quote:

Originally posted by Brewer3401:
Been using TW25B because SIG recommended it. Now SIG recommends Lucas.
One of my guns (P226) has over 27,000 rounds through it and the frame has no visible wear, other than a couple of shiny spots on the top about an inch from the front - using TW25B
I'm open to anything better.
I use CLP to clean, then use 91% rubbing alcohol to degrease, then the TW25B.
Anyone see any potential problem with this procedure, please advise.

Just read your post today. What I do is reversed from your cleaning technique. I clean with alcohol first, then clp tthen the grease.
Why do you use clp first befor the alcohol?

How about Mobile 1 synthetic grease. I have a new Spartan 1911 I want to treat right!

When oil is mentioned for the slide & rails, the answer is usually, "it's not thick enough/doesn't stay put", or "it's a cleaner".
Not much, if anything, has been said about the use of thick oils, such as Slip 2000 EWL 30.
Wilson used to make a thick oil, but not sure if they still do?
I tried some of the EWL 30 on my Dan Wesson A2 1911, and although I haven't got above 100 rounds in a session, the results are positive.
My plan is to continue using the EWL 30, and keep an eye on it as I increase the round count, to ensure that the oil is staying put.
It's a little easier to clean up oil, as opposed to grease, so as long as it stays wet, all should be fine.

How many of you like the heavy oils?

quote:

Originally posted by titus66:

How many of you like the heavy oils?

I use grease but you remind me of something I've had for decades. It's a very heavy oil designed for bike sprockets and chains, not supposed to be thrown off by the rotation and movement. It's called Phil's Tenacious Oil.

I can't speak to its performance in very hot or cold conditions, it could be an interesting alternative. Maybe someone else familiar with it or similar products could chime in.

*edit* I see it's still available on ebay, not sure if it's still the same formulation. I do remember the stuff I had performed as advertised.

quote:

Originally posted by wizard1911:
How about Mobile 1 synthetic grease. I have a new Spartan 1911 I want to treat right!

Not bad. I use mobile 1 and no complaint at all. https://theeffectiveguide.com/...ynthetic-oil-review/ It is good brand for synthetic oil.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: cestkro,

Flork: Along with others here, I began using the reddish, Mobil 1 auto grease for my many semi-autos.

If you Do recommend Mobil 1 (or see nothing wrong) for handguns, would you use your favorite handgun grease for Imported AKs etc you want to keep in good condition?

quote:

Originally posted by Laufer:
Flork: Along with others here, I began using the reddish, Mobil 1 auto grease for my many semi-autos.

If you Do recommend Mobil 1 (or see nothing wrong) for handguns, would you use your favorite handgun grease for Imported AKs etc you want to keep in good condition?

I use Supertech Multiduty complex grease (red grease) from Walmart ($4.97 per 14 oz container) on my AK and it works fantastic.

Thanks Fusternc:

The WalMart grease might have similar properties.

quote:

Originally posted by Laufer:
Thanks Fusternc:

The WalMart grease might have similar properties.

I have also used it on my over and under shotgun and had equally great results. Much better than the lithium grease I had used briefly in the past.

quote:

Originally posted by titus66:
When oil is mentioned for the slide & rails, the answer is usually, "it's not thick enough/doesn't stay put", or "it's a cleaner".
Not much, if anything, has been said about the use of thick oils, such as Slip 2000 EWL 30.
Wilson used to make a thick oil, but not sure if they still do?
I tried some of the EWL 30 on my Dan Wesson A2 1911, and although I haven't got above 100 rounds in a session, the results are positive.
My plan is to continue using the EWL 30, and keep an eye on it as I increase the round count, to ensure that the oil is staying put.
It's a little easier to clean up oil, as opposed to grease, so as long as it stays wet, all should be fine.

How many of you like the heavy oils?

I have recently discovered Lucas Extreme Weapon lube (thicker oil) and my handgun slides’ action has never felt so smooth. Its my goto oil now.

I'm still using the containers of STOS that I bought at Graf's in St Charles, MO., around 1995, on all my pistols and revolvers, along with 3 in 1 Oil. I used Rem Oil for a while and liked it, too.
I use lithium grease (for the most part) on all my rifles whether milsurp or modern, bolt or auto. Oh yea, I use 3 in 1 on them , too.
I do pretty much follow Flork's instructions on where the STOS (or grease) should be applied. No damage yet.

I just bought a bottle of Wilson Combat weapon grease . Haven't tried it yet .

A couple of notes come to mind after reading this l-o-n-g thread:
1. Just because a certain grade of plain white Lubriplate grease was the correct lubricant on the Garand in WWII, means little today unless you are caring for a Garand! Weapons and lubricants have come a long way in over 70+ years. After all, do you use the single-weight, non-detergent oil of that era in your car's crankcase today?
2. 91% isopropyl alcohol is a good, safe cleaner (but flammable) but mainly as the very final step in cleaning. It is not a particularly good solvent for a lot of greases and oils, partly because of the chemical nature of this particular alcohol, but mainly due to the nearly 10% water content. A better, and still safe cleaner/solvent, and one which I frequently use after cleaning but before applying any new lubricant, is naphtha. You can use the smaller cans meant to feed lighters, or buy a quart at a paint store for much better deal. It affects few plastics, and leave a very clean surface.
3. One can sometimes safely mix oils or greases. For instance, some shooters like Mobil One motor oil as a lubricant as a gun oil, but wish it was produced in a thucker grade. You can make just such a grade by mixing in a small amount of the original formula STP (blue bottle) until the desired viscosity is reached. This way, you can obtain many of the qualities of a grease using your favorite oil as a base. The same is true of Lubegard products (check Amazon) which are mainly marketed to the automotive repsir trade and fleets. Their products mostly contain a special, patented wax ester, and can be added to the crankcase or tranny. They have a lot of potential for modifying gun oils and greases, too, IMHO. The company now markets a gun oil but hasn't come out with a grease. The wax ester mimics many of the properties of sperm whale oil, which was for msny years considered the very best fine lubricant available (it is now difficult or impoosible to legally obtain).
4. There are a lot of decent lubricants on the market, and most are quite similar to one another. The single best source for sorting them out is Grant Cunningham's article (Google it). He brings the talented gunsmith's eye and a lot of good sense to the table. As a chemistry professor of some years experience, and a special interest in fats and other lipids, I think his essay will get you thinking straight about what you need to to properly lube a firearm. If you don't grasp the underlying ideas, you will just run after first this, than that will o' the wisp as they come on the market and are touted along with the other snake oils. You can actually boil your requirements down to three or four products, period. For many people, that can even be just two products.

Great read and knowledge right here. Thanks

FYI, stay away from the Lubri-Kit store, mentioned in Grant Cunningham’s article. It seems I’ve been shafted by them. Placed an order on 8-8-18,and have heard nothing from them, and can’t reach them.
If you want Lubriplate products, go to their site, and look under ‘Outdoorsman Products’, they have the grease & oil that he recommended.

quote:

Originally posted by Brianm14:
A couple of notes come to mind after reading this l-o-n-g thread:
1. Just because a certain grade of plain white Lubriplate grease was the correct lubricant on the Garand in WWII, means little today unless you are caring for a Garand! Weapons and lubricants have come a long way in over 70+ years. After all, do you use the single-weight, non-detergent oil of that era in your car's crankcase today?
2. 91% isopropyl alcohol is a good, safe cleaner (but flammable) but mainly as the very final step in cleaning. It is not a particularly good solvent for a lot of greases and oils, partly because of the chemical nature of this particular alcohol, but mainly due to the nearly 10% water content. A better, and still safe cleaner/solvent, and one which I frequently use after cleaning but before applying any new lubricant, is naphtha. You can use the smaller cans meant to feed lighters, or buy a quart at a paint store for much better deal. It affects few plastics, and leave a very clean surface.
3. One can sometimes safely mix oils or greases. For instance, some shooters like Mobil One motor oil as a lubricant as a gun oil, but wish it was produced in a thucker grade. You can make just such a grade by mixing in a small amount of the original formula STP (blue bottle) until the desired viscosity is reached. This way, you can obtain many of the qualities of a grease using your favorite oil as a base. The same is true of Lubegard products (check Amazon) which are mainly marketed to the automotive repsir trade and fleets. Their products mostly contain a special, patented wax ester, and can be added to the crankcase or tranny. They have a lot of potential for modifying gun oils and greases, too, IMHO. The company now markets a gun oil but hasn't come out with a grease. The wax ester mimics many of the properties of sperm whale oil, which was for msny years considered the very best fine lubricant available (it is now difficult or impoosible to legally obtain).
4. There are a lot of decent lubricants on the market, and most are quite similar to one another. The single best source for sorting them out is Grant Cunningham's article (Google it). He brings the talented gunsmith's eye and a lot of good sense to the table. As a chemistry professor of some years experience, and a special interest in fats and other lipids, I think his essay will get you thinking straight about what you need to to properly lube a firearm. If you don't grasp the underlying ideas, you will just run after first this, than that will o' the wisp as they come on the market and are touted along with the other snake oils. You can actually boil your requirements down to three or four products, period. For many people, that can even be just two products.

I have been using Lubriplate on all of my weapons since 1968 and never had a problem. I have seen friends and aquaintences who have used other lubricants and most of them have the so called "smile's" on their barrels and the frames show wear. I have put many thousands of rounds through my favorite sig (P229) and the barrel has no "smiley's" at all. The springs have been changed by Sig several times but the P229 shows no wear.
You can believe what you want and say that Lubriplate is an out dated lubricant and granted, many new ones may actualy have very good or even better lubricating properties but lubriplate has worked fine for me for 50 years. JMHO

quote:

Originally posted by Red Baron:

quote:

Originally posted by Flork:

quote:

Originally posted by Red Baron:
Why is it my glock 17 never needs grease, and seems to fire dirty or clean, wet or dry?

You're joking right?

The most critical part of a Glock is the disconnector, the trigger had a large amount of surface area that rubs on the disconnector which requires grease to keep properly lubricated.

We've seen a Glock come in that was never lubed...the trigger bar and cisconnector were friction welded together due to lack of grease.

I am a Sig fan, just was always impressed with Glocks reliability under any condition. What your describing sounds like a longer term issue after several thousand rounds. Ill have to look into it, as i don't think I ever lubed the "disconector"

My G17 is my duty weapon, and I am impressed with it, never seen a single failure from me or anyone else in our dept. Sigs are still the best though.

I'm an engineer, with some significant experience in mechanical system failure analysis. There is absolutely no possible way a pistol linkage could "friction-weld" by a lack of lubrication in normal, or accelerated use. Not possible in any way whatsoever.

Capt_C

Flork's Lubrication Guide

Forward: This article has been posted on various other forums and is on my company's blog as well. Please feel free to use it and share it all you want, but please place credit where it is due.

This article is about what I personally recommend for lubricating SIG Sauer pistols. I have different methods for lubricating other guns, but this article is focused on the Sig Sauer pistols.


My philosophy: If metal rubs metal, it needs grease between the parts.

We lubricate guns simply to allow theparts that rub on one another to move smoothly. Modern combat handguns are not intended to be run without lubrication. A previous customer of mine made this mistake recently and is now spending a lot of additional money to get his gunin working order after degreasing his gun, dry firing 1,000 times then shooting it after it came back from getting action work.


Application of grease

I had an empty "Shooter's Choice"� syringe sitting around so I filled it with my favorite grease. Any method of application will work just fine. I use about a half-ounce of grease a day while working on guns and was in need of a way to keep grease readily available without having to unscrew the top of a jar or bottle and I found the syringe to work perfectly for my applications. What I like best about the syringe is that I can put the grease directly where I want it, such as inside certain springs and the corners of frame rails.


Product options

Any gun-grade grease will do the trick. I personally prefer to use Lubriplate, Shooter's Choice grease including a cool syringe for later use or Slide Glide. The grease in the following pictures is a lithium/moly-based grease that I'm experimenting with, details available soon.

I've applied most of the grease to the underside of the frame rail completely filling the top inside corner. This is critical along the length of the rails because most of the force of recoil lifts the slide and applies force rearward and upward against the underside ofthe frame rails.



Notice how there is a greater amount of grease near the muzzle end of the gun than at the rear. This is intentional.There is only so much space in the tolerance of the pistol for lubrication to reside. Since the slide goes on back to front it'll push the remaining grease to the back of the frame and bunch it up on the back of the slide when the slide is closed.



You can see that I didn't use as much grease on the side of the rails as I did on the underside, this is purely because it's not generally as necessary. The top also gets a layer of grease to protect against galling and excess friction.



Different Mission, Different Approach

For my every day carry (EDC) I grease the rails, put the slide on, run the action a couple of times, remove the slide then wipe the rails off to remove the large amount of bulk. I leave the grease on the under side of the rails alone when I wipe them off, the slide normally holds enough grease to keep things running.

For an EDC, remember your gun goes everywhere you do and is exposed to everything you are, hot, cold, humidity, dust, taco shells from that ill advised taco you ate while trying to talk on your cell phone while driving last week - everything. So if you have grease squirting out of every crevasse on the gun, you'll be attracting the general detritus of everyday life into your gun. Generally, that **** doesn't make it in far enough to do any kind of damage unless you're irresponsible enough to never clean your carry gun.

For open carry EDC for law enforcement, you gotta start thinking a bit more. I've had a couple of cops bring me their duty pistols for work and I've been astonished at what I've found. When I cocked the hammer of one of them, I found three pieces of bitten off finger nail and a corner of plastic from a plastic ketchup packet! �Come on man, clean your gun once in a while, actually escaped my mouth. I asked how long it had been since he last cleaned it and he told me it had been a couple years, "I hardly ever use it, I figured it was still pretty clean." His gun was absolutely bone dry and I found dust on the frame rails as opposed to lube.


Cleaning Practices


Competition

Clean it after every 200 to 400 rounds. Most of the time a big match, or a day of shooting will be enough of a workout that your gun will need cleaning.


EDC with frequent use including open carry

Clean it after every time you use it. If you're going to depend on that gun to save your life, you want it to work the first time you pull the trigger, so keep it clean and lubed.


EDC with little to no use

Clean your gun at least once a month, it's more of the same of your gun being needed to save your life. Even without use, your gun needs to be cleaned and re-lubricated, so give it a quick bath and make sure it's ready when you need it. There are 720 hours in a 30 day month, I think you can afford to spend 1/720 of a month cleaning your gun every month, it's cheap insurance.


Lubricants Mentioned:

Lubriplate: Available from World's Largest Supplier of Gun Parts, Gunsmith Tools & Shooting Accessories - Brownells

Shooter's Choice: Available from http://www.shooters-choice.com

Slide Glide: Available from Brian Enos - Competition Shooting Books, Slide-Glide, DVDs & Reloading

quote:

Flork's Lubrication Recommendation

Very partial to teflon based lubes like Tri-Flow here. CLP is another good one.

Frog Lube mess.

About a year ago I put one of my guns away, in my safe, having treated it with Frog Lube. Pulled it out this week to find it a goopy sticky mess. The Frog Lube was fine as long as it was in a regular lean-lube cycle but a disaster for long term storage. I would just avoid the stuff from now on.