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Gun lube / coating recommendations?

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Playing with what's in the safe on a snow day and realizing my the slides of my pistols are on the "dry" side.

What do you guys recommend for long-term storage coating/lube?

I've been using Rem Oil / CLP.  Looking for something that provides a dry protective coat versus something oily and prone to smudging or drying out, especially for guns that sit long-term.

Thanks.

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The only gun I've owned for any period of time is my 870.  It sat idle for almost two decades but I took it out to give it a wipe down and lightly lube moving parts with clp every six months or so.  It still looks (and functions) as good as new.

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Playing with what's in the safe on a snow day and realizing my the slides of my pistols are on the "dry" side.
What do you guys recommend for long-term storage coating/lube?
I've been using Rem Oil / CLP.  Looking for something that provides a dry protective coat versus something oily and prone to smudging or drying out, especially for guns that sit long-term.
Thanks.
If you like Rem products try their Dry lube
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I like Liberal Tears CLP. tacticalshit just got it back in stock. Mostly because of the name, but I also like Breakthrough products.

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I use Hoppes gun oil, or SLIP-2000 EWL... depending on if the gun will be used more regularly. But for lube, I been sticking with light Shooter’s Choice grease on most of my guns... including carry guns. Just find it lasting better than oil, so when I actually fire the gun (usually practice), it is present. The main use for oil on my guns is my AR bolts.

Most of the guns that I have to worry about rust I have done in either NP3 Plus or CPII. Still have to care for it, but little more forgiving than bluing.

But both of my safes have Golden Rods, desiccants (pull out when not needed), and Safelert to monitor conditions. If something goes out of normal, I can fix it pretty quick. Usually a few degrees warmer inside the safe, and running in the 30% humidity range.

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I've used Breakfree for about 30 years.  I've cleaned guns, put them away for a couple of years and they ran fine.  

I only use grease on Garands. Then it's Mobil 1 grease.

I like Dri Slide for the innards of an AR. Breakfree everywhere else.

I use Ballistol on wood stocked guns.

This has worked for me for years and see no reason to change.

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If it slides, grease it. If it spins, oil it. That simple.

Tetra gun grease on my handgun slides. Mobile1 on my AR bolts. G96 for everything else. (Tetra and G96 are both based in NJ and Mobil1 is the official oil of NASCAR for whatever it's worth)

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The previous dry lube products I used in the past were Eezox aerosol and FrogLube paste versions.

Eezox:

*This product is an all in one like CLP.

*It doesn't have a strong odor like Hoppes 9, IMO.

*A little pricey and hard to find.

FrogLube:

*It tends to get gummy over time if you don't shoot the firearm you coated it with regularly.

*Makes cleaning of your gun easier after a range session.

*A good long term preservative like cosmoline.

*Downside side is if you want to completely remove it off your firearm, you will probably need to use a sonic cleaner.

 

Still use Hoppes 9 as a cleaner but have now gone back to the oily lubricants. My current lubricants are the ALG Defense Go-Juice and the Thin Grease.

 

Go-Juice & Thin Grease:

*Seems to adhere longer on the parts you coated it with, it bonds well.

*Very fluid, even the thin grease version.

 

Regards,

TokenEntry

 

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I have asked numerous gun folks, (including former members of the military; gunsmiths and firearms manufacturer reps), about their preferences for this supposedly straight forward gun lubricating topic and have received multiple and contradictory opinions. I started to realize that many gun folks really do not know the differences between greases and oils, and in time, the gun community creates a herd mentality or group think which is based not on facts, but on the endless repetition of dogma.  I recognize that everyone has an opinion on this topic and sticks with whatever they have been using that works for them, which is fine.  Ultimately, either grease or oil will both reduce friction and wear on the moving parts of a firearm and both will fight corrosion.  Finally, any lubricant is better than no lubricant.  Now after doing my own research, along with some trial & error testing to satisfy my curiosity, FWIW, this is what I have learned, concluded and the process I follow:

There are numerous products on the market that are made specifically to Clean, Lubricate and Protect (CLP) firearms, as well as lubricants intended for other applications, (i.e. Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil).  Most of them work just fine for firearms and the important thing is to use them on a regular basis.  Yet, I am also aware that over lubrication can be worse than no lubrication, as it can collect debris and cause fouling internally and potentially lead to a malfunction. 

How you lubricate your firearm really depends on two important variables: one is what the environmental conditions are when you are shooting and the other is just how tight the fit is of the moving parts of the gun.  Historically and generally speaking, grease has performed better in hot and wet conditions whereas oil seems to work better in very cold conditions, where some grease can turn into the consistency of bubble gum.  For storage, grease seems to be preferred since it is a better rust inhibitor.  So that, along with a thin coat of silicone on the metal exterior parts will usually combat the natural corrosiveness of humidity over time.

My preference is to use separate products to clean, lubricate and protect my firearms, instead of using one product that claims to do all of the above (CLP), such as Ballistol multi-use spray or Break Free CLP.  While these products may work fine for some folks, I do not believe that one size fits all.  I find it hard to believe that one product will do as good a job of cleaning, lubricating and protecting all parts of a firearm, as compared to different products that are formulated to do one specific task and do it really well. 

I also subscribe to the old axiom of “if it rotates use oil.  If it slides use grease”.  Grease is just a lubricant with a thickening agent to help keep it from migrating.  It makes sense to me that for high friction reciprocating surfaces such as a slide, that a grease that stays in place and does not evaporate in high heat and does not easily seep into other parts of the gun, would be preferable to any oil.  Viscous gun oil tends to displace more easily from their original and intended use location, which may potentially be a problem.

I clean my hand guns, rifle and shotgun after every use on the range. Not just because it is a good habit to have, but I find that the process is actually quite “zen-like” and satisfying, providing sort of a therapeutic and relaxing aftermath to the focused concentration of aiming and shooting at targets at the range, in my constant quest to improve my accuracy. Some additional benefits in doing this are that I have a better understanding and appreciation of how each gun is put together and operates, as well as being able to see the effects of shooting different types of ammo through my guns and obviously preventing the buildup of carbon and metal deposits in the bore and inside the body of the firearm that could lead to fouling and failures.

My approach includes “old school” cleaning process and tools, combined with “new school” technology, utilizing the most current advancements in chemical cleaning, lubricating and protection products, all made in America.

Old School:
1. Pour myself a nice cold beer (summer) or scotch/bourbon (winter), as a primer and play some relaxing music that will compliment my focused task.
2. Lay out my padded mats then cover them with paper towels to absorb drips of the solutions.
3. Clear, safety check and disassemble my firearm(s).

Here are the products I use and the process I follow:

New School:
4.  I use the M-Pro 7 military grade gun cleaning system and lubricant product line, using their specific products for each task; http://www.mpro7.com/

The M-Pro 7 products are used by the U.S. military and perform above the minimum MILSPEC requirements.  For example, the minimum cleaning efficiency for the MILSPEC is 70%.  In an independent government funded test the M-Pro 7 Gun Cleaner scored 98% cleaning efficiency for one cleaning pass and worked 4 times faster than most other cleaners, which scored between 50% - 74% cleaning efficiency.  I appreciate that all M-Pro7 gun cleaning products are odorless, non-hazardous, biodegradable and non-flammable.  I found the M-Pro 7 line to be very appealing since they use a unique blend of modern chemical technologies containing corrosion inhibitors and surfactants with a non-toxic solvent base to provide superior cleaning without the intense smell of other cleaners. 

Cleaning: The M-Pro 7 Gun Cleaner thoroughly strips the surface of all oil and grease.  It breaks up carbon particles from the bore steel, therefore allowing for a very good job of removing both the surface carbon particle along with the embedded metal fouling.  In the cleaning process I use brass and soft bristle brushes, cotton patches as well as bore snakes in tandem, treated with the appropriate cleaning solution.  I like to use a can of compressed air to blow out any remaining cleaning solution from those hard to reach areas.  Once it is dry, I will apply the appropriate gun oil or grease as the lubricant, where necessary.

Lubricant:  The
M-Pro7 Gun Oil LPX replaces all other gun oils, CLP's and dry lubes with the benefits of each and none of the issues (evaporation, separation, gumming, odor, etc.).  It is formulated with high quality synthetic oils and their propriety additives, allowing this oil to approach the lowest known friction coefficient.

5.  I also use Mil-Comm Products’ TW25B Synthetic Grease
(
https://www.mil-comm...t_category_id=5)
When I bought my Sig Sauer P226 MK-25 it came with a small tube of gun grease, which Sig Sauer recommends highly, especially for the metal-to-metal sliding surfaces, such as racking the slide, etc. That grease is the American-made Mil-Comm Products’ TW25B Synthetic Grease. It has proven to have exceptional lubricating performance in adverse weather conditions which has made it the preferred gun grease used by US and European Military. I like the fact that once applied, this grease does not migrate or seep around to other areas of the gun, specifically the exterior of the gun.  The plastic, re-closable tapered tip is useful for applying a small drop or bead to specific or hard to reach areas. I use this grease for lubricating the rails of the slide & frame, whether it is metal-to-metal or metal-to-polymer, on all of my handguns, as well as on the receiver and barrel hinge pin of my O/U shotgun and the threads of the chokes.

6. After I finish cleaning and lubricating the handguns or rifle, I wipe any excess lubricant off with a silicone treated microfiber cloth to remove fingerprints and impart a light protective coating of silicone on the metal parts.

7. For the finishing touches on my shotgun, instead of using the silicone treated gun cloth to remove fingerprints and apply a light protective coatings, I use the separately packaged cloth wipes treated with Ballistol Cleaner Preservative Lubricant, since this seems to work better on the steel barrel on my O/U shotgun than the silicone rag and I do not have the noticeably strong odor of spraying the Ballistol aerosol in my house.  Another option that does a very good job of removing fingerprints and providing a protective coating on the shotgun barrels and chokes is Matrixx Qmaxx Black Diamond Oil/Cleaner Give it a few minutes to penetrate after you spray or wipe it on. You do not need much, just enough to cover the area you intend to clean. The only real downside of that product is that it really does stink!

Once all of that above is finished, for safe protection I use fabric gun socks to store all of my firearms, including handguns and rifles, as an initial way to prevent damaging scratching and combat moisture corrosion on the metal parts.  For each of my handguns I use appropriately sized Bore Stores soft gun storage cases.  They come in different sizes and are treated with silicone and a specially-formulated rust inhibitor.  They have prevented any noticeable rust since I have been using them.   http://borestores.com/index.php

AVB-AMG

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20 hours ago, louu said:

I use motor oil on everything, it's oil not rocket surgery. 

20180206_113014.jpeg

I use hoppes gun oil because I have it on hand. When I run out, I'll be switching to motor oil. 

If it's good enough to protect a motor that spins at several thousand RPM for extended period of times at high temperatures,  it's good enough for guns.

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I use Break Free CO Collector for long term storage - it creates a good if slightly greasy coating and stays in place. The downside is that you'll have to clean up the gun before shooting, but it is not a cosmoline, so the regular cleaning will get it off.

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I can only suggest what NOT to use.  Hoppes gun grease is junk.   

19 hours ago, WP22 said:

I use hoppes gun oil because I have it on hand. When I run out, I'll be switching to motor oil. 

If it's good enough to protect a motor that spins at several thousand RPM for extended period of times at high temperatures,  it's good enough for guns.

Used by terrorists all over the middle east.  Works for them right?

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27 minutes ago, Ray Ray said:

I can only suggest what NOT to use.  Hoppes gun grease is junk.   

Used by terrorists all over the middle east.  Works for them right?

Because I'm a gun owner, I'm already considered a terrorist by many in the US, I may as well go all in.

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My dad was a Marine stationed in the Pacific during WW2. Once a year or so he would take his M1 out (which he got way before it was cool to have one and always called it the finest weapon ever built.) under the guise of cleaning it. He never fired it as far as I know. I think he just liked to fondle it. lol

 He didn't use anything other then 3 in one oil. This was back in the 50's-60's before all the designer lubricants came along.  Said during the war they would use anything including Vaseline and used jeep oil. Seemed to work for them. I think we all tend to over think this lube thing.

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4 minutes ago, WP22 said:

Being a marine in the Pacific during WW2, I would think he would have used jap guts.

I didn't want to get graphic...:o

Short story. My whole life growing up my dad had a skull of a jap on his dresser. He said it was the only jap he knew he killed. Had the flag of the rising sun painted on his forehead with the words "saved face, but lost head" Dad called him "Charley Boo"

I had a strange childhood to say the least.

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 I previously used plain old motor oil in the barrel of a milsurp, left it in attic for 3 years until we moved.  A year after moving into new place, I finally got around to inspecting it, zero issues. Its cheap, already in the garage and it works. 

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On 3/7/2018 at 8:26 PM, Handyman said:

Anyone like this stuff? Is it all hype?

http://www.militec-1.com/

 

It's shit. It's poor at corrosion protection, and not a particularly good lube. The sample I had, I would even argue promoted corrosion. There's tons of corrosion tests online with carbon steel bits. In every one of the militec-1 performs like shit, which mirrors my experience. 

My $0.02 cents on gun care products. 

1) Don't rely on CLP type products to protect much. They peak at mediocre at everything except maybe lube, and IMO you need at LEAST an additional C product for cleaning. Once you do that, there are better performing products at lubing, protecting, and both at once than CLP products. My main objection to them as lubes is that if you are going to put anything up for a month or more, many of them are essentially gone when you pull them out, and there are a ton of price competitive products that won't be. 

2) The one's I warn people about.

-Boeshield T-9. This, IMO is a P and only a P unless you are cleaning before and after range trips. While initially it is a decent lube, left in the safe it gets quite gummy. Not horribly sticky, but almost resin like. KEEP IT AWAY from fire control bits. I used it in the trigger group of my 1911 and it gummed stuff up enough that it caused safety issues. IT does still get used on my blued guns when they get put up for a while, but only externally as a protectant. It's a decent protectant for the off season, and much easier to clean off than some others. 

-militec-1 As stated above. Crap lube, appears to cause or assist corrosion in my case. Hate it. 

-froglube. The paste, which I wanted to like, just doesn't work well. It's either a paste not providing much lube, or it's gone after things heat up. The liquid is less objectionable, but is a poor P and a marginal C. As a lube it is ok, but the price is stupid for the level of perfromance. Don't waste your money. Breakfree CLP does a better all around job. Well old breakfree did. Post 2006, it seems to be crappier. 

-eezox. This stuff is not a very good lube. As a protectant, it has issues. Yes it works. No it doesn't protect for long durations. It's kind of pricey, and the main use I put it to now that I have some is as a quick wipe down on the way out to the range in warm weather, and when I come back. It keeps the corrosion from sweat to a minimum. As a lube it is just too darn thin to stay put in any quantity. And as an L and P, it's too volatile for the thin film left behind to last very long. 

3) Cleaners. I have yet to run into one that is really shitty. Do read the warnings about what surfaces the cleaner is safe for though. Most do a decent job and those advertised as carbon cutters do tend to work a bit better on carbon buildup. Those that advertise as copper solvents do work better at that. 

Usually I pick up some butches bore shine locally. I got some m-pro 7 cleaner for free, and it seems to be a decent less smelly option. 

4) Things I replace when I run out. 

FP-10 It's a nice thick oil. Not too pricey. Good L, ok P, marginal C. Smells OK too. 

dri-slide. It's a decent dry film moly lube. This is not for people who like their guns to always be shiny clean and makes field stripping your AR a bit of a mess. 

slide-glide lite. The slide glides are very nice greases. The lite will work down to about 20F in most guns and still stay reasonably greasy up to about 100F (probably higher, that's jsut the range I have personally used it in).  It's an L. No C other than it tends to trap carbon particles and keep it off your gun's surfaces where it is applied, and no P other than being a physical barrier where applied. If I put this on one of my novelty/curiosity range toys, and it sits in the safe for a year, it'll be there doing it's job when it comes out. 

 

 

 

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I mainly use Breakfree CLP, but I've started using ALG Go-Juice 0000 Very Thin Grease as well. I've gotten a little tired of seeing pools of oil on my handgun slides and in the holsters every time I take them out. Also seems to do a good job on my AR's charging handle. 

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