Is Over Lubrication bad?

Improving and repairing firearms. Rifle bedding, barrel work, stock replacement and other ways to improve your firearms.

Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by ThePlinkster » 06 Feb 2021, 1:53 pm

Hey guys

Obviously

I know that excess oil/excess grease can damage wood
(And that that is to be avoided at all costs)
(And I do try to avoid that at all costs)

However

Can excess oil/excess grease damage rifles mechanically?

According to this interesting (pretty crazy) real life experiment/test:
https://youtu.be/p9bOT_d60LM
Excess grease/Excess oil does not seem to damage rifles mechanically at all

But what do you guys reckon?
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by rc42 » 06 Feb 2021, 2:08 pm

Too much oil will be messy when it leaks out and attract dirt and combustion products to make a 'grinding paste' on moving parts. It will also give no additional lubrication or corrosion protection so it's best not to overdo the oil.

It won't cause damage directly though, even excess oil inside the barrel will be scoured out by the first projectile going through, its accuracy will suffer for it but that's all.
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by JohnV » 06 Feb 2021, 2:15 pm

Yes to much oil can :-
1/ Pool under the action on top of bedding and affect accuracy .
2/ Leach into bedding and soften the material and delaminate it .
3/ Leach under bedding material and rot a wooden stock . The bedding can appear OK but under it is soft and no good .
4 Excess oil in the firing pin race can slow down the firing pin in very cold weather and have misfires . Gunk build up and oil can do the same .
5/ Excess oil in certain triggers can make them lighter and more dangerous .
6/ Excess oil on the outside metalwork can travel via barrel threads and insides of the action and leach down into bedding .
7/ Excess oil on the outside can make a gun too slippery and risk dropping it which could cause an AD .
8/ Oil in the chamber can allow the case to back up on the bolt face and put extra strain on the locking lugs because the case body is not gripping the chamber walls as it should . Cases can get dents also from pressure detonation of the oil .
9/ Excess oil in the bore of a high velocity round is very bad as it can cause the bullet to expand inside the bore causing a bulge in the barrel or worse .
That is why I never use oil on the outside , I use grease thinly applied with a short stiff brush and after oiling or greasing the barrel , I run a dental pad around inside the locking lug recess to soak up any excess oil that can pool there .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by pomemax » 06 Feb 2021, 3:24 pm

Go to Beretta pistol site look at most common problems
1 Lack of lubrication
2 to much lubrication
It just something you will learn in time
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by SCJ429 » 06 Feb 2021, 3:50 pm

Go easy on your grease and oil. Here is what German Salazar has to say about bolt maintenance.

https://www.accurateshooter.com/technic ... materials/
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by ThePlinkster » 06 Feb 2021, 5:13 pm

Thanks for your advices fellas...

The issue that I have personally myself is that my shotgun's action is very tight
It's very stiff
(It's a break open under & over shotgun)

And I just feel like I just have to spray quite a fair bit of G96 for its action to finally become somewhat smooth and for it to become somewhat workable
(I feel like I just have no choice because otherwise the action is just too stiff)

I was a little worried about "over lubricating" it with G96

However though

With that being said
Whilst I had a feeling that Over Lubrication wasn't ideal
I feel like G96 isn't as bad as standard oil/grease
As G96 is not a thick "gooey" substance or anything like that
So I think I might be right with the amount that I have used

- crossed fingers -
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by JohnV » 06 Feb 2021, 5:49 pm

A shotgun is different too the problems faced by a rifle .The tuning is not the same and oil will not affect it as much .
G96 is a thin lube and it penetrates more but it also runs off and dries up way quicker than grease . Use it inside the action but if you store your shotgun for long periods , nothing beats grease in the tube and on the outside . Most peoples concept of grease on a gun is a great lump of grease an inch thick . That's not what you do . Spread a very thin layer with a short bristle brush like a cut down shaving brush and you will be able to get into all the nooks and crannies and it stays put .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by Oldbloke » 06 Feb 2021, 6:39 pm

For long term storage some use wax based stuff.
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by JohnV » 07 Feb 2021, 7:07 am

Oldbloke wrote:For long term storage some use wax based stuff.

Yes it dose a similar job to grease but costs more and is harder to find but can stay on and not need wiping off a bit before use like grease does . You can buy tubs of grease easily and cheap and the wax can't be applied inside the bore as grease can . Also to save money don't buy expensive pre cut patches go to Bunnings and buy a big roll of chux toweling and tear it into strips along the length of each segment . Then wrap it around a wrap style jag . You can adjust the length and width of the strip , pitch of the wrap for different calibers and tightness of the patch .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by 9.3x64 » 07 Feb 2021, 11:32 am

I have seen over lubricating ruin the pistol grip on an old shotgun.
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by JohnV » 07 Feb 2021, 1:46 pm

9.3x64 wrote:I have seen over lubricating ruin the pistol grip on an old shotgun.

Yep I have seen oil penetration rot out a wood stock under the bedding . The bedding looked fine but when I pressed it with a screw driver the bedding collapsed a bit .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by ThePlinkster » 07 Feb 2021, 7:06 pm

I did a bit more research

And you guys were correct

As some of you have already mentioned

Over lubrication can in fact cause mechanical problems

Too much oil/grease/lubrication can cause grit, dust, carbon and powder residue to stick to it and that can gum up the insides of a gun, and that can be enough to make a gun stop shooting (Jams)

If you guys watched that video experiment that I showed youse at the start
In that video, it shows that over lubrication will not have an immediate short term negative impact on the gun mechanically
(Not right away anyway)
But in the long term
Over time
Once the grit, carbon, dust and powder residue start to build up sticking to the excess oil/grease/lubrication inside the gun
That's when it can start to become a mechanical problem
(The video experiment didn't show that, the video was a bit misleading as it didn't show the long term negative side effects of over lubrication)

Good to get to the bottom of it
:thumbsup:
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by JohnV » 08 Feb 2021, 1:52 pm

In the Military I used Moly , Graphite mix , powder as an action lube instead of oil in dusty conditions . Worked pretty good .
Now they issue something similar . I have seen Police revolvers and pistols that were so dusty and dirty that you could not see through the barrel very well for fluff and dust . Some look after them very well and others don't . Revolvers can handle a lot more crap than an auto pistol .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by 28gunna » 10 Apr 2021, 2:39 pm

Back in the day I purchased a Ruger mini 14 from a mate because he had damaged it . He fired it with oil in the barrel , around 3/4 of the way down the barrel the bullet jumped over the oil in front of it causing a distinct bulge in the rifling and outside the barrel . the best accuracy it would shoot afterwards was 4" but it was fine for the task I had for it .I always run a pull through or rod through before I fire a shot in any rifle now in case over zelous oiling leaves an amount in the barrel .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by JohnV » 11 Apr 2021, 11:11 am

28gunna wrote:Back in the day I purchased a Ruger mini 14 from a mate because he had damaged it . He fired it with oil in the barrel , around 3/4 of the way down the barrel the bullet jumped over the oil in front of it causing a distinct bulge in the rifling and outside the barrel . the best accuracy it would shoot afterwards was 4" but it was fine for the task I had for it .I always run a pull through or rod through before I fire a shot in any rifle now in case over zelous oiling leaves an amount in the barrel .

Good advice . That reminds me of a trick I used in the Army during basic training . I would leave my SLR with a Pull Through in it over night ready to be pulled out just before going on parade in the morning . That way no overnight dust was ever present . The training instructors always marveled at my pristine rifle bore ever time on parade . Won me a few extra leaves .
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by Bill » 11 Apr 2021, 11:17 am

I mix Graphite powder (bunnings sells it) with Helmars Lube. I put this paste in a small container and then I put on my bolt lugs and lightly smear it on the wear mark on the bolt.

Any lube or oil put on a firearm for storage is always removed before it gets used. :thumbsup:
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by Oldbloke » 11 Apr 2021, 4:50 pm

Bill wrote:I mix Graphite powder (bunnings sells it) with Helmars Lube. I put this paste in a small container and then I put on my bolt lugs and lightly smear it on the wear mark on the bolt.

Any lube or oil put on a firearm for storage is always removed before it gets used. :thumbsup:



What's the advantage of that mixture over Graphite grease or just mixing graphite with a light oil?

TBO I think any bearing grease would do the job. The rest is marketing.

P.S. When I was working in the trade Graphite grease was only preferred when bearings were likely to run very hot. Other wise normal bearing grease was used. Bolt lugs don't get hot! And when I say "hot" I mean a 400 to 500 F
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by Larry » 11 Apr 2021, 5:00 pm

I agree with oldbloke any good quality grease is Ok. If you want something like the graphite then I would think the Molybdenum grease would be the go. I use Silicon spray for surfaces that just run against each other lie the bolt it has the advantage that it does not attract or have dust and dirt stick to it. For the bolt lugs however you should use a grease. The Tetra gun grease works well as does any general purpose mechanical grade grease. Bearing grease is good as it is a little bit more sticky and will stay in place better.
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by Oldbloke » 11 Apr 2021, 5:03 pm

The advantages of graphite are:

If used as a dry powder does not become a grinding paste if dust gets in it.

Still works as a lube at high temps.

Otherwise oil or gease is fine.
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by Tiger650 » 11 Apr 2021, 5:16 pm

Religiously use a dry patch before firing and for storage only a whiff of Remoil or G96 or whatever on a patch.
Bolt lugs I use nickel based anti seize sparingly, read many years back that copper based [Coppercoat] is not to be used on stainless steel.
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Re: Is Over Lubrication bad?

Post by disco stu » 11 Apr 2021, 10:14 pm

Coming to shooting fairly recently, but having a lot of practical experience fixing any/everything (along with science background), I got fairly shocked at the prices being charged for firearm lubricants. Also, the explanations being given for many of them, how extreme the a firearm is etc was just way over the top I thought. A bearing supporting a car for hundreds of thousands of km is an extreme environment, in most firearms there are barely any moving parts and stuff all load when they are moving. Carbon removers etc that go for very premium prices, and I'm thinking I've got stuff to remove baked on carbon in the garage that isn't overly expensive. Corrosion protection seems to be the biggest issue for where I store and use
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