Gun Oil

(But rum, on the other hand---)
I'm sure any oil is better then no oil.

Were you sampling the rum when you answered my post? I'm only running low on oil because I had to oil the touchup blue on my ruger! I haven't cleaned it yet since I test fired it. It never hurts to have a good supply of oil on hand. Chris

Should know stuff like that.

AHA! I found out that a lot of competition shooters and pros secretly use Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil! It is cheaper per ounce and just as good or better than brand name "Gun Oil" but they don't make it common knowledge. Chris

clicked twice.
Didn't he use Chavez Regal?

Elmer used sperm oil,(the finest oil that can be used on guns.It never evaporates). Can't get that now. I made a synthetic sperm whale oil, and am testing it now. A lot of testing, and disappointments, but I think I have it down now.
He drank CHIVAS REGAL. Made in Scotland. Not a Mexican king.

Took me a minute to get the mexican king reference

You have to pardon us poor northern boys who don't drink "Scotch". I try to avoid anything out of my price range. Early Times is all I,m allowed to have. Leaves more money for guns and ammo. CHRIS

darn double clicks and misspelled words!

gunsmith, read where some pharmaceutical companies have either applied for or have patents on artificial sperm oil, since it is being used in the antibiotic manufacturing processes. CHRIS

Well they can knock themselves out. I will not pay THAT price for anything. Anything they sell has a 1 million percent markup, or they shelve it.
Mine is going to go about 12 dollars for 4 oz. Maybe. I may sell it in 2 oz bottles for 6 bucks. Same price as Hoppes, but mine will actually do something. Hoppes is just Kerosene with a perfume added. The perfume is called Banana oil. That and a little bit of ammonia. Very little bit.
Mine is a modernization of Elmers formula. It , like anything else Elmer said, works perfectly.

It's been years, miles, and locations since I last had firearms to clean. (2 former wives a good enough reason?) I have used Hoppes' products, was shooting when 'break free' was the new thing, according to SOF magazine, (no, you confuse me with someone else, sir!), but lately ... the good stuff is Ballistol! It's a do-all compound that works and works well. If you so choose, there is a YouTube video by a fellow called 'hickok45', titled 'revolver cleaning'. He instructs 'how-to', but uses Ballistol, so you see how well it works. After shooting a box or two of Ultramax 158gr. LSWC, in .38 special, and having a blued Taurus M82 turn a dark grey, this stuff WORKS!

I have used Ballistol. It is great for cuts and leather, but evaporates on metal, leaving no protection. All my guns rusted when treated with Ballistol. It has WATER in it. That is why it dissolves in WATER.
Mine will be on the market shortly. We are still testing it to MAKE SURE it works, so no unhappy customers.
No turn and burn here.
Ballistol was made by the Germans in ww1 as a gun cleaner, and antiseptic. Low tech, low cost for a militay that was short of everything.
Put some on a penny.(a real one, not a Clinton Penny, looks good on the outside, but made of cheap material on the inside). See if it dissolves the Copper by placing a white peice of cloth on it with the solution saturating the cloth. The cloth should turn blue. If not, it does not dissolve copper, or metal bullet fouling.

Hi Guys: Since I started this little search for the "Good Gunoil" I found Mobil 1 and have been using it on my guns with good results. I have since found out that there are many different grades of Mobil 1 as well as grease. The recommended by shooters stuff is supposed to be V-twin high rev Mobil 1 or whatever is the small engine variety for high stress and wear. I've just been using 5W-40 but it is as good as anything else I've had and much cheaper when you consider a quart of oil for what a few ounces of fancy gun oil costs. Just my 2 cents worth right now and don't shoot the messenger, I'm just passing along my search results. Chris.

unfortunately, any petroleum product evaporates. Maybe slowly, but it does. Leaving a nasty,gooey mess behind, that eventually becomes like a varnish. Plus it does not remove jacket fouling, or help to remove lead.
It may be good to put on the rails of a 1911 if you are going to fire it immediately. But then only 1 drop per rail.

Ah, but Mobil 1 is not a petroleum based product. It like most synthetic oils starts life as a polyglycol. I am a model airplane guy and we have the same problem that gun guys have, we do not want the protectant to dry out and solidify (gum up) what we are trying to protect. Rislone has been suggested by one of our best motor men, sadly he is gone now, and I have used that to good effect on model motors. The other product that we have used is any air tool oil, as they have similar requirements. Do not try Marvel Mystery Oil as that will solidify into a hard mess and ruin your day.

FIAF2D: I think that would be good. My original search criteria was to find a reasonably inexpensive oil that would fulfill the gun oil need. In selecting Mobil 1 competition gunowners were simply saying it was a good alternative to pricy "Gun Oil" brands. I think for the amount of time it would take for an oil like Mobil 1 to harden would be far greater than how long it would be on a weapon before it was cleaned and re-oiled therefore Mobil 1 is a good alternative to regular gun oil as Rislone also would be, not sure what Rislone costs but it should be less than commercial gun oils. Thanks for the info. Chris

Chris, What was the end result? What oil are you using now? I always used Hoppes,my guns never sat around. Now they sit for months or years between firing. Time to find a good oil for the ones that sit. Was also wondering if your looking for a small stock job? I have an XP100 love the gun always hated the plastic stock,now its bothering me.

Don: I've been using Mobil 1 10W-30 regular now for over six months and it is fine. I did find out that the best blend? If that's what it is, is supposed to be Mobil 1 High Performance for engines like motorcycles etc. Evidentally that formula comes closest to a fine gun oil as anything. I don't know what the coldest temperature it is rated for but in my Buick it still works OK when the temp is well below zero, like minus 25 or so! Chris

Continuing on my search for a reasonably priced gun oil has led me to Mobil 1 synthetics and I discussed some of the advantages in earlier posts. Some have commented that the old sperm oil was the best lube around and my research has indicated it was still used as an ingredient for some fine oil applications as late as the 1960's. A quick review of why sperm oil was so good, it was very fine, clean oil with good viscosity and would not gel or harden after long periods which made it's use for things like watch mechanisms and, of course guns too, highly desirable. In the 20th century when the automobile industry was developing automatic transmissions, one of the problems was finding a fluid that would lubricate and control wear along with high temperature, which wore out the inner parts rapidly. Sperm oil based transmission fluids and oils were used successfully up until the 60's when cars started being manufactured with engines operating at higher temperatures and the ATF proved insufficient. Synthetic ATF and oils were developed and have been continuing to be refined until todays fluids are better than any sperm oil based product. Synthetic ATF is useful as a gun oil for the same reasons that synthetic motor oil is, it has better temperature ranges from sub-zero(-50*) to over 250*F and it has better viscosity, or flowability, and won't harden or gel, as well as being able to outlast many other oils or fluids, without breaking down or becoming dirty. The best part is the price. A quart of synthetic oil or ATF usually costs around $10.00 or less depending on the brand, and if you calculate how many bottles of gun oil that will fill (based on 4oz or 6 oz sizes which are pretty common) it is a bargain. The last time I bought a brand name gun oil it was around $5.00 for a 4oz bottle. So it should be acceptable to use either the synthetic motor oil of the fine grade or synthetic ATF with good results. Chris

Chris, Two weeks ago in Reno at SCI I asked several of the gun vendors there about oils and also asked about your thoughts on the synthetic auto stuff.Nobody disagreed at all and said its not at all much different than what they used and no harm would come of it at all.

Chris, Late last night I was working away when I noticed on the can of wd-40 a picture of a firearm. And there it was "safe for use on all firearms"labeled on the can. No more searching, wd will do it! You try it first.

Are you trying to tell me that simply using WD-40 is the answer? I have spent months researching this and you come up with WD-40! Are you serious? There is a flaw in your logic, it's expensive too. And messy. And it drips all over. And it smells. And it cleans glass. That's bad right there because my guns aren't glass. I think I'll stick with my new found synthetic oil or ATF thankyou. Better luck next time Don...... Chris

just tryin ta help. cleans glass?

I know that Don Meister, I just has to keep you grounded or you'll be off globe-trottin again. Stick with me, I know my oils! Chris

Chris, DON'T use wd 40! I was looking over all my fishing tackle that WD 40 has accidentally spilled on and its all rusting. Now, I know what your thinking. Us real men out west don't use wd as an attractant, I was using it to keep squeeks away from my lures. I used alot of it to help with my problem and the lures still rusted. Maybe your way is best. The stuff you use doesn't work as an attractant...I mean a rust inhibitor for lures does it?

.... when you fish for Steelhead! The lures rust fast and no amount of oil will prevent that Steelhead rust. The fish is one of the rustiest to fish for. I would suggest you start fishing for Tuna or something that is naturally oily and you will never have a rusty lure again and you don't need attractant either. In the meantime, you may want to cosider handgun hunting as an alternative to that silly fishing stuff. There aren't too many rusty animals out there so your guns should hold up well as long as you put a drop or two of Synthetic Oil or ATF on them! Chris

Long winter Chris?

What kind of a reply is that anyway? Catfish got your tongue? I at least expected you to come back with something like you were just waiting for hunting season to open or something logical but "Long winter, Chris"!
When you can't hunt you are supposed to be fixing a gun or cleaning a gun or schemeing to buy a gun! This fishing is almost as bad as chasing that little white ball around the field with the flags all over. The last time I was asked to "shoot a round" they got mad cause my 12 gauge was tearing up divots all over the greens! The grounders were easy but those drives were a little harder, but that's where my trapshooting experience paid off. I had a pretty good score going till they asked me to leave and never come back. I think they were mad cause I was shooting better than they were. Chris

Chris, Get out of the medicine cabinet! Whats this about closed seasons? When did they close? Right now were hunt'n hard before they shed their antlers.(Mr. Game warden sir, I'm joking)We have Cougar, bobcat and a huge assortment including Sea lion that are following the coveted Salmon up the river yet seem to only feed on oversize Sturgeon. Then someone shoots one with a bow and theres a hunt on for the person with the....um....nads to dispatch the creature to save our dwindling salmon stocks. This is no different than the Wolf issues or the bear in New Jersey or the massive populations of Doves Etc...Besides in December and January its a good time to go fishing up the river and Duck hunt your way back home. What was that funny comment about "fixing guns" anyway? When you shop for said firearms at another location than the local Walmart you will find the quality increases. The term" saturday night special" has never left the gun market and I'm very afraid you shop in that particular department. While were on that subject, do you have all your digits(fingers) and or appendages(arms and such)? Brand names such as "billybobs fararms" and "made in tquirkastan" should never be on a firearm. As a serious sidenote while at the local butcher that sells seal.....no..the local hardware store this afternoon I saw Corrosion X for firearms. Now Corrosion X is an amazing product for those of us that are man enough to have boats. It will take any form of corrosion and more or less stop it. I can't say enough good about it. My question is has anyone tried it? Sorry about the serious turn of events here. Now my good man, you mention the word that the president uses...scheming? Yes, I'm always scheming, my lovely wife gave me for Valentines day a gift card for Cabelas. I'm SAVING for a quality firearm as previously mentioned.Chris, that means not giving in for a lesser quality weapon in which you will be working on all the time. Please excuse me while I go fix my wife dinner, clean the house and take down the Christmas lights. Don Oh, by the way, I sent you some more WD 40.

I can see the little lady told you to "Man Up" again and you are taking it out on me, your only pal! If you had just made it out here you'd have been OK but you had to piddle around with all the side trips to everywhere. Oh well, I will just wait patiently until you get straight. Your Ole Buddy, Chris

Gunsmiths all over love WD40. It makes us money. Fixing all the guns that are frozen,rusted,gunked up, and generally fubared by the stuff.
Reminds me of the guy that purchased a Thompson Center Hawken rifle from me years ago. Nice wood, brand new in the box.
Next year he comes in with the gun. Or what was left of it. Wood split, Rusted all over,Heavy rust. Hammer will not go to full cock, Hammer will not move at all. He wants to know what kind of junk I am selling.
I asked him if he left it outside. He said no. I asked him if he cleaned it the way I told him, with boiling water, and then wipe it down with oil. He says yes. He said he did what the guy on TV sayed, and took it in the shower with him to clean it. I said with boiling water, he says yes. I asked him if they call him Rosey Cheeks. He said, not that hot, but I cleaned it with hot water. Run it all over.
The thought of a naked man, cleaning a rifle in the shower,stock and all was too much. My assistant, all the guys in the shop at the time, and probably people driving down the road all laughed until we cryed.
It wound up costing Mr Rosey Cheeks 300 to clean his gun, restock it get new parts for the lock, and get it to fire somewhat. The bore was about gone from the rust.
Just wanted to relay that one. It sort of fits the conversation.
John