Which is better, oil vs grease for firearms?

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  • rarobertson33

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    Many think that grease will capture and retain residue and contaminants. Does not oil do the same thing? A gun is not a closed system like a car engine. The oil can’t remove the contaminants in a gun. If you oil your slide rails, where does the contamination go?
     

    Goodcat

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    Generally, the grime stays with the oil until you clean it off. I think grease would displace the grime, but be mixed together. I prefer CLPs and my favorite is Froglube. I can’t find the link, but someone did dozens of tests on dozens and dozens of lube, froglube was always within the top three in every category. Froglube lasts a very long time. I use it in all my handguns, rifles, bolts, and I even cost firearms to be stored with it and I’ve only purchased two containers in my life.
     

    Bigtanker

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    I think it's gun specific. Some manufacturers (Sig?) tell you to use a specific grease on some of their models. I also think some 1911's run better with grease. churchmouse will chime in and correct me if I'm wrong on the 1911's.

    Most modern polymer pistols need very little lube to function properly. Even the manufacturers instruct you to lightly oil with "just a drop" here and there.
     

    teddy12b

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    Years ago I made the switch to high temp bearing grease and I haven't looked back. What I've noticed especially in an AR is that when you put a rifle away muzzle up the oil will flow down away from the points it was put on. If you use oil and get the rifle hot, the oil can burn off and when you strip it all apart it it'll be bone dry.

    With the red bearing grease by comparison, the stuff stays where you put it. When you get your rifle hot I'm sure some of it gets burned off, but when I started using it I was shocked at how much gooey grease was still on the parts when I went to clean them after a lot of shooting. I've read of guys saying the grease isn't great in the winter, but I just use a lot less of it in the winter and haven't had a problem.

    Even though I switched to the grease overall, I'll also say the first time I had oil in gun again after using grease for so long it felt really fast, slick and smooth. I had a smith do sights on a glock and when he put it back together he used oil and I was shocked at what a difference it felt like to me.

    https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0077K8WJC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

    The big picture of life, both work and both work well. For me though, a $10 can of bearing grease has been sitting on the shelf for years and it barely looked like I put a finger in it. All the gun oils made of the latest high tech unicorn sweat are fine, but for the money I just slap grease on everything and I'm pretty happy with it.
     

    rob63

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    I have always used grease for the simple reason that it stays where I put it, while oil flows wherever gravity takes it. If you think of applications where oil is normally used, there is a pump to circulate back where it needs to be. Applications that lack a pump usually use grease. When I have purchased used guns from someone that uses oil, I always find that when I take it apart there is oil absolutely everywhere, just a mess.

    All of that being said, there are times when grease might freeze, or could accumulate gunk, or whatever, and oil would be better. However, my guns usually spend a fair amount of time sitting in a closed room, until such time as they go to range. Consequently, grease is a better choice for what I need a lubricant to do, stay where I placed it in the gun until it is needed.

    I can't comment on comparisons between different kinds of grease, or more modern things like CLP, etc. Hoppe's has always worked fine for my particular application. Someone that is shooting a great deal or does competitions might need something else.
     

    Leadeye

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    I think it's gun specific. Some manufacturers (Sig?) tell you to use a specific grease on some of their models. I also think some 1911's run better with grease. churchmouse will chime in and correct me if I'm wrong on the 1911's.

    Most modern polymer pistols need very little lube to function properly. Even the manufacturers instruct you to lightly oil with "just a drop" here and there.

    This^

    I've found that older guns work better with more lube as a general rule. Some guns like Automags are lube specific, the best I've ever found was STP oil treatment to stop galling between the bolt and cocking piece. Nothing else really worked. What modern stuff I have does well with low viscosity lubes. Plastic guns like the Nylon 66 really don't require much at all.
     

    VERT

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    I got tired of all partial containers of hoppes and tetra oil and grease laying around on my bench. I just dumped it all into one container and wrote lube on the bottle. Shake it up and it looks like .......... a thick, milky white substance. Glocks and Walthers love a couple drops of the stuff.
     

    1mil-high

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    The only place I will use grease is on an AR, and I think I am still using miltec for that. Otherwise I use oil on shotguns, pistols, and other rifles.

    As mentioned above be wary of using grease in any quantity in ARs in cold conditions. I got my "truck gun" AR out of the truck after a short drive to the range where the truck interior never quite warmed up. Therefore, the rifle was still quite cold. I went to charge the gun, and the bolt locked back due to the grease being so thick.
     

    Vigilant

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    Generally, the grime stays with the oil until you clean it off. I think grease would displace the grime, but be mixed together. I prefer CLPs and my favorite is Froglube. I can’t find the link, but someone did dozens of tests on dozens and dozens of lube, froglube was always within the top three in every category. Froglube lasts a very long time. I use it in all my handguns, rifles, bolts, and I even cost firearms to be stored with it and I’ve only purchased two containers in my life.
    Ive had Frog lube go rancid, it also works for **** in cold weather. Never touch the stuff any longer. TW25B grease on pretty much everything it runs hot or cold.
     

    VERT

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    Ive had Frog lube go rancid, it also works for **** in cold weather. Never touch the stuff any longer. TW25B grease on pretty much everything it runs hot or cold.

    Agreed. I am using TW25 on my ARs. Wilson universal in the 1911s.

    The blue Lucas Extreme seems like pretty good stuff. For a light oil the Hoppes Elite.

    I do like the Hornady one shot cleaner and lube in the spray can. It is convenient.
     

    Trigger Time

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    Ive had Frog lube go rancid, it also works for **** in cold weather. Never touch the stuff any longer. TW25B grease on pretty much everything it runs hot or cold.
    Yeah id use jello before i would use frog lube ever again.
    And for all the people who say, yeah but you have to apply it properly. I did. It sucks.

    Some oils will freeze in cold weather. My lithium high temp grease hasnt yet. It also doesnt burn off in one mag dump.

    I own so many gun lubes cleaners and oils. Ive gotten so many free samples, bought them too that ill never run out of it all. Ever.
    But the best is the cheap tubes of high temp grease you can get at walmart. Except on glocks, ill use special stuff.
    I do like clp breakfree. But it wont last like grease will on an AR
     
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    teddy12b

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    The only time I use frog lube anymore is because it comes in those tiny packets and when it's fresh it'll get something going again, but then it gets cleaned out and replaced later that same day. I'd love to find a replacement individual packet of regular grease that size.
     

    Hohn

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    Grease vs oil is somewhat of a false distinction, because grease IS oil that has been thickened with something like a soap base. The actual lube part is oil. And it can (and often will) separate-- the base from the thickener.

    So just because you use a grease doesn't mean you won't get separation.

    The most important step to lubrication is the one almost everyone neglects. WIPE OFF THE EXTRA. What? Isn't more better? Isn't swimming in lube the only way to keep things alive?

    No and no.

    THe thing is, from the perspective of actual lubrication, there's NO DIFFERENCE between globbed on thick, swimming in it, or wiped nearly dry. In all cases the actual oil film is just a few microns thick. You can't wipe it all off if you are using only a dry paper towel or cloth. Only solvent will get that film off.

    So every molecule of oil or grease you apply MORE than the towel-off amount is simply wasted. It's not adding lubricity.

    Goes against all our human gut sense. But it's true.


    And when apply this understanding to your application of lube, you see much of the difference between oil and grease disappear. And you'll find you collect a lot less crud (especially in rimfire semi autos) with less lube to stick it.

    (I depart from this with AR triggers. I grease the crap out of AR triggers because I want to collect all the carbon fouling I can.)

    ETA: I've used everthing from Lucas Extreme to Tetra to transmission fluid to FL with good results. Lubing a gun is (with the exception of stainless 1911s) very easy to do. Stop overthinking it and move on.
     
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    ol' poke

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    IMO, modern guns get lightly oiled for lubrication. (Glocks/ARs/etc.) Older weapons get grease for lubrication. (Garands/A3-03/etc.) Everything gets wiped down with Hoppe's #9. Blackpowder guns get ONLY Ballistol (both for lube & wipe-down) Works for me!
     

    Brad69

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    Both oil and grease!

    I have switched to the Lucas Extreme Duty oil and grease from CLP and Mobile 1 auto grease in the past few years.
    On of the biggest reason for malfunctions in all auto weapons is under lubing them.
    While attending my first civilian training events I couldn’t understand why after a few hundred round weapons started malfunctioning. Dudes were not lubing the rifles they were dry, on the AR the bolt cam pin IME is the most important thing to have lube.
    I use a light coat of grease followed by a light application of oil on all moving parts. The Lucas stuff will still be coating the bolt cam pin after a full day of shooting. I usually lube at lunch then run a snake, wipe down and lube at night regardless of weapons system.

    BTW
    A few years ago I attended a Carbine class at about 10 degrees the guys using frog lube were having issues that stuff looked like crisco?

    Overlube?
    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=p9bOT_d60LM
     

    Sniper 79

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    Don't matter what you lube with one bit.

    What matters is that you clean and keep it lubed. I use whatever is in my garage cabinet. No need to blow cash on the latest snake oil.
     
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