I use this when I want a dry lube, it works great after cleaning mags, for me. I bought a case of this, years ago, I'm still on my first can.
Why yes, I only use WD40 on my firearms. You kids and your fancy oils is dummies.
- Thread starter Exspiravit
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Who TF is stupid enough to use WD-40 on their firearms?
That's what RP-342 is for!
That's what RP-342 is for!
commiecuriocollector
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Wait, you can use RP-342 for that too?
Heck, I thought it was only for recharging the A/C in my car. Who knew it was so versatile?
commiecuriocollector
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i forget, what were we talking about again?
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Jlwilliams
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I've been using Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil for years. It's expensive as engine oil goes but I'm not pouring six quarts into my gun every few months. One quart lasts a really, really long time. It's got a lot of detergents in it and I don't know if it's real or just my imagination but I think guns lubed with it clean up easier.
Water displacement 40th formula
If it was a lubricant they would have named it L-40.
If it was a lubricant they would have named it L-40.
It probably woks best if you don't soak your ammunition with it.
Actually, it works great at penetrating.
There's no need to buy ANY Mobil 1 for gun use.
Just drain the dregs out of the jug next time you do an oil change in a vehicle.
Way back in the 1960's when I was very young, the owner of the local gas station did that. After every customer oil change they would place all of the empty oil cans on a bench, then one at a time place them in a funnel that was stuck in the top of a 5 gallon can to drain completely. Straight 30W, 10W-30, didn't matter, it all went into the same can. That's the oil he used for the shop truck, a 1950's Chevy pick-up.
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Years ago an old boss of mine named wd-40 "Washing Dirt" . In racing the only thing we used it for was rubbing dead bugs and tire marbles off of the cars.
Used to spray the mud trucks down with it at the mud races at Willow Springs as well.
I do that for the lawn mower. Twice a season.
In my experience WD goes on slick but turns into maple syrup over time. It will grab and hold on to every bit of dust ,hair ,pollen, powder and carbon it can.
The worst sound in the world is a click when you are expecting a pew , especially if you are on the timer. I clean my guns within 2days of shooting them to avoid the above. I use good old #9 and have been for along time.
Break-Free is my lube as recommended by my gunsmith instructor. Purchased this gallon about 30 years ago . Down to my last quart now. I'd say I'm happy with it.
The worst sound in the world is a click when you are expecting a pew , especially if you are on the timer. I clean my guns within 2days of shooting them to avoid the above. I use good old #9 and have been for along time.
Break-Free is my lube as recommended by my gunsmith instructor. Purchased this gallon about 30 years ago . Down to my last quart now. I'd say I'm happy with it.
When i started the program i asked Pete what he recommended. He slammed a can of ballistol on my bench and walked away. I've used that for cleaning/ lubricant every since.
A huge problem a lot of people have with these various products is a complete lack of understanding, compounded by marketing BS.
If you want a good lubricant, then buy something that's a good lubricant.
If you want a good penetrant, then buy a good penetrant.
If you want a good cleaner, then buy a good cleaner.
Trying to combine every trait into a single product and expect that product to perform at the apex of each trait is a BS, losing proposition. It's always going to be a give and take situation where some traits will be sacrificed for others.
WD-40 is NOT designed to be a "lubricant". It is a water-displacing formula designed to coat and protect against corrosion. It has volatile components to the formula which evaporate and leave behind a residue who's lubricating traits are somewhat lacking, to put it mildly. This is why it turns into a sticky residue.
Will it work as a lubricant in the short term? Sure. But it won't take long for it to literally gum up the works.
To be sure, there ARE good products out there which combine different traits. But while some are better than others. they all have their limitations. If you use them within their limitations, they'll work plenty well. But if you blindly accept them as magical potions, you're going to run into problems. Put simply, if it works for you, then you're using them within their limitations.
A lubricant needs to perform two major functions, and it has to perform both of these functions over a period of time without significant degradation of these characteristics.
1. Lubricate (minimize metal on metal friction).
2. Protect (remain adhered to the metals it's applied to in order to provide a barrier to corrosion).
While automotive oils can provide these two traits quite well, keep in mind that the additives within those oils are probably NOT really contributing much to these characteristics. Those additives are designed to work well in the temperature/friction extremes within an intermnal combustion engine and are not optimized to perform squat outside of that. Many are designed to keep solids suspended within the oil itself in order to facilitate their removal through the oil filter. This isn't something of concern on simple mechanical devices like firearms.
Motor oils do not contain very volatile chemicals, so they retain their lubricating characteristics very well over time.
If you want a good lubricant, then buy something that's a good lubricant.
If you want a good penetrant, then buy a good penetrant.
If you want a good cleaner, then buy a good cleaner.
Trying to combine every trait into a single product and expect that product to perform at the apex of each trait is a BS, losing proposition. It's always going to be a give and take situation where some traits will be sacrificed for others.
WD-40 is NOT designed to be a "lubricant". It is a water-displacing formula designed to coat and protect against corrosion. It has volatile components to the formula which evaporate and leave behind a residue who's lubricating traits are somewhat lacking, to put it mildly. This is why it turns into a sticky residue.
Will it work as a lubricant in the short term? Sure. But it won't take long for it to literally gum up the works.
To be sure, there ARE good products out there which combine different traits. But while some are better than others. they all have their limitations. If you use them within their limitations, they'll work plenty well. But if you blindly accept them as magical potions, you're going to run into problems. Put simply, if it works for you, then you're using them within their limitations.
A lubricant needs to perform two major functions, and it has to perform both of these functions over a period of time without significant degradation of these characteristics.
1. Lubricate (minimize metal on metal friction).
2. Protect (remain adhered to the metals it's applied to in order to provide a barrier to corrosion).
While automotive oils can provide these two traits quite well, keep in mind that the additives within those oils are probably NOT really contributing much to these characteristics. Those additives are designed to work well in the temperature/friction extremes within an intermnal combustion engine and are not optimized to perform squat outside of that. Many are designed to keep solids suspended within the oil itself in order to facilitate their removal through the oil filter. This isn't something of concern on simple mechanical devices like firearms.
Motor oils do not contain very volatile chemicals, so they retain their lubricating characteristics very well over time.
+1 on Ballistol. I even use it on the sliding glass door when it gets gummed up. Good stuff for cleaning. For lube I use Clenzoil.
What is in Ballistol ?
www.shootersforum.com
Ballistol is distributed from right here in NC and they openly tell you what's in it.
Makes my 617 look like it just came out of the box.
Also use it on my leather baseball/softball gloves.
Changes the color a bit but, better than pretty much anything else.
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in the 90's i bought a Grendel 380 (first version with integral magazine) you loaded with M1Carbine Stripper clips.
I 'stored' it in console, and i very generously lubed it...( probaby with Break Free, but beside the point)
One day i returned home and decided it was time to change out the ammo.
I removed it from the console and went to just shoot the rounds to empty the gun. (can do so safely in my location in the sticks)
Click
(manual eject)
Click
(manual eject)
i think it was either the third or fourth round that finally lit off.......
needless to say it was not carried like that again, and later even sold the gun.
contributed the failures to the oil migration/ contamination of primers.
live and learn
I keep a couple 5 gallon buckets of my used oil for dipping yard tools and the like. Once a year I drag them all out to get hot in the sun and dip them.
Dirtydirtysouf
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Exspiravit
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Used oil is good for a lot of things. I know old timers around here would coat the part of a barn pole that was going into the ground in burnt tractor oil to prevent bugs and rot.
Don't forget cologne
commiecuriocollector
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Kroil: The Scent of a Rusty Gun Nut
commiecuriocollector
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does it burn when you put it on your face?
commiecuriocollector
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I smell what yer cookin now.
It actually soothes my skin a bit, like a nice beard balm.
Had a gas station in Statesville that had a large metal tunnel with small loops around the rim of the inside that would hold the plastic quart oil cans to drain in a gallon jug. Called this oil "drippings" and sold it for $ 1 a quart.