Motor Oil Vs. Gun Oils

Guns aren’t cheap. When you factor in the price of a new pistol plus optics, holsters and aftermarket modifications that follow, it’s easy to go over budget. On the flip side, I’m amazed at how little thought is given to gun oils – especially considering that properly maintaining firearms is the best way to protect them as both investments and lifesaving tools.

In fact, when I ask most shooters what kind of gun oil or lube they use, they typically reply something like, “whatever is cheap.” If you’re that person, I’m not judging. Back in my Army days, I would have sworn that all you needed to properly maintain a firearm was a dental pick and a bottle of CLP. Obviously, I was wrong. It took me many years and more wasted money before switching from overpriced name-brand gun lubricants to 5W-30 Synthetic motor oil.

Wait, you use motor oil on your guns?

Damn right I do! Read on, and I’ll show you why.

Basics Of Gun Oils

There are three basic categories of firearms related oils: Lubricating Oil, Cleaning Oil/Solvents and Protecting Oil.

These oils typically use a synthetic petroleum base (Lucas Oil, Vendetta Apex, or motor oil) or a mineral oil base (Rem Oil, Hoppes CLP)–Of course they all claim to be the best on the market.

I wanted to test these claims, so I chose five of the most common gun oils on the market and put them up against Mobil-1 5W-30 Synthetic motor oil. It’s what I’ve been using on all of my firearms over the past five years.

My Oil Heat Tests

NOTE: While engineers and technicians have the proper equipment to test for oil viscosity, heat tolerance and friction, I went full-redneck instead. The results were telling nonetheless.

I heated each product for ten minutes at 450 F* in a secondhand air fryer. Originally, I wanted to use a sheet of aluminum foil, but the Rem Oil and EEZOX were so thin that they kept running off the edge. Instead, I used a baking sheet and applied a large bead of each oil to the center. The oil’s change in color was either a result of thermal degradation (the breaking down of the chemical structure of the oil due to heat). Alternatively, the oil could have also oxidized.

Rem Oil

Since Rem Oil is only rated for 120 degrees F, I expected it to burn off immediately. Besides some loss in volume, the most noticeable effect from the heat was that this clear oil turned dull-brown.

Verdict: Pass. Besides suffering heat degradation/oxidation, Rem Oil held up better than expected.

Hoppes CLP

This CLP handled heat better than Rem Oil. Though it didn’t lose any volume, it did show signs of thermal degradation. After seven minutes, it began to smoke and stink with a likely toxic noxious odor.

Verdict: Pass. When heated, Hoppes CLP smells almost as bad as Ron Burgundy’s cologne. Makes you wonder what it’s made of and what you’re breathing in when shooting with it.

EEZOX

EEZOX is rated for 450 degrees, but suffered the most from thermal degradation in the air fryer. It showed significant volume loss and had the darkest color after thermal degradation.

Verdict: Suspect. When subjected to heat, EEZOX burns more oil than a vintage Audi.

Vendetta Apex

The air fryer’s heat turned the Vendetta Apex into what I thought was a dried carbon stain. After trying to scrape it off, the stain turned out to be a highly viscous pile of goop.

I called Apex, and they explained that Vendetta actually becomes more viscous with heat and friction.

Verdict: Intrigued. Though this is a new product, the Houston, Texas based company that sells it has a big name in the petroleum industry. It seems that Apex is coming out swinging with its new lubricant.

Milcomm TW25b

Like the EEZOX, the Milcomm TW25b grease (rated from -60 degrees to 450) couldn’t take the heat and when I pulled it for the air fryer the sample looked like a deep fried Altoid.

Verdict: Fail. The first time I tried a mil-spec grease was at a firing range in Iraq. Little did I know I was effectively coating my weapon’s bolt carrier group with a sand-magnet. Considering the results of the heat test, I am even less of a fan now.

Mobil-1 Motor Oil

Made to tolerate high engine temperatures, the Mobil-1’s 5W30 passed the heat test with flying colors.

Verdict: Business as usual for Mobil-1 5W30 motor oil.

Gun Oil Rust Test

gun oil lubricant motor oil Rem Oil EEZOX Mobil 1

I’ve never had a problem with any of my firearms rusting. I figure it’s mainly because I shoot and clean my equipment on a regular basis; I don’t own safe queens! My hunting rifles are a different story, especially because they’re likely to be subjected to inclement weather on tree-stand duty. For this test I used a sheet of stainless steel shimming material that I roughed up with a sanding block. I marked a control area and then I applied the different oils to their designated squares. For the next four days, I applied a homemade salt-water solution over this steel panel to promote rust.

Day 1

All six of the oils showed signs of water repellency and beading after the first application of my salt-water solution. But once the control board was placed at a slight angle, the thinner oils (Rem Oil, Hoppes CLP and EEZOX) began to slide off.

Day 2

On the second day, rust was beginning to form on the test board, but a fresh application of saltwater spray showed water repellency and beading on all oils. This was most noticeable on the Vendetta Apex and 5W-30 panel.

Day 3

By the third day, rust formation over the test board was quite serious. I noticed that the Rem Oil wasn’t faring much better and the TW25b is still holding strong.

Day 4

High humidity and overnight rain put the rust into overdrive and the morning light revealed a rusty mess. The Rem Oil didn’t look much better while the Hoppes CLP, EEZOX, and TW25b showed minimal signs of rust. At this point, the Vendetta Apex also looked rough; I was ready to give up on the Apex but its accumulated rust came off with the wipe of a paper towel.

I actually worried the most about my trusty Mobil-1’s rust performance since motor oils aren’t formulated for rust protection. But any rust that accumulated in the Mobil-1 square also came off easily with a paper towel.

My rust test disproved Rem Oil’s claim that it “displaces non-visible moisture from metal pores and protects internal and external parts from rust.” Rem Oil fared the worst in this test.

The Range Test

For the final test, I bought the dirtiest/sootiest 9mm Luger ammo I could find at my local sporting goods store.

My mission was simple: to conduct a 40-round rapid-fire mini “burndown” to see what each oil’s lubricating properties are like. I also took a temperature measurement using an infrared thermometer. For this specific evaluation, I used different seven test pistols. For control purposes, I applied the same amount of oil to each gun.

*Note: In my haste to outrun the rain, I somehow grabbed a bottle of Hoppes Black, which you can see in the picture below. I ended up shooting my Sig Sauer P365 XMacro twice.

Oil	Test Pistol	Ammo	Rounds Fired	Final Temp
Rem Oil	9mm SAR Sport	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	123° F
*Hoppes Black	9mm SAR Sub Compact	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	127° F
Hoppes CLP	9mm SAR Compact	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	140° F
EEZOX	9mm S&W Shield	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	140° F
Vendetta APEX	9mm SIG 365-X Macro Tacops	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	137° F
Milcom TW25b	Canik TP9 SFX	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	123° F
Mobil-1	9mm SIG 365-X Macro Tacops	Monarch 115g FMJ	40	123° F

Range Observations

Rem Oil, Hoppes CLP and Hoppes Black are rather thin and needed extra helpings of product to run correctly. This resulted in oil getting sprayed everywhere and coating my shooting glasses and the window of any installed optics. Though thin, the EEZOX performed with ZERO malfunctions and minimal (but some) overspray. Vendetta Apex worked as advertised and went on smoothly; it had zero overspray. Considering the trouble some of the thinner oils had with the ammo, I wasn’t expecting much from the Milcom TW25b grease. It performed quite well in this test and a little went a long way. Since the Sig Sauer P365 X Macro is my carry gun, it came to the range pre-lubed with the Mobil-1. As expected, it handled the 40-round test like a champ.

The Clean Up

In this instance, my goal was to see how much of each oil tested was still present on the rails/slide and to test the “cleanliness” each oil claimed to have.

The SAR Sport was visibly wet due from the extra application of Rem Oil. The optic was spattered with overspray, but it cleaned up easily. This oil was easy to clean, but once wiped d own, left the metal surfaces too dry. Like the SAR Sport, the SAR Compact and (Subcompact for the *Hoppes Black) were visibly wet from extra oil. The Hoppes Black was easy to clean. However, the Hoppes CLP, which is sold as a “cleaner”, turned the mix of copper and carbon into a gunky mess. The copper cleaning agent in the CLP was visible on the slide and frame, but the residue left over from my initial wipe down was challenging to remove. The Hoppes Black cleaned up nice and easy and there was even a thin sheen of lubricant left over.

There was nothing dry or strong about EEZOX. In fact, the “before-and-after” cleaning pictures looked so similar enough to each other. It got to the point where it could be hard to tell the difference. I think EEZOX underperformed here too. The Vendetta Apex was both easy to apply and easy to clean off; I really think this is a product to keep your eye on. The Milcom TW25b didn’t appear to accumulate fouling until I wiped the pistol down and saw the rust colored residue. Like the CLP, this residue quickly turned into a paste that required scrubbing to clean. I wasn’t a fan of TW25b overall. I also had no complaints in wiping down Mobil-1. It’s what I’ve been using already.

Parting Shots

Another note about cleaning: Weapons maintenance is a ritual that I’ve always enjoyed. The smell of solvents and the sound of the brush over the metal surfaces is zen-like. Cleaning also affords me a chance to inspect the firearm for hotspots or excessive wear.

I don’t sell gun oil, and my test results speak for themselves. I’m sure that someone could persuade me why using motor oil on pistols is bad; I do think my “redneck experiment” can successfully disprove the most common arguments against it.