Originally Posted by rburg

Time for a little common sense, or a reality check. You don't need the best lubricant. You don't even need one of the best. Almost any old lube will do. When you think about it, cost needs to be considered.

I've got a couple of old guns. They date from 100 years ago onward. Somehow they all survived without the benefit of today's wonder lubes (and wonder prices.). Most look so pristine you'd guess they came off the production line yesterday. But instead they've spent at least the last 70 or more years stored someplace. Not together, either. The guns can't talk. We all wish they could.

We've guessed over the years the owners, and I'm sure with most its plural, used what they had. It wasn't the same thing, because they had no idea what the last guy used. And almost all of the products worked.

The 3 in 1 oil is an interesting product. Almost no one recommends it for any serious use. Except I feel pretty certain the unwashed gun owners in the past used it with great success. The more recently hated substance is WD40. Almost no product elicits more hatred. Yet many of us have used it with good results. I think its probably the best gun first aid product ever made. A lot of people use it exclusively. Many of them own guns that are still very nice.

Something else we haven't discussed is need. We've got a big forum here. We've got folks who live on the salt flats of Utah and the coastlines of the Atlantic and Pacific. Others live in places where even a car body sanded to bare metal won't rust because there is no moisture. And some live in the cold wastelands with temps often below zero. Others live in the deserts where its hotter than hell. We don't all require or want the same products. Some lubes evaporate, others turn to concrete with cold. One product may not fill all of everyone's needs.

Me, I use what I can lay my hands on, mostly. I do have some RemOil that works pretty darn good on safe queens. And I've got both CLP and CLP collectors. I've got an aged Browning that has only seen the original can's of Browning gun oil. Not rusted yet.

My conclusion: It just doesn't matter.