doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Corrosion Protectants and Lubes

In answer to my earlier question the solution for the locks might be slightly greased with Lubriplate �SFL� NLGI #0 grease. From another website � It is white, aluminum-based, low odor, has superb boundary lubricants, and is designed specifically for use in environments that encounter a huge temperature range. It�s also resistant to water washout and acid/alkali environments, has great shear resistance, and doesn�t oxidize like lithium greases will.�

On the hinge pin a specific hinge pin lube I.e. �Owens� or Mobile One synthetic grease

My recollection is that Parker Bros recommended Vaseline and 3-in-1 for their guns, and LC Smith recommended Singer Sewing Machine oil. I use Mobil 1 for grease points, or lithium grease if the Mobil is not handy. Bores and exterior metal get Rem Oil or CLP. The best lube is going to be the one that you actually use regularly, whatever it is.

Bertuzzi is so sexy they recommend KY.


_________________________
Ali di Gabbiano

When in Rome....


Best,
Ted

___________________________________
Do the Romans.

Our hero in the Purdey video clearly noted that a waterproof grease was an option.
He also clearly mentioned gun oil, and used same on the O/U and the SXS.

Like Axel Rose always said, � Take it for what it is�.

Best,
Ted
____________________________________
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=08YDuzJy-Zo

You are correct he noted those options along him specifically saying Vaseline mixed with 3 in 1 for some interior action parts which was my point that they still recommended it as an option and have recommended it for over 100 years.

My take away is simple, like you I believe better stuff is available and preferable today. At the same time if one does not have the better grease to use, the Vaseline by itself or cut with 3 in 1 option �slightly� applied to the locks would work as it has for a hundred years. If used slightly and not slubbered about it is unlikely to cause an issue.

I use Ed�s Red or Hoppe�s for bore cleaner, Eezox to oil the metal surfaces, Owens hinge lube, and have used a slight coat of Vaseline on the inside of the locks, and REN Wax around the metal to wood seams. Other lubricant choices can work just as well and in the case of the Vaseline better.

Most lubricant problems come from too much use or no use.

Ultimately within reason what lubricant used is not the critical factor, simply doing the actual cleaning and lubricating is the important thing.

The side of me that deals with lubricating, and trying to reduce the wear of, parts in machainery and equipment that runs in dust and dirt most of the time causes me to wonder about something concerning guns.

It is my contention, after 48 years in the fields, that most wear between metal and metal surfaces comes from dust and dirt becoming introduced to the lubricant. Roller chains that are exposed, as most are, are especially vulnerable to such contamination. Oil the chains in the morning and by lunch you have a very nice grinding compound running in the rollers, on the pins and wearing away the sprockets. Keep the dirt out of it and the life and service of parts is exponentially extended.

With that in mind, many years ago I began using a moly/graphite aerosol spray, for my roller chains, that has a very thin carrier which allows the graphite blend to get down inside the rollers. It dries almost immediately, leaving a clinging coat of a slippery, but dry lubricant. It has worked wonders to extend the life of chains, and some other areas uniquely suited to a dry lube.

My hinge pins on my doubles seem to attract the most dirt of any metal-to-metal contact area of the guns. So, my question would be, to some of you engineering inclined gents, would the lubricating properties of a moly-graphite blend be suited to the stresses that the hinge pin undergoes and, if so, why wouldn't the product be well suited for our doublegun hinge pins?

Here's my favorite of this kind of product ....... the specs can be called up for it, at the bottom of the page, for someone with the ability to interpret them to our gun language.

https://www.kimballmidwest.com/80771

A while ago, I started using TW25B on what I thought were tough, high wear situations, many rounds through semi auto pistols, and it has slowly taken over for almost everything. I use it very sparingly, it never gums up over time or in cold temps. In very dusty conditions, I would call extreme, I clean up traces of grit, not any where near what I came to expect with conventional greases. There's no panacea, but I've come to use it with predictability and high confidence.

I've used Froglube. It is not a very good lubricant, but it does work quite well as a rust preventative. I would never use it on internal parts as it certainly does harden. I've used it on sheathed carbon steel blades and on the exterior of guns that see the rain. It also seems to work pretty well for long term storage protection. That said, I probably won't be buying more.

Doesn�t appear to be an EP lube, Stan. Chuck might weigh in on this, but, after any clearance in the locking mechanism is taken up, at the shot, the hinge pin is going to be rapidly stress loaded, and unloaded, in a few fractions of a second. I can�t think of a better place for an EP lube, off the top of my head.

I beg to differ just a bit, but, the majority of wear I have seen on good double guns is from a combination of using hot ammunition, and a degree of neglect with same. Ammunition outside of spec for a double gun has eaten up bunches of them. I believe hot ammunition is far enough up the list that even guns proofed for the really big stuff have their working life shortened considerably using it. The second most common killer of good doubles, is gunsmiths who really aren�t.

My opinion only.

Maybe worth noting, regarding English gunmakers who have used the same combination of obsolete lubricants for a 100 or more years, is to keep in mind those same gunmakers had to be dragged, kicking and screaming, to produce breech loading guns, central fire cartridge guns, hammerless guns, steel barreled guns, and every other improvement that the market proved worthwhile. You could wax poetically that they were hidebound, or just tell the truth, that they were pigheaded, and too cheap to invest in new materials and methods, and resistant to change.

Innovation is notably lacking in the trade. Lubricants may be the most dramatically improved field of many in the last hundred plus years, but, you wouldn�t know that by what the builders of fine guns continue to demonstrate.

Best,
Ted