Hello fellow shooters,
As a Glock man, and basically an advanced Glock armorer, I know very well how to take care of a Glock, but no one has ever given me trusted advice on how to lube a 1911.
My dad told me to lube all guns sparingly, only lubing what is needed, so that they don't gather dirt. I didn't listen to him for a long time, but now I do, and with Glocks it is easy: they require almost no maintenence and almost no lube.
Some of my friends who have military backgrounds spray down their entire guns with lube, drowning every part, then put it back together and wipe down the outside. Then that lube on the inside of the gun gathers dirt and fouling and turns into mud in their guns. They can't seem to figure out that you only need to lube the necessary areas, not drown the whole gun. Furthermore, more is not always better in this case because too much lube can cause your gun to jam when you need it.
But, most people I know that have 1911's drown them in oil: EVERYTHING gets a good dose of oil. One 1911 user pulled me aside once and said that he was going to show me a "secret". He demonstarted how (after already drowning his gun in oil), he squirts even more oil into the bottom of the grip safety, stating that "many people forget to oil that part", which I think is silly because the base of the grip safety just doesn't take that much stress. Less lube is better, IMO, and that just doesn't seem like a part that takes a lot of abuse (although I could be wrong!).
Advice like that is what has driven me here to get the real scoop.
I tend to use grease because I live in hot climates and like my lube to stay were I put it.
I use light oil like Tri-Flow, Breakfree or RemOil for places that I can't reach with grease.
As far as grease, I use a variety, but on my stainless 1911's I usually use Rig's "+P" grease that is designed for Stainless Steel guns just because it seems like a good idea.
(BTW, I LOVE the Sentry system of dry lubricant for my Glocks, but I don't yet trust that system to take care of my expensive 1911's. I take very good care of my 1911's because they are expensive....and one of them...the one that I use the most...is irreplacable.)
So anyway: Please, someone who really knows what they are talking about please tell me how to take really good care of my 1911.
Cleaning is easy enough (unless there are some secret places to clean?
) but lubricant is a tough part.
I don't want to drown my gun in oil unless that is really how 1911's are supposed to be lubed.
So, please tell me specifically were to lube, preferrably where to lube with grease and where to squirt some oil. Pretend I just stripped down my 1911, took the grips off too, and cleaned the whole thing top to bottom, getting every bit of grease and oil out of the gun, even spraying gun Scrubber or whatever into the hammer mechanism and leaving no lubrication anywhere on or in the gun. Now: where do I lube with grease and oil?
Less is better, but I also don't want my 1911 wearing out on me because I under-lube it.
Glocks are so much easier to maintain, but 1911's are still so much fun...
Thanks, I realize that it will take time for people to write out proper instructions, but this is much appreciated!!!!
Ps- One old gunfighter told me that he uses Simple Green to CLEAN his guns. After searching high and low for a cheap but effective way to clean my guns, this seems to work. A big jug of Simple Green is available from Costco for $7, and it cleans guns up real good. Gun Scrubber is nice and easy, but expensive. Simple Green and an old toothbrush is cheap and it works real well. I hope that there is nothing wrong with using it on a 1911.
(Somehow I made this really short question into a really long post...I should remember that sometimes "less is better" )
[This message has been edited by Red Bull (edited November 21, 1999).]
As a Glock man, and basically an advanced Glock armorer, I know very well how to take care of a Glock, but no one has ever given me trusted advice on how to lube a 1911.
My dad told me to lube all guns sparingly, only lubing what is needed, so that they don't gather dirt. I didn't listen to him for a long time, but now I do, and with Glocks it is easy: they require almost no maintenence and almost no lube.
Some of my friends who have military backgrounds spray down their entire guns with lube, drowning every part, then put it back together and wipe down the outside. Then that lube on the inside of the gun gathers dirt and fouling and turns into mud in their guns. They can't seem to figure out that you only need to lube the necessary areas, not drown the whole gun. Furthermore, more is not always better in this case because too much lube can cause your gun to jam when you need it.
But, most people I know that have 1911's drown them in oil: EVERYTHING gets a good dose of oil. One 1911 user pulled me aside once and said that he was going to show me a "secret". He demonstarted how (after already drowning his gun in oil), he squirts even more oil into the bottom of the grip safety, stating that "many people forget to oil that part", which I think is silly because the base of the grip safety just doesn't take that much stress. Less lube is better, IMO, and that just doesn't seem like a part that takes a lot of abuse (although I could be wrong!).
Advice like that is what has driven me here to get the real scoop.
I tend to use grease because I live in hot climates and like my lube to stay were I put it.
I use light oil like Tri-Flow, Breakfree or RemOil for places that I can't reach with grease.
As far as grease, I use a variety, but on my stainless 1911's I usually use Rig's "+P" grease that is designed for Stainless Steel guns just because it seems like a good idea.
(BTW, I LOVE the Sentry system of dry lubricant for my Glocks, but I don't yet trust that system to take care of my expensive 1911's. I take very good care of my 1911's because they are expensive....and one of them...the one that I use the most...is irreplacable.)
So anyway: Please, someone who really knows what they are talking about please tell me how to take really good care of my 1911.
Cleaning is easy enough (unless there are some secret places to clean?
) but lubricant is a tough part. I don't want to drown my gun in oil unless that is really how 1911's are supposed to be lubed.
So, please tell me specifically were to lube, preferrably where to lube with grease and where to squirt some oil. Pretend I just stripped down my 1911, took the grips off too, and cleaned the whole thing top to bottom, getting every bit of grease and oil out of the gun, even spraying gun Scrubber or whatever into the hammer mechanism and leaving no lubrication anywhere on or in the gun. Now: where do I lube with grease and oil?
Less is better, but I also don't want my 1911 wearing out on me because I under-lube it.
Glocks are so much easier to maintain, but 1911's are still so much fun...
Thanks, I realize that it will take time for people to write out proper instructions, but this is much appreciated!!!!
Ps- One old gunfighter told me that he uses Simple Green to CLEAN his guns. After searching high and low for a cheap but effective way to clean my guns, this seems to work. A big jug of Simple Green is available from Costco for $7, and it cleans guns up real good. Gun Scrubber is nice and easy, but expensive. Simple Green and an old toothbrush is cheap and it works real well. I hope that there is nothing wrong with using it on a 1911.
(Somehow I made this really short question into a really long post...I should remember that sometimes "less is better"
)[This message has been edited by Red Bull (edited November 21, 1999).]
