On one of the recent threads, one of our brothers from across the pond noted he uses 3 in 1 oil in his guns as it was a fine high quality oil. I have always thought 3 in 1 was one of those oils that my grandparents and parents always had under the sink as a use for whatever oil, but I never realized this was a quality oil that could be used in firearms. Does anyone else use it and have any thoughts on the subject?

I know Parker Bros recommended it

https://www.doublegunshop.com/forums/ubbthreads.php?ubb=showflat&Number=504542

1895 introduction; 1st column
https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/48202

1896 ad
https://digital.la84.org/digital/collection/p17103coll17/id/46667

The MSDS for the current version of 3 in 1 oil shows it's about 98% severely hydrotreated naphthenic oil and 2% naphtha.

Hydrotreating came along in the 1950's, it appears the product has evolved some since it's introduction.

Hydrotreating saturates the hydrocarbons with Hydrogen making the oil more stable.

Naphthenic oil is a better solvent than paraffinic oil, contains less wax to be removed during refinement, and can be more easily made to a low viscosity finished oil.

3 in 1 would appear to be a standard, conventional, light oil with a tad of solvent (petroleum naphtha aka lighter fluid).

It's a general purpose light oil. It does not say 'gun oil' on the label but it should be so close to any 'conventional' (vs. synthetic) product that is labeled 'gun oil' as to be indistinguishable in service.

3 in 1 is pretty much all I have used on my guns for 50 years with no issues/problems in that time.

I should mention, because someone else undoubtedly (rightly) will...

Being a naphthenic oil, 3 in 1 won't have a very high 'viscosity index'.

This means it will thicken at low temps and thin at high temps to a significant degree.

This is where the modern synthetic oils shine. They have very high VI and work ever so much better in cold weather.

And also Singer sewing machine oil-- 3 in 1 is a standard yet today, like Hoppe's No. 9-- RWTF

NyOil II all day long. Regular NyOil mineral oil is extremely good too, but it’s a highly refined mineral (dino) oil, NyOil II is a synthetic.

3&1 was rarely ever recommended for sewing machines, typewriters or clocks. NyOil, either one, is good for all of those applications.

What Dustin said.

I can’t help but notice that nobody here ever asks if they should run straight, non detergent 30W turn of the century vintage oil in their modern 2 stroke engines. Or, straight non detergent 30 weight oil in their new, twin turbo pickup engine. Just mix it up like they used to do when Grandpa was a little kid. A lot of engineering time has been spent in the last 125 years improving sheer, anti corrosion, EP qualities, improvements in ester chain length and strength, etc, etc, etc, and we still have guys that want to use 3 in 1 and Vaseline.

Ick.

Best,
Ted

When I worked for Chrysler Trenton Plant the best oil we ever used as an additive was sperm whale oil. For many years it was consider the best gun oil. Today it is not legal.

bill

You mean this stuff in the yellow can?

Overrated. Vastly overrated.

the voice of reason

And some guys like to use black powder in paper hulls for old hammer doubles with composite barrels and ungainly stock dimensions. Don't they realize that modern gas semi-autos are better tools for shooting birds or clays?

Never mind...

Well you can put me down as a one foot in the past person, within two minuets I collected the above well used items and that can of three in one was under thee sink the others are in the garden sheds and my workshop. I even have a bottle of Sperm Whale clock oil from my other interest but I cant bring my self to use it or throw it away for that matter even though I know the Whale is now long dead, Uneasy
conshence.
3 in one oil I do like the smell of Citronella they flavor it with, also the gardener I married does not mind sloshing it on the garden tools because it does not smell as bad as the other oils also she oils her own Sewing Machine with it. I have it in the oil bottles in my gun cases, and I do use it on guns in the field. Also on this side of the pond they seem to make big the fact that it is manufactured by the same makers of WD 40 I noticed they do now sports equipment use on the rear of the tin.
Vaseline well that has a multitude of uses it is the only product I have found that softens Bees Wax and keeps it that way without evaporating, perfect for re-treating Wax Jackets
SAE 30 Oil I use in all the garden equipment with an engine, no problems with that use so far. Also use on machine tools with just Bronze Main bearings they seem to last longer.
One thing I do know with certainty If there where no large sales for them they would be taken off the market rapidly if not sooner.
"Rangoon Oil" was not synthetic with all the modern bells and whistles additives but it is amazing how many people would still want to purchase the real thing but not the modern factory blended oil we see today, so old and traditional tried seen and tested products can still be good today.

10-4 to Damascus - you're right on.

Read that "Charlie-Lima" When in the USMC MOS 2112- we used WD-40 and the crappy smelling GI issue Bore Cleaner. For the bores packed with cosmoline on the M-1 and M-14 rifles, we used kerosene oudoors)- to flush that stuff out- sorta like RIG and Vaseline on steroids- never had a rusty bore from any weapon stowed with that in the bore--RWTF

GM used it also. If you ever had a grabby posi unit, sperm oil was the go to additive to use. Sperm oil was also used for fine watches...back in the day.

Some years ago I was staying at a B&B in Haltwhistle (UK). At breakfast my wife and I seated ourselves next to a gorgeous old grandfather clock. I have a wall clock that needs professional service every three years, rain or shine, and this prompted me to ask the proprietor how often he had his clock serviced. He pondered this for a moment, then opened the clock and pulled out a receipt dated 1959. I was flabbergasted. "That's it?" He apologized and said that he gets in to the clock every couple years when he thinks of it and shoots it with 3-in-1. Now that's a good testimony.

I use lot of the popular gun care products but I could get by with 3in1 and Vaseline if I had to. Thats all my grandfather ever used.

When it gets cold out or dry and dusty, I’ll take a modern synthetic.

None of us is any more than a temporary curator. Judging from the condition of a great deal of the older fowling implements out there, a lot of curators should have been doing something else. Your Vaseline is a liquid at about 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and will not be staying on the metal as a lubricant, rather, it will be making its way to the wood, no doubt bringing untold joy to whoever follows you as curator, as he will get to post here on what to do about oil saturated lumber. If you believe Three In One oil compares to the performance of any synthetic lube at any temps, you are quite wrong. The difference between your old black powder guns and an autoloader is nobody will care what the autoloader looks like or how well it was cared for in 150 years.

Be a good curator.

Best,
Ted

I am a good curator, as my guns would indicate. There are better products than 3-in-1 and vaseline, but those work if you keep up with your maintenance. I also like Mobil one and CLP, and a lot of things in between.

You know, I agree- when talking about using motor oil from 1900 in a truck motor designed in 2010, you make perfect sense. I run into this with 2 motorcycles: one from 1983 and the other from 2005. My 70s Malibu seemed happiest with 10w30, my 2008 pickup requires 5w20, and both my son's 2010 car and my wife's 2020 car require 0w20. I would never dream of using basic 30w from 1900 in any of them.

These engines were actually designed differently, with different dimensions in oil passages and piston/cylinder wall gap, as well as bearing gaps. This requires different oil.

However, if we were talking about a Ford Model T, Stutz Bearcat, Stanley Steamer, or even a Maxwell, I would be more interested in the old oil you described- as it would match the tolerances for the engines of that era.



When talking about lubricants on a 1907 Browning Auto-5, or a 1911 Stevens 520, or a 1915 Parker Trojan, or a 1921 Winchester Model 12, it seems completely normal to discuss what they used for lubricant then.

I wouldn't hesitate to use 3 in 1 on my Parker or even a Auto-5. I am not saying that there aren't better lubes out there, but I wouldn't worry about it if that was all I had.

Yet, I would be more likely to not try 3-in-1 on a Remington V3 or Beretta Outlander. Especially for stuff with plastics inside.

I even have to be careful even on my 1950s High Standard Supermatic, due to the plastic firing pin sleeve and cleaners that will erode/dissolve them- despite the manual saying to soak it in kerosene to clean it.

I've been using Lucas Extreme Duty Gun Oil, but hated the smell. So, I recently switched to M1 15w50. For grease, I've been using Super Lube synthetic with teflon, which is white and won't stain clothes when you rub a double against them.

I am switching my "wipe-down" oil to Hornady One Shot, which will also be my quick bore wipe, based on this corrosion test.
http://www.dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667

I had been using RemOil because it was thin and helped with quick bore cleaning and protection. But the test showed RemOil was a poor protectant and it's not the greatest cleaner either. So,I decided to move on to One Shot.

Thanks for posting that test, Chuck. Hard to find any holes in his testing procedures.

SRH

Stan,
Hornady now refers to that test on their website.

I only chose RemOil in the past because it was easily available locally. Then I started using a rag with 3in1 that I was keeping in the safe, mainly because I had a can. But, I like the idea of longer protection with the Hornady One Shot, if I were to get caught in the rain or forget to wipe guns down on a longer trip.

Me, too, Chuck. I will definitely be ordering a couple cans.

SRH

I note they apparently changed the spray version of RemOil.

It has almost a foaming action now which I don't care for.

I'm not throwing my 2 cans out, but when it's used up I'll try something different. It may be doomed anyway. Nobody is going to buy any more of this new crap.

I have carefully disassembled, generally not completely,but enough to get to sears, pivot point, wear surfaces, cleaned, degreased, the applied what I think is high grade synthetic lube, be it grease, usually Superlube, or oil, Mobil 1 10w30, seems to work well on just about everything, vintage guns or modern semi auto's.

I have carefully disassembled, generally not completely,but enough to get to sears, pivot point, wear surfaces, cleaned, degreased, the applied what I think is high grade synthetic lube, be it grease, usually Superlube, or oil, Mobil 1 10w30, seems to work well on just about everything, vintage guns or modern semi auto's.

I’ve been using RemOil for years but have not been able to find it for over a year. Getting low and was looking for a substitute. After reading the research, I want to move to One Shot. Where are you finding it available?

Addendum: I’m only finding it available in an aerosol can.
Do they offer it in a squeeze drop bottle or pump?

I also have been using RemOil for years. I still have a few aerosol cans around. But after reading this article, I opted to buy some Hornady One Shot. It came today and I tried some on a BSS. It seems much like RemOil in terms of viscosity. The odor is low and very tolerable.

I bought it on Amazon.