Those of you using engine oil on your guns….

Neither article included any actual test results, just unsubstantiated opinions. Doesn't necessarily mean they are wrong, but they provided no actual test results or links/mentions of test results. Brownells certainly has a financial interest in selling gun oil, and not aware if they sell any motor oil.

attached is a link to an older test as an example, not as the perfect method of testing
https://dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667

Likely there are many actual tests.

Have been using Mobile 1 full synthetic as a lube and wipe down for some time now. Never had a rusting problem, but saying i never had a problem means very little without details. Have noticed that after several wipe downs, the metal surface seems slicker, even after wiping down with dry cloth.
 
Anyone remember Fireclean? Also known as Crisco?
Or Froglube? Also known as roller coaster track lube?
Or CherryBalmz?

How to sell gun lube to gun owners
1. Buy a barrel of cheap, generic, greasy, oily stuff. It really doesn't matter what it is because its unique.
2. Hire a marketing guy to come up with a cool name, cool advertising, cool story, cool labeling and just lots of cool marketing things like stickers.
3. "Reformulate" by adding some secret, proprietary ingredient to your barrel of cheap, generic, greasy, oily stuff. I recommend something to give it either a delicious aroma or a horrific odor.....not both.
4. Give free samples to every gun blogger and YouTubeidiot in exchange for mentioning your product as "it really, really works!" and "it smells like tuna and weed!"
5. Profit.
6. Wait for someone to expose your unique product as plain old potato oil.
7. Sue them.
 
When I was young, we had lots of oils. Gun oil, Sewing machine oil, lamp oil, stove oil, motor oil (for actual motor bearings) engine oil, 3 in 1 oil, oils for finishing wood, lots of oils.

Best I can recall, didn't use 3 in 1 oil on our guns. Don't remember exactly why these days, but I think cause it got a bit gummy when the temp was -17F and lower....:D
 
So I have been doing some reading on various motor oils. It looks like many/most multi-grade oils do tend to have corrosion resistance and marine motor oils often list it as a major selling point. Single grade motor oils tend to not have it as often. Of course, most of the synthetics seem to have it as well (already noted).
 
Another GREAT use of WD-40 is on the gun leather on your holster.

I too............laugh and scoff at the WD-40 "haters!"
 
skywag Another GREAT use of WD-40 is on the gun leather on your holster.
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Also the easiest way to ruin a good holster.
Other than a light surface wipedown, oiling gun leather is the quickest way for it to lose shape and rigidity.

Leather ain't going to rust.
 
dogtown tom said:
Also the easiest way to ruin a good holster.
Other than a light surface wipedown, oiling gun leather is the quickest way for it to lose shape and rigidity.

Leather ain't going to rust.
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Baloney. My Hunter holster is better than new. And it is 60 years old, soaked in WD-40
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skywag: Baloney. My Hunter holster is better than new. And it is 60 years old, soaked in WD-40
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To be honest, that's quite possible. Mostly because that's not a very good holster. I have that identical holster for my Colt Huntsman I bought in 1976.

Its basically a piece of unlined leather just folded over and stitched in the general outline of a handgun. There was no "shape" or "rigidity" when it was new. It's a mass market holster that could fit any variety of handguns.

Vs.

Modern designs that offer better fit and retention specific to a particular handgun. The leather is molded to a particular design under pressure.
Such as:
086-MIN-SLDE-SIG-P365__88411.1524776713.jpg

Soaking such a holster in any oil, even WD 40 is just dumb.
 
It's not so much about the quality of the holster as it is about the design.

On a basic pouch-type holster, it's not going to really hurt anything. On a fitted holster, it will soften the leather and loosen the fit--basically it will shorten the useful life of the holster.

Here's what Mitch Rosen says:

"DO NOT use anything on my leather except the following two items:

1. Paste shoe polish on the outside
2. Leather Lightning(TM) on the inside during break-in."

Here's what Milt Sparks says:

"You can disregard most of the advice put out on the various internet forums suggesting applications for holsters that are better suited for a pair of boots or on a saddle. On holsters and belts of our manufacture do not use silicone, oil, or any leather conditioning product that advertises itself as an aid to help soften leather. Using any product on your holster not recommended by us will void any warranty we will offer."
 
s3779m said:
I have used 3in1 oil for 50 years. I have never seen it mentioned here, do y'all know something I don't?
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3 in 1 is good stuff. I grew up using it. My dad used it until he discovered WD-40 but to me a gun isn't clean unless it smells like 3 in 1 oil.
 
3-1 penetrates into tight places where lube isnt needed, loosening tolerances. ive had guns come apart i/e: shotgun bbl lugs pressed into receivers. sewing machines NEED lube in tight places since the tolerences on the needle travelling at 3500spi needs to be lubed by its supporting components.
 
Am I the only one who thinks it's kind of humorous when guys are complaining about the per ounce cost of gun specific oil versus motor oil on guns that can cost thousands of dollars?
 
What both amuses and annoys me is when the same exact thing costs more in different applications.

What I mean is when the exact same bolt (and I mean one that meets all the required specs across the board) costs $.50 in a hardware store, $3.50 in an auto shop, $6.50 in a boat shop and $12.50 in an aircraft shop.

Not talking about when there are different formulations for oils or fuels, or specs for parts, but when they are the same thing, just priced differently depending on their intended use.
 
What I mean is when the exact same bolt (and I mean one that meets all the required specs across the board) costs $.50 in a hardware store, $3.50 in an auto shop, $6.50 in a boat shop and $12.50 in an aircraft shop.
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Are you sure they are the same bolt? In just simple automobiles, bolts can have a wide variety of shape differences, material grades, coatings and torque adjusting(for lack of a better phrase) coatings applied. These are all designed to work together for a specific application. Using the wrong bolt can fail the joint requirements or fail the bolt as easily as it can match. Buying a random bolt bigger that 8mm or 1/4” is buyer beware nowadays, if you care about what you are fixing.

The same goes for all these damn new fluids. Why does every maker need their own oil spec all of a sudden….that will be the next thing for gun makers…their own oil required for warranty coverage!
 
Suspect/counterfeit bolts were a big thing in my industry, to the point where even operators (who didn't build anything with bolts) got sent to day long classes on how to spot and ID counterfeit bolts. What the bolt head markings mean and how to tell real from the clever (usually Chinese) fakes.

They got real serious about things like that after an inspection forced them to replace nearly 2/3 of the bolts in a 40 ton bridge crane....

Its been decades, and since I never needed to use it I've forgotten most of the details, but at one time, I was well trained...:rolleyes:
 
stuckinthe60s said:
3-1 penetrates into tight places where lube isnt needed, loosening tolerances. ive had guns come apart i/e: shotgun bbl lugs pressed into receivers. sewing machines NEED lube in tight places since the tolerences on the needle travelling at 3500spi needs to be lubed by its supporting components.
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In well over 50 years of using it I've never seen that.
 
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