I was on another forum and some guys say they use 5W30 Synthetic Engine Oil on firearms. I have not tried this but I'm curious. Do any of you use it?

If you use it what parts of the gun do you use it on? Is it used in the bore?

I use 15w-40 rotella on mine. Inside and outside. No issues in years I’ve used it

No. I bought a small bottle of gun oil 15 years ago and it's still going strong.

There is nothing special about synthetic motor oil, use it as you would any other oil.

I've begun using 0w20 Mobile 1 synthetic as a gun lube. It seems to resist thickening up in cold weather better than other oils. Oil may not be overly important to use in a bolt action rifle but it can be important with semiauto shotgun as some do not like to be run dry. The 0 weight rating keeps it viscosity well below zero so far. As I tend to have a quart or two in the truck emergency box, it is always around if I need it.

I have a fair bit of "gun specific" oil around but the light weight synthetic motor oil seems to be at least as good as well as being much cheaper.

I know a couple of gunsmiths that swear by Mobile 1 for Gun oil. I need to try it on my 1911’s.

Just think how long one quart would last.

That's good to know that it does not thicken up as much as other oils in cold wheather. It would probably be a good idea for people hunting up north.

I have been using Mobil 1 for years. One $8 qt is a life time supply and works better than the $4 ,4 oz gun oils. I use it everywhere firearms should be oiled.. It wets better and sure won't gum up in cold weather

I might give it a try but I'm still working on using up the quart of ATF I bought to use as gun oil 15 years ago.

I use a bunch of 0/20 Mobil 1 on everything AR related and on sliding and moving parts of other rifles. Never had an issue.

I have used ATF for 20+ years now with no complaints. Similar.

I use it in the summertime..

I still use the Mobil 1 0W20W out of the quart I bought long ago. Be Well, RZ.

I once read a discussion about owners of fine shotguns and how they preferred a mixture of ATF and Mobil synthetic oil for lubricating the expensive stack barrel they had.

Remember that old commercial......................motor oil is motor oil. Although I use "gun oil", I'd not be afraid in the least to use "motor oil" if it's all that was available to me.

I'm a huge fan of Ed's Red. Google up the recipe. The first component is 50/50 Kerosene and ATF. That's what I use for gun oil.

5w30 is going to work, but I think ATF is better suited for firearms.

This is year number 10 for me using Mobil 1 synthetic and regular wheel bearing grease on my guns. The wheel bearing grease works awesome very lightly coated on AR15 bolts and BCG rails with just a few drops of oil on the gas rings. I cut the Mobil1 with a little bit of ATF, I see no reason to go back to "gun" lubes (for my needs anyway). I do still spray the exterior of my guns with aerosolized Remoil or Ballistol though. This is also the tenth year that I have been using Eds red, although I leave out the acetone. ATF, Mineral spirits and Kerosene.....works great.

Very interesting. Thanks for the feedback guys.

Good grief....all those partial bottles of 5W-20 I have in the garage just provided me a life time supply....

You aren't kidding.

I started using 0/20 Mobil 1 around 2002. We used it on our machine guns and our carbines. Put on sparingly it was so very good. Plus, if you think about it, engine oil has detergents in it, meant to clean as well as lubricate, suspending carbon particles while still doing it's job. Synthetics are just darned slippery and don't really burn either, or at least not till heat is crazy. After I had seen it work so well on our team guns I started using it on my own and haven't ever thought I needed something better.

5w30 synthetic will flow pretty good in all but the coldest temps......should be good to go for most folks


15w40 will get really thick/sticky in cold weather

I usually use Slip2k or Lucas extreme duty gun oil, but I did lube my ARs for a while with Pennzoil Platinum 5w30. It worked fine and seemed to do a good job of keeping the carbon buildup soft.

If you use the 0/20W it won't matter, summer or winter. Thanks for the insight Beretz. Be Well, RZ.

I use either 3n1 oil that I get from wmt or 10W drip oil we use here on the farm for irrigation wells. I buy it in 55gal barrels, so I'm set for life, as are my kids. Many options for each of us, and they all work.

+1
I just top off the bottle from leftovers...If you change your own oil.......

Most gun oils start off with about the same base as motor oils. Solvents, water displacing chemicals, polarizing agents and other things are added to the motor oil base. I think that some of the improved oils do work better for long term corrosion prevention but about the same for lubrication.

When I have left over light weight motor oil or even heavy weight I will dump all the odds and ends remnants of various gun oils in with the motor oil to get any advantage the gun oils may provide. Not sure it makes much difference but gets rid of the half empty bottles. If it is heavy weight I add Eds Red or more solvent to it.

Marvel Mystery Oil has served me well as a gun lube and bore protector in my home state of Maine's cold weather.

May have to try a mix of synthetic 0w-20 and power steering fluid (tranny fluid without dye) or synthetic ATF (but it has a strong odor).

How much synthetic oil does one have to use on a gun to make it thicken up in cold weather? In my experience a couple drops (literally 2 or 3 drops) of oil on a rag is more than adequate to protect and lubricate an entire gun
ANY synthetic motor oil will work on a gun.
The W in 5w-30 or 0W-20 stands for WINTER.

Another vote for 0W-20 syn. Use it with any bolting/gas system, whether rifle or shotgun.

Live in Maine. Rotella 15W-40 is possibly superior in warmer conditions - keeps grit in suspension a bit better. But on balance OW-20, as a year rounder, is best.

Heckuva lot better than CLP, unless we're talking lube for fire control parts only.

Many motor oils are wax based. They are intended to become liquified when heated to operating temperatures. Think about that when using it on a normally cold gun. ATF, on the other hand, is the exact opposite. If one feels the need for such applications, my choice would be ATF hands down.

Oh for phucqk's sake you cheapazz old farts.

I have an old API category SE can of oil from about '75. Can I use it on a rifle made in '18?

Wassa matta Boomer? Did you invest all you moneys in da gun oil bidness?
Repackaging Mobil 1 and ATF in little bottles, ya had ta know somebody was gonna find out and cut inta yo market share. 😉😁

Now everyone will know!

Seriously, I think I will put some ATF to use, but, the economy of it will be shot by the purchase of the little dropper bottle, no?


By gosh yes, but only if walnut and polished blue. Matte finish requires a multi weight. Read it here.

Warning - Some motor oil attach yellow metals like brass so I would avoid conventional oils.

Synthetics, light hydraulic oils, and ATF are probably good to go.

I hate cleaning guns so my little bottles don't get used up. Now I will use atf, marvel, etc that I find when I clean out my parents estate. LOL.

Beretta's...shouldn't you use olive oil?

For rust protection, Amsoil Z-Rod tops most if not all others. Even in salt spray

Been using ATF for 20+ years. Even have my barrels in PVC pipe full of the stuff.

So if 0 W 20 would be good for firearm lubrication, would 0 W 16 be even better... as high viscosity is not really needed on a bolt action rifle, or even an AR that is for home defense... ??

I suppose if you can find it? Be Well. RZ.

At MG shoots we'd try all these products looking at number rounds till it starts to choke. Depending on ambient temps grease (ie., heavy on the wax) is a perfectly good way to go for AR15 upper components. Rotella held up longer than 0W-20 motor oil, which held up longer than ATF, which held up alot longer than CLP.

Some days could not even get through a 100 bird clay shoot after lubing a 391 with CLP.

Just got done cleaning a bunch of 1911s and S&W revolvers... The oil used where appropriate was MOBIL 1 10W-40. I prefer a thicker oil to keep it from running and it doesn't seem to effect functioning when freezing cold...

Have been using it for at least 15 years.

Bob

Interesting thread here..... Now I know what to do with that quart of Dexron ATF out in the garage that I no longer have any use for.

It's good to see a lot of people have been doing this for a long time so it definitely works. I have plenty of gun oils on hand but it's good to know some motor oils work well in case I needed to use them.

In this day and age of shortages it's always a good idea to have a back up system in place.

I have been using Type F for a long time, works great for a case lube also and is easy to wipe off cases.

I've used oil off the dipstick...5W-30 Mobil 1....for choke tube lube more than once.

After reading this a little bit ago, I went and used the extra bottle of Mobil 5W-20 I had left over from my son’s car when I changed the oil. I lubed the two ARs that I shoot the most with it, and no complaints so far. It seems to run a tad bit smoother than it did with the Lucas CLP I’ve been using in it.

I concur with what woodmaster81 said regarding a light oil.

I do not use even very light oil at all in cold weather. When I hunt when the temperatures are low, I will strip the rifle down and the bolt and trigger will be cleaned of any/all oil - below zero F or colder for instance. Not that at my age I do that much cold weather hunting.

I recall a couple times in my youth (two instances, not me) where a 03 and 03-A3 Springfield's firing pin did not strike the primer hard enough to fire the cartridge.

If you have an enclosed trigger, having the sear slip due to not having a strong enough spring tension and thick oil could mean a rifle firing unexpectedly.

All I use on an enclosed trigger is lighter fluid, advice I got here on the fire that seems pretty sound.

It's best to differentiate lube requirements of trigger groups vs bolting and gas systems.

Trigger groups, including AR lowers, need little lubrication. Having experiences similar to Bugger, understand an argument for nothing more viscous than CLP. Some would suggest lighter fluid, or no lube, and I would not argue otherwise. Have not had trouble with CLP, tho, and I reside in Maine.

Those very low viscosity lubes so prudent for trigger mechanisms at low temps are not at all what you want for gas systems and for bolting, unless you intend to fire a minimal number of rounds before relubing. For bolt actions and break open shotguns I always grease lugs/recesses. As stated previously, very much prefer some synthetic motor oil for gas and other autoloading mechanisms.

I have been following this thread with great interest, I know more than a few Active Spec OPS guy's and they use Mobil 1 with a touch of STP, on all their CQB guns and AR-10s, their reason in it don't burn off with heavy use and high temps, there are lots off things that will work for us low speed high drag guys. that don't run our ar's and ak's near as hard as they do, but I have had good luck with their stuff . plus they clean their weapons after every time they go out fired or not. Rio7

Motor oil is not a particularly good (appropriate) gun lube. The thing is, guns are super-tolerant of whatever people put on them. That means they tolerate motor oil fine, and people are cheap so that's what they use. Lots of 'gun oils' aren't put together by people who know anything about lubes at all, so some of them are kinda similar to motor oil (or ATF). That doesn't make them good.

I don't use motor oil because various of the organometallic additives (and some of the organics) aren't good for you.

I am acquainted with a professional lubricant formulator. He makes his own firearms lube and has given me some.
It's not similar to motor oil except in the very most basic way (they're both oils).

Yes, there is something special about it. It does not freeze up nearly as easily as anything with standard petroleum. I have used Amsoil synthetic on many things and use it exclusively in my engines-for many years. Yes, 0w-20, or any other thin viscosity synthetic will be superior to petroleum.