Gun lube

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Your last paragraph pretty much sums it up. Grease does work well as a lube because it stays where it is needed and is long lasting. However, many greases get tacky and sticky over time which can actually glue the mating surfaces together. Worse off, the grease will catch and hold all of the contaminates from the environment and from the firing process and make them build up. Oil based lubes suspend and float the contaminates away from the mating surfaces.

I do lube my AR-15 and a few other things with grease. I use superlube grease and only apply it to the high friction areas that are further away from chamber and bolt face. 90% of the time though, I am using corrosionX as the general lube and surface wipe down oil.
 
I tried to go shooting today bur the range was closed. It may be too cold the rest of the week. Otherwise I might shoot tomorrow.

So far CorrosionX has impressed me. Hoppes Elite gun oil seems way too runny and even Breakfree does not seem to stay on like CorrosionX.
 
Originally Posted By: Mystic
I have checked my gun before shooting (it has been a few days) and I have noticed that the CorrosionX stays on the slide areas better than Hoppes Elite gun oil and somewhat better than Breakfree. I wonder if grease would be just as effective but I really don't like to use grease on a handgun. But the CorrosionX does seem to cling better than other gun oils I have tried. Some gun oils are completely gone after a few days of being left on the slide areas.

I still need to do a lot of research but it seems to me that there is little doubt that the CorrosionX is probably a better gun oil than many others. It stays put.

The only question I have is if grease (like a lithium grease) would be just as effective on slide areas. But the grease might slow down the slide operation. I don't like to use grease unless it is required, like on the M1 rifle.


The classic problem with grease is that the oil will often separate from the carrier (clay or lithium) over long periods of time and disuse. Leaving, for lack of a better term a "more tacky" substance behind that does not lubricate as well as a properly chosen oil. Plus grease will attract and hold dirt more readily.
 
It was warm enough today to go shooting so I did. The gun (S&W M&P 9mm) functioned perfectly. Some guys were shooting trap with modified shotguns for black powder and a black powder rifle, and they let me shoot. I shot the black powder rifle twice (it was a copy of an English black powder rifle) and I shot the modified shotgun eight times with 70 grains of black powder. I have shot rifles and shotguns but I have never shot trap. It was pretty fun.

When I cleaned my gun it seemed that I was able to clean it quicker. And then I lubed it with the CorrosionX. I am definitely starting to think that the CorrosionX is a superior gun oil compared to Hoppes Elite or Breakfree.

I also was able to find some 40 cal. target ammo so I will go shooting with my Glock 40 cal. I have not shot it for a while. I will lubricate it with the CorrosionX also.
 
I am going to try to make the CorrosionX last as long as possible so I think I will clean the gun with Hoppes and Breakfree but use the CorrosionX for lubrication.

Either Hoppes No. 9 or Hoppes Elite works good for the bore of the barrel. And the rest of the gun can be cleaned with Breakfree. I wipe the gun down first with a cloth and use a dry brush and Q-tips.

This was suggested in a gun magazine. The author said to first apply solvent to the bore of the barrel and let it sit for a while, and then wipe the gun down before applying any solvent. Otherwise the solvent would just push a gummy mess into the rest of the gun. After wiping the gun down a solvent can be used. But a gun can actually be cleaned using no solvent except for the bore of the barrel and just carefully wiping the gun down and using a dry brush and Q-tips or pipe cleaners.

For a blued steel gun Breakfree is still pretty good for preventing rust. But the CorrosionX is used for lubrication.
 
Originally Posted By: Mystic
For a blued steel gun Breakfree is still pretty good for preventing rust. But the CorrosionX is used for lubrication.


True but corrosionX is a better rust preventer than Breakfree. Also, Dont forget that straight corrosionX cleans about as well as breakfree clp does, even for the inside of the bore. The home made CorrosionX cleaning solution will clean shotguns and pistol bores really well, the only place you might need a stronger solvent like Barnes CR-10 or Sweets would be for severly lead fouled barrels or badly coppered high powered rifle barrels. Straight corrosionX will clean more than good enough on a basic pistol that was only fired 200 rounds or less since the last cleaning.

Make no mistake, I use corrosionX almost exclusively because it does all the functions of a CLP very well. It is not limited to just preventing rust or just lubricating at all. CorrosionX even functions as a penetrant, anti-seize compound and di-electric protector and does pretty well at all those if you dont have the proper chemicals on hand.
 
That is good to know. I will try it for cleaning, lubrication, and rust prevention. It would actually be economical if it does all three.
 
Yes that is one of the biggest messages I have been trying to get across! CorrosionX is economical because it does do all three functions and there is really no need to have a whole "wardrobe" of separate gun care chemicals. My main stable of gun care products consists of CorrosionX original, the corrosionX cleaning mixture, Superlube grease and Barnes CR-10. The grease and Barnes are rarely used and even at that, the regular corrosionX is what is being used 70% of the time.

I do still have a few other gun care products in my collection but they are mostly retired. Ballistol still gets used a lot but that is only because I treat my razors, hair clippers and engine bays with it. It really doesn't get used on anything firearm related anymore. I still support ballistol and breakfree products but for me, corrosionX beats both of them.
 
I have read all the posts on this subject and one on Gun Butter which seemed to stop about a year ago. I Have been reading Grant Cunningham's new book which got me to his website and there he has a very good explanation of lubrication. I suggest taking a read and making some comments on his recommendation of the products by Lubriplate (he gives a very good technical explanation of this and others).

Grant Cunningham Gunsmith on Lubrication
 
Interesting article. He does not address Corrosion X. I've come to the conclusion that Corrosion X is among the best all purpose products available. Works wonderfully on firearms.
 
I am guessing CorrosionX provides both hydrodynamic and boundary lubrication because of CorrosionX's "fluid film coating" and "Polar surface bonding" technology. It would appear that even though there are no solids like teflon in corrosionx, it still provides a good boundary.

http://www.corrosionx.com/corrosionx-technology.html

I don't really care what they call it or how they explain it, CorrosionX is a great lube that lasts and really prevents rust, I like it!
 
Originally Posted By: smoothenfast

Grant Cunningham Gunsmith on Lubrication


ATF is most certainly not better than Motor oil and is not really a good firearms lubricant for several reason. I believe this faulty article has lead to the crazy mixture of ATF and motor that is all the rage right now.

ATF is not designed for the sliding, boundary regime conditions that occur in firearms.


CX is a good lube, I prefer the "Aviation" version as it is a little thicker.

My favorite lube is still Weapon Shield. I have yet to see anything out perform it, especially when it comes to cleaning.
 
I recently tried Slip2000 EWL, and as a lube I think I like it more than any of the others I've used. I still like MPro7/Hoppe's Elite better as a cleaner.

I need to try Weapon Sheild and CorrosionX one of these days.
 
The CorrosionX really does seem to be superior compared to especially RemOil, and Hoppes Elite gun oil and Breakfree. But a person could probably achieve similar results using oil on the barrel and grease on the slide areas, with some oil down the slide glide areas.

I really prefer not to use grease unless grease is required like on the M1 rifle. For an oil the CorrosionX probably stays put about as good as anything else I have tried. And I have tried a lot of stuff.
 
I've tried a number of lubes, cleaners, protectants, CLP's, but I keep coming back to Weapon Shield. Haven't tried CorrosionX.
 
There are some interesting videos on YouTube about various gun oils and gun cleaners. I think the guy at Hicok45 definitely knows a lot and he uses Ballistol. I am impressed by Real Guys Reviews also. They seem to be moving towards Frog Lube. I don't know what happened to the guy at the 1911Channel but he recommended Hoppes No. 9 gun solvent, Hoppes gun oil, lithium grease for slides, and Renaissance Wax for preserving stored firearms.

I hope it is okay for me to mention these YouTube sites. The only reason I brought them up is because I thought it would be useful to mention what guys who seem to know what they are talking about are using.

The guys who seem to know what they are talking about recommend different gun oils and gun cleaners. I have not seem CorrosionX talked about all that much. But there seems to be a lot of discussion about Ballistol, Frog Lube, Breakfree, and good old Hoppes No. 9 Solvent.

I do think Ballsitol would be safer to use than Hoppes No. 9 for cleaning gun barrels. I might see if I can get some. I have a few reservations about Frog Lube when it comes to long term storage. But either CorrosionX or that Renaissance Wax would be good for gun storage and either Breakfree or CorrosionX for lubricating the gun. Or if a guy cleans and lubricates his gun after every trip to the range maybe either just Hoppes No. 9 gun oil and lithium grease for slides. There are actually new Hoppes No. 9 products available for cleaning and lubricating but I have not seen them anywhere for sale except for the Hoppes website. The new products contain some synthetic ingredients.

I have moved away from the water based products for cleaning and lubricating. I have heard stories of serious corrosion problems. But a water based cleaner like MPRo7 or Hoppes Elite Gun Cleaner could be used just for the barrel, lubricating with oil afterwards.
 
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Plain old military CLP except for the Garand and my 1911 which get a little CLP and moly grease. Tried lots of "wonder" products over the years but I've never found anything that worked better at the same price point.
 
The only problem is that the old military CLP may have changed over the years and not for the better. And even back in the Vietnam War days the veterans said that they would clean their M-16 rifles with choke cleaner or brake cleaner and then use the CLP for lubrication.

Based on everything I have been able to find out there is no single answer. A guy could just use Ballistol or Hoppes 9 solvent or MPro7 cleaner or Hoppes Elite cleaner to clean the bore, and then lubricate the gun with Hoppes 9 gun oil or Breakfree or Corrosion X. Lithium grease or some other grease could be used on slides.

To preserve a gun in storage a guy could use CorrosionX, Breakfree, or Renaissance Wax.

Stuff I would not use includes RemOil, water based lubes like MPro7 and Hoppes Elite, and I personally would not use carb cleaner or brake cleaner on one of my guns. I have heard good stuff about Frog Lube, which was developed by a Navy Seal. But there might be problems storing a weapon using Frog Lube for long periods of time.
 
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