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what oil to use?

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While this "oil" post is still active, I've got a guestion on lithium grease. I've noticed that there are differant colors of this grease.Some white, black in my grease gun. Is any old grease like the stuff fresh out of the grease gun safe to use on a firearm? Such as putting a dab inside to coat the bore? Then what about the one with " Moly" in its contents? Remember no one is advocating gobbing the stuff on, just a small fingernail size dab (or smaller) of grease inside the bore. Would it be difficult to remove before the next shooting?

Please understand I'm not a chemist (though I have spoken with real chemists at different times on this subject), so I will be using more common terms in this post.

"Gun Greases" are usually broken down into two categories, one for long term storage and the second for lubrication of operating parts.

RIG Grease is well known for long term storage to prevent rust. It works marvelously well, though it requires a solvent like Stoddard solvent, mineral spirits or other types of solvents to remove and then the metal is oiled for shorter term rust protection. IOW, soapy water we usually use on ML Guns, doesn't do a very good job of removing it. The main useful property of grease is it stays where you put it better than oil over long periods and usually put on thicker than oil, to better resist the air and other elements from attacking the surface metal.

Gun Greases used for lubricating operating parts is mainly used for lubrication of the metal parts when operating at fairly high speed. As an example, Oil is used as a preservative for the metal parts on M1 Garands and Carbines, but you need a thin coat of grease where there is metal to metal contact of the operating parts, to reduce friction and wear. Now, of course with Muzzle Loading Guns, most of the parts don't operate at high speed and because of that, then Oil is mainly used as both a preservative and a lubricant. However, I like to put thin coat of grease on the axis of a tumbler, on the sear screw and a couple other places to prevent wear, though NOT on the full cock notch of the tumbler and sear face.

"Moly" is short for Molybdenum and is an additive to greases used for high pressure and added lubricity for metal to metal contact at higher speeds. They began adding it to G.I. Gun Grease in the late 50's/early 60's in the brown color G.I. Grease that came in the O.D. colored cans many of us remember from that time and into the early 70's. Later in the mid late 90's, they changed G.I. Grease back to an off white color, but it still has Molybdenum in it. Again on muzzle loaders, I only use grease in applications like I mentioned above and that also goes for some parts of BP revolvers.

BTW, one doesn't need to buy "Gun Grease" (other than RIG) for most applications. Modern Wheel Bearing Grease, with NO fiber material in it - that most modern greases no longer have, is every bit as good. I got that from "The Lab Boys" at both Rock Island and Albany Military Depots while I was the Division Ordnance Chief for 1st Marine Division in the 1990's. Since we could be in places where supplies might not catch up to us and we had run out of the "approved" cleaning/preservative oils or greases, I asked what we could use instead. They also informed me that diesel fuel would be great to use as a solvent and cooking oil as a preservative for small arms, when approved items were used up. Of course the Military is not allowed to use those things EXCEPT when the approved items are not available.

Gus
 
Thank you Gus for all that info on greases. I still have half a tube if Gunslick grease . Black as my lungs when I was a smoker. Good stuff but very messy!
 
Gents, for a long term storage, LPS-3 is cosmoline in a can. Make sure metal is dry
and clean and then apply. I store machine tools components in this stuff, and it preserves raw cast iron, a rust magnet, for years.
Ballistol, diluted 1-8 with water and then applied to patch cloth and then allowed to
dry makes a great patch lube, on a tight ball.
Ballistol replaces the old soluble oil I used to use in this application.
Just MHO.
I'm a graybeard gunsmith, and have shooting MLs since 1979. That means nothing,
but I have watched stuff over time... ;~)
 
Thank you Gus for all that info on greases. I still have half a tube if Gunslick grease . Black as my lungs when I was a smoker. Good stuff but very messy!

I have to sheepishly admit I may still have a partial tube somewhere myself. That was the Gun Grease most common while I was growing up, but honestly didn't know then what it was good for back then. Outers seemed to put it in most of their gun cleaning kits back then. I quit using it after I got Military Rifle Grease.

You are most welcome.

Gus
 
I didnt use surgical gloves then like I do now.

Same here, now I use them constantly. Nitrile is more puncture and chemical resistant than latex.

Seems like I'm constantly hearing about something new that can go through our skin. Like sunscreen for example. It turns out that Mike Adams was right. Even the hated traitors at CNN had to admit it.

It's easier for me to wear gloves than to read all those Material Safety Data Sheets and then try to figure out what might be harmful.
"An ounce of prevention beats a pound of cure".
 
Granted "rubber" gloves are far from Historically Correct but they do come in handy sometimes. This world we live in does contain some harsh chemicals. And I'm sure we'll be hearing of more of them in the future. I washed my hands several times but I can still smell the sulphur I was messing with yesterday.
 
I am a leukemia survivor. Probably caused by exposure to chemicals, or the water at Lejeune.
The cancer took forty years to appear. It started with one damaged cell in the bone marrow.
Seven years free of cancer now after 39 months of chemo and a bone marrow transplant. I am alive by the grace of God and medical science.
I use neoprene gloves when possible, nitrile otherwise.
Cleaning up after black powder I use Gloves in a Bottle and the stuff works well.
I do not cast bullets anymore but buy them.
Our skin is the largest organ in the body. Take care of yours.
Respectfully,
Irish
 
Irish lad,
So you drank the water at Camp Lejeune? So did I. However, I did not contract leukemia from it. I drank the water back in 1969-70. I did contract an upper respiratory disease (walking pneumonia) that put me into the hospital for a week. I almost died at the Naval hospital at Camp Geiger at Lejeune while going through ITR (infantry training regiment). I have heard a lot about drinking the water back in the day at Camp Lejeune, but I haven't had any negative results from it (so far).
 
Irish lad,
So you drank the water at Camp Lejeune? So did I. However, I did not contract leukemia from it. I drank the water back in 1969-70. I did contract an upper respiratory disease (walking pneumonia) that put me into the hospital for a week. I almost died at the Naval hospital at Camp Geiger at Lejeune while going through ITR (infantry training regiment). I have heard a lot about drinking the water back in the day at Camp Lejeune, but I haven't had any negative results from it (so far).
Rusty,
No way to tell what caused the cancer, but HQMC and BuMeds have identified numerous cancer clusters at the base and New River MCAS. PCBs are thought to be one cause.
But I helped my Dad lay tile as a kid and he used chlorinated solvent to prep surfaces. No gloves, eye protection or respirator. Really doesn’t matter, just happy to be alive!
Irish
 
+ on happy to be alive. I also use nitrile gloves especially when handling paints. I still use my ole Bore Butter in my ML while it is stored and not being used. I think that since I don't have any rust in the bore, I'll continue to use it til it's gone (not much left anyway). I'm gonna use my recently acquired Mink Oil Tallow from TOTW for my patch lube from now on. I like what I've heard about it from this forum. I've got to cast some round balls so I can start shooting now that the weather is so nice.
 
Jojoba oil needs to be esterified first to replicate sperm whale oil. Beaver tail oil is very stinky and you must render it slowly with low heat. Can become rancid. Ruined one crock pot. A friend swears by rendered marmot oil. Have experimented with whale oil purchase half a century ago from Dixie or other supplier. Someone told me Bill Large chastised a muzzle loader for using a spit patch instead of an oiled patch in his barrels. He said that you wouldn't run your car engine with water. Either Fred Stutzenberger (sp?) or the Bevel Brothers came out with an article testing different patch lubes. This was done back East where the humidity is much wetter than out in the Rockies. A similar test should be done with lubes out here not only for accuracy from a bench (I think that mounted scopes on their test rifles) but ease of loading, and number of shots before it got difficult to load.
 
I think this thread started out about Mobil 1 synthetic oil. And some of us agree it's pretty good stuff. Is there really any difference from the other synthetics on the market? Chevron, Exxon, Shell or any of the Major brands of oil?
 
I think this thread started out about Mobil 1 synthetic oil. And some of us agree it's pretty good stuff. Is there really any difference from the other synthetics on the market? Chevron, Exxon, Shell or any of the Major brands of oil?

I think all synthetics are Esther based oil with vegetable oil and animal fat. I sold Amsoil oil when it was spelled AmZoil. Synthetics were reality new then and some of the old engines were loose and leakers.
 
I'll throw in here. My late eldest brother liked Marvel Mystery oil. But he did most of his shooting from the 50's to the 80's. When I inherited his firearms in 2000, none of them had rust. But he didn't like shooting BP.
I like Ballistol and Barricade on my muzzleloaders and more modern unmentionables.
 
I think all synthetics are Esther based oil with vegetable oil and animal fat. I sold Amsoil oil when it was spelled AmZoil. Synthetics were reality new then and some of the old engines were loose and leakers.
Synthetic oils are usually ester or polyalphaolefin based.
You get what you pay for, but full synthetics lengthen engine life in my experience.
The family truck doesn’t need Castrol 10W60 racing oil at $16 a quart
The detergents in them will make short work of gunstock finishes.
It will strip carbon off steel and I don’t want it on my guns.
Barricade and Boeing T9 are my long term storage choices.
Irish
 
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