ltwguns.com

Hey guys,
[peepee dance] I'm taking delivery of my first "semi-custom" (although it's more of a custom, as I made a lot of changes and spec'd it out) pistol today [/peepee dance]. It's a Nighthawk Talon. Now, what is all your choices of lubrication for your high end 1911's? I have FP-10, Miltech grease and oil, CLP, Tetra, Hoppes, Vaseline, Bertoli Extra Virgin, and Pam.

Seriously though, is there something better I should check out? I know a lot of guys recommend the Wilson's grease in the syringe. There also seems to be some debate on grease vs. oil.

Thanks fellers!


Rich

FP-10 is fine. Get it on the right places, shoot, clean, and repeat. Do what you want with the olive oil and the vaseline. Good luck.

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Heirloom Precision, LLC.
480-804-1911

"If everyone is thinking alike, someone isn't thinking."
- General George Patton Jr

TW-25B Grease is great (http://www.mil-comm.com/main.cfm?cat=Firearms). MILITEC-1 oil (http://www.militec1.com/), FP-10, or something similar for the areas you can't reach with the grease.

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Aubrey<><

I use FP-10 here in shop.

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CT Brian Custom
'Blending Art With Firepower'

I have been using plain old motor oil for a few years now on my AR and 1911s. Since I drive ALOT I use Mobil 1 synthetic in the truck and just save the dregs of the oil and refill my old break free containers with it. Works fine, no apparent wear and tear increases with the switch and its dramitically cheaper (not that Mobil 1 is cheap...but a quart is under 4 bucks..thats ALOT of gun lube!)

I also use Mobil 1 for my sewing machines and machine tools EXCLUSIVELY, it works well.

Some of my shooting buddies swear by a mixture of Oil and Slick 50, others like the Over the counter gun lubes like Tetra (which I keep in my gear bag, both grease and oil for range use if I have no quarts handy!).

John Shaefer (Fr. Frog) has a nice page on lubes at:

http://home.sprynet.com/~frfrog2/homemade.htm

Hope this helps,

Andy

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Andy Langlois
ALCRL, Andy Langlois Combat RifleLeather
Rifle Slings, Custom Leatherwork
http://www.shottist.com

FP-10 for me as well...

Years ago I was a dedicated Break-Free user, then I switched to TW-25B Grease. Since then, I've done some research and I won't use any grease on my 1911s. I do however know a lot of guys that use grease and get along just fine with it. I use only FP-10 and firmly believe in it. Besides, the head enginer at MPC (mfg. of FP-10) is a great guy!

i like everyone else have tried a ton of stuff.

for the action parts. fp10. all the way.

up to date the best thing i have found for lubing the slide/rails on every gun is .

http://www.brianenos.com slideglide. its a grease type of stuff. but is differant from any other greases i have tried. they have 3 differant weights.

its great. you dab a little bit on with a brush, spread with a qtip and it STAYS put. very,very, fine film. so on a carry gun it doesnt run all over the place/clothes.

Trumpet,

I use FP-10 almost exclusively now, BUT...

If you keep the gun clean and properly lubed like any reasonable person who invested a lot of money in ANYTHING mechanical would, your choice in lube isn't really all that critical. I have a friend who believes that cleaning a gun involves only wiping down the exterior and running a bronze brush through the bore a few times. He often wonders why his guns don't work and why the finish is always worn away quickly.

I used Break-Free with great success for over six years as a soldier. I have used motor oil when I had nothing else. I still use RIG +P grease on stainless guns. But, from what I have found, the biggest factor in how a gun shoots, functions, and feels, is whether or not it is reasonably maintained. That being said, a clean gun with FP-10 is my preference.

Sorry for the rant. Steve Bailey and I had an almost identical conversation last night, that's all.

~Jim Keeney

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"I'd rather die on my feet than keep living on my knees." - Emiliano Zapata, Mexican Revolutionary

FP10 here....
Nothing else is required or indicated.

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http://www.rogersprecision.com

Thanks guys! FP10 it is then. Mmmmmmm cinnamon.....




Rich

Another fan of FP10 here. I used CLP in the past but found that it tends to disappear after a few weeks. I have also used grease on the slide rails from time to time... it worked fine but it's somewhat more of a PITA to apply.

I am also going to try Blue Wonder's Armadillo wax for my blued carry guns. If it can keep my XDs from rusting after a day at the range, it should be just the ticket for keeping my leather holsters from getting oil-soaked after a couple years.

+1 for FP-10. It came with my custom and worked like a charm, so I swithed for all my firearms except the hard-use tactical .308 which gets slightly differnt protection.

JeffVN

I’ll be the outside opinion. I have used Kellube http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ ... spx?p=7633 for at lease seven years. I find it outstanding. I carry a Beretta 92F at work which is sensitive to proper lubrication. With the Kellube I never have a problem.

Mike

P.S. I have used the FP10 on my rifles and like it as well.

Happy Easter to all.

TW-25B and Kellube for me. I have found grease works better and stays in place on frame rails and such, and makes less of a mess for carry. Of course, good old Lubiplate grease (which is very similar to Wilson's grease) also works fine.
Am looking forward to getting some of Brian Enos grease...

A friend of mine works for the Air Force Lubrication branch of AFRL, and I talked with him at great length on this topic. For those interested, I will summarize what he said here:
1. grease is only used where you cannot contain oil. In other words, if oil has a chance of running out, getting washed out, or removed in some other way, grease should be used.
2. Grease is not typically as good a lubricant as oil. This is because of the thickeners added to up the viscosity to a nearly solid or waxy consistencey. For the same reason, multi-viscosity oils are not typically as good lubricants as single weight.
3. There are myrid of greases suitable. Typically for low pressure/low temperature (of which a pistol is, unless its shot rapidly enough to burn you), a lithium based white grease works perfectly acceptably.
4. Avoid graphite. Graphite is conductive, and can lead to corrosion, especially in aluminum guns.
5. The jury is still out somewhat on the benifit of molybdenum disulfide additives.
6. For firearms, avoid lubricants with additives to remove acids, bases, water, etc., because they arent there, and they lessen the lubrication ability of the grease/oil. Which means automotive oils, unless they are detergent free, should be avoided.
7. The capabilty of synthetic lubricants, while greater than "natural", has been greatly overstated. What the synthetic lubes typically give are better refinement and cleaner stock.

That said, I use Lubriplate bearing grease and non detergent gear oil on my pistols.

The key is too keep abrasive material out of the gun, like sand. Whatever the clearance is, abrasive material will get into the clearance, and gradually wear the surfaces. So clean it often. Powder residue is not typically abrasive, it is however corrosive, though not corrosive in the sense of corrosive primed ammunition.
Hope this helps.

FP10 and Rig Grease for me

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Make mine a Sig please.

My $.02 in the form of random thoughts (the only kind I'm capable of):

Being a pistol is a walk in the park compared to being, say, a motorcycle engine or even a lawnmower engine.

If we were to calculate the combined total surface area of a 1911, I mean each and every surface's area combined, I'm thinking it'd somehwere in the 'hood of one square foot-- just a quicky off the cuff estimate (never really gave it any thought before). Total square inches of areas that actually have metal to metal contact in a running/sliding/swinging engagement of some sort would be maybe 3% of that.

So, my solution for several years now has been to use motor oil, and not very much of it, keeping it where things are actually touching (without getting obsessive about it). I'm thinking El Cheapo motor oil would do, but just to be sure I use the same stuff I use in the bike, 50% synthetic. They told me not to use it for break-in as the stuff lubes so well the break-in would be hindered.

I think if we could backtrace the commercial gun lubes, we'd find that they are not so "specially formulated" for guns-- they are by and large coming out of the same drums as other, more ordinary-sounding lubes. That's all to the better because honestly, I think a lube that was truly "specially formulated" for guns would not be good enough for many other things.

Not saying a person should not use commercial gun lubes, I don't think there's one out there that's bad. My advice to folks is to pick one based on the applicator, that's my main criteria these days, is who's got the best, most leak-proof bottle and spout. I hate having to dispense a teaspoon where I just wanted a drop.

Amen to that!!!

Can't tell you haow many times I've found a closed, 'sealed' bottle of gun oil sideways in my gun cleaning tackle box with half the oil already leaked out...



-John

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...Knowing is often a Barrier to Learning...

FP-10 is what I use. It works well and smells better than most.

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Sean Smith
"Hey don't worry, I can handle it. I took something. I can see things no one else can see. Why are you dressed like that?" -Jack Burton, Big Trouble in Little China

Smells better than most???? For shame.
I never, I repeat, never open bottles of No.9 to sniff.

Ned's right on, as usual. However, one must remember that regular motor oil is full of detergent to suspend byproducts of combustion, which will reduce that lubrication capability. That said, it really doesnt take much to lubricate a pistol, as he said.

Also, motor oil has one pesky trait that motor oil has that is good for engines, but bad for guns is the habit it has of "washing off". This is done to wash off contamintes, and it does so quite well if its pumped to a bearing. However, if it doesnt have a pump, it runs out and will loose film thinkness. I dont know how long it would take, nor do I know how bad it will be.

As for good smells, I could sniff avation mineral hydraulic oil all day long.

If Ned would give me a couple of pistols, Id be happy to test how long it would take to wear out using motor oil compared to grease.....