What the best oil for ar-15 style rifles?

gunguy · Post by **gunguy** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:33 am

I have been using the reminton spray oil on my ar's and tried a hoppes 9 oil and it seemed to make my rifle run lotts better.Anybody have anything they reccomend?

pacrimguru · Post by **pacrimguru** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 10:25 am

everyone has a different opinion but i've been using breakfree clp and haven't had any problems even with hard use through thousands of rounds. the air temperature at one carbine class even got up to 114 degrees with us running our guns hard and clp ran fine.

cyclone72 · Post by **cyclone72** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:01 am

Pam works wonders.

JK. CLP works good. I just got a flier for TW25B Mil-comm stuff and I may get some of that. CLP works good though.

Tacman · Post by **Tacman** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 11:44 am

I like Militec. It is synthetic and bonds at the molecular level with heat once you run the rifle. It gets slicker with subsequent uses and I have found allows for easier clean-up. I have tried other oils (CLP, TW25B, Slip 2000, and homemade blends) and keep coming back to Militec.

From their website under the firearms tab: www.militec-1.com:

CHARACTERISTICS: MILITEC-1 Synthetic Metal Conditioner has the unique ability to create a complex, molecular compound within the surface of heated gunmetal. This causes MILITEC-1 to become part of the metal, not merely a temporary coating or a boundary film. There are two main characteristics of this safe new compound. First, it seals and conditions the metal by stiffening (not hardening) the metal surface. Second, it makes the gunmetal self-lubricating under all environmental conditions.

SELF-LUBRICATION: After a complete application, a MILITEC-1 conditioned firearm is self-lubricating. Self-lubrication gives the firearm's gunmetal the dry lubricity that is required for sustained fire under all environmental conditions. If exposure to dust, sand, or extreme cold is a concern, all excess MILITEC-1 must be wiped away, leaving the firearm's surface metal clean, dry, and constantly lubricated. Please note: Complete corrosion protection and self-lubrication is attained only after both Step One and Step Two (below) are completed.

PREPARATION: To take full advantage of MILITEC-1's unique properties, start with a clean firearm. Although MILITEC-1 contains a mild detergent that will help with subsequent cleaning, there are no solvents or other hazardous materials in MILITEC-1, so it cannot remove old caked-on fouling and build-up from other lubes. Thus, if a firearm is dirty, you must clean it with a solvent before you proceed. Normal fieldstrip cleaning should be perfectly adequate. If possible, remove the handgrips, clean and prepare.

INITIAL TREATMENT: Applying MILITEC-1 to a firearm for the first time is a two-step process: (1) Application and (2) Firing.

STEP ONE: APPLICATION. Now that the firearm is clean and dry, apply a light film of MILITEC-1 to all surfaces, including the bore. Burnish/polish MILITEC-1 into exterior surfaces by rubbing rapidly using a cloth lightly dampened with MILITEC-1. Sparingly apply drops into the action, concentrating on springs, moving parts and metal-to-metal contact areas. If your firearm has a magazine, be sure to apply MILITEC-1 both inside and out. Leave a very light film of MILITEC-1 on all surfaces during reassembly. Now proceed to Step Two.

STEP TWO: FIRING. Once you fire your weapon enough times to reach operating temperatures, the heat and friction will activate MILITEC-1, strengthening the bonding process that was started in Step One. While firing, MILITEC-1 creates a self-lubricating, water-repelling, dry compound within the gunmetal.

Fireman1291 · Post by **Fireman1291** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 3:53 pm

For the actions....I use the miltec grease Tw25 or whatever on my suppressed AR's. And gunbutter on all my pistols. As for rust/ext protection I coat the exterior of the firearm in Remoil and rub in with an old black sock and store in the safe.

No problems yet. All weapons operate 100%.

Selectedmarksman · Post by **Selectedmarksman** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 5:37 pm

I use Militec-1. It turns into a 'dry' lube so it's not messy but I've yet to have a malfunction from not running my rifle 'wet'. Then again, I haven't dumped hundreds of rounds down it at once yet. It's my lube of choice for all my firearms, actually.

stymie · Post by **stymie** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:03 pm

EEZOX

Post by **silencertalk** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 7:37 pm

Mobil-1.

1/2 kidding. I really don't know. I use CLP because no one has proven to me that anything is better and I hate being a sucker.

kwin201 · Post by **kwin201** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 8:07 pm

Selectedmarksman wrote:I use Militec-1. It turns into a 'dry' lube so it's not messy but I've yet to have a malfunction from not running my rifle 'wet'. Then again, I haven't dumped hundreds of rounds down it at once yet. It's my lube of choice for all my firearms, actually.

hm i think i might try some of this, im prolly using to much oil but mine is always leaking out between the upper and lower lol

gunn24 · Post by **gunn24** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 9:32 pm

Best stuff I ever used was called Hilco.

http://www.soap.com/militarywipes.html

eazenutz33 · Post by **eazenutz33** » Wed Dec 02, 2009 10:02 pm

rsilvers wrote:Mobil-1.

1/2 kidding. I really don't know. I use CLP because no one has proven to me that anything is better and I hate being a sucker.

ditto.....and its relatively cheap! I keep 2-3 spare cans of it on hand and use it for everything.

rob_s · Post by **rob_s** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 5:15 am

Militec-1.... there is a lot of behind the scenes silliness with those guys, and some very ingenious marketing strategies, to say the least.

I use Slip2000 EWL for lube, 725 for cleaning, and their degreaser for soaking my bolt. I like their products because they are non-toxic and they work. Cleaning takes me 10 minutes on the rare occasion that I bother to clean the gun at all.

My personal opinion is that CLP neither cleans, lubes, or protects the way it should. In trying to do all of them at once it does none of them well. It works for most people because most people really don't push their guns, and therefore their lube. They get ready to go to the range by lubing the gun(s), they fire maybe 100-200 rounds through the gun, and then they go home and clean it meticulously before putting it back in the safe. There's nothing wrong with that, and CLP will work just fine for it.

What I like about EWL is that I clean the gun, I lube all the right places, and I don't mess with it again for at least 1000 rounds. I take it out of the safe, throw it in the range bag, go shoot a few hundred rounds, and stick it back in the safe when I get home. I rarely ever pay attention to how much lube is on the gun because it just runs.

EWL and the Slip products work very well for me, and when shooters at my matches and drills have lube issues they get corrected with EWL.

Mongo · Post by **Mongo** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 6:04 am

I use Slip 2000 probably because I have a big bottle of it and so it just gets used. I also use the grease that was issued with the M1 Garand and M14 on the sear/disconnector engagement surfaces of the trigger group. Since these surfaces are fairly high pressure and impact areas I prefer the grease since it is better suited for this type of lubrication in those loading regimes.

When the weather is colder I tend to use a lighter lube since I have noticed some of my guns will get sluggish when lubed with the Slip 2000. Granted after a few magazines the gun is then warm enough but the initial magazines/belts can be an issue.

MCASSgt New River · Post by **MCASSgt New River** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 12:42 pm

Well, 5W30 is usually good....wait, for the AR ok...

Seriously, I'm a USMC Rifle Range Coach and ALL we use is CLP. I have seen 1000's of rounds fired over the years and CLP is good to go.

Selectedmarksman · Post by **Selectedmarksman** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 8:15 pm

I guess this is a good place to point out that using good parts comes first.

I used to use CLP in my first AR that jammed regularly. It was a Ban-era Bushmaster XM-15. I tinkered with it, made it a .45acp, then sold it. My current AR is a custom CMMG upper on a RRA lower (bought a complete RRA rifle and parted it out before I knew anything about RRA). I'm convinced the CMMG upper would run a long time bone dry.

So in short, good lube is nice, but it could be crappy components causing the problems, not the lube.

gunguy · Post by **gunguy** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:11 pm

My rockriver NEVER jams i was just tring to get an idea for a better oil than what i'm using now.Thanks for all the replies.

apochachuva · Post by **apochachuva** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 9:21 pm

rsilvers wrote:Mobil-1.

1/2 kidding. I really don't know. I use CLP because no one has proven to me that anything is better and I hate being a sucker.

mobil-1 synthetic 20w30 or 10w30 if you believe this guy

smcharchan · Post by **smcharchan** » Thu Dec 03, 2009 11:03 pm

NSWC Crane, IN conducted an extensive test of lubricants a while back. It was titled Dust Environment Lubricant Test by Joe Lynn.

It can be read here: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD ... tTRDoc.pdf

They determined that there are some lubricants that perform as well as Break-Free CLP, none performed better in adverse environments.

JohnnyC · Post by **JohnnyC** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 12:35 am

smcharchan wrote:NSWC Crane, IN conducted an extensive test of lubricants a while back. It was titled Dust Environment Lubricant Test by Joe Lynn.

It can be read here: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD ... tTRDoc.pdf

They determined that there are some lubricants that perform as well as Break-Free CLP, none performed better in adverse environments.

Is there a study that shows tests run in normal conditions, or conditions other than dusty environments? I feel like maybe you get to a point where nothing will work (i.e. while there may be a hard ceiling that no lube is better than equal to CLP, maybe others work better during normal conditions.)

I would be personally interested because, while most of my shooting is done in dusty 'ole AZ, there are times where I'm not necessarily shooting in dusty conditions. A lube that performs better in other conditions would be beneficial, since it also performs as well as CLP in dusty conditions.

rob_s · Post by **rob_s** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 5:04 am

smcharchan wrote:NSWC Crane, IN conducted an extensive test of lubricants a while back. It was titled Dust Environment Lubricant Test by Joe Lynn.

It can be read here: http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD ... tTRDoc.pdf

They determined that there are some lubricants that perform as well as Break-Free CLP, none performed better in adverse environments.

First, thanks for the link. Looks very informative. I'm on a netbook so it's tough for me to review right now. I have a couple of questions that may be answered when I read it cover-to-cover.

First, I see they have a lot of "brand D" and "brand J" and so on, but is there a key to determine what the commercial names are of all these brands?

Second, was this test a matter of "apply the lube, shoot the gun", or was it "apply the lube, let the gun sit for a week, shoot the gun". I suspect I know the answer and I'm sure the document explains it, I just thought I'd ask first. if the former (which is what I assume it is) I think that's the same application that MCASgt New River's experience is with.

In my own experience as a non-professional user, what I like about the EWL is that I can lube the gun once when I clean it and then it can sit in the safe for months if need be and when I do drag the gun out it will run upwards of 1k rounds without lube-related issues. I could not do that with CLP, militec, TW25, Kleen Bore products, various other commercial gun oils, or the original Slip2000, (based on my own experience with malfunctions with all of those products) only with the EWL. Which is why I use that today and recommend it for others with similar needs.

jreinke · Post by **jreinke** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 6:51 am

When I was in the Army, I used an oil called PL-S. PL-S was light weapons oil. I first read about it in the -10 manual for the M1911A1. The old mil spec used to be VV-L-800, but has since be replaced by MIL-PRF-32033. Good stuff.

Raptor0683 · Post by **Raptor0683** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 9:54 am

+1 for CLP

st33ve0 · Post by **st33ve0** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:03 pm

CLP, just spray it in there when it stops.

Hatchetjoe · Post by **Hatchetjoe** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 3:58 pm

I use a product called Prolix, nobody has ever heard of it but it works great.

tigerdvr · Post by **tigerdvr** » Fri Dec 04, 2009 4:45 pm

Just for kicks, my training partner and I started using Mobil 1 on our demo rifles about three months ago. We have been running them hard (semi) and haven't cleaned them. We just wanted to see how long it would take to start having problems. They look pretty ugle inside and we don't put our lives on the line with these rifles but, so far, no problems at all.
I need a sticker that says "Change the oil at 3,000 rounds or 6 months, which ever comes first

There are alot of quality lubs out there and just as many opinions as to which is best.

What the best oil for ar-15 style rifles?

What the best oil for ar-15 style rifles?

AR oil