Oil or grease for semi auto?

[lew]

In reality (advertising claims aside) pretty much ANY oil is going to work just fine on a weapon.

Yup. Guns aren't very demanding, especially compared to engines and other precision machinery. Everyone has their favorite lubes, but it comes down to this: you're an idiot if you're paying $8 for 2 oz. of "gun" oil/grease, when you can get bulk quantities of many other lubricants that aren't specifically marketed towards the firearms crowd for a similar price. Case in point: a quart of motor oil is less than $5. I paid $13 for a pint of Magnalube. Both of those quantities will last me decades.

 

[Steve_In_29]

Free is even better.

I acquired :dance: some Turboshaft oil from my previous employer (used in M1 tank turbine engines) and have a lifetime supply of high quality gun oil.

 

[PWilliam]

I used the cheap red auto grease from Wally-World. Had the same bucket of it for 3 years and haven't even made a dent in it yet. Works great.

 

[Ballistic Therapy]

Any light weight oil will work.
I go to Lowes and buy the bottles of oil they sell for swamp coolers.
It only cost a couple of dollars and works as good as any gun oil out there.
3 in 1 oil also works good and is cheap to be had.
I have even been known to use WD-40.
I have never had any of the problems that everyone says they have with such and such oil.
Then again I got my experience long before the internet was invented to tell me I was wrong.

 

[Mako72]

Like a lot here I usually just use motor oil. I think last time I topped off my dropper bottle it was with some 20w50. I used to use gear oil, but it’s a little smelly.

 

[XJThrottle]

I use both, but nothing gun specific.

My education, and work background, are automotive/mechanical. So, I use what I know survives that harsh environment.

WD40 and ATF to clean, Moly based engine assembly lube for my grease needs, and a quality engine oil for the "wet spots".

If it can last 10k miles in an engine, it's good for a day at the range.

 

[Harrier]

I usually use oil in the winter and grease in the summer.
I like to lube my guns before shooting. they get minimal lube after cleaning unless its grease.
Grease tends to pick up fouling grime and needs to be cleaned off well after shooting.
Oil tends to run but I will still use it if lube is needed in the summer while shooting an AR.

 

[Flash]

I used the cheap red auto grease from Wally-World. Had the same bucket of it for 3 years and haven't even made a dent in it yet. Works great.

As do I. Something like $4.00 for 14 ounces and it lasts forever. I also use oil, whatever I find cheapest.

 

[87jeep]

Same here on the grease & oil. Still have leftover oils a grease from racing days. Like the Redline red grease on the sliding parts. sticks like crazy to the metal. Have some newer grease coming to try from a friend in NASCAR, claims it cannot be washed off with any solvent. Always game to try something new!

 

[AZ1]

How do you clean it?

 

[87jeep]

How do you clean it?

Easy just wipe it off. The grease never gets hard as it is a very light syn. grease.

 

[Ranger1]

I will discuss what we would do on a average day on the range. 0500 check out our issued weapons. Go to the range. Wait for the truck loaded with ammo to show up. 0600 to 0700 when ever he decided to show up. Lock and load. Start shooting around 0730 maybe. Shoot until 12ish. Eat lunch and start again. I had a gallon of gun oil with me. In a day of shooting I would go through a quart maybe more. I would constantly pour it in. The weapons would never stop. We would stop shooting around 1600 or 1700. If we weren't doing a night shoot. Go home and spend 2 hours stripping down all weapons washing them in a parts tank. Doing a hot water rinse wiping them down with a light coat of oil and turning them in. To this day I still do it. The m1A's bolts get grease but everything else I use gets oil. The reason ? Oil doesn't just lubricates it also flushes out and away debris. Remember every hour of shooting should get 20 min of cleaning.

 

[Pro2a]

Personally, CLP does a poor job at ALL of it's intended purposes.

:handgestures-thumbup: Jack of all trades, master of none

 

[WyoGunner]

Here's a pretty detailed write-up by Grant Cunningham on gun lubrication; I haven't tried the food machinery lube but it makes sense.

http://www.grantcunningham.com/2006/05/lubrication-101/