Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Handguns "best" 1911 break-in/everyday lube??

I got my first 1911 awhile back and am needing to break it in. I'm wanting to get a quality lube for the break in process, although my 1911 is probably not quality. It's a Turkish made TISAS, but anyway. Any recommendations on a break in lube and an everyday lube after the break in period?

Wilson's slide lube has worked for me a long time...

I found a bottle of what Glock claims to use on their pistols. It is copper anti-seize compound. I thought about trying that, I suppose anything would do the trick. I've heard of guys using Mobil 1 synthetic motor oil. Not sure what the results were though.

Lubrication needs of a handgun are not high tech at all. ANY motor oil (no, it doesn't have to be synthetic) is a good 5x higher tech than the needs of a handgun. The way handguns are designed, the moving parts along with the lubricating oil will move any dirt and debris out of the action. From the moment you apply lubricant to your gun, it will begin slowly moving out of the gun. So by the time you ever got to the high tech part of that expensive gun specific lubricant, it's out of the gun and either on your hands or on the floor.

Don't use grease, that traps things in and pistols are not designed around the use of grease. Put small drops of a decent oil onto the moving parts, cycle by hand a few times, and go shooting. Add oil when things are beginning to look awfully dry.

If it makes you feel better, then spend $5.00 an ounce for gun specific oil, but I'm here to tell you; it's a waste of money.

Oh, fess up. We all know you use that $30 per ounce stuff. ;-)

Thank you GunGeek, and it makes sense especially for my 1911. You know there was no copper flaked magical gun lube in 1911. Any apparently they did alright back then without it.

I did when it was free.

Really about the only time you need anything really high tech (motor oil is pretty damned high tech though) is in extreme cold temps. Since few of us live in the arctic circle, that's generally not an issue.

I'll second the comments. I might use Mobil One just to minimize wear, but IME, if the gun runs with one lube, it will run with any lube.

I use Wilson's Universal lube on my Wilson/Colt Gold Cup which will probably work for you. Check out their other lubes to see. I have a new Wilson coming and they recommend for my area their lite lube but Wilson's a tight 1911. I would imagine your Turkish model ought to be lose as a goose but I could be wrong.

"You know there was no copper flaked magical gun lube in 1911."

I think you are right about that, But I carried a 1911 almost daily in the military and was assigned 3 different 1911's, besides the ones I was allowed to try for use of the two pistol teams I was on... and I can tell you that significant wear was an issue. Or what I assumed was significant wear, perhaps it was grit from combat usage, manufacturing control, the use of less than optimum steel or the quality of the lube (or any combination of all?); I do not know, but if it was from significant wear my assumption is that the lube was not cutting it?

Jerry

I own two RIA's and they recommend Breakfree CLP.

Ok, this begs the question. Do you prefer a specific viscosity? Single weight?

For break in, I often run the guns dry and metal to metal, and with my RIA 10mm I actually kicked it around in some fine red mountain dirt and shot it that way for a few magazines worth. After a thourough cleaning I use a mixture of Mobil 1 (20/50 if anyone cares) with a little bit of Synthetic Transmission fluid but that is more work than one really needs to go through.

I use the same brew on my SU-16 and CETME (Spanish contract HK-91)
but those are guns that would run good with minimal to no lube if needed.

I learned of the cheap and easy lube ideas here from Gun Geek aka Kevin Gibson and others here, in a similar thread.

Breakfree CLP does everything I need in a pistol lube.

I love lube threads as they have so much potential to become epic in their silliness.

I can't wait for some gun forum Patriarch to promote camel [bleep] as the perfect gun lube; which will no doubt spur mindless debate about how lizard [bleep] works so much better in AR's and monkey [bleep] is the bomb in tightly fitted 1911's.

I'm betting the farm that polar bear [bleep] will work best in cold climates.

;^)

Love it!!!

You can keep the [bleep] no matter how well it works. I will stick with common motor oil. Has never seemed to fail me.

I've never used anything heavier than 30 weight. I have some 10 & 20 weight around the shop, but those are generally for machine oils, I've never tried them. But they do seem a bit thick and gooey to be put on my handgun. I'd say the lighter, the better; that's probably why most use synthetics. While I always say you don't need synthetics, that's generally what I use most often because that's what I have around. I tend to use synthetics in my cars and motorcycles. I used a can of straight 30wt for the better part of a year and never had any complaints; worked just fine. But also consider, I don't slather my gun in oil; just one drop wherever needed.

Has anyone used Frog Lube?

Does squeezing the frog tight enough to get the lube out kill the frog? Are we talkin run of the mill pond frogs or some rare and nearly extinct South American Amazon Tree Frog here?

that is a bit odd. What do you think makes you picture animal semen in this context?

Well I have some Mobil 1 sitting around and probably a can of Royal Purple, so will give this a try. Just ordered a couple of precision oilers from McMaster Carr to use.

3-In-One oil. Can't beat it.

L.W.

I suspect trying to collect PBJ would make you buy the farm...

A. Cause it makes about as much sense as 99% of the BS I've seen postulated here about gun lubes.
B. Cause I want to divert attention away from the best gun lube on the planet ..... unicorn [bleep]. Don't tell anyone.

Slip 2000 or slide-glide.

Yep; No better than any conventional lube and not as good as many IMO.

Frog Lube is mostly olefin; a piss poor lubricant by any modern standard.

But all these choices in lubricants does prove one thing; Handguns, shotguns and most semi-auto rifles will work 100% of the time with ANY lubricant so long as it's properly applied and used within the parameters for which it was intended.

Lubricants don't fail unless they're improperly used, in improper amounts under improper conditions. It ain't rocket science.

For your information only and no one else's back in the day 12 and 13 year old boy [bleep] was used by gem cutters on laps to polish gems. I wonder how that would work on 1911s?

BTW: That is the truth.

Okay, I gotta ask...how in the world do you know that?

I'm sure that's what the gem cutters told you...

I bet that won't ever be a Jeopardy answer ...... but it should. "I'll take [bleep] for $500.00, Alex ...."

Had a Gunsmith who worked on Fabbri's and Purdey's tell me that the best gun oil ever was-- Browning Pure Fine Gun oil.

But, he also said the most important thing is to not mix lubricants. That is where you get into trouble over time. Pick one a fly with it.

I always used a little dab of Lubriplate. It's cheap, and was recommended and used by the Army for M1 rifles in wet conditions. You can buy a big squeezebottle of the stuff from Brownells and it will last you "forever" if not a little longer. I've still got plenty left over when I bought a squeeze tube 25 years ago.....

Gotta understand, all this is just lubrication; not preservative.

Lubrication for double guns is VERY different. A very light oil (as in thin) on ejectors is good, but no oil most anywhere else. Grease should be applied to the trunion to ward off galling, which can happen on doubles; especially Italian guns since they tend to make their forend iron overly tight.

This is very good to know, since a Sabbatti SxS double in 9.3x74 is on my short 'gotta have someday' list of guns. I have a tube of AmsOil full synthetic Grease at my gun desk that ought to be the bomb for that application.

Ok I will stir. Only yesterday I decided to break from tradition after all this time and try an actual 'gun' product. I ordered Gun Butter oil- if nothing else I know I will like the applicator. Also a $2.98 tube of Hoppes gun grease - going to use it on rifle bolt lugs. For as long as both will last I can hardly call it expensive.

I believed grease what slides- plain lithium grease and oil what pivots- Ballistol more often than not. Always wrks fine so, like with too many reload recipes, I figured- Hey its perfect, why not tinker with it!!!

I think any lube is pretty much good lube after seeing many have trouble a few drops of oil would cure. Got a new Sig 1911 and felt like for once trying something different. Will let you know how I like it - if anyone cares. Midway reviews were unanimous five stars for all 63 responses. Pretty rare. Will try to differentiate results from placebo.

For pistols it's oil for both. For rifles, a very small amount of grease on the bolt locking lugs can be a good thing as long as you remember to clean the locking area inside the receiver periodically.

Grease is good for Garand, M14, M1 Carbine, and Mini 14 slides where the bolt lug head goes into the slide. Otherwise, it's oil most everywhere else.

For firearms, we want oil because oil will carry the debris out of the action, rather than hold it into the action like grease does.

Fireclean is getting rave reviews. Not because it is a better lube but for how easy the gun is to clean.

Have not used it on a 1911 but I'm diggin' FireClean on my AR and M&P.



Travis

BTW, ATF is a damn good lubricant also. It's highly detergent and will keep things flowing.

It'll keep an M-60 machine gun running like nothing else, along with a dab or two of STP or TW-25 on the lugs and camming surface on the op-rod. Lewis Awerbuck prefers it over all others for small arms, I'm told.

My gunsmith loves it. Smells like something you would cook with.

When I bought my Baer, Crazy John said to saturate it in Breakfree. I had some, so I did. I still lube it up pretty good with Breakfree in my shooting sessions with it. Once I get 500 rounds through it, I'll probably back off on the wet level.

I just use Hoppes gun oil. All my 1911s runs like a top.

Yes. It works very well.



Travis

Formerly a gemologist and gem cutter. Part of the historical training.

Here's another one back in the day 12 and 13 year old boys were castrated so their voices would not change and they could continue to sing in the boys choir. Learned that one from a boys choir teacher (female) that now has mostly girls. I guess the boys today are afraid they will be castrated. I also found out that girls voices change around 12 and 13 too.

Now back to our regularly scheduled programing.

Yup and I was a gemologist and gem cutter.

Slip EWL, Weapon Shield, Breakfree (I prefer the lube to the CLP, but no big deal either way), Wilson's Ultima Lube. Gun Butter, Ballistol, Mobil 1 (or any other good motor oil), etcetera, etcetera.

Consider your weather and environmental conditions, clean the thing on a reasonable basis (that means not just on your birthday and Christmas) and if it's a custom, follow the maker's lubrication recommendations.

I guess that is kind of what is motivating my change. I never had any problems with grease but after last clean and lube just sort of thought it felt too thick on the slides. I visited Gun Butters site and they must agree. They go to pains to say to use oil , not grease on slides- even though some testimonials swear by the grease for it. Hoping my order arrives tomorrow. Always look forward to testing or trying something new- as I sy, even if what I have been doing hasd been working.

I used white lithium grease & break free for years with success. Today I use corrosion X on all my guns. I use Brian Enos's "Slide Glide" on the rails & lugs.

Last night I degreased and relubed several pistols using gun butter oil this time. On the 1911 in particular there was a definite improvement using only the tiniest amounts of oil. I am already a fan.

The Hoppe's grease is a bit of a disappointment but not its fault really. I assumed it was a lube but it is marked as a protectant for storage and the word lube is not mentioned at all on the packaging. I will use a tiny bit on the rifle lugs but that's it. No way in heck I can conceive of ever using 1/10th of the tube. I spread a tiny it over some exteriror surfaces as well. So I may look for another grease just because I am in a mood to try new things. So far gun butter lived up to the hype. I have not shot it yet but all reviews say it stays put better than you would expect from an oil.

ok that made me ROR

Yet another window into how that brain was nurtured through development...


Travis