Lubricants
Owning a firearm requires taking great care of it. And not just for aesthetic purposes. You need to preserve it in a proper state to achieve high-level performance, avoid malfunction and getting harm. To do this, brands manufacture such maintenance products as cleaning tools, cleaners, and lubes.
Lubricating your gun is an essential part of taking care. Here is why.
- Smooth operation. Lubricants reduce friction between moving parts of the firearm which reduces wear and prolongs lifespan.
- Safety. A firearm that is cleaned and lubricated won’t fail and inflict injury.
- Longevity. Lubricants prevent firearms from corrosion.
When taking care of your firearm, lubrication should take place only after cleaning. Though metal parts of a gun may seem smooth to the naked eye, they are not. If you take a macro shot of a metal surface, you’ll see it is much rougher. Uneven surface collects dust, dirt, carbon residue, and other particles, and if you don’t clean them, they will mix with the lube. And you don’t want that to happen.
When you’ve done cleaning, don’t forget to apply lubricant. Without lubrication, metal will be susceptive to rust, and gun components will suffer from extensive friction.
All lubricants can be classified into grease and oil lubricants.
Oil lubricants
Gun oil lubes are less viscous than grease ones. Because of a thinner consistency, you can spread it evenly along the surface. Besides, oil lubes have high migration quality which allows them to spread around the point of application reaching places physically unavailable to you.
Apply oil lubricants to parts that grind against each other. This will help to reduce friction.
You also may come across spray gun oil lubes. It’s a drying type of lubricant, and with it applied treated surfaces collect fewer dust and particles during the lubrication process.
Aerosol oil lubricants are often designed to be also gun cleaners and protectants.
Grease lubricants
Grease lubes, on the other hand, are vicious and don’t migrate. Due to their thickness, the parts experiencing pressure and high loads are better protected. Grease lubes also tend to be more water-resistant. But, as opposed to oil lubricants, they are hard to apply to surfaces with limited access. Besides, they freeze in cold environments.
Don’t forget that air gun parts also experience frictions and are susceptible to corrosion. So be sure to buy an air gun lubricant.
We hope now you know what type of lubricant your firearm needs. On GritrSports.com, you’ll find the best gun lubricants and cleaners available on the market.