1911 slide lube

What is the best lube for the rails on these 1911s  I just been using PF-10 from Shooters Choice but with this BE powder is gums up to bad.  It worked fine on my 1911s which are not tight like my LB.  I am sure I am probably using to much but I have always gun guns wet.  Don

FP-10 is what i use for rails and i don't use a boat load, TW-25B on hammer hooks and bushing.  KC was telling me about a new oil gunfighter?

Gunfighter Oil is what I recommend.  Very light fully synthetic oil.  I have it available.

Thanks KC I will be ordering some soon.  Don

kc.crawford.7 wrote:Gunfighter Oil is what I recommend.  Very light fully synthetic oil.  I have it available.

I did not find it on your website will call you tomorrow.  Don

Does Hoppe's not work well enough? I use it on every gun I have. Mostly because it seems to work ok on a lot of guns and it's cheap and easily accessible.

Tim:H11 wrote:Does Hoppe's not work well enough? I use it on every gun I have. Mostly because it seems to work ok on a lot of guns and it's cheap and easily accessible.

Hoppe's Oil?  I have used #9 cleaner since I was a kid and it works great but unlike a lot of the cleaners now days it doesn't lube.  I have no shortage of lubes FP 10 is what I use the most but have tried this Froglube as the guys on the S&W Forum really liked it.  I was just trying to find out if someone had found something that didn't turn into tar with this dirty BE powder.  Don

I've been using SLIP 2000 EWL currently but it gets expensive as I use it for cleaning and living everything. I've heard of people using lightweight Mobil1 synthetic, any of you guys try it? Could even go with a higher end oil like Royal Purple, I suppose the argument is if it's good enough for a Ferarri engine at 7000 rpm it should be good for a slide.

Automobile requirements are quite different than gun slide requirements, but almost anything will work for slides. I've been using LPS tapmatic #1 gold cutting fluid. I think this was recommended by Jerry Keifer, but I'm not 100% sure it was he.

I was but no longer a fan of a wet 1911, yes it's oiled but not like some I see adding oil after every string of fire. I clean the gun, oil it and shoot. Often a few matches and practice before a complete cleaning. Yeah I'm a bit lazy but with so many things to do I don't have time to be fussy with cleaning my gun, as long as the function and are accurate I'm happy. Over the years I've tried many different lubes and have quite a few in my machine shop. One oil I use a lot in my shop was Lucas, they make a few lubricants for various applications. I was given a bottle of Lucas Extreme Gun Oil at Perry. Liking the Lucas brand I tried it. I like it quite a bit and use it on all my guns.

Froneck wrote:I was but no longer a fan of a wet 1911, yes it's oiled but not like some I see adding oil after every string of fire. I clean the gun, oil it and shoot. Often a few matches and practice before a complete cleaning. Yeah I'm a bit lazy but with so many things to do I don't have time to be fussy with cleaning my gun, as long as the function and are accurate I'm happy. Over the years I've tried many different lubes and have quite a few in my machine shop. One oil I use a lot in my shop was Lucas, they make a few lubricants for various applications. I was given a bottle of Lucas Extreme Gun Oil at Perry. Liking the Lucas brand I tried it. I like it quite a bit and use it on all my guns.

I'm an AMS OIL fan myself, they make a gun oil.

Another nice oil is MFR-7.  Originally designed by Bob Marvel, a key feature is that the liquid evaporates, leaving a slick film that does not attract stuff.  It is very thin too, so gets into parts nicely.  I use it during assembly of parts and stuff at the bench.

Gunfighters oil on the slide.

I switched to TW-25b from moly lubes, as recommended by KC.  It is great stuff.  KC also explained to me that some moly lubes contain graphite, which is why some of my mirror polished surfaces, such as the back of my trigger frame/disco paddle turned into matte finishes.

Bye bye Neco moly-slide, hello TW-25b!

Now the real question is when people like AMS and Lucas make a "gun oil" is it really anything special or are they just putting an $8/quart oil into a 5 ounce bottle, charging $15 for it and calling it gun oil.

I remember when 3 N 1 oil was good enough.  Don

zanemoseley wrote:Now the real question is when people like AMS and Lucas make a "gun oil" is it really anything special or are they just putting an $8/quart oil into a 5 ounce bottle, charging $15 for it and calling it gun oil.

that basic question applies for most any specific use oil... 

In a past life I worked on the development of several racing oils from an engine builders perspective.  very interesting piece of racing... I built everything from small engine(Kart) racing engines to late model stuff in my younger years..  one of the most challenging was the Legend racing engine.. a 12,00 RPM  air cooled Yamaha bike engine

oils are typically two parts.. a base stock oil( or two) and an additive package designed(hopefully) to meet the demands of it's specific use.. auto engines demand certain properties that guns simply don't..   don't think well rotate anything in a 1911 at 12,000 RPM. Most auto oils are overkill for a gun from a lubrication perspective.. the one thing we need over a car oil is corrosion protection so that piece of an additive package is increased if the gun oil maker is doing his part. will Mobil 1 work as a gun oil ...you bet and the 0-20 weight versions are really good as they come from a PAO(group IV) base stock... a true synthetic.  different base stocks have different properties so most car oils are blends to help in certain areas such as rubber seals..

LPS tapmatic is a great addition to an oil needing to be a bit sticky and stay in place..  Bob Marvels oil( Now MFR-7 ) is the old military machine gun oil and is excellent though it is not a synthetic oil.. Hoppe's is a quality cleaner that can be added to help break up carbon as you shoot. I use a lot of the Marvel stuff as well as some oils I re-purpose from my racing days..( a  less than zero weight oil I used in the legend engines coupled with some additives).

honestly most special purpose oils are mainly marketing.. good grief some folks use cooking oils for a base stock.( yeah it works up to a point). a very popular Kart racing oil was nothing more than a refrigerator oil (PAG)with no additive package at oil..

Slide oil.. I prefer a light weight grease such as TW-25b or SFL-0 but will add oil at a match if I feel the need. if you are like me I clean my pistols after every match so new oil doesn't get used very long...dirt and grim contribute to wear more anything as long as the oil you use stays in place IMHO...

I love oil threads..   everyone has their favorite

I've been using Marvels Mystery Oil with a little bit of some slippery snot stuff called Velocity mixed in for many years. Yes, I keep it wet. My main wad gun, a 2001 Rock River, has at least 40k thru it and is still tight. Here in Iowa it can be 100 in a summer shoot and winter can be bitter cold. The gun always works with this blend.

Keeping my slide wet with Hoppes #9 oil and cleaning the rails after each range session works great for me.

FP-10. I was using a good grease that I used to use with bolt action rifles. Then I got some FP-10 based on a response in another forum and well... night and day difference. Plus it doesn't stink like some of the others, so I can use it in the apartment without complaints.

I bought a needle point oil dispenser and filled it with FP-10 and just a couple drops through the ejection port right on the rails really sped up the slide.  I will leave it in my gun box and give my gun s shot after the SF.  Don

Magload wrote:

Tim:H11 wrote:Does Hoppe's not work well enough? I use it on every gun I have. Mostly because it seems to work ok on a lot of guns and it's cheap and easily accessible.

Hoppe's Oil?  I have used #9 cleaner since I was a kid and it works great but unlike a lot of the cleaners now days it doesn't lube.  I have no shortage of lubes FP 10 is what I use the most but have tried this Froglube as the guys on the S&W Forum really liked it.  I was just trying to find out if someone had found something that didn't turn into tar with this dirty BE powder.  Don

Just FYI, I've read lots of warnings from gunsmiths who swear Frog Lube is the bane of guns. Its basically coconut oil and gums up and seizes firing pins and turns into some nasty stuff. I'd chuck it if I were you.

daflorc wrote:

Just FYI, I've read lots of warnings from gunsmiths who swear Frog Lube is the bane of guns. Its basically coconut oil and gums up and seizes firing pins and turns into some nasty stuff. I'd chuck it if I were you.

I chucked mine.  I had put it in a clear bottle on my bench and the stuff literally separated within a couple weeks into a gummy lower half and a clear upper half.  It got good results for anti-corosion in a test, but any oil that is so unstable has no chance of retaining its lubricity IMO.  I also hated the wintergreen oil smell.

daflorc wrote:

Magload wrote:

Tim:H11 wrote:Does Hoppe's not work well enough? I use it on every gun I have. Mostly because it seems to work ok on a lot of guns and it's cheap and easily accessible.

Hoppe's Oil?  I have used #9 cleaner since I was a kid and it works great but unlike a lot of the cleaners now days it doesn't lube.  I have no shortage of lubes FP 10 is what I use the most but have tried this Froglube as the guys on the S&W Forum really liked it.  I was just trying to find out if someone had found something that didn't turn into tar with this dirty BE powder.  Don

Just FYI, I've read lots of warnings from gunsmiths who swear Frog Lube is the bane of guns. Its basically coconut oil and gums up and seizes firing pins and turns into some nasty stuff. I'd chuck it if I were you.

I have tried to use it, notice I said tried as the stuff is dificult to get out of the bottle and on to the spot you want it.  Very easy to end up squirting a big glob and getting it all over the place.  I leave the bottle on my bench only because it is kind of neat looking right beside my bottle of MIL L-46000B Weapons Oil Medium they handed me along with my M16.   Don

I tend to think oil is a great lubricant and I like synthetic based oils most for lots of reasons. Think about this, why oil is used in automotive engines and they produce tons of pressure on the bearings ( crank,connecting rods, camshaft, etc.). Wouldn't work long if it didn't circulate and replenish those surfaces constantly and we didn't provide filtration to remove worn metal and dirt. 
  For firearms we can't have an oil pump or dipper cups to give constant lubrication, let alone filtration. We need something that provides that film or we'll get metal to metal wear no matter how shiny and smooth we make the contact surfaces. So unless you can provide that film to microscopically separate those surfaces you'll get some wear and get resistance. 
 Rub your trigger finger pad against your thumbs pad. Vary the pressure, feel the different resistance. Now use a lubricant like a drop of water, it's smoother until you keep doing it, then it drys up and you get resistance, this is  the wiping and evaporation of the lube we used here. We might need something thicker that stays in place better and provides that lube film.
 So we clean our guns surfaces (filtration) and relube (oil pump, dipper cups) to keep a fresh film on the needed rubbing surfaces. Sure thing, sloppy wet gives the best film and protection, remember on the automotive engine, light films gives less and still attracts dirt. Sometimes you need a thickened oil. Grease can supply that need, but you still need to clean (filter) sometime.
  I've read a pretty decent article by Grant Cunningham who can explain gun lubes, and additives better than I ever will. Try this website http://lubrikit.com/lube101.php
  This my idea on gun lubrication, yours may differ. To me guns are precision instruments and aren't meant to be used dirty and unlubed.
  Stan