firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

in a tight pinch,
can motor oil be used as a gun oil substitute ?

for cleaning and storage purposes

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

If you read the back of all the "gun lubricants" out there, you will find that Mobil 1 has all the same ingredients as many of the best gun oils. Lubricants manufacturers have been trying to promote their "whiz bang" answers for a long time, but trust me, everybody I have ever trained with or anybody on the shooting competition circuit knows they are a scam. No offense to indieangler, but that has been my experience. They add one of two "unique ingredients", and then claim that theirs does THIS, AND THIS, AND THIS!!! I have been shooting for over 20 years competitively, and can tell you from experience that you should not buy into the hype. You want further proof? Go to the sporting goods department at Meijer and grab a can of Rem oil (Remingtons signature gun lubricant). Now, take a short jaunt over to the automotive section and pick up a can of Remington auto lubricant. The ingredients are IDENTICAL!!! They even claim that Rem oil is superior due to "teflon coating". Well guess what their automotive variant has...you guessed it...TEFLON!!! Now granted, the automotive can only has 2/3 the amount of the same Rem oil as in the sporting goods can, but it costs $5.99 in sporting goods, and $.99 in the auto department, so I could buy SIX CANS times 2/3 or the equivalent of 4 CANS of Rem oil for the same price!!! What a joke. Everybody has their pet opinion on the subject, but the chemistry doesn't lie. You can add your own "special little twist", but I'm not buying it. I run $3000 race guns on Mobil 1, and get the very same results as using those "latest and greatest concoctions". Now for long term storage, I use cosmoline, and solvents to remove fouling (copper or otherwise) is also a different story altogether...

YMMV

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I don't know if motor oil would be the best choice. I have used WD-40 at times.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I wouldn't use motor oil to clean. Maybe storage but I wouldn't. It won't dissolve the carbon build up and it can actually harm some finishes.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

There is a good thread that one of our resident gun gurus put up that covers this.

I wouldn't risk a finish to save a couple of bucks.
Guns is expensive.
Good guns even more....


ST

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I've heard that WD-40 is poison to guns (and primers). I use silicone spray for protection.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

For cleaning I use Hoppe's powder solvent & the copper solvent.

For lubrication I use the synthetic Mobil 1 10w-30

Never had a problem & it works great in both summer &
winter conditions unlike some oils that thicken in cold weather.

When its time for long term storage I'll take an arts & craft type
paint brush & cover all metal parts with a generous coat of
Mobil 1 & let it sit for 24 hours then lightly rub & remove the
excess with lint free rag.

Might seem crazy but it's like it bonds with the metal.

Yeah I know.....:111:.....That sounds crazy ! But it works

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Plus you can buy it in the big 5 Qt. jugs.......:10_1_20:

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Good to know. I'll keep the WD-40 off the guns.

Maybe I'll pick up a jug of mobil 1 and give that a try

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

+1 on the Hoppes :applause_

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I use Mobil 1 to lube all my rifles.

Works great.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

To answer your "in a pinch" question:

Storage: Yes

Cleaning: You can do better.

As far as recommendations for other cleaners/lubes, there are other threads for that.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

when TSHTF this summer
after 1-4 weeks of possible chaos
i think motor oil may be more plentiful and easier to acquire than real gun oil

trying to think in SHTF terms for gun oil substitutes

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Best bang for buck out there is syntheic motor oil for lube:applause_.Hoppes is the standard for me.Brake cleaner also.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I am continuously amazed at how knowledgeable the GIM crowd is. Hoppes and Mobil 1 (synthetic)...the choice of truly frugal gunslingers in the know! :applause_

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Oil is pretty much oil....any oil on a gun is good....it is there to lubricate the mechanisims and prevent wear. On blued finish it is there to create a barrier against oxidation.

When I shoot skeet a lot in the summer.....I often just keep a shop towel a zip lock in my case....saturated with oil and give it a quick wipe.

Also - I've used a lot of WD40 over the years without any issue....it does not hurt guns and is a fine lube....but mostly it is a solvent....lots more carrier than lube. But - it will protect a gun finish in a pinch.....I have a coffee can with a few rags in it that have a little bit of every lube known to man in there mixed on the rags....tight sealed lid...keep in middle of concrete floor basement ...for fear of a possible spontaneous combustion....low risk due to sealed container...but still a small risk...

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Yes, in a pinch, you could use regular motor oil. It's just fine for lube in most cases (especially synthetic oils). For rust prevention or long term storage, however, synthetic oils like Amsoil are NOT anywhere near as good as CLP, Eezox, or Boeshield T9.

If all you have is motor oil, then use it. For long term storage, there are better materials. Yes, I've tested them in a lab.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Considering the size of your gun collection, why not just get a 50 gallon drum?

Non detergent motor oil is better than detergent, the detergent holds water non detergent sheds water.

I prefer Amsoil to Mobil 1.

WD-40 = rust.
Silicone = rust.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Unfortunately, even Amsoil = rust.

For short term storage, it's better than nothing. Over the long term, it's not very good.

See the picture - it's from a set of tests I did about 6 years ago. I degreased cold rolled steel panels with MEK, then applied whatever wonder-lube I was testing. The panels were then stuck into a 100/100 chamber (100 �F, 100% humidity). These photos were taken after the panels had been in the chamber for 7 weeks. Yes, that's a long time and it's a severe test.

When looking at the photo, please ignore any rust on the right quarter of the test panels. I used 2x4 boards that had slots cut in them as panel "racks" in the 100/100 chamber, and these boards had been used in our lab for years & years - there's no telling what had been absorbed into the wood.

Look at how the Amsoil (7500 mile 5W30 synthetic oil) isn't a whole lot better than the control (untreated) panel after this long exposure to humidity. What seems to work great as a preservative (I did NOT look at it as a firearms lube) is Lee Alox. Lee sells it as a cast bullet lubricant. Disperse it in some mineral spirits, and it's easy to apply to whatever you want to preserve.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I use Hoppe's No. 9 for cologne....
it works great.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Interesting test. Hadn't heard of Alox. There are plenty of preservatives that work great but I wouldn't use them on guns unless intended for long term storage because they gum up the works. I like non-detergent oils because they function as gun lubricants for guns that are ready to use and provide some rust protection as well. Does the Alox meet this criteria?

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

When ever I'm having a "disagreement" with the wife I bring out the Hoppes and start cleanin' something. That really tick's her off....she can't stand the smell.

Then again, I HATE the smell of hair spray and nail polish...so she has her revenge

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Alox definitely does not meet that criteria. As supplied by Lee (as "Lee Liquid Alox", AKA Alox 606-55HF), it's a fairly thick liquid, and I suspect it would goop things up pretty well if you used it as a weapon lube. A bit more liquid than RIG (rust inhibiting grease), but still pretty thick. I don't know how a diluted version would work as a lubricant. I use CLP as a normal lube, and use Boeshield T9 (basically a wax dissolved in carrier solvent) for longer term storage.

Alox (bought out by Lubrizol years ago) is the trade name for a range of corrosion inhibitors. This stuff is usually added to other coatings which are then sprayed onto equipment needing protection from rust (like Ziebart auto rustproofing coatings).

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Thanks for the info. I use CLP too, sometimes. The "C" in CLP stands for cleaner so I think it's less appropriate for long term storage than ordinary non-detergent motor oil but better for cleaning.
Visualize a firearm with condensation on the metal parts, we've all been there....a detergent oil will invite the moisture into the oil more readily than a non-detergent oil.
JMO.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I don't know if Amsoil's products are detergent or non-detergent. CLP tested out better than the Amsoil stuff I tried.

Whatever you do, DO NOT rely on Militec-1 (another super-lube) to protect your weapon from rust. It was repeatedly crappy in the tests I ran, whether you applied it to cold steel, or to warmed steel (as the manufacturer recommends). It may be a good lube, but it doesn't do much against rust.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Before I knew much about firearms I did something very very silly...

I had an old pump shotgun...well I was about to go into the military
so I put it up in the attic of my moms house for storage.

After I had moved off base a few years later I went to her
house to get it.

There is was all wrapped in plastic...just like I had left it...
all oiled up...

The silly thing is...I used cooking oil...I didnt know any better
at the time when I put it up there I just knew I had to oil it up!

The heat from the attic baked the oil into the gun...

It took me forever to clean that gummy semi-solid oil-tar-crap off
that damn thing....ya I had a good laugh about that one.
( My friends laughed even harder)

So my lesson to share with the world...dont be a dumbass and
lube and store anything using cooking oil...hahahahahah...:biggrin:

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Yes it will TA. However, I have had better success with using my SAF-T-CLEAN tank with mineral spirits. It is MUCH quicker. You can also use carb cleaner, but you really have to apply gun lubicant QUICKLY after getting it cleaned off, as the metal can oxidize if you're not careful. Hoppes will work, but it will take a LOT and mineral spirits are much cheaper!!! I have a Romak III as well, and had to deal with the exact issue you are dealing with.

Cheers,
Jeff

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Thanks Brother B ...where do you buy this stuff???

I dont want to use carb cleaner cause the Guy I spoke has one at home and he wrecked his wood furniture(turned it white) when CC got on it.:banghead:


T

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Brake Cleaner -> Hoppe's #9 -> lube

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

You can get mineral spirits at the local hardware store, Lowes, or Home Depot. Check in the paint department. It is combustible or flammable, so watch out for ignition sources when you're up to your elbows in the stuff.

For heavy cosmolene removal (before wiping with mineral spirits), I use a wood tongue depressor (or a section of a thin wood shim) to scrape it off. Much easier than trying to wipe-wipe-wipe thick layers of gunk off the weapon.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

What he said...sage advice.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I use ATF.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

Mineral Spirits is fairly safe on normal gun finishes - at least the ones I've run into so far.

It's a good idea to wear gloves when using it to de-gunk weapons or mags, so you don't end up sucking all the oils out of your skin. Latex gloves are only so-so (they absorb mineral spirits). Nitrile gloves (blue) are more resistant to the stuff.

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

not for storage but I like kroil

http://www.thehighroad.org/archive/i.../t-101702.html

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I think I did good job with the spirits

I will let every thing sit for the night then I will apply lubricant tommarow.

Blue gloves are just fine as I dont have any type smell on my hands.

T

Re: firearms cleaning and storage with motor oil ?
 

I have used 3in1 for years, works great.