Gunsmiths--what is the best gun oil?

Just curious if gunsmiths recommend a particular oil for best lubrication and protection of guns. I've used 3 in 1, whatever Walmart has, army surplus, etc. I have a little Browning gun oil left in an old can, but I never see that for sale.

Maybe a better question is what not to use.

Hoppe's oil for me, but i'm no gunsmith.

I bought a spray can of Kroil to free up my reloading press and it did wonders on an old pump shotgun. Like the smell too.

I'm not a gunsmith.

I've read several horror stories on gun/shooting forums about using WD40 on gun actions... It seems that it breaks down and leaves a gummy varnish that slows/stops actions. Seems it's ok for the bore corrosion wise, but a no-no for moving parts. Again... That is only second-hand knowledge. So take it for what it's worth.

I use CLP on all my guns. A light film is all I use and I reapply from time to time if guns have sat in storage. I even use it on my muzzleloaders, but I wipe the bore with a patch soaked in alcohol before I shoot.

Mike

I'm curious to hear the answer too. I've been using RemOil forever. I'm not saying it's the best or anywhere near it. It works for me though. If folks with knowledge on the subject recommend something better, I'll gladly give it a try.

Inspired by "Ed's red" I use a 50/50 mix of transmission fluid and kerosene. More specifically Dextron and the clear deodorized kero. These are the lubricating/preserving ingredients use in Ed's red. If you want something more aggressive to clean bores look up the recipe adding two more ingredients.

Not a gunsmith but have had good luck with Singer Sewing machine oil.

Same here. Was recommended to me by a gunsmith. Doesn’t gum up in cold weather.

It's been a few years since I was making/repairing rifles and there may be some more new ones out I haven't tried, but I think Rem Oil is good, been using it. Break Free CLP (I think it was) was OK too. What I seen with 3 in 1 or other sewing machine oils is over the years they turn to a hard to remove varnish and cause a lot of cussing, hate that stuff. Basically even with good oil very little does good, too much helps things go bad. WD is good for a cleaning wipe kind of thing more than a lube, in my experience.

Ballistol. Its not just a gun oil for sure. Disinfects cuts and helps healing wounds , calm insect bites and stings. I have a bottle in the medicine cabinet, one in the truck, one in the trailer a few on the boats, range bag hunting rucksack. We have been using the stuff in our family as long as I can remember.

Hoppes just smells like huntin season.

.

That’s what they taught us in Gunsmith School Mike!

Triflow or CLP or Ballistol

yessir it will cut the plastic and lead but don't get it on the wood!!!!!!! very good recipe

Hoppes #9 and ed's red are really cleaning solvents. they will prevent corrosion for short term as will a lot of oils. For longer term storage/peservation, something that doesn't evaporate, is indicated. I use RIG gun grease for that. Also pivot pins in break open shotguns should always have an application of grease NOT oil.
Don't forget that penetrating oils (WD40) can travel around crimps or primer pockets to contaminate powder in guns that are kept loaded. My 2 cents.

100% RemOil for me for the last 20+ years, I like it.

Kroil was mentioned above and it's a great penetrating oil, use it by the case at work and it's great for its intended purpose.

Never tried Kroil on my guns, but could see it working well on a fouled stubborn bore clean out...The strong odor it puts out might spook game if you wiped a gun down with it, but that might be just some paranoia on my part.

Rem Oil has Teflon, a rust inhibitor, and is in a carrier that will evaporate off after being applied. Leaves a dry, lubricated surface with rust inhibitor. Remington recommends it in the owners manuals. It's a DuPont product. WD-40 is BAD for moving parts. Gums up just like mentioned above. For outside application in bad weather or when storing RIG grease is good. Just soak a small cotton rag and wipe to cover any exposed surface.

I’m not a smith but have used a bunch of different gun lubes over the years. My two favorites were Rem-oil and/or CLP until I tried ALG Defense go-juice.

https://algdefense.com/alg-go-juice-lubricant-4-oz.html

The also make a 0000 very thin grease that is good as well

I first picked up samples at an outdoor show three or four years ago at the Geissele Automatics booth. In chatting with Bill Geissele a lot of R&D went into both of them.

http://www.accuratereloading.com/rustest.html

This is interesting

I'll start by saying I'm not a gunsmith, just an auto mechanic. I say synthetic motor oil for anything tightly fit (most of our guns don't fit this category, think $2000 1911 for tightly fit. Ar15 gas rings are tightly fit though.). Everything else gets grease, either white lithium if it's something you'd spray, or wheel bearing grease if it's something you'd wipe.

As a former Glock armorer for a police department we used Militech and I still use it to this day. The Combat Arms folks also used it at the Air Force base that I was assigned to.

G96 for me.

Had some military oil after VietNam that would seperate and required shaking. Seems odd?

I like Break free CLP you can get it at any sporting good store.

I use hoppes oil for internal parts and love remoil in the aresol can for exterior of barrel and action. Most oils made specifically for guns seem to do good.

For lubricant, I use Breakfree CLP also!

a gunsmith I know been in his shop a number of times.
he told me the best protection for firearms is G96.
that's what I use now smells nice to.

Thanks to all for the responses. I've never heard of several of the products mentioned, but I'm going to try some of them. Probably any of them are better than what I've used in the past.
Interesting info on the rust test. I'm wondering how those oils tested would rate on lubrication. Any gun oil has a tough job : rust protection, lubrication,durability,and ensure flawless function at least. The go juice is non toxic as well, which seems an odd but welcome plus.

The old standard WD 40 has been touched on by myself and a few others. Not really good for lubricating actions...

But WD has branched out and made several new products.

The WD 40 Specialist Long Term Corrosion Inhibitor has received a lot of good reviews for protecting guns from corrosion during storage.

It has also been a top performer in some of those extreme torture tests where several blanks of steel are treated with different products... The blank treated with WD40 LTCI was one of the last to rust. The down side is that it's pretty expensive and not widely available.

IIRC Hornady One Shot was one of the top performers for corrosion protection... And IIRC it was the top performer in a couple of those extreme tests.

If I can find the links to some of those tests, I'll post them.

Mike

This is a long read. But this guy went above and beyond in his research. It's a good read...

http://www.dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667

Mike

No gunsmith here either. I used Hoppe's for years with no problems then tried Ballistol after seeing it at a gun show. I like it a lot better. I cleaned a gun with it that I had already cleaned with Hoppe's and had black patches. It seems like a really good lube and protectant also. The smell takes some getting used to but doesn't really bother me. A little goes a long way and I bought enough to last a few years probably so it'll be awhile before I try something else. My neighbor swears by Slip 2000. Can't vouch for it myself but he won't buy anything else.

A Delta Force assaulter turn me on the Balistal and have been using it every since. I use it on fishing reels and just about everything. For AR'S and 1911's it works really well.

Kroil, I get it from Brownells gunsmith supply. Use it on exterior and bores after cleaning. Also use it as a lubricant when cutting threads or tapping. Is pleasant smelling too.
CLP or Butches gun oil is my second choice.

WOW! If you have guns it’s a must see. Thanks for posting

Yes, thanks for posting that link Mike. Very informative.

-TJ

No problem guys. I figure some of us drop some serious money on guns... Or plan to anyway. Might as well protect that investment.

I've heard Frog Lube get some pretty high ratings. But I understand it can gum up in cold weather... You fellas up North might keep that in mind.

Mike

Mike, thanks for the link. That is more than enough information to evaluate the important features of a wide assortment of gun oils. I like that it also includes the odor.
A good gun oil that has NO odor sounds really good to me.

Lucas Oil makes odorless gun oil. Just about finished a bottle. I do not know if better/worse than any other.

For rustproofing I like RIG. Stands for rust inhibiting grease.

Thanks Mike.

I found it very interesting I had decided not to buy more Breakfree CLP at 20 dollars for 16oz because I really didn't think it was working much better than the ATF at 3 dollars for 32 oz.
I had picked up a dozen little 1 oz bottles and was repackaging so that I could have a bottle every where I needed it.

interesting to see they really did come out about the same place the clp was slightly better in lube but they came out the same place in corrosion.


It looks like I will be getting some Hornady oneshot lube very good in corrosion and very good in lube.


putting this all into perspective however I had a guy tell me he shot 300 rounds a week for several years and used nothing but wd-40 he cleaned every Sunday , I would argue that he was cleaning and re-lubing so often with not enough time in-between he would never see the issues with WD-40.

likewise CLP was the thing for the army for a long time , it is polymer safe is a good reason to use it I bought it for my poly guns if you cleaned at reasonable intervals say every 2K rounds, 6 months or after your gun got wet or dirty from sand , mud ,dirt , dust you would also not notice any issue I went 2K rounds after a CLP cleaning and lube right after purchase in a glock 17 then wiped down the barrel and slide and lubed the barrel at the front of the slide , at the lockup and at each of the points the slide contacted the recoil lug , and sear block and ran another 1K rounds with no issue.(not one issue in 3K rounds stopped counting after that but still no issues)

that doesn't make me not want the added corrosion resistance and lube of the better product especially if the price is in line with what I was already buying.

I use white lithium grease and frog oil.

The very best I've ever found is Whale Oil, but, good luck finding any! Used to be on the shelf between the canned Bald Eagle, and the Spotted Owl jerky.

Bob every once in a while I come across someone on a forum who has a little bit of whale oil left from back in the day.

Mike

Sure wish I had some left.