What type of lube do you use on your AR15s?

Rockrivr1

Rockrivr1

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I'm wondering what everyone is using for lube on their ARs. For a couple of years now I've been cleaning and lubing my ARs with Breakfree, but I notice that after shooting a couple hundred rounds it drys up and the bolt start to jam. I tested lubing the bolt with grease that I use on my Garand and it seemed to work pretty good. Until it came time to cleaning that is. Dirty grease is hard to clean.

When I received my complete Anvil Arms upper, John had applied some kind of white lube. It worked great and after 500 rnds the rifle ran great. It was also easy to clean up. I emailed AA to see what they use, but I never heard back.

So, what do you use? Also, anyone have an idea what the white lube is?
 
If your gun is jamming after a couple of hundred rounds - regardless of lube, (especially BreakFree which works fine), you have bigger problems. In any case, I lube my BCG with Militec-1 grease and/or BreakFree - works like a charm. For what it's worth, my NES AR-15/M4 is at 1200 rounds without so much as a dry patch down the barrel....
 
It could be white lithium grease. I use it on the slides of my handguns and the roller on my M1a. I find that it's good for contact surfaces that do not see a lot of heat. I'm not sure it would hold up too good in an AR with a factory gas system.
 
Clean with Hoppe's no. 9, Barnes CR 10 for copper, I clean the bolt and carrier with brake cleaner and lube with Hoppe's oil. At right around 10,000 rounds I've never had a gun related failure.
 
I've had good luck using Breakfree for a lube, and I've been known to fire some ridiculous amount between cleanings.

That being said, greasing the bolt won't hurt, except for use in extreme cold, or lots of dust/dirt. In those situations, run it DRY, maybe a tiny super-thin layer of the lightest lube you can find, or even LAW.
 
Rockrvr1, I mainly use Hoppes Gun Oil for most of my AR15 lubrication. For the underside of the bolt carrier (the area that rides against the hammer) and the cam pin / raceway, I use Tetra Grease, which is the white grease you may be referring to.

After firing several hundred rounds, the only dry spot I find is the tapered end of the bolt, and there is not much you can do about that, considering its location. The high-stress area of the cam pin and raceway is still wet, though the Tetra Grease has liquified at this point. Cleanup of the Bolt Carrier Group is easy after a short soak in a Mineral Spirits / CLP mixture.

Lately, I have been using CLP only in the last step, running a wet patch through the chamber and bore before putting the rifle away. [wink]
 
Clean with Hoppes #9 and then lube it with Break Free.

Never had an issue with functioning or excessive parts wear after thousands of rounds from multiple AR's.
 
If the operation of your AR-15 is so marginal that it doesn't work with the military/industry standard CLP, then you have other problems. I use CLP on everything except the gas rings, the key carrier and the cam pin. My guess is that you have a weak gas system because of a worn out gas tube, loose carrier key screws, FSB leak, bad gas rings, etc.
 
"Tef-Dri" and synthetic grease where the carrier meets the reciever.
Ballistol where the bolt meets the carrier, cam pin, and rings.
Any kind of light grease in the buffer tube.
Light oil on the trigger assembly.
 
Pat Rogers knows alot about carbines and how to keep them running:

http://www.ar15.com/content/swat/keepitrunning.pdf

I use slip2000 myself now instead of breakfree - same thing as breakfree but with a synthetic base instead of petroleum, so it's not toxic and better to have on your skin for periods of time.

Following the directions here I've never had a problem with 500+ rounds. What kind of jam are you experiencing?
 
whenever i clean my rifle, i hit it with Brake cleaner, then hoppes #9.
to lube it, i put breakfree CLP on it, and ill put some light dabs of hoppes lube on high friction parts.

i havent had any problems with this setup at all.
 
I used "Break Free" for years with great results, but became a little disenchanted when the price got to $6.00 for a four oz. bottle. I now use synthetic motor oil (5wt for the 22 target pistols and 20w50 for everything else. For a little added protection I added a little (.3gr per oz.) superfine moly powder, but I think synthetic motor oil alone is more than enough. What a deal! 32 oz. (a lifetime supply for many shooters) for less than $10.
 
I use MPRO 7 to remove all the carbon. You can get it at Brownells. This is not a lube it is a degreaser/carbon remover and it works excellent. Its like a high speed break free and its proven by the Military. Put it on the bolt carrier, bolt etc and let it dry for about 5 minutes and wipe. It will strip the carbon right off. Its the next best thing to an ultrasonic cleaner. Then I sparingly use a lithium grease for lubing the bolt. Bill Porter from Smith & Wesson recommended this to me when I was at the Academy a couple years back for "Patrol Rifle Instructor" recert school.

It works outstanding. We use it on all our duty weapons and I use it on my personal weapons as well..... [grin]
 
Last edited:
Slip 2000 for lube, Hoppes for cleaning and Slip 2000 Carbon cutter for the bolt and carrier.
 
ateamrob said:
I use MPRO 7 to remove all the carbon. You can get it at Brownells. This is not a lube it is a degreaser/carbon remover and it works excellent. Its like a high speed break free and its proven by the Military. Put it on the bolt carrier, bolt etc and let it dry for about 5 minutes and wipe. It will strip the carbon right off. Its the next best thing to an ultrasonic cleaner. Then I sparingly use a lithium grease for lubing the bolt. Bill Porter from Smith & Wesson recommended this to me when I was at the Academy a couple years back for "Patrol Rifle Instructor" recert school.

It works outstanding. We use it on all our duty weapons and I use it on my personal weapons as well..... [grin]
Click to expand...

How does the MPRO compare with Slip2000 as a carbon cutter ? I haven't used either one,I currently just let the parts that need carbon cleaning sit in a bath of undiluted Simple Green overnight.
 

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