over time. "WD" stands for "water displacement" and that is what it was originally designed to do, not lube a gun.

In my opinion, it sounds like you passed up the best choice of the lubes you mentioned - 3in1 oil. That is a good general purpose lubricant that has kept many a gun working properly for many, many decades. As mentioned above, the best lube is one designed specifically for guns, but 3in1 is the next best substitute.
 
the wd40 silicone has no wd40 in it, its just silicone. as is the 3in1 silicone, i never use regular wd40 as its just as expensive as gun oil. i also don't hunt in extreme cold as nothing under 30 degrees. i just can't take the cold like i used to. mostly if its 40 or above i'll head out for a few hours.
 
Mal H said:
old fart - do you live in a tropical climate? If so, that 15W-50 oil might work ok. But, if you live any place that experiences winter temperatures, and you expect to fire your gun in that temperature, then you chose the wrong motor oil weight. 15W (winter rating) oil is pretty viscous when compared with lower rated oils (e.g., 0W, 5W). And the 50 part is also very viscous at higher temperatures. That was not $3 well spent for the purposes of lubing a gun.
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I disagree. 15W50 synthetic motor oil has been my regular handgun lube for years, and I live in a cold climate. The 15 (cold) viscosity isn't stiff enough to cause things to hang up, and the 50 (warm) viscosity is perfect for semi-autos when shooting has heated up the metal. 15W50 is very difficult to find these days -- I wish I could find a couple of quarts, even at full price.
 
How many years? 1 or 2?
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Used Mobil-1 15W50 for probably 10 years or more before a friend who is a tech in a VW dealership told me that VW used Castrol, and that they made a 5W50. I used the Castrol to mix with molybdenum powder to make up my own witches brew. But ... the Castrol 5W50 now seems to be more extinct than the Dodo bird, so back to Mobil-1.

When cold (meaning ambient temperature in winter) you don't see much difference between the 5W and the 15W. "Back in the day" (I grew up long before the creation of multi-viscosity motor oils) even 15 would have been considered a "light" oil. We ran straight weight 20 in the winter, and straight weight 30 in the summer.
 
Why not buy the gun oil you think is best , no matter what the price . It will last for years , just think how much money is lost on holsters.
 
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Aquila Blanca said:
Used Mobil-1 15W50 for probably 10 years or more ...
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I know. I was just messin' with you. I saw in an older post that you recommended the 15W50 Mobil 1.

We agree that Mobil 1 is a very good oil for guns, but we'll just disagree on the viscosity that is best for that application. What works well in a car engine is not necessarily what will work well in a gun. The heat factor alone makes the two different applications require different viscosities.
 
Old Dogs can learn new tricks !!!

old fart
Glad you beat me to posting this question. Recently took an NRA class and the instructor really impressed me with his knowledge. A good instructor doesn't have to prove how good he is as it will be confirmed, in short order. He mentioned his use and preference for Mobile-1. Later I contacted him and asked about the grade. He said that he uses 5W30 but didn't really matter. So thanks for your post and plan on purchasing some. ...... :)

We agree that Mobil 1 is a very good oil for guns, but we'll just disagree on the viscosity that is best for that application.
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Be Safe !!!
 
Mal H said:
We agree that Mobil 1 is a very good oil for guns, but we'll just disagree on the viscosity that is best for that application. What works well in a car engine is not necessarily what will work well in a gun. The heat factor alone makes the two different applications require different viscosities.
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That's what I like about the multi-viscosity "motor" oils. I shoot almost exclusively 1911s, and if I run a gun "wet" with a light oil, once the gun heats up I end up wearing more oil that stays on the slide rails. Regardless of whether the "cold" viscosity is 5 or 15, the multi-vis ending in "50" seems to do a better job of staying on the slide rails and off my shirt.
 
>>Why not buy the gun oil the you think is best , no matter what the price . It will last for years , just think how much money is lost on holsters.<<

I concur!! I always wonder how people can spend hundreds of dollars on guns and then cheap out on the lube. Not worth fretting about.
 
"...assuming it doesn't prove too thick..." More about all the other stuff in it that might react with finishes and materials. Mind you, motor oil is the only thing we got in The Queen's Service.
Castrol is just a brand name.
In any case, grease is a lube. Oil is for rust protection/prevention. Grease on moving parts. Oil on everything else.
 
Why not buy the gun oil you think is best , no matter what the price . It will last for years , just think how much money is lost on holsters.
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IMhO truer words would be hard to come by, both about the oil and the holsters.
 
>>Why not buy the gun oil the you think is best , no matter what the price . It will last for years , just think how much money is lost on holsters.<<
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IMhO truer words would be hard to come by, both about the oil and the holsters.
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I concur!! I always wonder how people can spend hundreds of dollars on guns and then cheap out on the lube. Not worth fretting about.
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Lots of truth there. Homemade magic potions are not one bit better than any number of quality gun specific products that come in very convenient packaging.
 
T O'Heir said:
In any case, grease is a lube. Oil is for rust protection/prevention. Grease on moving parts. Oil on everything else.
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How often do you grease the crankshaft in the engine of your car?
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How often do you grease the crankshaft in the engine of your car?
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LOL!
The old adage. Grease if it slides, oil if it rotates.
But Glock kinda threw that one out the window. A tiny little drop of oil spread in only a couple places.
When it comes to a Glock. If you think you don't have enough oil on it, you probably already have too much!
 
I use Mobile One Syn 5w20. The indoor range I shoot at doesn't have any heat, unless you turn it on when you get there. One weekend here about a month or so ago it was below zero inside the range. About 20 below outside. None of my semi auto pistols would work correctly until the indoor temp got up to around 30. Good thing I brought along a .22 revolver, otherwise I would have had a long wait. If 5w20 gets too thick for a cold pistol, 15w50 is going to be way too thick. Granted, these are extreme cases, normal people don't shoot when it's below zero, but I'm not normal. But if you needed a gun for self defense at extreme cold temps, you sure as heck don't want it to choke. I've heard of people that use 0w syn oil for cold temp use on guns. Never tried it, but might.
 
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