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Iron maintenance
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:32 am
by D5CAV
This was discussed before. Instead of resurrecting a zombie thread, here's a video from one of my favorite channels Project Farm:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fibRewlndLg
First a disclaimer: Most of my iron maintenance is done with ATF and 0 weight synthetic motor oil. I still use some Hoppes No 9 with stubborn carbon deposits, but I rarely deal with that unless I've just purchased some iron that was poorly maintained (for a price that reflects the lack of maintenance).
Some surprises:
I've never heard of Clenzoil. I'll have to find some. It looks like it has some good lubrication properties.
One of my training buddies is a "Frog Lube" evangelist. Looks like it might have more merit than I expected, but not good enough for me to ditch my ATF and motor oil.
Break Free, which I still have a few bottles from my time serving the Empire, looks like a reasonable compromise. They come in convenient travel packages (for obvious reasons). Maybe I'll throw in my hunting bag for emergencies.
I sent a suggestion to try comparison with ATF and motor oil.
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:51 am
by HTRN
D5CAV wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:32 am
First a disclaimer: Most of my iron maintenance is done with ATF and 0 weight synthetic motor oil.
ATF, good, motor oil, not so good. Motor oil contains benzene, which causes oxidation issues.
Turbine oil works good, and
Mark Novak swears by Lucas gun oil. Both are available on Amazon. As is Lubriplate SFL0 gun grease.
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 3:52 pm
by D5CAV
HTRN wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 9:51 amATF, good, motor oil, not so good. Motor oil contains benzene, which causes oxidation issues.
Turbine oil works good, and
Mark Novak swears by Lucas gun oil. Both are available on Amazon. As is Lubriplate SFL0 gun grease.
Synthetic motor oil also contains benzene?
Turbine oil is aircraft turbine oil? I have a friend who runs an FBO. Maybe I can score some from him.
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:19 pm
by HTRN
D5CAV wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 3:52 pm
Synthetic motor oil also contains benzene?
AFAIK, Yes.
Turbine oil is aircraft turbine oil? I have a friend who runs an FBO. Maybe I can score some from him.
I believe so, Amazon sells 4 ounce bottles of La-Co turbine grade oil for 15 bucks.
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:23 pm
by D5CAV
HTRN wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 4:19 pm
D5CAV wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 3:52 pm
Synthetic motor oil also contains benzene?
AFAIK, Yes.
Turbine oil is aircraft turbine oil? I have a friend who runs an FBO. Maybe I can score some from him.
I believe so, Amazon sells 4 ounce bottles of La-Co turbine grade oil for 15 bucks.
thanks for the info!
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Mon Mar 21, 2022 7:29 pm
by Netpackrat
Just be ready to repackage your turbine oil into more usable containers than the metal quart cans it comes in. There are a couple of overall mil specs, and all of the various aircraft turbine oils fall into one or the other. The two specs are not compatible (I don't recall what reaction takes place but great pains are taken to avoid mixing them in an engine), although if used as a gun lube you are unlikely to ever run out and need to purchase a second quart.
The above shouldn't necessarily be taken as an endorsement. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, although I have no plans to switch away from regular gun oil, mostly because there are some nasties in turbine oil that you should keep off of your skin. Speaking as someone who has poured hundreds of gallons of the stuff, one quart at a time over the years.
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 2:15 am
by D5CAV
Netpackrat wrote: ↑Mon Mar 21, 2022 7:29 pm
Just be ready to repackage your turbine oil into more usable containers than the metal quart cans it comes in. There are a couple of overall mil specs, and all of the various aircraft turbine oils fall into one or the other. The two specs are not compatible (I don't recall what reaction takes place but great pains are taken to avoid mixing them in an engine), although if used as a gun lube you are unlikely to ever run out and need to purchase a second quart.
The above shouldn't necessarily be taken as an endorsement. I don't see any reason why it wouldn't work, although I have no plans to switch away from regular gun oil, mostly because there are some nasties in turbine oil that you should keep off of your skin. Speaking as someone who has poured hundreds of gallons of the stuff, one quart at a time over the years.
Thanks for the advice.
The last time I "borrowed" some specialty lubricant from him (I don't recall what it was, but it wasn't turbine oil), he pointed to a drum with a hand pump on top, so I'm sure I'll have to bring my own quart-size container.
I have to remember to wear rubber gloves when I use ATF, which means I'm still using them when I'm using the motor oil.
I'll switch from the motor oil per HTRN's advice. I didn't realize that it had benzene. Benzene is also a nasty you should keep off your skin in addition to being a major component of gasoline - not a good lube material.
What is your favorite brand of gun oil?
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:50 am
by g-man
Cherrybalmz Black Rifle Balm convert here. Notably slicker action in the 1911. Just use a silicone cloth to wipe down the exterior, and Hoppes for cleaning. Clean, lube, and protect, done by products designed for each purpose, instead of Uncle’s jack of no trades CLP, which does each ‘not badly’.
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 5:33 am
by D5CAV
g-man wrote: ↑Tue Mar 22, 2022 3:50 am
Cherrybalmz Black Rifle Balm convert here. Notably slicker action in the 1911. Just use a silicone cloth to wipe down the exterior, and Hoppes for cleaning. Clean, lube, and protect, done by products designed for each purpose, instead of Uncle’s jack of no trades CLP, which does each ‘not badly’.
Thanks for the recommendation. I'll add it to my list of stuff to try.
https://www.cherrybalmz.com/post/how-to ... eliability
One issue I have with their "wetter is better" mantra is my experience in two rather extreme environments, Iceland, where we trained to defend in case we went to the mat with USSR and Iraq, where we actually went to the mat. In both places, running our weapons "wet" proved to be really bad.
Because of those experiences, I tend to under-lube, which sometimes causes reliability issues. Once I tried using graphite lubricant, which led one of my "training buddies" to comment, "why don't you just not clean it? Doesn't that leave a good coating of graphite?"
Yes, I also believe that specialty products are better for their specialty, but I find ATF is a pretty good lubricant as well as cleaner. My only issue with ATF is I don't want it on my skin, so I wipe it off and put on a light coat of oil, which I also wipe off because of my aversion to running "wet".
Re: Iron maintenance
Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2022 6:21 am
by Netpackrat
Honestly I just use the regular Breakfree CLP for almost everything.