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Dip bore patch into your chosen solvent. Be sure to wear rubber gloves and eye protection!

Revolver Maintenance

It’s been said that the autoloading pistol is more tolerant of abuse, where the revolver is more tolerant of neglect. In my experience that’s a pretty accurate observation; the revolver will function even exposed to the kind of dirty and hostile environment encountered in a pocket or ankle holster, the kind of environment that stops autos in a matter of days.

The revolver is certainly less maintenance-intensive than the autoloader, but that doesn’t mean it’s maintenance free. A little attention, of the right kind, will ensure that your revolver runs at peak efficiency at all times. It starts with treating the gun right whenever you use it.

After every range session

I have a confession: I don’t clean my gun after every range outing. I’ll admit to being a bit of a slob in this regard, as some of my guns have gone more than a year between cleanings. This is definitely a ‘do as I say, not as I do’ situation, because as a gunsmith I can tell when problems are creeping up, and more importantly I can fix problems quickly and easily. Unless you’re in the same situation I recommend that you keep the maintenance on your revolver up to date.

Like any other gun, a revolver should be cleaned as soon after shooting as is practical. It keeps the gun in proper condition for immediate use, alerts you to problems before they become serious, and generally gives you a better understanding of your gun and how it functions. Yes, I’ll concede that it’s a dirty job, which I try to get through with as little bother as possible. Here’s how to do it.

Safety first!

The first thing to do is to check that the revolver is unloaded, then double check it. I’m always amazed at the number of people to claim that their gun went off while they were cleaning it, and so you should make doubly sure that the chambers are empty before ever starting.

Also make sure that there is no ammunition in the proximity of your cleaning area. This is an important and often overlooked safety procedure, one which ensures that no live round can ‘accidentally’ make its way anywhere near your gun. I recommend cleaning the gun in a separate room, one which has been checked and confirmed to have no ammunition present.

Run wet patch through the bore a couple of times.

Start with the barrel

Once the area is secure, wet a patch with your choice of bore cleaner and run it down the barrel a couple of times. The goal here is to get the barrel wet so that the cleaner has time to soften any residue in the bore. These couple of passes should leave you with a very dirty patch, so discard it. Wet a second clean patch and do the same to every chamber. The bore and chambers will sit, wet, for a few minutes while you attend to the rest of the gun.

It’s important that you not choose a bore cleaner that contains ammonia, as many that claim to remove copper fouling do. If your cleaner is of that variety, don’t let the barrel and cylinder sit – finish cleaning them immediately.

While the barrel and cylinder are soaking, take a toothbrush or, better yet, the common M16 cleaning brush (cheap and solvent resistant!) and dip it into the bore cleaner. Shake off the excess – you want it damp, not wet – and scrub the inside of the cylinder window and the breechface area. Pay particular attention to the tight area between the topstrap and the barrel, as this is where carbon and other ignition residue likes to collect.

When scrubbing the breechface don’t let excess solvent get into the firing pin hole or the slot where the hand protrudes. Some seepage is inevitable, but a lot is detrimental to the lubricants inside the gun. The recessed area where the ejector star sits when the cylinder is closed is often a haven for carbon buildup, so clean that area carefully. After scrubbing, a cotton swab is helpful to remove the grimy film that the brush leaves.

Speaking of the hand, I recommend that it be cleaned as well. The hand only protrudes when the gun is cocked, and all revolvers except Colt and Dan Wesson have interlocks that prevent the gun from being cocked if the cylinder is open. To defeat them it’s necessary to hold the thumb latch in the closed position as the gun is cocked. For a S&W, the thumb latch is pushed back, away from the muzzle; on a Ruger, it’s rotated out of the frame (the Ruger is more difficult to defeat, but with practice it can be done.)

Once the gun is cocked and the hand visible I use a cotton swab to gently wipe off any dirt on the hand’s surface. Once that’s done the hammer can be gently lowered and the gun is back to normal operation. (This is not an option on a gun that’s been rendered double action only, or a gun with a hidden hammer.)

While bore is soaking, use a dampened toothbrush to clean the breechface….

…and the area between the topstrap and barrel.

Cleaning the extractor recess in the cylinder keeps cylinder from binding.

Make sure to get the underside of the extractor star as well.

Once that’s done, wipe your brush on a shop towel or rag. Don’t use paper towels for brush cleaning, as they usually just tear and leave fibers in bristles which end up in the works of your gun.

(I recommend, unless you live alone, that you not use the hand towels from your bathroom. You’d think the reasons would be obvious, but we males seem not to comprehend them unless an outside force acts upon us. It took me several years of marriage before I finally figured this out, and I relate this cautionary tale in the hopes that you can profit from my mistakes.)

Once the brush is clean, dip it into your cleaner and again shake off the excess. Hold the gun in a manner that allows you to push and hold the ejector rod while you brush the area under the extractor star. This area is a big recess with many crannies, so it’s necessary to rotate the cylinder occasionally to ensure that they’re all thoroughly cleaned. Unburned powder likes to hide in those recesses, and the thickness of a single grain is enough to bind the cylinder and keep it from rotating, or even closing. Also pay some attention to the underside of the star itself, as there is often a relief cut around where the ejector shaft and the actual star meet.

After bore has soaked, run a bronze brush through the barrel several times.

Chambers should be cleaned similarly to bore. Start with a wet patch…

…followed by a thorough brushing and a dry patch.

You should also take the toothbrush to the face of the cylinder to remove any lead or powder residue, which can build up and affect the barrel/cylinder gap. On a stainless gun this often leaves a black combustion ring, which isn’t any threat to the operation of the revolver but is unsightly. The stains can usually be removed with a ‘Lead-Away’ cloth. (Caution: do not use the Lead-Away on a blued gun - it will remove the finish!)

By the time you’ve finished all that, the bore cleaner should have done its magic. Using a short (pistol length) rod, attach a bronze brush of the appropriate caliber and dip the brush into your cleaner. Run the brush through the bore several times, taking care not to let any solvent drip into the firing pin hole or the slot where the hand protrudes. Just as before, this keeps any solvent or loosened dirt from being deposited in the action.

When finished brushing, take a patch and attach it to a jag. You can also wrap it around a nylon bore brush, which I find to be a bit more effective than a jag. Having a second bore rod is ever so helpful here, as it saves the tedium of screwing and unscrewing attachments. (I really hate that part of the job!) Dip the patch in your cleaner and run it through the bore several times to lift out any grime the brush has loosened.

The wet patch should come out of the bore dirty. If it’s particularly so, indicating a lot of dirt still in the barrel, get a new patch, dip it in cleaner, and repeat the action. Repeat this process until the patches start to look fairly clean.

Once you reach that point attach a clean, dry patch to the jag and run it through the bore one time. If you’ve done a thorough job with the wet patches the second or third dry patch should start looking pretty clean. I stop at this point. You certainly can spend another half hour cleaning, until the dry patches come out looking like freshly washed hospital sheets, but I think that’s overkill. I don’t believe that such levels of cleanliness gain us anything, ballistically speaking. After all, the first shot you take after cleaning will dirty the bore all over again.

In my opinion the key to bore cleaning is to remove anything that would cause a buildup, as opposed to removing everything. It’s been said that more bores have been ruined by cleaning than by shooting, and while I think that’s nonsense I do believe that it puts us in the right frame of mind: there is such a thing as ‘clean enough,’ and that’s what you should strive for.

Unless, of course, you actually like the process. If that’s the case, clean until your heart is content!

Leaded bores

It’s a simple fact of the shooting life: plain lead bullets leave a certain amount of metal in your barrel. How much depends on a number of factors: the smoothness of the bore, the amount and type of lubricant on the slug, how well the bullet fits the bore, what kind of base the bullet has, and what kind of lead alloy is used.

Contrary to advertising hype, there is no such thing as a lead bullet that leaves absolutely nothing in the bore, but some do leave less than others. It’s quite possible to shoot a couple hundred lead rounds and have the lead residue come out easily with normal cleaning methods, if everything is working in concert.

It’s not uncommon, however, for lead shooters to find themselves facing a nasty layer of lead left in the bore. Lead fouling must be removed, because it raises gas pressures and lowers accuracy. Once leaded, the bore will get worse – very quickly.

How do you know if your bore is leaded? First clean the barrel normally, then examine it carefully. The easiest way to do this is to open the cylinder, triple check that it is indeed empty, and put a small piece of white paper over the firing pin hole. Hold the gun so that light is reflected off the paper and into the barrel while you look through the muzzle at the paper.

As you look down the bore, focus on the forcing cone. Leading shows up as an irregular or bumpy surface which contrasts with the smooth, shiny surface of a normal bore. Leading is the same color from this perspective, so pay attention to the texture and sheen. Leading almost always starts just past the forcing cone, and as it gets worse extends further and further down the bore.

If normal brushing didn’t remove it you’ll need to take additional steps. The easiest is to use a spiral-wound brush commonly called a Tornado. Available in bronze and stainless steel, it touches the surface being cleaned with the rounded side of the wires, as opposed to a standard brush which touches with the sharp cut end. A bronze Tornado will generally remove all but the worst leading without risk of damage to the bore.

Extra-tough Tornado brush, on right, will remove most leading easily.

Chore Boy copper scrubber, wrapped around a nylon brush, is the safest method to clean a very stubborn bore.

To use, dip the Tornado in cleaner and run it through the bore like any other brush. Before you pull it back out, take a look at the surface of the brush. Successful lead removal will show as small silver flakes on the yellow bristles. If you see those you know the brush is doing the job, and all that’s necessary is to repeat the process until successive passes show no lead flaking.

When you see no more flakes on the brush, examine the bore again. If the leading hasn’t been dramatically reduced, you’ll need to take stronger measures.

Go to your local household goods emporium and buy a Chore Boy Ultimate Scrubber. These are pure copper wool balls used to clean very dirty dishes and stainless appliances without doing harm to their surfaces. Be sure to get the authentic item, marked very clearly as being made from pure copper.

Tear one apart and wrap a piece around a bronze brush. Dip it into your bore cleaner and push it down the bore. It should be a very tight fit requiring some force; if not, wrap a bigger piece of the Chore Boy on the brush and try again. As the brush exits the barrel on the breech end, examine it for lead flakes. Unless you have an extreme case of leading, the Chore Boy should remove large amounts with each successive pass, and leave a completely clean bore in just a minute or so of work. I’ve rarely found a leading case that a few strokes with the Chore Boy didn’t cure.

There are such cases, however, and when I run across those I break out the Lewis Lead Remover. The LLR consists of fine bronze mesh disks which are wrapped around a conical rubber sleeve. The sleeve is adjustable; as it’s compressed by a threaded rod it increases in diameter. The expanding sleeve forces the mesh into the walls of the bore, conforming to the rifling and increasing the scrubbing action.

In use, the tension of the sleeve is adjusted to the point that the LLR can just be pulled through the bore. That’s right, I said pulled – the LLR is started at the forcing cone and pulled out the muzzle, taking any lead with it. The mesh often comes out with long shards of lead embedded in the surface; it’s cleaned off with a brush and the process repeated as necessary.

The LLR will remove the most foul leading imaginable. It’s not a cheap tool, but if you find yourself frequently dealing with heavily leaded bores it can be a worthwhile investment. Some gun clubs and ranges will have them available for member use, and most gunsmiths have one on their shelf as well.

Cleaning the chambers

There are two things which will help you clean the chambers: a bronze brush one size larger than the caliber, and a mop or nylon brush of similar size. The chambers are larger in diameter than the caliber, to account for the fact that the case fits on the outside of the bullet. If you were to use the same brush that you use for the bore, it won’t make solid contact with the walls of the chamber. By going to the next larger size you ensure that the brush will be a good fit for the chamber. (The only exception is for the .22 Long Rifle, whose case fits on the heel of the bullet and thus is the same diameter as the bullet.) In a .38/.357, for instance, you would use a .40 caliber brush for the chambers.

Dip the brush in cleaning solution and scrub each chamber thoroughly, then follow up with a dry patch wrapped around the bore brush appropriate for the caliber (an oversized brush is not necessary, because the patch takes up the space.) You can also use a wool mop, which I find more convenient.

That’s usually sufficient, although shooting a lot of Special loads in Magnum cylinders can sometimes leave a stubborn ring of combustion products that needs to be removed. The ring is a mix of carbon, jacket material and/or vaporized lead with burnt lubricant. The test is simple: if a Magnum cartridge won’t drop fully into the chamber without assistance, you’ve got a ring to remove.

The tool of choice is a stainless Tornado brush, again one caliber larger than the gun being cleaned. Dip the Tornado in cleaner then run it through the offending chamber(s) several times, followed by the drop mop or patch. I’ve never found a chamber which failed to come clean with this method. The Chore Boy trick works well for this, too.

Cleaning the exterior

The best course is to simply wipe the gun down with a rag that’s been moistened with some bore cleaner. This is generally sufficient to remove most grime, though the cylinder flutes will sometimes collect soot and lubricant residue from lead bullets. This takes a little more elbow grease to remove, and I find application of the toothbrush (dipped in bore cleaner) really helps. If the deposits are severe enough the Chore Boy can be of help, used simply as a scouring pad. Use caution on a blued gun, as it can slightly dull a high polish. If you’re cleaning a very polished blue cylinder, such as that on a Colt Python, I’d recommend that you limit yourself to brushing.

It’s generally a good idea to keep all cleaning solutions away from grips. Some solutions will deteriorate rubber grips or soften the finish on wood grips. Some people go as far as to remove the grips while cleaning, but I’ve never found that to be necessary if sufficient caution is exercised.

Your local gun store will have a wide choice of gun care products.

Bore cleaners

Bore cleaning solutions can be divided into two broad categories: standard cleaners and copper removers. A standard bore cleaner will generally remove everything that a revolver shooter needs to be concerned with. Copper removers, such as Hoppe’s Benchrest or Sweet’s 7.62, are really designed for precision rifles where small amounts of copper fouling can affect long range accuracy.

That’s just not a problem with handguns. First, because the lower velocities don’t result in as much (if any) copper fouling, and secondly because handguns aren’t expected to deliver fractions of a minute-of-angle accuracy. Copper removers require more care in use and require the use of less effective nylon brushes, because the cleaner causes bronze brushes to deteriorate.

My recommendation is to stick with a standard bore cleaner, even if you generally use a copper cutter in your rifles. I’ve used many different brands of bore cleaners, and while I’d love to shill for a manufacturer I must admit that they all work. As a result I don’t have a favorite, but others certainly do.

Many people love the slight banana odor of Hoppes #9, and it may be the quintessential bore cleaning product, but I’ve always liked Outers Bore Clean. (That could be because my first ever cleaning kit, a birthday present when I was about ten years old, was an Outers kit in a neat metal box. I got used to that smell, and to this day it reminds me of my old Winchester .22 rifle.)

My preference these days is for a popular homebrew formula known as ‘Ed’s Red.’ It was concocted some years back by C. E. ‘Ed’ Harris, an engineer formerly with Ruger. His formula is based on the old Hatcher’s bore cleaner, updated to use materials readily available in today’s world. The formula, along with his notes on its history and use, is included in the Appendix.

Author’s favorite oiler is a pliable plastic bottle with a precision needle tip which reaches even the least accessible places.

Oiling the point on which the cylinder pivots makes opening easier.

A drop of oil at the front of the cylinder will keep it rotating smoothly.

Lubrication

A revolver doesn’t demand the same attention to lubrication that an autoloader does. A few drops in strategic places is more than sufficient to keep your wheelgun running.

For proper ongoing lubrication, you’ll need an oiler with a long spout. I’m not fond of spray lubricants, as they deposit far more material than is necessary and usually just make a mess. A simple oil can with a spout that can deliver a single drop precisely is all that’s needed. I prefer a one-ounce bottle with a needle applicator, which will hold more than enough oil and allows me to quickly and easily lubricate as part of my cleaning routine.

After all the cleaning has been done, there are three points that need some lubrication. First, open the cylinder and apply a single drop to the crane pivot. Open and close the cylinder several times to ensure that the oil is distributed properly.

With the cylinder open, invert the muzzle and apply a drop of oil to the small gap where the front of the cylinder meets the crane. Spin the cylinder to work the oil into the mechanism, then apply a second drop and repeat.

Finally, cock the gun and apply a single drop to the sear surfaces deep inside the gun. This is why I prefer an oiler with a needle spout, as this is a difficult place to reach.

If you have a Smith & Wesson, occasionally put a drop of oil on the front locking pin under the barrel. If you have a Ruger, a drop on the crane latch will help keep it opening smoothly. After oiling either of these points, open and close the cylinder several times so the oil can work into the mechanisms.

On a Colt, a drop of oil behind the thumb latch will help reduce binding that these guns commonly experience.

Once a year you may put a drop or two of oil on each side of the hammer and let it sit upright overnight to run down into the frame. The oil should work its way down to the hammer pivot and help keep it lubricated. You can also do the same thing to the trigger, but the gun has to be stored upside down for it to reach inside.

That’s all you need to do. Any other oiling doesn’t accomplish much, because any of the places that you can easily reach aren’t important to lubricate, and you can’t reach the important parts without taking the gun apart.

Put a single drop of oil into the cocked action. Resist the urge to over-oil!

Occasionally place a drop or two of oil on each side of hammer, allow to run down into action.

About lubricants

There is more snake oil sold in the gun industry than was ever peddled in the wild west. The advertising hype is so overblown that you wonder how firearms even existed before the wonder lubes ever made it to market. All claim to protect your gun and make it operate under the most extreme conditions, conditions that ‘normal’ lubricants just can’t handle.

Here’s the reality: revolvers don’t make a lot of demands on lubricants, and it’s not necessary to have some wonder oil to make your wheelgun operate. No revolver operates under any sort of conditions so extreme that they would cause a lubricant to fail. Revolvers don’t subject their moving parts to an excessive amount of heat, none of the parts operates at high speeds, and none are subjected to huge wear-inducing frictional loads.

Much as it might cut into oil sales, it must be pointed out that you’d have no problem finding any number of perfectly functional old revolvers that have received nothing more than an occasional squirt of ‘3-in-1’ oil during their lives. Careful selection of the type of lubricant, however, can make a difference in how the gun feels and possibly how much maintenance it requires over its lifetime.

Some simple mineral oils, for instance, oxidize more rapidly than those made for longer term use, leaving behind a waxy sludge that must be cleaned before the gun can be effectively re-oiled. That waxy sludge can also cause triggers to stick on return or firing pins to bind in their channels. Picking a quality oil and using it properly are the keys to keeping your gun running with a minimum of intervention.

My general rule is to use oil on rotating parts and grease on sliding parts that carry a load. There are exceptions, of course, but I’ve found that this is a pretty solid way to approach lubricant selection. I prefer to use oil on most revolver parts, but the double action sear surfaces fit into the sliding parts category and work best with a coating of light grease. Short of tearing the gun down for detailed lubrication, the parts you’ll normally be able to reach call for a decent oil.

Gun-specific products

Oils and greases suitable for firearms use are really nothing more than industrial lubricants. The additive packages that provide wear protection and prevent oxidation are all well known, and have been used in a dizzying variety of products over the years – firearms being just one of those products. There really is very little new under the sun!

All of the oils sold for use on guns work pretty well, and I’ve found – despite claims from the people selling the stuff – that there really isn’t a whole lot of advantage to one over another. Any of them will do the job if applied correctly.

The only products with which I have reservations are the CLP (cleaner-lubricant-protectant) products and the various ‘miracle’ lubricants. There’s a lot of crossover between these.

The handiest piece of cleaning gear is the ‘GI toothbrush.’ Available in nylon and brass bristles – get one of each.

What is CLP?

The CLP concept is that one product can serve multiple uses: cleaning, lubricating, and protecting against corrosion (rust), thus the ‘CLP’ moniker. They’re sold on ease of use: you only need one product to do everything.

CLP solutions are usually composed of a volatile solvent and a very light mineral oil. The solvent serves to lift the dirt and suspend it in the solution, and as the solvent evaporates the oil is left behind. (It can be argued that the original Hatcher’s bore cleaner, of which Ed’s Red is a modern version, is the original CLP product.)

The CLP products do a pretty good job of cleaning, but I’m less than enthusiastic about their abilities to lubricate – let alone protect – the workings of a gun. The amount of product left behind isn’t large, and I remain skeptical that there is enough to reduce friction as well as serve to prevent corrosion.

That isn’t to say that a CLP can’t be of use, as they generally clean pretty well. If you choose such a product, I recommend that you consider it as a cleaner only and choose the appropriate oil to actually lubricate.

A CLP product is best used by wiping away the bulk of dirty solvent solution, taking most of the dirt and grime while allowing the carrier to evaporate and leaving behind a thin coating of lubricant which serves to augment that which you apply yourself.

Can I use lubricants that aren’t for firearms?

Certainly! There’s nothing special about a lubricant ‘designed’ for firearms. As I’ve mentioned, guns in general (and revolvers in particular) don’t make great demands on their lubricants. Compared to some industrial machines, which operate with continuous high loads at high speeds and generate lots of heat, a gun really isn’t all that tough. Especially when you consider that the vast majority of time the gun is actually sitting idle, it should be pretty clear that it doesn’t take a whole lot to keep one running.

There are many industrial oils and greases with high wear resistance and good corrosion protection that are suitable for your gun. The major concern is getting the correct viscosity for the application.

Lubricants are rated using two systems: the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), and the International Standards Organization (ISO.) Motor oils generally carry SAE classifications, while industrial oils are usually rated according to the ISO scale. They are not equivalent.

For those familiar with automotive oils, a 30w motor oil is roughly an ISO 100 equivalent, while a 10w oil would be about 25 on the ISO chart.

Greases are rated by the National Lubricating Grease Institute, and they issue an NLGI grade. A typical automotive bearing grease is NLGI #2 and has the consistency of peanut butter. A grease rated as NLGI #0 is just barely solid at room temperature, like mustard, while a #00 is semi-fluid – think very finely ground applesauce.

For general gun use, I’ve found an oil in the ISO 30 to ISO 50 range works pretty well. Look for an oil with anti-oxidation and anti-corrosion additives, which address the two major issues with gun oils: they prevent rust and they’re able to sit for long periods of time without thickening or turning waxy.

If you’re looking for a good gun grease, I recommend an NLGI #0 thickness. This is perfect for gun use, being thick enough to stay where it’s put and thin enough to allow closely fitted parts to operate in both cold and heat. I also recommend that you buy only aluminum-based greases for their resistance to oxidation. Lithium greases are far more common and very cheap, but they oxidize and solidify very rapidly. Aluminum greases are more stable over a longer period of time.

One of the benefits of buying industrial lubricants is that you can choose one that delivers some very particular characteristics. A few years ago I was contacted by a firearms instructor from the police department of a large west coast city. He needed a recommendation for a general-purpose gun oil and was having trouble meeting a specific criteria. They were having trouble finding an oil that had good lubricating properties, good anti-corrosion protection, and was considered non-toxic. All of the gun oils they had submitted to their purchasing department were rejected due to perceived toxicity issues.

After a bit of research I was able to come up with a solution. The Lubriplate company makes an oil (Type FMO-AW) that was originally designed for high speed food machinery. It has good anti-wear properties (those machines have lots of sliding parts which operate at high speed) and excellent corrosion inhibitors (food is wet and often acidic.) Most importantly, because those machines are in contact with the food that you and I consume the oil has to have very low toxicity. FMO-AW is even Kosher!

The icing on the cake for this agency was that it’s available in a wide range of viscosities so they could precisely match the oil to their environment. Even the purchasing agents were happy, because the stuff is available in five-gallon pails – easy to reorder and making the cost per use ridiculously low.

Miracle oils

Remember what I said about snake oil? There are many products that are sold to the shooting public on the basis of ‘secret’ formulas and ‘revolutionary’ ingredients. Many of them are hyped with vague references to Special Forces and other elite units (“in use with Navy Seals!”), implying that they alone are responsible for success on the battlefield.

Don’t buy it. And don’t buy those products. All oils, gun oils included, are made from well known and understood ingredients. A lone inventor, working in his garage, isn’t going to come up with a new compound not already known to lubrication engineers (who are called tribologists.)

Oils are generally crafted from a petroleum base, or a synthetic petroleum base, that has been augmented by any number of additives. Additives give the oil its ability to reduce corrosion, resist high temperatures, lessen wear at high pressures, aid in pouring, reduce oxidation, keep dirt in suspension, and many other things.

When a lubrication scientist wants to formulate a new oil, he or she looks at the job that needs to be done, picks the correct base stock, and adds in the appropriate additives in the appropriate quantities. It’s really not all that hard, and manufacturers have lubricants crafted for speciality uses all the time – some of those being companies marketing to gun owners.

Here’s the important thing to understand: the qualities of the base stocks are well known, as are the additives and their benefits. Many additives have been in use for many decades, and their effects and any interactions are very well understood. As tribologists have told me, there are very few (if any) proprietary or heretofore unknown ingredients in the lubrication business.

Given all that, what are the chances that our garage inventor is going to discover a new and revolutionary lubricant or additive, one which has somehow eluded everyone else? I’d say slim to none, but the snake oil salesmen would have you believe it happens all the time.

Let’s be clear: there are no new, revolutionary lubricant products made for firearms. The ingredients are readily available to any engineer; specific combinations of base stocks and additives might be unique, but it’s all been tried before – if not necessarily on firearms. Just remember, any legitimate gun lube is going to be made up of readily available components, perhaps blended especially for the requirement, but will not be a miracle.

Stick with what works. Leave the snake oil to the people who use it best: weight loss supplement makers.

One caveat: avoid chlorine!