I've never really been a grease kinda guy but I'm seeing alot of videos of guys greasing their bolt guns. My last cleaning ended with trying Lucas Gun Oil on my AI AT bolt. What are you guys using?
Grease or oil for AI bolt
- Thread starter flati
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Geissele Super Thin Grease or whatever they call it.
I would use just about any thing grease you have though.
I would use just about any thing grease you have though.
I use Butches Gun oil on the bolt bodies and TM grease on the lugs For the most part. But the truth is it does not matter as long as you use a lubricant of some sort. grease is better for the cocking ramp surfaces and on the back of the lugs, and I find a light coat of an oil that does not run (if it runs your using too much) on the bolt body. Automotive products work just as well as firearms specific products.
I get super tech synthetic. A $4 quart will last you forever. And a thing of super tech brake grease. Done. $7 spent and a lifetime of “gun lube”
Ive been using Hornady one shot HD extreme spray lube, and keep the can in my pack.
I use Shooter's Choice grease, putting a small dab behind each of the 6 lugs. I also take the firing pin assembly out and put a small dab on the cocking surfaces, then a small dab on the bolt stop. Brand of grease probably doesn't matter.
I have found oil on the bolt body itself doesn't do much, but I wipe a very small film of oil on the inside of the action, only on the top internal surface of the action. This makes cycling the bolt really smooth, but since it is only getting on the external features of the top lugs, it prevents the oil from getting on the rounds as you chamber them and getting into the chamber itself (raising pressure). If you watch closely while you cycle rounds from the magazine, you'll see that the bolt and lugs ride across the top round, so any excess oil can make its way into the chamber.
I have found oil on the bolt body itself doesn't do much, but I wipe a very small film of oil on the inside of the action, only on the top internal surface of the action. This makes cycling the bolt really smooth, but since it is only getting on the external features of the top lugs, it prevents the oil from getting on the rounds as you chamber them and getting into the chamber itself (raising pressure). If you watch closely while you cycle rounds from the magazine, you'll see that the bolt and lugs ride across the top round, so any excess oil can make its way into the chamber.
Consider this:
firearms oil need to lubricate reciprocating metal mass in a high temperature environment, needs to have resistance to shear and ideally would assist in preventing carbon deposits.
Guess how many of those boxes moto oil check? (hint: all of them).
It is also far cheaper to boot, 1 quart will last a lifetime.
Keep in mind, oil is a liquid. All liquids have a propensity to seek the lowest point, meaning they will run and pool.
I am also a big fan of dry film lubricant since it does not grab a hold of dirt and sand, it does lack many of the other properties though.
It is an excellent choice for a truck gun that may be stuck in the truck for months before being.
A very excellent grease is magnalube G. It doesn't dry and cake like many types of grease. I have a mini-grease gun that has had the same magnalube in it since about 1993.
I have been trying out this lubricant called NFused (http://nfused.com) on bolt bodies/actions for a little bit now. Stuff is crazy slick and a drop of it goes a long way. Very light film on the body and just a bit on the lug contact surfaces.
After reading this thread, I stopped by auto zone and asked my man what the slickest oil they have. He pointed me to royal purple full synthetic 5W-20. Also picked up a packet of brake grease. So yall are using the oil on the bolt body and lug surfaces and grease on the cocking cam surface?
Never been a fan of grease on the lugs. It just holds dirt up in the lock ring and ends up eventually getting caked in there. Easy to clean on the AXMC/AXSA because you can just pop the barrel/forend off and clean away. Fixed barrel systems, a little more involved.
I see no reason why a small amount on the bolt cam would be a problem as long as it's not lithium grease. That's probably the worst one could use anywhere. Just clean any grit off that stuck in the oil/grease after an outing and re-apply. The key on all of this is very light amounts. The wetter it is the more debris it's going to hold onto.
FWIW, if other than a casual day at the range and the rifle is to be "seriously fielded", I leave it all completely dry. You'd be surprised what a difference in cleanliness it makes.
Pretty much any grease on the bolt lugs and cocking surface will work. For an AI or any coated bolt, the body shouldn’t need much of anything but at most a very thin film or oil or grease. By thin I mean a couple dabs spread over entire body and any excess wiped off. There shouldn’t be any visible build up of grease on the body. It actually makes the bolt slower in my opinion.
If were talking cocking cam and threads into the bolt body I use Loctite C5-A copper anti-seize lubricant. Also use this stuff on the barrel threads when installing a barrel (AI excluded).
Copper in the grease really helps slick up some of these more high friction parts and smooths out the bolt throw.
Copper in the grease really helps slick up some of these more high friction parts and smooths out the bolt throw.
It's just not really beneficial for a bolt. Much better suited for rotational applications that are somewhat "protected". It's a stretch going into this much depth of course, but white lithium grease has some of the poorest shear stability ratings of all greases. It just moves out of the way with no grain penetration. It's good for making things quiet, that's about it.
The biggest issue: It dries into a crusty dough rather quickly, but while it is still moist it captures pretty much every piece of debris that it can. A good lapping compound! It also gets ridiculously thick in cold weather, which at that point turns it into a crust.
I know guys that used it for the firing pin assembly and it eventually clogged up the bolt body to the point where the firing pin wouldn't make full protrusion. They had to dig it out with a pick and ultrasonic it out.
Tetra is some good stuff for the lugs and cocking piece. I forgot to kneed the tube a few times and you get all of that Tetra-Pee-Teflon goodness skeeting out at first.
Grease on the locking lugs helps prevent galling. Which is less concern on coated bolts or lower pressure cartridges, but I still like a thin layer. They make action cleaning tools to help clean that area out with the barrel on.
Do not use anti-sieze of any sort.
What's slicking it up is the abrasives that are designed to polish and break friction so as not to sieze.
You've lapped your bolts.
Grease is grease (well, grease is oil suspended in a carrier to keep it in place), anti-sieze is not.
And then I'd guess everything you own has a bit of copper on it.
I have some gorilla grease that's non-toxic and biodegradable. A very, very thin coating works even in the cold.
Mobil 1 is my go-to for oil. If I need a lighter oil then the Lucas stuff with the needle applicator works well and it doesn't flash off with heat.
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Timing of this thread is kinda funny for me. Just cleaned the AE in 260 a couple days ago. Light film of Militec-1 (it’s what I have ??
) on the bolt body, and discovered I was out of Slide Glide for the lugs. Out to the shop for the grease gun, John Deere it is ?
) on the bolt body, and discovered I was out of Slide Glide for the lugs. Out to the shop for the grease gun, John Deere it is ?
According to the manual only grease from the blubber of a baby harp seal that has been clubbed to death should touch an AI.
Shocking, I know. The British are monstrous.
Shocking, I know. The British are monstrous.
Copper is much softer than the metals that im applying them to. At most the copper will get smeared into the little imperfections in the metal but it will not cause wear any more than normal metal to metal rubbing with a grease would at most. Anti seize's main purposes is to reduce galling.
More than once as a kid... In the field with my Dad.. I witnessed him pull the dip stick out of trucks, cars, generators, etc and use it as an oil dropper do get some lube on guns, fishing reels, zippers, starter drives, steering pulley's in order to keep us going or get us home from deep in the Atchafalaya Spillway. There was always a quart of 2 cycle engine oil in the boat, also. Field craft at a young age.
Hobo
Hobo
The oil and grease seems to work well. Will this be something I have to do before every match or something that lasts a while. My hornady HF extreme spray normally gets used once a match bc it does wear down and feels gummy. I wipe it off and re apply.
I use a dry film on the inside of the bolt/pin and Slip 2000 on the lug bearing surfaces and cocking cam area.
www.super-lube.com
Super Lube® Dri-Film Lubricant with Syncolon® (PTFE)
Super Lube® Dri-Film Lubricant contains sub-micron sized particles of Syncolon® (PTFE) powder in a solvent base.
Look into bore tech ultra hd grease. I use it just on lugs and contact surfaces. A dab goes a long ways and is meant to work in all temps. Definitely slicks things up.
It should last longer than the Hornady stuff. But your results might very
However my favorite gun oil is the Lucas stuff. However I got some “bolt lube” from swannys comp gear and been trying it out. It’s super slick. And be careful when you apply it. It gets everywhere and then you drop the glass bottle. Thankfully it didn’t break or spill when I dropped it.
