Automotive Lithium Grease for lubricant?

[jacob.sebens]

What would the downside be to using lithium grease from the local AutoZone to lubricate my XD? I've been trying it for the last few weeks, with no noticeable negatives...actually, it's much smoother now than with oil. But I have this nagging feeling that if it were really better, they'd sell it at gun stores. Anyone know?

[farmer]

lubricates well, but attracts dust like crazy

[Tempest]

I'll preface this by saying that I am not a fan of solid lubricants.

To find out more about Moly, check this Link and this Link. Moly is big on that site so they talk it up pretty well.

The whole point of a lube is to keep the metal asperities away from each other. From the Texaco site:

Asperities
Microscopic projections on metal surfaces resulting from normal surface-finishing processes. Interference between opposing asperities in sliding or rolling applications is a source of friction, and can lead to metal welding and scoring. Ideally, the lubricating film between two moving surfaces should be thicker than the combined height of the opposing asperities.

Solid lubricants (moly, teflon, etc.) are used to fill in the valleys of the asperities to present an effectively smoother surface to the liquid lubricant. This increases film strength, and provides for less metal to metal contact. This same thing can be done chemically with no solids, which is why I like FP10. Their technical info can be found Here.

The grease you have sounds like it is designed for the wheel bearings in cars. But in reality, firearms simply don't see the loads/pressures/constant heat that cars do. A heavy grease is needed (in a wheel bearing) to be able to deal with the pot hole down the road, and the heat generated by the constant 1000+ RPM spinning wheel hub and brakes which WILL thin these lubricants out considerably. Engines see multi-thousand RPM's, and ~200F, yet use oils that will only be about 1/6 as thick at operating temperature as they are in the bottle. And yet they last for many, many millions of cycles. I think that a good quality oil is more than sufficient for ANY semi auto firearm, and would do just fine in most full auto ones.

Add to that the cleaning nightmare that is heavy grease, and very real potential for debris to become embedded in it. In which case you now have lapping compound, not lube. Wheel hubs don't have these problems because they are not cleaned very often, are not subjected to burning byproducts, and are sealed from most outside contaminates.

If you MUST use grease, use TW25B from Mil comm. This is specifically designed for weapons and is more like a cream than a typical grease. Much thinner than the Autozone grease making parts move much easier, and also much simpler to clean with less chance of debris embedding. It is PTFE based, but it has a sterling record and uses very high quality, ultra small particles to supplement the base oils.

Hope this helps.

[Tempest]

Oooops...
Double tap.

[Bobby Lee]

Lithium grease sold in auto parts stores is not the thick wheel bearing grease like you think it is.

It is a rather thin grease that sticks well to the parts and it is not so thick or heavy that it slows down the workings of the gun.

If one is going to shoot for long periods of time it works better than any oil.

Also unlike some grease it can be left in a gun for years in storage and it does not get thick and hard to remove.

For guns with a lot to slide rail to frame contact such as 1911's it really works well.

[Deacon Dave]

I have used red brake grease on the slide rails of many pistols without a problem. It is designed to handle wet, hot, and dirty conditions found in the brakes of most cars and thus handles a pistol slide with zero problems. Usually cost $2 or 3 for a small tube that will last for years.

[jacob.sebens]

Thanks for all the advice/replies. I haven't noticed any dust/grime accumulating in it, although my personal guns certainly don't see the kind of use that my issued rifle does.

[Bad Flynch]

You can use grease, as you have been, as long as the firearm in question functions properly. Greases, contrary to popular opinion, are not of and by themselves lubricants. Greases are a soap base, such as a lithium based soap, that acts as a carrier for oil. The oil is the lubricant in the end.

Greases can be normal, such as those made from lithium based soaps or they can be waterproof, like waterpump grease, that was made from calcium based soap or aluminum based soap. Aluminum and Calcium based soaps are not water solube and, therefore, confer some degree of water resistance to the grease.

The purpose of a grease is to supply oil to an open-ended system where one could not hold oil long enough to be effective. Greases allow oil to hang around long enough to be of use to the bearing surface.

Greases are sold by grades: 1,2,3,& 4, with 1 being relatively thin and 4 being very stiff. Most lithium automobile chassis greases are #2. Gun greases and fishing reel lubes are typically #1 or a little lighter. The heaviness of the grease could very well affect the operation of your firearm, especially in cold weather. The military used #2 on the M-14 for the bearing where the bolt rode in the op-rod handle.

Most automobile specs call for NLGI grade #2, and that will do fine for most stuff. Occasionally, on wheel bearings, #3 is called for and #3 would nearly always be called for on truck wheel bearings. Firearms mostly would be better of with a NLGI #1 grease, like Pro-Shot, of which I am very fond.