Oil vs grease question - antique Winchester 63

JHZR2

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I did a thorough tear down and cleaning of my GFIL’s ca. 1957 Winchester 63.

There was a lot of old impacted grease in the action. Oiled parts remained oiled after all this time. I suspect this rifle was last shot sometime in the early to mid 70s, with a very small chance it was in the early 80s….

so…. Now that it’s clean, I have different items coated with ballistol or G-96. I have slip, Miltec CLP, etc….

The manual I found online just says oil. Not much detail:

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It seems like some sliding items were greased. I have the lubrippate M1 Garand grease, as well as some SFL-0 grease that is specified for something…

Any thoughts on if I should re-apply grease anywhere now that it’s cleaned up?

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Oil alone is just fine. Grease for heavy use and more stressed areas that are known to wear quicker like sliding parts on a semi auto being ran hard but it's not necessary on that rifle. And you'll find that motor oil is best for storage and infrequent shooting as motor oil has better anti rust properties than the others but does get dirtier than gun oil or dry lube which is ment to repel filth a bit better with constant shooting. I only use motor oil as i don't shoot a ton but it can get humid as heck on my farm and keeping my guns stored there makes them start rusting quick. Having them stored in a home is much nicer to them.
 
Oil alone is just fine. Grease for heavy use and more stressed areas that are known to wear quicker like sliding parts on a semi auto being ran hard but it's not necessary on that rifle. And you'll find that motor oil is best for storage and infrequent shooting as motor oil has better anti rust properties than the others but does get dirtier than gun oil or dry lube which is ment to repel filth a bit better with constant shooting. I only use motor oil as i don't shoot a ton but it can get humid as heck on my farm and keeping my guns stored there makes them start rusting quick. Having them stored in a home is much nicer to them.

I don’t think that I’ve heard that motor oil is better anti rust. I have no doubt that it will work as well as anything else in most situations…..
 
I put it together pretty wet. I had used some degreaser and other cleaning products, so the oils were stripped and I want new oil to get into the pores. I also put SFL-0 grease on any points that looked like there would be sliding.

I figure I’ll break it down, wipe any excesses, and then re-apply sparingly before going to the range. But I wanted to have a decent coating when putting back together so that it is well protected.

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If it slides grease, if it rotates oil.
I never agreed with this wives' tale, can we put it to bed?

Bearings rotate, that's literally what they do. They are packed in grease. Pistons, on the other hand, literally slide up and down, and they get oiled, not grease.

I say, use what makes sense.
 
I recently began using some white lithium grease on my firearms. Its in conjunction with regular oiling. I use it on larger sliding components and open cam areas. As for the eventual buildup? Not a worry as my firearms get yearly teardowns and cleanings regardless.
 
I'm going to speculate that this rifle will not see heavy use . Just use whatever you have on hand and don't get carried away with the grease .
 
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