I usually use Hornady One Shot gun cleaner and lube...but have been experimenting with WD-40 Specialist Dry Lube PTFE spray...used to use a lot of PB Blaster when I was working on my Jeep, but now that I live in AZ and rust isn't a problem I went with the teflon spray on stuff

 

I'm in Arizona as well. Dusty doesn't describe it. In the PNW were I grew up oil was the way to go while hunting in the late hunting seasons. The rain is relentless.

 

I've used it on my semi-autos and have been happy with it. In a dusty environment (barn for me) it is far better than grease/oil.

 

Pretty low shear strength but firearms are a non demanding application. Sure why not.

Welcome to Rimfire Central!

Frank

 

Don’t listen to these guys, dry lubes just don’t work! What you want to use is a mix of 30% synthetic oil, 30% automatic transmission fluid and 40% bacon fat. Without doubt the best ever lube for the 10/22, fact!


j/k Like so many others, I use the Hornady OneShot lube/cleaner (not the case lube!). Graphite may work, but why mess with proven success - just to save a few dollars? With the cost of ammo and range time, any cost difference between the two lubes is negligible.


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Don’t listen to these guys, dry lubes just don’t work! What you want to use is a mix of 30% synthetic oil, 30% automatic transmission fluid and 40% bacon fat. Without doubt the best ever lube for the 10/22, fact!


j/k Like so many others, I use the Hornady OneShot lube/cleaner (not the case lube!). Graphite may work, but why mess with proven success - just to save a few dollars? With the cost of ammo and range time, any cost difference between the two lubes is negligible.


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You forgot “eye of newt”

 

I just learned that some Champion Benchrest Shooters use Lockease Graphite after deep cleaning is completed.
If it’s good enough for them it’ll be good enough for me, maybe I’ll became a champion. It will have to happen quickly for an 85 year old Rimfire Benchrester.
Fritz

 

This is where I learned about the use of Lockease, from Thomas “Speedy” Gonzales,Champion
Benchrest Shooter, hosted by Eric Cortina.
Fritz
from YouTube:

 

Nasty stuff, gets all over everything.

 

I was under the impression that graphite and aluminum together was a no-go?

 

me too...that's another reason why I want to see how the WD-40 PTFE (teflon) spray holds up to the sandy environment I'm in...that, and the local hardware store has it on the shelf cheap

 

Causes corrosion in humid areas, galvanic corrosion.

 

THIS^^^

Graphite can cause galvanic corrosion with aluminum in contact with other metals, especially when chloride ions get in the mix, ie: sea water.
Modern firearms contain many aluminum parts, mostly anodized but there are plenty of interface surfaces exposed. I would not use graphite as a gun lube with so many better choices-
There are plenty of other dry lubes available such as Hornady One Shot (my fave) and Liquid Wrench with Cerflon.

DrGunner

 

Graphite is technically an abrasive.... but it is so very very fine and then when mixed/suspended with other chems that, I presume, it will not have neg impacts on modern barrels and therefore provide the lubrication is it famous for.

 

hey, thanks for that tidbit of info..

I googled and this popped up:
Even though graphite can handle intense high-pressure situations with ease, it is actually a very soft, abrasive, and brittle material. This can cause serious challenges when machining, as graphite can eat up cutting tools, and severely minimize a tool's usable life.

so, I won't be using any graphite around my machines, and will definitely stick to the teflon..which is scratch and abrasion resistant

 

I would think you guys out there in and around Yuma would not have any humidity issues with a Graphite.
I've used it for years on locks. Everything else I tried collected dust and grit. The graphite doesn't.
Never tried it on a gun before but now I will.

 

I would think you guys out there in and around Yuma would not have any humidity issues with a Graphite.
I've used it for years on locks. Everything else I tried collected dust and grit. The graphite doesn't.
Never tried it on a gun before but now I will.

contrary to popular belief, it does rain in Yuma occasionally, seems like it does every time I forget to roll the windows up on the car at night, but generally low humidity in Yuma is true..

but why use graphite on aluminum when I can use teflon just as easily and have no issues whatsoever, no matter what the humidity level is...

if you've never tried the Hornady One Shot on your 10/22, you should give it a try

 

Here’s what’ll have to pass for a contribution to this discussion on my behalf…

Many years ago I heard somewhere graphite fills micro fissures and lubes the bore so I dutifully got some Lockeeze and started applying it as part of the cleaning regimen in my .308 Remington 700.
All was well, and the product did no harm, at least not to my knowledge, and quite possibly even some good until one day the #?!*%! thing😎 somehow busted in my toolbox. As a result my current attitude towards it is even worse than towards the Red Locktite (except for handgun front sight installs) - I nearly cross myself when I see it even in ads😂😂🤦‍♂️
…I mean you could use a hand grenade as a paper weight, but there are better options 😎

OTOH One Shot is imo one of the best - perhaps THE best - products in its class, and when during that prolonged shortage during Covid I scored a case of it on EBay, it put a smile on my face for the rest of that day😎

 

When I was working in Yuma most of the humidity came from all the fields being irrigated.
I use the graphite dry lube on my single shot break actions, helps lighten the trigger pull.

 

Had a string of quotes and citations ready to post but you guys sussed it out...good work guys...

 

I use it on all my magazines - after taking them apart and cleaning, I spray a light coating inside and when it is dry I wipe off any excess and reassemble. Makes them function much better.

 

I only use graphite in magazines
I got some of the aerosol stuff at work, with the thought I might use it for magazines because regular graphite is messy. IF you can get the aerosol stuff where you need it, it’s a little less messy than the powder.
Years ago when I bought my Beta magazine I was told to put in a little graphite every 5 rounds. It has always worked 100%

 

You didn't say how you planned to use it, so I'll assume your asking about using it to lube moving parts in a firearm. I used to use a light graphite grease, Outer's Reel Lube, as I recall, back in the 60s and 70's, but the only place I use graphite now is the powdered form for locks, particularly car door locks. Graphite has long ago been replaced by better lubricants for most uses. It's messy, and it doesn't provide good wear protection compared to more modern lubricants. On its own, it provides zero corrosion protection, and most spray graphite lubes have just a volatile carrier solvent that evaporates off, leaving little or nothing behind on the metal.
My go-to lube for firearms, and a lot of other things just because I have it, is Brownell's Action Lube. It looks expensive, $14 for a 2 oz. tub of it, but it's actually quite economical because you don't use very much. It's an extremely light synthetic grease. I don't know what the drop point (the temperature at which it will melt and drop off) is, but it's a lot hotter than I let my firearms get. It's got a high molybdenum sulfide content, and that stays embedded in the surface even if you wipe most of the greasy carrier off. It also does extremely well at blocking corrosion, the sort you get from damp conditions, water spray and fingerprint oil.
As I said, it's expensive, but a little goes a long way. I use a tub of it perhaps every five years or so, and I shoot and clean a fair bit. Consider how much of a new firearm you can buy for $14, or how many minutes (seconds?) of a good gunsmith's time you can get for that.

 

the only place I've been using the graphite spray that I have, has been for the aluminum tracks on the sliding glass doors going out to my back deck...but now that I am aware that graphite isn't a great product to use on aluminum, I'm switching to the WD-40 teflon spray for the door tracks as well

 

When hunting in wet weather I use Remington dry lube.

 

I think almost all brands of anti-seize have Graphite in it. Most of us use anti-seize in aluminum receivers now.

 

Dry graphite will act differently than it will when mixed with copper, grease and aluminum, as it is in Never-Seez Regular and similar products.



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You are right my friend but I dont see graphite eating up guns. I also don't see problems with it in my machine shop on raw aluminum. I guess in time it could cause problems but I just haven't seen it.

 

heavy sigh!

 

I don't use graphite, but instead use a dry moly spray. Works on AR bcgs, trigger assemblies, buffers and buffer springs, magazine tubes and springs, bolt gun bolts, etc. It's fine anywhere you would use a dry lube and doesn't cause any galvanic corrosion. Just make sure there's no graphite in the mix.

 

Google No-Ox Id-A special. It works great on aluminum where any dissimilar metals are involved. Some seem to think Aluminum and stainless are a good mix, but look at an old outboard engine used in saltwater. No-Ox has worked well for me for several years

 

I still old school always have a jar of rigs grease on rails only