thanks Flork, I have grease on order....

warm soapy water, huh? I never detail strip my pistols, so hopefully I won't have to do that to the SIG.

Safe to assume that Hoppes Elite solvent, or KG products (carbon remover and copper remover) are not harmful to a SIG finish?

Thanks

I'm looking forward to your 1911 recommendations...at this point I use "Lite" Slide-Glide on the rails and other metal-on-metal friction points in a minimal manner, with drops of oil elsewhere, e.g. between hammer and slide. It's a good start, but why reinvent the wheel?

Kimber tells me not to use grease, period, but I'd like to see what a knowledgeable pro has to say about that.

quote:

Originally posted by SmokeJumper:
Sneaking in later to the dance. Quick question.

TETRA-GUN-GREASE? The kid gave me six tubes, but I've never opened even one. ANY opinion of the stuff. I don't need to keep stuff I'll never use. ...

Thanks for the info Flork. I just picked up a P225 and am definitely going to follow this lead.

I did want to respond about the Tetra though, and maybe get an idea from you, Flork, about what was happening.

I used Tetra Gun Grease on my firearms and then spent about 5 years where I didn't get to the range [moving, new job, marriage, adapting to the step-kids and not wanting them to freak at step-dad packing heat, etc].

I keep my guns locked in SKB boxes, in a locked container.

I would pull them out about once a year [or 6 months the past 2 years] to clean/lube them.

I had used Tetra Gun Grease and it seemed ok, except that it would seperate after that length of time. No biggie on most of the weapons.

HOWEVER, EVERY time I cleaned my Kahr K9 the oil not only seperated but started to 'gunk' up and turn brown. It was like it was slowly dissolving the browned/blued finish on the Kahr lower, and it was seriously naaaasty. I gave up on Tetra as a result with the Kahr and stuck to oil.

Is this a 'Tetra' thing, or a grease thing?

The Kahr finish was their factory lower [I swear it looks more of a 'brown' than a 'blue' finish] with Tech-Plate providing a bright hard chrome finish to the upper [it was pretty bad looking before].

I won't use Tetra again on it-ever. But I'll look into the other two products you mentioned in the original post.

Thanks again.

Tetra has a bit of a biological component to it, I can't remember what it is, but it will go rancid and grow mold over time. I could see it eroding away at the blued finish.

quote:

Originally posted by Flork:
Tetra has a bit of a biological component to it, I can't remember what it is, but it will go rancid and grow mold over time. I could see it eroding away at the blued finish.

Thanks. All I know is to avoid it. I just picked up some of Brian Eno's gun grease.

Is he the ambient music composer as well as a gun fan, or does he just share the name?

Just curious.

quote:

Originally posted by bczrx:
Is he the ambient music composer as well as a gun fan, or does he just share the name?

Just curious.

No idea....if he were, would we have him to thank for elevator music?

I say it again. With his unselfish desire to help educate the forum I nominate Scotty for the cut "The Lube Doctor"

quote:

Originally posted by bczrx:

Thanks. All I know is to avoid it. I just picked up some of Brian Eno's gun grease.

Is he the ambient music composer as well as a gun fan, or does he just share the name?

Just curious.

2 different people:
Brian Eno is the musician.
Brian Enos is the shooter.
Coincidentally, there is a Brian Enos who is a choreographer.

Thank you Flyinfast. I appreciate the nomination.

quote:

Originally posted by StPatrick:
Kimber tells me not to use grease, period, but I'd like to see what a knowledgeable pro has to say about that.

Sorry, but I would follow the manufacturer's recommendation for their product, especially if it was new.

In the case of well fitted slides like custom 1911s, there is no space for grease, so a good high quality gun grade oil is all you can use.

Brian Eno---Baby's on Fire

Brian Enos--None of your Baby's on Fire.

quote:

Originally posted by Flork:
In the case of well fitted slides like custom 1911s, there is no space for grease, so a good high quality gun grade oil is all you can use.

Flork- The slide on my new 226 Elite Dark....I dunno but it sure seems to be well fitted. When I apply grease as you instruct(starting from front and tapering toward rear)an excess amount always accumulates at the rear after slide is attached even when grease is applied sparingly.

Is there a "rule of thumb" that would indicate when oil vs grease should be used? Or maybe the more a gun is used, at some point grease becomes the better choice?

Thanks!

The only Sigs that I recommend oil only on, are the X-5 Series and the P210 models. Both have hand fitted slide to frame fits that are extremely tight and don't have large dust clearance cuts on the under side of the rails.

All other Sigs (unless they've been changed since I last worked on them) have dust clearance cuts under the frame rails to allow space for dirt and debris to get pushed into so they don't get tied up when they're dirty. In an ideal world, we wouldn't need those cuts because we would keep our guns perfectly clean at all times, but as we know.....we don't live in an ideal world, so we have clearance cuts to allow for semi self cleaning.

The grease you put on the rails will fill those clearance cuts and get on the rest of the rails in most cases. If you find that putting grease on your rails causes lower slide velocity or malfunctions, you can certainly use oil until the slide to frame fit loosens up a bit.

As a rule of thumb (not rule of wrist D) if you can get any movement more than 1/32" out of the slide while it's locked up in battery, you should consider grease. By movement I mean, up & down and rocking side to side.

Scott

Thanks Flork. I"m sure I'm echoing many others by saying your continued advice/guidance is much appreciated!

Not a problem. Glad to help.

bump for velvetshnitz (or were you looking for his other thread?)

Any of you guys use/recommend bore snakes to clean the bore?

Pros/cons?

Absolutely, they're great for quick wipe outs and field cleanings. If you want to thoroughly clean it, an Ultrasonic cleaner with the right fluid is unbeatable.