Silicon lube alternatives

Jump to latest Follow Reply
ssgmac

ssgmac

Member
May 19, 2018
83
51
California
Has anyone ever considered using 100% silicon treadmill lube in their PCP air rifles?

I'm not cheap. I'm frugal. I was looking for some lube on Amazon, as yet another bottle of it seems to have wandered off.

It says 100% silicon but where it differs from the air gun stuff is in its quantity (4oz) and in price ($8). Maybe it's too viscose?

Here's a link to it
100% Silicone Treadmill Lubricant | Treadmill Belt Lubricant, 4 Ounces Treadmill Oil Belt Lubricant, Easy to Apply & Suitable for Most Treadmill Brands… https://a.co/d/a6rUUyB
 
Come-on Ss...look up how "silicone lube" is made !

When initially produced, pure silicone is very thin.
There is no..."airgun silicone" lube. Dow Corning is one of the two or three manufacturers of pure silicone. Then other companies use various other chemicals/compounds, to thicken the pure silicone to suit...their...desires.

Like I posted some time back, the RC car industry. They use silicone in the car shocks to dampen the pounding the cars get from the..."bashing" as they call it, in many of their trucks/cars. Jumping off ramps, hills, rocks etc. Depending on the severity, the weight of the truck, etc. there is 5 or 6 different "grades (or viscosity numbers) that can be bought.
Some other company just adds, as noted, "thickeners" to the pure silicone.

Wou want verification, or more info...call Dow Corning !

MIke
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac
Upvote 0
Seems maybe you're over thinking it. Super Lube is what I use, and this tube will last you a lifetime. I just put some in a tiny plastic container with a screw on lid, and tossed it in one of my tool drawers. That tiny container has probably been used countless times over the years, and has never needed to be re-filled.
 
  • Like
Reactions: darylm and ssgmac
Upvote 0
That’s all I use, been using it now steadily on my own guns and others for around four years. The viscosity is thicker that the silicone oil sold on eBay, the ones that come from like essential oil sellers, lol. If you’ve ever bought a Huma reg rebuild kit that includes a syringe full of silicone oil enough to complete a reg overhaul, the viscosity as my best hunch is equal to what Huma uses, which I actually prefer.
Sometimes using a thicker oil rather than grabbing the silicone grease makes sense to me at times. They each have their place. But I’m never going to use silicone oil that’s so thin you’ll feel it’ll evaporate once exposed to air!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Long_Gun_Dallas and ssgmac
Upvote 0
MikeVV said:
Come-on Ss...look up how "silicone lube" is made !

When initially produced, pure silicone is very thin.
There is no..."airgun silicone" lube. Dow Corning is one of the two or three manufacturers of pure silicone. Then other companies use various other chemicals/compounds, to thicken the pure silicone to suit...their...desires.

Like I posted some time back, the RC car industry. They use silicone in the car shocks to dampen the pounding the cars get from the..."bashing" as they call it, in many of their trucks/cars. Jumping off ramps, hills, rocks etc. Depending on the severity, the weight of the truck, etc. there is 5 or 6 different "grades (or viscosity numbers) that can be bought.
Some other company just adds, as noted, "thickeners" to the pure silicone.

Wou want verification, or more info...call Dow Corning !

MIke
Click to expand...
Thanks Mike. I knew I could count on AGN for some direction. I couldn't remember what I got the last time. It was definitely for airguns and I got it from the gun store I bought the rifle from. I was hoping I'd recognize something as I was scrolling. Maybe it was RWS?
 
Upvote 0
Long_Gun_Dallas said:
Seems maybe you're over thinking it. Super Lube is what I use, and this tube will last you a lifetime. I just put some in a tiny plastic container with a screw on lid, and tossed it in one of my tool drawers. That tiny container has probably been used countless times over the years, and has never needed to be re-filled.
Click to expand...
I just don't want to use petroleum based oil like CLP. I had a couple different tubes of silicone or synthetic based oil that I've had for years but they walked and I want to break in my new Sidewinder this weekend. The gun shop I bought the last stuff at has moved once and then closed and is no longer in business. I don't know where else to get the stuff locally. Is Big 5 still a thing?
 
Upvote 0
Bigragu said:
That’s all I use, been using it now steadily on my own guns and others for around four years. The viscosity is thicker that the silicone oil sold on eBay, the ones that come from like essential oil sellers, lol. If you’ve ever bought a Huma reg rebuild kit that includes a syringe full of silicone oil enough to complete a reg overhaul, the viscosity as my best hunch is equal to what Huma uses, which I actually prefer.
Sometimes using a thicker oil rather than grabbing the silicone grease makes sense to me at times. They each have their place. But I’m never going to use silicone oil that’s so thin you’ll feel it’ll evaporate once exposed to air!
Click to expand...
What's all you use? Treadmill lube? And what are you shooting springers, PCP, pump or CO2, DRR? Thanks for your reply
 
Upvote 0
Please note the Superlube synthetic grease linked above is highly combustible. Silicone is typically used on airguns in places where you don't want something combustible.

Recommendations for silicone oil versus grease:

Lubrication ?

Being new to the pcp world . I was wondering which grease would be best for the mechanical parts of the gun ?
www.airgunnation.com www.airgunnation.com

torch test - annotated.jpg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac
Upvote 0
Just a reminder for those folks who are UNaware,,, Super Lube is a brand with different products
this superlube is for o-rings , it is silicone
www.ebay.com

SUPER LUBE 3 OZ. TUBE O-RING SILICONE GREASE | eBay

See Compatibility Chart under Technical Resources for further details.
www.ebay.com

but I use Dynamite silicone shock oil from fleabay, because that is what I have
thick to thin ,,, silicone is silicone
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac, darylm and MartyMcFly
Upvote 0
And, exactly what is the point of Silicon lube? It's not for metal on metal. Some say for o-rings but, why? O-rings for the most part, Nitrile, work well with oils. Personally I'm a huge fan of Mobile 1, it doesn't mess with anodizing, works awesome for metal to metal, O-rings love it. It's a one and done lube. I use it in my Pew-Pews and my airguns as well as my machines in my shop, I use to have to lube 2x day, now it's once a month. None of my airguns have exploded. Just my .02¢ worth.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac and BluegrassBill2020
Upvote 0
HogKiller said:
And, exactly what is the point of Silicon lube? It's not for metal on metal. Some say for o-rings but, why? O-rings for the most part, Nitrile, work well with oils. Personally I'm a huge fan of Mobile 1, it doesn't mess with anodizing, works awesome for metal to metal, O-rings love it. It's a one and done lube. I use it in my Pew-Pews and my airguns as well as my machines in my shop, I use to have to lube 2x day, now it's once a month. None of my airguns have exploded. Just my .02¢ worth.
Click to expand...
It's good for the assembly of plastic parts, doors and windows that slide in channels, O rings that are in contact with a moving surface, scuba gear.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac
Upvote 0
elh0102 said:
It's good for the assembly of plastic parts, doors and windows that slide in channels, O rings that are in contact with a moving surface, scuba gear
Click to expand...
Key word, plastic. I've had better luck with the Mobil 1 on my Mavericks regs than with silicon and yes, I have both oil and grease, it does come in handy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac
Upvote 0
Here's where I'm at with six pcp rifles. I want to be able to use something on the threads of bottles and cylinders to keep them from galling. If the oring is outside the threads, then you have to be careful what you use as it's in the HP area. If the oring is inside the threads, then it's much easier, but I don't want to worry about which is which, and I want one lube to use on all orings and HP areas. Since pure silicone 'can' gall threads, I try to stay away from it, even though it's a fine oring lube. I use DC Molykote 33 or Krytox. MK33 is fairly cheap and it's a good lube, so I use it the most. As far as I can tell, it's the only MK that is approved for metal to metal as well as being a good oring lube. Read up on you MK and you'll find that 55 and 111 are essentially pure silicone, with orings in mind, so again, good lube, but not necessarily good for metal to metal.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac
Upvote 0
Ok, if you folks really want to know the scoop on what is in those oils and lubricants, volatility, flash point, etc, then you simply Google the particular bottle label's governmentally required Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS or SDS). The SDS will tell you who contracts to make their oil even. For example Harley Davidson oil is currently made and bottled by CITGO Petroleum Corp.

The SDS lists the composition in Section 3, though sometimes the composition can be vague if they're trying to keep trade secrets. Section 8 is another portion to look at, that lists physical and chemical properties. Here's Super Lube pure silicone oil as an example. (I use this as a pellet lube only.)

Screenshot_20231125-001944.png
Screenshot_20231125-002147.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: ssgmac, darylm and Smitty911
Upvote 0
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back
Home
Forums
Resources
Menu