Quoted:



Why have a grease in an area not designed for grease?


Here’s a good read of grease vs oil.

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/923/grease-oil


My opinion, take it for what it’s worth, which is some asshole on the internet. That doesn’t make money off YouTube or have any reason to be e-famous.

1. Again, a firearm isn’t a closed system. Or semi closed system. You’re going to get a ton of contaminants in it.  That’s just a function of a firearm in use.  So cleaning regularly is recommended maintenance.

2.  Grease, like oil, won’t stay where you want it to in an open system like a firearm. Sure, it’s more tacky.  But it’s going to sling just like oil.  Why/how? Well, most of the time because it’s about 60-70% oil anyways. Just a heavy oil.

3.  Grease can cause fiction, instead of reducing it in the wrong application.

4.  Grease comes with it’s own set of issues.  Such as oil bleed off.  The oil that grease is formulated with, will separate out from the grease and drop off with time.  Given, higher performance greases are different. As well as different types of greases such as polyurea, PTFE, silicone and other exotics have different characteristics. But for the sake of this conversation, we’re talking about conventional greases. Specifically, a lithium based product that he is using and most use.  

The oil will leave the thickener. Which then inhibits the performance of the grease. Which, leads to lubrication failure.

5. Where is grease used primarily?
- extreme pressure situations.  King pins, U joints, bucket pins.

These situations are high shock load, high pressure areas that are semi sealed in normal conditions. Also once through applications.  This is to prevent wear on those points. But they have to be regularly maintained.

One could argue trailer bearings, or bearing applications are high speed. But that’s why in most heavy duty / high speed applications you have oil systems. Think a light duty landscaping trailer vs a heavy duty semi trailer.  Semi trailers use oil bath bearings. Light duty use grease.

Which has more failures per mile traveled?  Grease.

6. Also, think about these applications. They’re all one way lubricants. You purge the old out when you put the new in. Which means they’re semi sealed.  The grease creates a seal on the exit end.  The zerk fitting seals the grease entry point.  Guns don’t have this luxury. There is no “seal” on an AR.  So there is nothing to seal. Thus nothing to for the grease to seal.

So back to why not use it in an AR?

Why use it to begin with?  If you’re using it primarily for its oil... why not use an oil? Just a higher risk of contamination build up once the oil leaves the grease.


Now if you’re going to build a gun and put in an armory for 100 years like the fucking Russians? Yeah. Pack that mother fucker with grease.

Actual use? Most applications... oil.  Clean your gun.  Save some time and mess.

Way lubricants are mostly used in metal working applications. You can get a 5 gallon bucket for like 50 buck or less.

Edit:

There are definitely uses of grease in certain firearms. The M1 garand.  The 1911. As they were designed with it in mind.  You can certainly use oil on them too.  Just a note.  This is not a blanket statement of “grease bad.  Oil good.”  Use your knoggin. Think a bit about the mechanical action at hand. Both can work. Grease can certainly work in an AR.  But, I propose the question of why?

Even more, why bother with his mixture? For what he spent there he could just buy a semi fluid grease.

Edit 2:

To the topic of lithium and corrosion resistance. It’s why most marine greases are calcium based.

Link to a good article again, as I’m too tired to write it out.

https://www.machinerylubrication.com/Read/29658/multi-purpose-grease