To lube or not to lube....

[oldiesradio1560]

I talked to a tech at Smith & Wesson this morning to order some back up side plate screws for my M640 .357. He made the comment that they didn't recommended taking off the side plate which I was not going to do anyway but I mentioned I took the yoke screw off to clean and lube the crane and cylinder and spray the gun with Rem Oil. His reply was using Rem Oil on the outside of the gun was fine but DO NOT use Any lubricant on the inside parts of the gun. That was not needed at all and would "gum" up the action over time. I was amazed since this goes against everything I've heard since the 70's. Anybody agree or disagree with him? How many gunsmiths agree with this?

 

[sakoluvr]

WD40 can get gummy but Rem Oil will not. Like any other lube, use sparingly

 

[ContinentalOp]

I'm not a gunsmith, but I lube my gun sparingly. I use a total of maybe 4 or 5 drops of lube at different points, none of which involves any disassembly. I've been doing this for several years and have yet to run into a problem.

FWIW, I follow the lubrication guidance of Grant Cunningham, who is recognized as having been one of the best revolversmiths around (he's retired from gunsmithing but still writes and teaches). He recommends lubing revolvers.

Edit: FYI, I use Gun Butter to lube and it works well for me. I've read Cunningham recommend ATF as well as Lubriplate.

 

[haywood]

I use Ballistol. Been using it for 10 to 15 years. No problems.

 

[cmj8591]

The risks you run with lubing the internals is two fold. First, if you use the wrong lube, like wd40, it can turn into varnish over time. I have seen guns rendered inoperable by wd40. Second, if you use a lube like rem oil, it won't gum but it can act as a magnet for dust and dirt which will bind up the operation. Generally, less is more when it comes to the inside of the gun. A carry gun should have no visible oil on anything. When I detail a revolver, I just wipe the parts down with a very lightly oily rag as I reassemble the gun. My oil of choice is Breakfree or MPro7.

 

[ContinentalOp]

I'll add that the only time I've ever heard the recommendation to not lube anything is in extremely cold environments that could cause some lubes to gum up and seize the gun's internals, but even then I think proper lube choice and application can prevent that from happening.

 

[BC38]

Guns are machines, and most of the critical parts are made of metal.

Metal parts rubbing against each other will experience wear. Every time two pieces of bare metal rub against each other molecules of metal are being scraped off of one or both of them. That is the definition of wear.

Lubricants are used to provide a slippery film that actually acts as a barrier between the two parts. It reduces or even eliminates the actual physical contact between them.

Those are the simple facts of physics. Draw your own conclusions.

 

[photoman]

RemOil works good for me on the external parts. I sparingly use the light Wilson grease on some of the higher pressure points on the internal parts.

 

[kennyb]

I do not pull side plates to lube...and have never had a problem

 

[Muss Muggins]

If you go to revolver armorer's school, you'll find out that a S&W revolver needs no lube under the sideplate. If you don't, because you know better, you soak up the innards with the popular grease of the day and then wonder why you have to keep doing so . . .

 

[gnystrom]

I have been using various lubes on the internals for 50 years. Recently tried WD40 DRY LUBE. Spray followed by a compressed air blow out. Regardless of your lube choice, your gun will function better and run smoother with lightly lubricated internal parts.

 

[Hopper]

Sort of like the poster above, I like Hornady One Shot gun cleaner/dry lube. I don't often take off the side plate, but if I do any kind of spring swap, I like to give the internals a very light hit with the dry lube, then use patches/q-tips to remove any bit of excess. I also like just a bit of lube under the rebound slide. And, of course, I like a very light coating on the crane before I put the cylinder back on. So far, so good! But agreed with most posters... a tiny bit goes a LONG way, otherwise you may find yourself occasionally wiping up mud.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Regardless of your lube choice, your gun will function better and run smoother with lightly lubricated internal parts.

For a little while. Kinda like packing a transmission with sawdust. Leave it alone . . .

 

[photoman]

Straight from the current factory revolver owners manual...

"After cleaning, lightly coat the metal parts, internal and external with a high quality gun oil."

 

[smithman 10]

To oil or not to oil

This thread prompted me to pick up a book I've consulted for years, Jerry Kuhnhausen's "The S&W Revolver, A Shop Manual", copyright 1986.

On many pages Kuhnhausen recommends greasing parts lightly during reassembly.

I've also known several revolver gunsmiths considered top-notch people in my neck of the woods, two were armorers for major police departments and both used some lubricant inside Smith revolvers.

I think this phobia about gumming up the innards must come from folks squirting large quantities of WD-40 and such into their revolvers, with predictably less than excellent results.

Over the 20 plus years I have owned, used and yes, by gosh actually taken side plates off Smith revolvers, I see more and more folks terrified of performing even the simplest cleaning and maintenance of their revolvers.

It's astounding.

I'm with Kuhnhausen. I use lubrication inside the revolver. Sparingly. And it's always worked for me.

 

[Muss Muggins]

Straight from the current factory revolver owners manual...

"After cleaning, lightly coat the metal parts, internal and external with a high quality gun oil."

Yeah, this is also in the manual:

"CAUTION:
Never disassemble your firearm beyond the instructions in the Field Stripping and Inspection sections of this manual."

Don't see anything about taking the sideplate off in the manual . . .

 

[photoman]

I remove the side plate to change springs when I first buy a gun and will clean and lubricate the internal parts lightly.

If a person want to run a dry gun, I could not care less.

 

[Horn]

This is about WD40. Many years ago a bulletin went out to all LE departments to keep WD40 away from all ammo. It can penetrate around
the primers! For this reason___I never use WD40 on my recovers or
pistols or rifles or shotguns or.....Did I leave out something. There's lots of
excellent gun lubes these days. I prefer, to play it safe..."for firearms".
Also, in my opinion I don't know of any suppliers that own an oil refinery.
Other than the synthetics I think most originate with oil companies. Even
most synthetics these days.
Great discussion, guys. What else is better on these forums, eh?
Stay safe
Poli Viejo

 

[BC38]

Yeah, this is also in the manual:

"CAUTION:
Never disassemble your firearm beyond the instructions in the Field Stripping and Inspection sections of this manual."

Don't see anything about taking the sideplate off in the manual . . .

Ummm, yeah, that would be legaliese for
"if you forget to put the hammer safety block back in and someone gets hurt or killed when you drop your gun, we're not responsible because we told you not to take it apart" clause.

Disclaimers about not taking a gun apart and maintenance instructions to lube metal on metal parts are totally unrelated.

Realistically, comparing the two is like saying that because the owners manual of your new car says to take it to the stealership for service, you should ignore the manual's instructions to periodically check and top up the engine oil. Maintenance/lube and tearing down the engine (or your gun) are two totally different things.

 

[BuckeyeS&W]

For a little while. Kinda like packing a transmission with sawdust. Leave it alone . . .

I pack mine with fresh ATF once in a while it helps . Like a transmission a firearm has moving metal parts that are in contact and produce friction and wear. I take my side plate off before I even fire a new or used Smith and Wesson ,clean out all manufacturers dirt and grime then treat all moving parts with dry moly lube. Dry moly spray goes on wet until the liquid carriers evaporate then what is left is a dry film of moly that does not attract dirt or dust and does not gum up in the cold.

If you don't want me to take the side plate off don't put removable screws on it.