I wasn't 100% sure how/where to oil my AR15 so I was looking at some videos on youtube. I saw one and the guy used high temp. wheel bearing grease as a lubricate. I'm considering picking some up and using that. I like to be able to put the oil on and a week later strip it down and still be able to feel the oil on there and with CLP it just doesn't do that.

Hi,

I think the main rub against using the thicker petroleum grease products is attracting and retaining dirt/sand. There are some alternatives for CLP - Some discussion here on this subject.

I use high temp grease, it's cheap and it works.

I'm assuming you watched this

I use it as well and don't have any issues. It doesn't evaporate or soak in like oil does either, so it lasts forever.

The only downside I've experienced is it smells like ass.

grease in the action? i would think that would be bad. kinda like grease in the motor instead of motor oil. the thicker consistency would put a drag on the bolt.

now here's my 0.02. you'll probably want to get a second opinion since i'm a rifle noob, but with general lubrication physics the oil doesn't just sit on the surface, it it absorbed by the metal as well. of course, if you let your rifle sit and you can't get a film of oil on your fingers a week later, you're not getting it wet enough. i haven't oiled my hi-power in 2 or 3 months and i bet if i break it down, i can get an oil film on my fingers from handling it. it's not dripping or really visable, but it's there. of course, i never give it a chance to dry out either. it hasn't happened yet but here soon something with flip in my head and i'll have to go clean it, even though i haven't put a round down the tube in months.

Mobil 1

I don't think it would put a drag on the bolt or anything, I'm not talking about gobbing it on there, just a thin layer of it. I think I'm gonna try it.

an extremely thin layer is all you need, more is not better with grease. I use mobil 1 synthetic grease and have 0 issues. a tube is $6-7 and lasts pratically forever.

please post how it works for you

I'd be happy to post my results. I had been using CLP and LP on the bcg and bolt, respectively. I love the way my rifle runs on CLP, no hangups or misfeeds of any kind through a week of shooting nearly 800 rds. But this was with heavy re-application between days at the range.

Now, Ive switched to using the aerosol CLP to clean with, the LP for the bolt and gas ring area and a very thin layer of synthetic wheel bearing grease (the red stuff from M1) on ONLY the points where the bcg contacts the upper. Pretty much four spots, the rails the bcg rides on and the rails that frame the gas key. I actually over-apply, insert the assembled bolt, rackrackrack, remove and wipe excess out.

So far, Ive only got 500 rds on it. One cool thing I noticed though, could just be me but I swear that the LP seems to stick very well to the bolt when its not surrounded by gallons of CLP.

My father, not a AR junkie like myself, noticed the smoother and quieter action at the range before i even had a chance to tell him abou

crap, cut me off sorry mod im noob here. obviously !

500 rds thru now with grease like above, gonna go to 1000 in one week of shooting with no re-application at all. I run my rifle like I stole it so if its a shit way to lube something tells me i will know by the time i hit 700 rds and decide to do four full mag dumps back to back. If no hangups occur, im gonna clean and relube at 1000 then go for 1500rds! oh and im doing this to really firsthand learn the limitations of MY rifle. Im looking for a good carbine class nearby and i want to make sure im not the guy that breaks down.

Huh?
458

What is LP?  Why not use the grease on the bolt also?

LP is a non aerosol Lubricant/Preservant. Little bottle with a dropper to apply. Its a bit thicker than CLP.

This is my first black rifle and switching lubes seemed like it could b risky i guess, i wanted to see how the grease holds up under fire before i swab the whole thing with it.

Does anyone here use ONLY grease as a lube ? After the results so far Id seriously consider making the grease my one an only lube in the action. Firsthand info would be nice tho... just seems so thick for use on the bolt itself...

I'm over 1200 rnds over 4 weeks in my sportical 5.56, didn't have the heart to try this with my other ar, but i lubed the bcg with valvoline synpower synthetic grease after i cleaned it and before i go shooting a put a few drops of hoppes elite oil on the bcg through the dust cover. The rifle still racks smooth and is still wet with the original grease. Probably will strip it and clean it this week, but no issues so far. Oh, using the cheapest ammo i can find. Not saying this is the best way, just know it worked for me, and this isn't something i do with all my firearms, normally, if i shoot the firearm, it gets cleaned, whether it's one round or 1000.

I put together a 16" cmmg and thought that I would do something different. Cleaned all parts with CLP and then dried and lubed the major moving parts with high temp grease. There have been no problems and the gun just runs. The one upside I have found is that parts that usually rube together have kept their finish. Things like the BCG where it rides inside the upper have kept the factory finish. The second thing I noted was clean up. Where CLP would normally push off and/or burn off, the grease would just be wiped off instead of scraping burnt carbon. Currently about 550 have gone through the gun and i do clean after firing so i cant say how it would look or perform with a high round count with out cleaning. I have shot it fast and hard it still didn't burn off. I would like to see two guns of the same type, one lubed with clp and the other grease go round for round. I think that would be good indicator of which is better. But i still think any lube is better then no lube.

Please do not use grease.

Grease is for areas that need to maintain lubrication because they can't be lubricated otherwise. Also grease will cause MUCH tighter clearances as grease doesn't compress and move as well as oil. You'll notice that no engine runs with grease, they run with oil. I use light coats of specialized grease when putting an engine together because it can take a minute or two to pump oil to every surface of a freshly built engine when it first starts and it needs that lubrication to prevent the metal on metal wear. Also grease in tight tolerance areas such as a gun will break down very quickly, much quicker then oil. It will also retain any dirt, carbon, etc. that gets into it and could act like sand paper at that point. Wheel bearings do not have tight tolerances and are sealed from anything outside.

While I'm sure some have used grease with no problems, I would never do it. I don't use CLP for lubrication. Try Mobil 1 or Lucas gun oil.

Hate when people compare guns to their cars, but one thing you are overlooking is that a car uses oul because it has to keep re-applying the oil via the oil-pump, and also so the oil needs time to re-circulate and to cool down, plus the fact that it has to run through a filter to clean. The grease used correctly makes any gun run much smoother and easier to clean, thin layer of a good grease. I wouldn't recomend using in extreme sand or dust, but a lot of us don't ever see any sand storms, cleaned my rifles after 1200rnds and no build up of sand or grit anywhere, and everything was still wet and still had the factory finish on the contacting points of the bcg, do whatever you want with your rifle, but i don't have money to buy 10 rifles so i do whatever it takes to make the ones i have last the longest, whenever i have a problem show up by using the grease i'll be sure to let everyone know.

amen brother i hear yah on that one, been using grease on my ar since the day i bought it, and prob upwards of 5-6 thousands rounds later still not one problem using grease

I'm not saying anything bad about anyone that uses clp, or any other gun oil, even with my light coat of grease i still add a couple drops of oil every couple hundred rounds to the two holes in the bcg through the ejection port. Just don't try to compare an internal combustion engine that is constantly coated with a fresh coat of oil every time it turns over to your rifles, two totally different beast, and i love both of them. And sometimes grease is used because it sticks to stuff much better without slinging off, although there are to many reasons to use oil or grease, not just because you can't get to them.

Where is that reinventing-the-wheel thread..............

My apologies for using an analogy that I felt was best to try and explain my theory to someone I have never met. I was unaware everyone here completely understands viscosity, thermal dynamics and basic lubrication principals. With that In mind, I took upon the challenge that MAYBE grease has a proper application with gun lubrication. So my research begun.

First. What tests and properties best suit an AR15. I figure, and you can correct me if you think I'm off here, that the following tests and properties best suit this. Cause butt testing, oh wait a car reference, "I've done this for years and nothing bad has come of it" mentality, isn't good enough for me. You will agree that spending $1000 on a gun and you want to prolong and keep it in great working order.

We will start with Break Free CLP properties as a base. Why? Well we need a base foe testing and the Military was kind enough to develop the specifications for us (MIL-L-63460). While I will note that I do not use CLP as lubricant in my AR, the specification are valid for a specific use that is the very extreme. From (http://www.madogre.com/Interviews/breakfree.htm) notes the following specification:

*Operating temperature range: -53.9 C (-65 F) to +246 C (+475 F).
*Firing residue removal: 98%.
*Noncorrosive –– pH neutral.
*Nonconductor –– dielectric constant 2.18.
*Pour Point: Below -59.4 C (-75 F) (ASTM D97).
*Flash Point T.C.C. (Tagliabue Close Cup).
Before Application: above 65.5 C (150 F).
After Application: above 210 C (410 F).
*Liquid does not support combustion. (ASTM––D1266 lamp method combustion).
*Specific gravity: Approximately 1.0 gm/ml.
*Weight: Approximately 1.0 kg/liter (8.3 lbs/gal).
*Salt spray resistance: (5%) 100 hours plus.
*Humidity cabinet test: 900 hours plus (Fed. Std.791).
*Falex wear life: 20 minutes minimum at 250 lbs.
*Falex Load carrying capacity: 750 lbs (minimum). (MIL-L-63460)
*Wear preventive characteristics (four ball wear scar): .8mm (ASTM-D2266)
*Viscosity @ -53.9 C (-65 F): Approximately 3700 centistokes.
Viscosity at +40 C (104 F).............9

The one thing I did not find was Viscosity at 100 C, a measurement almost every other lubricant publishes.

Viscosity at cold, room and operating temperatures are important to measure as they will give a measure as to how much power\effort is required to move the BCG back. Too high of a viscosity could cause malfunction or the molecules of the lubricate itself could cause macro scaring of the metal it is suppose to protect.

I will be looking at the properties of the lubricants at "operating" temp, which in this case I am assuming it 40 C (104 F) and 100 C (212 F). I will be looking at results from ASTM-D2266 (four ball wear test is done at 1200 rpm, 40kg, 167° F, 52100 steel, 2 hours), test ASTM D-2783 (four ball weld point, which is an extreme pressure test) and flash point.

I would also like to add that unless you only shoot your gun in a squeaky clean indoor range, you will risk getting dirt in your gun. Remember that the bolt kicks back and as it is going forward it will suck air in as it travels forward. All objects do it, it's physics, can't do anything about it. Dirt can be very fine and if you are firing on the ground or on top of a dirty surface could get into that open area.

With that in mind, Robert Sanborn, President of SFR Corp (http://www.sfrcorp.com/) has graciously offered to run independent ASTM D-2783 on any oil we want to test. he will then video tape and post the results. So if any of you are game please let me know via PM\Email and I will send you the instructions for sending in a sample to be tested. I will send in Lucas Gun Oil, Lucas Air Gun Oil, Royal Purple Gun Oil,  Slip 2000, and any dry lubricant you want tested. I have results from Mag high temp wheel bearing grease, Mobil 1 WBG, Mobil1 10w-30, some other oils and greases which I'd like to post once we obtain specific results from the gun oils to be view at once so can try to prevent speculation or fore-drawn conclusions.

From Mr. Sanborn:
I have worked with a private label company that sells to AR15 owners and other 50 caliber automatic weapons. They asked for  a grease with a tackifier so that it would stay in the protection zone on the weapon.  There are some other factors that must be considered and they include how long the gun is going to be fired and under what conditions.  Are we talking about sand in Iraq, as that would be really detrimental if you use the grease product.  Normally, you are looking for the lightest product available that will provide the most protection.  How much heat is being generated is the first question as certain base oils will not stand up.  Using a light oil is better as it will not attract dust, though you need EP agents or additives to stay on the metal.  They are acidic in nature and bond to the metal so they are working whenever friction is taking place.  Normally we use a polyol ester base oil that will protect upwards to 1000 deg. F. as its the king of heat.  We then use an EP agent to reduce the friction so that the mechanism doesn't jamb or wear out prematurely.  I can test any gun oil you want to send on our test machine which mimics the 4 Ball EP test.  Finally, if you are shooting under ideal conditions with no dust etc. then grease can be used as it will stay one the mechanism better.  I am not a big fan of greasing up my gun and avoid it unless its absolutely necessary.  If you want I can video tape the samples that you send as I am testing.

Wow! That is awesome! I have all these oils on hand, you want to test any of them? Here is what I have:

PM sent.

posts on this subject always leads to a pissing match, this is best, that is best, and the same ole bs. christ anything but dry will work  and some will last longer then others. pick a lube an try it for your self an don't believe everything you read on the internet.  after all didn't al gore invent the internet and globel warming.ask the folks down florida about that subject