ptfe and shooting

[Dangermouse]

I picked up a can of GT85 whilst in Halfords this morning and gave all my new magazines a squirt over just to give them a protective coat and help lubricate the springs and followers, which sounded very dry but in doing so something flashed into my memory re not using PTFE products on rifles.

Can anyone confirm my suspicions?

DM

[Dave 101]

I always used it back in the day when I was shooting mini rifle , with a 10/22 without problems , I have heard people say dont use WD40 though .

Dave

[John25]

PTFE, some say good, some say bad.

My belief is that it is much like molly coating in the barrel.

Some people intentionally use ptfe based lubricants in the barrel.


My 6.5 bulets are molly coated to decrease (not much) barrel wear and increase velocity.

The barrel is also molly coated after cleaning. I believe that much of it is burned off during firing, each successive bullet leaves a trace behind.

Molly coated bullets are not allowed in NRA competitions, perhaps that is what you are thinking of?

[Mike357]

Baldie told me when I got my 10/22 Duracoated H&K Black that that colour contained PTFE which is strange for external parts I guess!

[Dangermouse]

Strangely enough using a bit on my previous 10/22 was probably the last time I tried it and when I read something saying that you should not. From memory I thought it had something to do with chamber pressures or not working with pressure bearing parts. Possibly something completely unrelated that I am getting mixed up with.
Anyhow, I have no intention of using it on pressure bearing parts so no need to worry,

DM

[1066]

I picked up a can of GT85 whilst in Halfords this morning and gave all my new magazines a squirt over just to give them a protective coat and help lubricate the springs and followers, which sounded very dry but in doing so something flashed into my memory re not using PTFE products on rifles.

Can anyone confirm my suspicions?

DM

I seem to recall that this might be something to do with not using it on plastic bits, magazine followers etc. because of the ether based carrier - I've not used it for a long time but it's pretty volatile stuff, smells like peardrops if it's the stuff I'm thinking of.

[Dangermouse]

it's pretty volatile stuff

I got some on my nose and face this morning and it has been irritating me ever since, can't get it of my hands either. The magazines should last a 100 years with the amount I used!

DM

[Steve]

In a similar vein-i've often wondered how effective DFL (dry film lubricant) would be on rifles and self loaders in particular.

Years ago i used to work in the motor trade and the engine treatment company 'Slick 50' used to make a DFL.We only used to keep a few cans of the stuff due it being a specialist market and the only people who really used to buy it from us were curiously dressmakers and tailors because they could spray it on a table and fabric would slide about effortlessly without any staining.

Slick 50 stopped making it although other companies still do,but i've often wondered how good it would be on rifles and shotguns.Anyone ever tried it on theirs?

[1066]

I've been dry lubing my .22 semi-auto for quite a while now with good results. With a total strip and clean and a light lube my .22 runs well but it dosen't take many rounds before before the crud builds up and it becomes unreliable. Any amount of oil/grease seems to combine with the unburned powder and bullet lube to produce a grey paste and the missfires and feed problems start, especially in cold weather.

A couple of months ago, after a good clean I decided to try dry lube. I have some graphite powder and also some Boron Nitride that I have used to coat bullets with. I tried the Boron Nitride and I'm still using it with no problems.

[John25]

DM,

There is a very comprehensive article here

http://mysite.verizon.net/colt1927/thompson/oillube.htm