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3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:39 am
by stan da man
saw a guy that said all he ever used for YEARS is 3 in 1 oil - is that all i need ?? don`r remember what oil we used in the ARMY

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 8:47 am
by DWD445
stan da man wrote:saw a guy that said all he ever used for YEARS is 3 in 1 oil - is that all i need ?? don`r remember what oil we used in the ARMY
NOT recommended by Me, Mobil1 works great, or most OTC gun oils. 3 in 1 is too thin IMO ;)

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 11:00 am
by Sir Henry
Three and one might be too thin but it allows you to use it in very cold weather. Rem Oil it also very thin and I suspect is the same thing. A lot of manufacturers will market the same product under a different name for different uses. Sewing machine oil is just 3 and 1.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 2:39 pm
by clovishound
Word on the street is that 3 in 1 will eventually degenerate into a gummy mess over time. Traditional gun oils don't do this. Probably not a problem on areas that get cleaned often, but I would definitely not take a chance on it for internals, like trigger assemblies and such. A bottle of Remoil, or other firearm specific lube is cheap enough. I would stick with that. I have one of the tiny bottles of Rem oil I picked up over a year ago for around $2. I clean 3 to 4 firearms a week. I still have some left.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 3:41 pm
by JEBar
my grandfather used 3 in 1 oil and so far as I know, it never let him down .... until a couple of years ago I used Hoppe's #9 and Rem Oil, they worked well for me .... I'm now using Ballistol and have been delighted with its performance

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 4:15 pm
by Les
There must be literally millions of firearms around the world that have never seen anything other than 3-in-One oil. It might not be technically 'correct', but it usually does the job if you don't have anything else.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 7:15 pm
by Sir Henry
I think people are missing the fact that 3 in 1 is just a market name and they make a dozen or more types.
mvc-809n.jpg

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 9:05 pm
by ditto1958
I've seen lots of guys who use 3-in-1. A firearm is not a Formula 1 race car engine. Pretty much any oil, bacon grease, Crisco, snot from your nose, or even none at all (at least with Glocks and AK-47's) will work in a gun, and the gun will be just fine.

The important parts of guns, the ones that move against each other, are made of high quality steel, and they won't harm themselves.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 9:09 pm
by RanchRoper
Bacon and guns sounds like a good time to me!

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Thu Oct 13, 2016 9:30 pm
by Sir Henry
ditto1958 wrote:I've seen lots of guys who use 3-in-1. A firearm is not a Formula 1 race car engine. Pretty much any oil, bacon grease, Crisco, snot from your nose, or even none at all (at least with Glocks and AK-47's) will work in a gun, and the gun will be just fine.

The important parts of guns, the ones that move against each other, are made of high quality steel, and they won't harm themselves.
I have found if you use too thick of an oil in cold weather that it turns too thick. Granted there are places you put grease but they make a special grease that while it goes on thick it doesn't get thicker in cold weather. Keep in mind cold weather to me means single digits.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 7:16 am
by bdbrown66
stan da man wrote:saw a guy that said all he ever used for YEARS is 3 in 1 oil - is that all i need ?? don`r remember what oil we used in the ARMY
Don't know when you were in the Army, but from my experience (mid 80's to late 90's) it was Breakfree CLP. Walmart sells it, as do other places.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:30 pm
by Henry88
I think you could almost drink Ballistol if you were in a tough place.

Many make it out to the cat's meow for everything, I want to get some.

Up till now, in Florida, Remoil has done the trick.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:52 pm
by JEBar
one of the things I like about Ballistol is it served as an excellent cleaner and lubricant .... historically I've used separate cleaners and soils .... having tested it, I have found that in really cold weather leaving a thin coat of Ballistol protects the metal while not gumming up the action

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Fri Jan 27, 2017 1:23 pm
by tx gunrunner
Oils like Ballistol or Remy oil was made and designed for firearms and are the best . 3 in 1 oil is NOT good gun oil in todays market . It is made from fossil oil for over 100 year . In air guns there is air chamber oil and spring cylinder oil the wrong oil will damage a gun . The same thing with new cars the wrong oil will damage the engine . I love Olive Oil but it is not design for your gun or car and I only cook with it or put on my salad .

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 12:13 pm
by Rifletom
Sir Henry wrote:
Thu Oct 13, 2016 7:15 pm
I think people are missing the fact that 3 in 1 is just a market name and they make a dozen or more types.

mvc-809n.jpg
Boy, you won't see ads like that nowadays. That was great. [I know these are older posts, still liked that one tho.]

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 5:50 pm
by Cofisher
As for drinking Ballistol...if that's what it takes.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 6:55 pm
by RanchRoper
Rem Oil looks after my guns, inside and out. Didn't get the rifle cleaned today but tomorrow morning for sure.

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 8:12 pm
by Shakey Jake
Nye's clock oil. Never let me down. Won't degrade, won't gum up and stays viscous.

https://www.nyelubricants.com/175-years

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Sat Jan 04, 2020 10:14 pm
by markiver54
Interesting...the air rifle I just purchased says...use ONLY 20, 30 or 40 weight motor oil for lubrication of everything. Any other aerosols or household oil might damage the rifle....go figure, I have always used premium lubricants on my guns. :roll:

Re: 3 in 1 oil

Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:07 pm
by Grunt67
PJM wrote:
Sat Jan 04, 2020 8:24 am
There are now synthetic gun oils out there that don't change viscosity no matter what the temperature! At least in a temperature you will probably be hunting in. Hoppes is a blended synthetic I believe. Most are more pricey but it's not like you use huge amounts.I just use a q-tip and apply to beariing surfaces only. I started using AMS gun oil which is a full synthetic. late deer hunting this year was 19 degrees all day with frequent snow showers and no issues. During bp season kept in line in truck to avoid sweating from hot to cold and no problems with moving parts. I think most problems come from over lubing rather than oil type.
What PJM said. I've recently started using full synthetic on my guns. Plus, I use Mobil1 in everything I have. Works for me for decades.
I 'm using Super Lube in a squeeze tube, got it at Wally world, I think. A little dab will do ya, with a Q tip.