3-n-1 Oil for guns

What CLP is?

I've come to love grease over oil.

A cleaned greased AK is actually fun to shoot

Actual 3-n-1 oil is fine, it's a spindle oil that won't turn gummy or varnish. I use regular BreakFree CLP for pretty much everything except some of the spots on my Garand and M1A where you have large surface areas sliding over each other and grease was the original spec. Thing to remember about CLP is that it is a product formulated for the military: simplified logistics and long term weapon storage. It won't clean as well as a dedicated solvent, it won't lubricate as well as a dedicated lubricant, and it doesn't have quite the long-term corrosion protection that a dedicated corrosion inhibitor does. CLP works better with time, get the worst of the crud off, leave it a little wet with CLP, then come back to it a few days or weeks later. CLP will keep disolving and lifting carbon the longer you give it.

Mobil 1 wheel bearing grease in the 1lb can. Bought it 8 years ago and probably still have over 90% of it left. Little goes a long way, just dab it on with a cut down acid brush I keep in the can.

Really, any modern grease is fine. When the Garand and M1 were issued, grease was the main lubricant and the only specification it had to meet involved resistance to washout by water. Nothing about wear, lubricity, heat resistance, etc. so any modern grease would easily exceed any requirements these rifles need. I've seen some competitive shooters use a home brew of red lithium grease and synthetic engine oil, mixed to a consistency like thick honey. They swear by it and supposedly it's easy to clean off and takes the fouling with it. I've never tried it and my Garand and M1A are a bit too costly right now for me to shoot that much...

Word of advice for people

Yamalube has a high moly grease with a great applicator.

Cheap too.

quote:

---

great applicator.

---

What’s the great applicator? All I see is tubes and tubs of it.

quote:

---

How solid are you regarding shooting corrosive ammo, from semiauto pistols?

---

I used to have an 8mm Yugo Mauser, shot plenty of corrosive mil-surp ammo through it, always hosed it down with Balistol after the last shot. With corrosive ammo, it's the residue salts that react with humidity to form acidic compounds that cause corrosion. Balistol is somewhat alkaline and will neutralize those acidic compounds. I wouldn't use soapy water in anything I absolutely knew I couldn't be assured of drying 100% and getting oil to. Balistol is cheap enough, hose down that firing pin channel before you leave the range and you will be fine.

quote:

---

WD40 will run all the water out. WD stands for Water Displacer. It works.

---

quote:

---

use HOT water and ammonia @ 2/3 to 1/3 ratio. ammonia neutralizes the salts and is cheap.

---

quote:

---

I wouldn't use soapy water in anything I absolutely knew I couldn't be assured of drying 100% and getting oil to. Balistol is cheap enough, hose down that firing pin channel before you leave the range and you will be fine.

---

So that we're all on the same page here;

I'm talking about pistols, not rifles. And not 1911's, which are fairly easy to get apart.
For one, I'd have to push 1-2 pins out with a punch, haven't done it yet, theoretically not that big a deal.
For the other, would have to drift the rear sight out, something I really don't want to do.

Now, I've always been of the understanding that you don't lube/gunk up the firing pin, for risk of accumulating gunk.
Specifically addressing WD-40, I've heard that can/will basically polymerize, gumming things up.

Auggie= you mentioned WD 40 to displace water.
Mack= hot water (ammonia)
Clames= you say shoot the ballistol down the channel

I've heard all used for rifles and black powder. I've heard the big factor for corrosive salts is water, and that boiling evaporates fast and dries quicker.


Questions;

technique #1. Ballistol-water mix, I think it says 1:7 for corrosive. I think the theory is that there's enough ballistol emulsified, that when the water evaporates, there's a layer of Ballistol in place to prevent rust. Would this be safe to dunk a complete slide in? Or to otherwise scrub everything, including the breach face?

Technique #2. Hot water bath (with soap or ammonia), then boiling hot rinse (teapot poured over). Surface water will evaporate fast, I've seen that on other parts, and can then wipe down with oil. Concern being the pin and channel; would you then shoot WD 40 down the channel to flush all the water out?
If so, do you then do something to flush the WD 40 out (brake cleaner)?

Apologies if this sounds OCD, I just want to make sure I do this right. I don't want to find a firing pin rusted up, if there's something I could have done different.

I just shake and wipe as much wd40 out as possible, then apply oil. In real tight places you can use the canned air, like they use for cleaning electronics, that's dry air. I should say, the only gun I clean that way, is my AR-15, and I take the bolt apart when I clean it. It works for me, but you might choose another way.