Has anyone tried to clean, lube, or protect their guns with mineral oil? It is completely non-toxic. It's made entirely of hydrocarbons (alkanes in fact, all single bonds). I can see why it would not make a good substitute for powder solvent, and maybe would not have the right properties to serve as a lubricant, but for cleaning and protecting most gun surfaces I would think it would work. Does it not displace water properly? Does it not penetrate well? To me the appeal is the non-toxic nature of the substance. Any organic chemists/gun enthusiasts out there with input? Frank
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mineral oil - to clean, lube, or protect?
- Thread starter glockdoc
- Start date
Destructo6
New member
I used it last weekend to clean the cosmoline from my surplus Mauser. It worked well, but I wouldn't use it for much else.
Mineral oil or mineral spirits?
I just aquired a paratrooper .30 Carbine from a neighbor. His dad carried it in Lebanon during the 50's when in the US Army. It looked like it had not been cleaned since!
I tried to clean it with Mineral Spirits, but that would not cut the dried-out grease or whatever that gunk was in the nooks and crannies of the action. All of the little plungers and small parts were cemented together with the dry grease as well.
I ended up using lacquer thinner. The only problem was that it left the parkerized parts blotchy looking. Then to give all of the parts a light coating of oil, I again used lacquer thinner combined with a couple capfulls of automatic transmission fluid. It gave the parkerized finish just the right color and sheen.
I hope this helps!
------------------
Remember, just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you!
I just aquired a paratrooper .30 Carbine from a neighbor. His dad carried it in Lebanon during the 50's when in the US Army. It looked like it had not been cleaned since!
I tried to clean it with Mineral Spirits, but that would not cut the dried-out grease or whatever that gunk was in the nooks and crannies of the action. All of the little plungers and small parts were cemented together with the dry grease as well.
I ended up using lacquer thinner. The only problem was that it left the parkerized parts blotchy looking. Then to give all of the parts a light coating of oil, I again used lacquer thinner combined with a couple capfulls of automatic transmission fluid. It gave the parkerized finish just the right color and sheen.
I hope this helps!
------------------
Remember, just because you are not paranoid doesn't mean they are not out to get you!