Synthetic Motor Oil for lubing a gun?

T

troopcom

New member
I observed someone today cleaning a AR 15 and Shotgun. As a final step he put a thin layer of motor oil on the rifle and shotgun. He also oiled contact points with a small amount. According to him it's the same as using a regular gun oil. Is this true? :confused::confused::confused:
 
i've used motor oils lightly for years and it works perfectly. Thicker than most gun oil so it will not go away if you put the gun back in the safe for say, 6 months or more
 
it works. i use it on my handgun and it functions very well. one 1qt last a very very long time. plus its alot cheaper than gun oil
 
Motor oils are outstanding lubricants. Millions if not Billions have been spent in creating motor oils that will lubricate at the temperatures and pressures encountered in today's internal combustion engines.

Internal combustion engines operate in more severe environments in terms of heat and pressure than firearms. A lubricant which will work in that environoment will work in a firearm.

To date, amount spent on Gun Oil research: 0.02 dollars.

I believe the better gun oils are repackaged industrial and automotive lubricants. The poorer gun oils are simply straight mineral oil without any additives.

I use Mobil One all the time. Use it on M1911's, M1 Garands, Bolt rifles, you name it.

Automotive oils are first and foremost lubricants. Do not expect any medium or long term corrosion protection. Corriosion inhibitors have additives which block the migration of Oxygen.
 
It's what I use in most instances now. I think we have been sold a bit of goods to think that an oil which will survive 30,000rpm for days won't work in a pistol for a while.
 
I use Mobil One 5W-30 or, sometimes 10W-30. Mobil One and Amsoil are the only true "full synthetics" even among those claiming to be fully synthetic in the U.S. In Europe, the other companies cannot make that claim because it is deceptive.

Mobil One has great shear strength and viscosity with a high flash point and low pour point.

Added: Without going through a lot of explanation and links, take a look at the chart provided at http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=271x1301. Here's an interesting comparison between Mobil One 5W-30 and Militec-1, a respected gun oil.

5W30
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +446.0 F
V/100: 64.8 cSt
V/212: 11.3 cSt
TOR: 511.2 F
VI: 171

MILITEC-1 (for comparison purposes only)
P/P: -45.0 F
F/P: +455.0 F
V/100: 43.41 cSt
V/212: 5.63 cSt
TOR: 500.0 F
VI: 63

P/P - Pour Point (five degrees above level oil stops flowing readily)
F/P - Flash Point (temp oil emits vapor which will burn if exposed to ignition point)
V/100 - viscosity at 100 degrees F in centistokes(higher is better)
V/212 - viscosity at 212 degrees F
VI - Viscosity Index which indicates the oil's ability to retain viscosity over a given range of temperature (higher is better)
 
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V/100 - viscosity at 100 degrees F in centistokes(higher is better)
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I think you need to qualify the "higher is better" part. There is a proper viscosity range needed for every lubricant application. Too high and things don't move well.
 
Lucas oil who makes engine oil has come out with a gun oil, I would like to try it but its not available around here. If you buy a quart of engine oil, it will last you forever.
 
I use it on my AR and all handguns.

On a side note, I found it works very well as a lube for my Lee molds. Dab some with a q-tip on the pins and hinge, goes for about 500 boolits before it needs application again.
 
I haven't used motor oil before but after thinking abut it does make sense. Think I am going to give the Mobil 1 a try.
 
I prefer ATF. Grant Cunningham persuaded me.
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ATF is hygroscopic (draws and holds moisture). You'll never see me let ATF, power steering fluid, or brake fluid get within 10 feet of my firearms (they're very similar, and all hygroscopic).

Aside from rust issues... the hygroscopic nature of ATF also means it will cause your stock(s) to break down and turn 'punky' even faster. Most people don't care about letting oil leach into the wood, since it takes 75+ years for most stocks to show damage. But, if you hope to pass your firearms on to your children / grand children... it's something to think about.
 
I think it's funny that people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a firearm, but then skimp on the lubricant to almost literally save a couple bucks.

Yeah, motor oil seems to work well enough for some, but I have my doubts. I wonder how much corrosion protection it provides, and am concerned by the extraordinary ability it seems to have to grab grit and dirt out of the air.

Gun oil is cheap enough that I can afford to buy it anyways, and some products (such as CLP or EEZ-Ox) are well established to have superior corrosion protection.
 
"I think it's funny that people spend hundreds or thousands of dollars on a firearm, but then skimp on the lubricant to almost literally save a couple bucks."

That's a very funny statement, considering just how much the average car costs these days, how effective today's motor oils are at lubricating those cars, and how much ungodly harsher an environment the inside of a car engine is as opposed to say, the slide rails on a semi-automatic pistol.

Motor oils don't make particularly good rust protectants for the surfaces of guns, but for lubrication purposes, anyone who thinks that a gun's lubrication requirements are somehow more demanding really isn't thinking the question through.



"am concerned by the extraordinary ability it seems to have to grab grit and dirt out of the air."

NO lubricant has the ability to "grab grit and dirt out of the air."

For God's sake, it's not alive.

ANY OIL, I'll repeat that, ANY OIL (as well as any grease) will hold contaminants that come into contact with it because of oil's very nature.

No "wet" lubricant offered for sale today under any guise is fortified with "REPEL-O-CRAP!"

Yes, the lubricant's polarity could conceivably lead to an attraction between the lube and contaminants, but such attraction would be over an incredibly short distance, and I have an extremely hard time believing that it would really amount to anything consequential in terms of additional contamination.
 
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