Yes, yes…the topic of lubricant has been discussed, debated and talked to death but I haven’t seen anything about the use of Lucas Marine Grease for the BCG.
It seems like it could be a good grease as it has the properties of water and corrosion resistance and stays in place and it’s cheap…a lifetime supply costs less than $10.
Anyone using this? Opinions?

You could try it, but it seems like it'd be too thick.
Are you running suppressed most of the time?

JMHO, but I feel like the thicker greases like that collect more powder and Carbon and lead to issues quicker than an oil...

I'm sure the natives will be along to correct me, but that just what I have experienced in my years of shooting ARs and other Semi-autos...

Not suppressed. I’m thinking grease on the few points where indicated. Lucas gun oil everywhere else.

I use Mobil 1 synthetic 10W40.  Grease on the BCG is not a choice I would make.  I used to be a CLP fan, but it just doesn't stay in place.  The Mobil 1 that a lot of the arfcom recommends was a great change for me.  A quart will go a very long way and is very cost effective.

If you do want a grease. Thermalene Magnalube G is a better choice for firearms.  I use it on most pistol slide rails and the Glock sear surfaces.  Read the spec sheet, this is a great product.

What points on a BCG are indicated to be greased?

Cam pin and rails mainly.

I’ve been thinking of doing Mobile 1 or Royal Purple or Red Line or such but I’m concerned that they lack the corrosion resistance.

I wouldn’t use grease. Heck, I keep an old mayo jar of mobile one near my shooting bench and dunk the bcg in it occasionally.

Source for which manufacturers recommend using grease on the cam pin and rails?

https://www.grantcunningham.com/2006/05/lubrication-101/

“Again, food machinery greases are ideal for our needs. For such things as autoloader slides and rifle bolts, my favorite is Lubriplate “SFL” NLGI #0 grease (their “FGL” line is a good second choice.) “


I realize this source is not a manufacturer as you asked but rather an individual, but he seems like someone who has a fair bit of knowledge of lubricants and firearms.

Based on a lot of recommendations for Mobile 1 and suggestions that grease is contraindicated I’ll rethink this ‘Lucas Marine Grease’ idea.

The problem is that a heavy #2 grease has so much body, if you truly applied it in a thin smear it might be ok, but it's easy to apply to much and it can actually cause more resistance to movement and just ends up getting slung out of the way and serves as a spot to collect fouling and debris, turning into a nasty hard paste.

The recommendation at the link you had was for a #0 grease, which is almost a semi fluid.  A decent option if you want something to stay in place for a while maybe for storage.  I've used that Lubriplate grease myself on some things like assembly of FCG parts on handguns and in small amounts on trigger/sear surfaces, but I will warn that for long term storage use it tends to bleed out the oil and the thickener portion will stiffen up a good bit after a while.  But for the BCG in most situations, and especially if actually shooting regularly, oil is a better option from a lubrication standpoint in the BCG.  

And as for the water resistance concern, the lucas marine grease is more water resistant because the thickener it uses is less susceptible to water washout.  It's intended for things like the wheel bearings on boat trailers which will be submerged and acted upon my moving/flowing water, and the grease is just less likely to be carried away by the water.  That situation doesn't really translate to an AR in a meaningful way unless you're laying your AR in a moving stream or constantly in a driving rain, etc.

Thanks for your very well stated reply. I see now that marine grease is really not the best choice for the BCG. I may give the Lubriplate a try along with the oil he recommended or maybe just go with the Mobile 1 recommendations.
This is why I joined this group…there’s so many great people here with good advice!

Thanks again!

Lucas marine grease is calcium sulfonate based,  and yes waterproof.  I use it as a thickener for lucas extreme gun oil.  Works excellent and doesn’t stink.

Edit. Only reason I used the marine grease is that it seems to me to be on the thick side for a #2.  That and its readily available.  I was after primarily the oil’s properties in a light grease format.

I asked about manufacturers as one of the biggest indicators of what will promote longevity in a product is how the manufacturer, especially those who offer long warranties, recommend servicing their products.

My formal training was primarily military with some specialized courses more recently. The common thought process is that a medium viscosity oil is most appropriate for pure lubrication. It will coat and cling effectively if you take care of your rifle. The single biggest problem is not using oil vs grease. It's that most people run a semi automatic far too dry. A high quality CLP is good for breaking down carbon fouling and keeping carbon based contaminants from becoming a slurry in oil that wears parts more quickly. Regular oils and grease don't have this benefit. The caveat to this is it takes a lot of use and neglect for this to be a problem with oil. Grease is a bit different as it's much harder to remove thus, it traps contaminants.

I run CLP. Nice and liberal with it. I can't guess at how many rounds I have down range and I've never had a failure due to excessive wear or lack of lube. That doesn't mean it's the only right choice but, one guys experience over 30 some years, 17 of them with a military, rack grade rifle.

Only 2 places I can see using grease in an AR:

1) Mounting the barrel to the upper receiver.

2) Face of the hammer for .22lr. Friction is the enemy in .22lr AR setups.


RCA

Cam pin / bolt lugs / carrier rails are the only place I use grease. And only a thin coat.

I’m open to the idea of CLP as the best compromise for a “cover all bases” solution. Not perfect in every sense but good enough for most. After all, regular maintenance should be simple and effective. Maybe a good CLP is the answer after all.

I use grease on several styles of guns including AR's. I use a thin coat on the bolt rails, bolt lugs, cam pin, little nubs on charging handle that slide in the upper, hammer/sear and a little on the buffer spring. It makes for a smooth operating gun with a quiet buffer spring. It keeps carbon soft so cleaning is basically wiping the dirty grease off with a rag and qtip. I use Superlube grease that is pretty soft and not tacky/sticky. It has worked very well for me and I will continue to use grease on many of my guns.

Anyone have a lead on where to get 1lb tubs of Lucas marine grease?

All I can find are the tubes.

Academy Sports.

Saw they, and only them, had some. It was on a 3-5 month backorder.

I'll check them out again.

According to my Lucas distributor catalog, the 1lb. tub is not currently listed for the marine grease.  Just the 14oz full size tubes and the pack of mini-tubes.

They might still do limited runs of them since it's an active p/n on their site though.

I missed the backorder. My apologies.

No, you didn't miss it.

As of right now, it doesn't state its on backorder like before.

But I'm hesitant because it's truly the only place that claims it's available. Like online and brick and mortar.

Tubes are available everywhere. But it's nice to have a tub for the odd jobs.

Edit to add: I went ahead and made the purchase through Acadamy Sports. Guess we'll see if it's truly available.

I use Mobil 1 grease mixed with 0W20 Mobil 1 til it's consistency is like honey. Works great.

I do recommend using grease on your BCG. It's really great. I too only "grease" (I use the froglube paste as grease) the cam pin, bolt where it has the rail, the gas rings, the 4 rails on the bcg, and under the bcg where it rubs on the hammer. I also put grease on the top part of the charging handle where it touches the upper. Back when I was using Cherrybalmz I would use the little applicator in the same areas. It's really great stuff.

I think using grease must pass two tests really.... 1) you should see the grease tracks it makes when you pull the bcg back no matter how long its been in storage, and 2) when you go to the range and fire, it should always be wet, no matter how many rounds you shoot.

I only seen a few grease holding up to this test.... cherrybalmz, and slip 2000 EWG. That's outside of the non-gun specific grease being mobil1 is my personal favorite.

No Academy’s within 200 miles show to have the Lucas grease in stock.  All of my local Autozones and Home Depot’s show to have the tubes in stock.

A thick grease like the Lucas Marine or something thinner like most firearms “grease”?  I put a thin coating of the Slip 2000 grease on the carrier rails/ contact points and then put a heavy oil on top of that and all the other lube points on the BCG.  I do randomly add a little grease to the trigger sear contact area.  Not sure there is a perfect way to do it and there seems to be a literal ton of different options and lubricants.

Well, the debate whether Acadamy Sports has Lucas marine grease available is over.

Had a delivery this afternoon.

Attached File


Although, who ever their packers are, suck.

But that's another story.

Nice.