Springer Tuning Advice

Either use the Krytox, or the Moly. Not both. The Krytox doesn't mix with petroleum based lubes. It doesn't react, or blow up, or cause the rifle to fail but it will defeat the purpose of Krytox in the first place and prevent either lubricant from working like it's designed to. And any lubes you place strategically around the inside of the rifle, WILL mix. Keep that in mind.

I've done the Krytox route, and I don't bother anymore. It's great with oring sealed pistons, but a waste of time and money on parachute sealed guns. It just gets squeegeed away or back and forth by the piston seal and leaches out traces of grease from the receiver end plug. The moly paste sorta smears and embeds into the surfaces and sticks around. Moly is a solid lubricant, so it doesn't burn in the first place. The petroleum carrier will however, so you have to go lightly and apply it right.

Truth be told, there is VERY little to no lube even needed for the piston seal. I'm always surprised at the amount of fuss people make over it. But the metal to metal of the piston to receiver needs lube. And IMO the moly does a better job at that than the Krytox.

I omit the tar altogether. It just makes a mess and doesn't do much anyway.

My preferred method is to fit a piston sleeve made from PTFE or FEP sheet or even steel or brass shimstock, and use a very light smear of moly paste.

Fitting a piston seal properly and having good tube tolerances is the most critical part of what you're doing here.

Whatever lube you use just don't go crazy with it. Less is better than too much in either application.

Done right, you'll end up with a very quiet and very temp stable rifle. Have fun!

I also notice you are in Idaho. If you are at high elevation, your efficiency and power will be lower than at sea level. So if you drop the kit in and have trouble hitting 12fpe don't be surprised and think you done something wrong. Good news is the 98 has a lot more power potential built in, so you can bump it back up to 12fpe. At least I think so, unless you're WAY up there.

You might consider the Hornet kit and plan to collapse or cut a coil or three if needed. You can make a more powerful kit tamer, but a lot harder to go the other way.

Just thinking out loud.

For what it is worth, I have found the Air Venturi’s tune-in-tube red spring gun lubricant works better than anything else I have ever tried. Takes very little and has just the perfect amount of tack.

I installed an ARH kit in my new HW95L .22 with a Vortek seal and used GPL-205 Krytox lube after a through clean/polish. The old seal was damaged by dieseling which the GPL-205 now prevents. The FPS average is 700+ and the rifle is accurate for me with a soundless cocking cycle until the piston latches with the trigger & the shot cycle is a sharp thunk. I left the piston liner installed and the Weihrauch washer with the ARH top hat & guide. Good luck with your rifle.

Like said above krytox dont mix woth carbon lubes . A good full cleaning of old moly or whatever was used is a must or youll be doing another cleaning it all out and up again soon...lol i just reworked a hatsan due to my lackluster cleaning job.. / i just a hought i got it clean enugh, wrong... Lol

Krytox you dont need much to go a long way vs moly. That .05 oz tube of it done a spring gun 2 gas rams + any maintenance or a extra seal or 2. Also you dont need to be as careful with it like getting it in front of the seal. Unlike moly or carbon lubes its not going to burn or smoke that could cause seal damage from detonation.

I like it in my nicer stuff but ol' moly still does its thing in run of the mill stuff . I dont mind useing it .

Never used tune in a tube , i figure a springer as like a hw is easy enough to yake down and just do a proper job anyway..

I dont unless ots shows worn or somthing that may require extra attention. Most part is Clean. Then its a judgement call on what you feel is best and how far you want to take things. Everyone got there way and thing. Its weather all you need is basic rebuild or well worn overhaul... Just got to call it as you see it per gun i guess. Love ke is the cylinder scratched or the trigger just sad pull or rough.? You got a he gun and shoot it so you kinda know what needs attention i guess to say kinda thing and what you feel needs to be done.

One thing i do know is you do somthing that did not really need it and goof it or find it was slightly over you head and your stuck or done for..

Vincent10 said:

I plan to install an ARH UK 12lbs kit in an HW98 .177. My goal is for a accuracy. In the past I've used Vortek lubricant, and ARH moly paste and heavy tar to tune a couple of rifles. This time I should have some Krytox lubricant available. Can anyone recommend the the best use of Krytox, moly paste, and tar for this project? I appreciate any help.

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Hey Vincent,
Kinda late for me to add my two cents, but I think the tune depends on what tools you have available. Sounds like you bought a kit because you don't have a lathe to fabricate top-hats, spring guides or spacers.

I've always used Molly, but have been curious about using Krytox since many very good tuners use it with excellent results. However, never mix them.

In my tunes, its a labor of love - time and elbow grease mean noting, just the best tune.

I do this:
1.) Polish the barrel using a jag/patch 400 clover and then JB Paste - then wax.
2.) Smooth out the inside, receiver tube on the lathe with 220 paper attached to a rod.
3.) Hit all stamped receiver edges with a Dremel tool and diamond bit to debur.
4.) Remove the barrel locking wedge and spring - polish inside & out, then re-lube with ARH clear Tar.
5.) Usually use an ARH spring only - Grind and Polish ends and outside of spring.
6.) Make a top-hat or Spring Guide on the lathe for a snug fit. Top-hat can be made deeper if added spacing is desired.
7.) Polish the piston and piston tang.
8.) Add ARH buttons on the piston and sand down to get correct piston fit. The button add smoothness at the expense of a few lost fps.
9.) I use OEM piston seals or Australian ones purchased on ebay.
10.) Insert coiled plastic sheet cut from a Smart water bottle to hold the spring in the piston snug.
11.) Use Molly, Heavy Tar and Clear Tar from ARH - minimal use of heavy tar.
12.) Disassemble trigger and polish all contact sears and lube with a combination of Molly mixed with ND motor oil.
13.) After reassembly, see if a coil or two need to be cut or a spacer added to get a balanced shot cycle. Hard to explain how this feels, but when you get it - you'll know.
14.) Fiddle with gun until it's right.
15.) Power and accuracy can both be achieved at once. The more high powered shot cycle .... just isn't docile as a lowered powered one and takes more concentration/consistent hold when shooting. Pushing the guns limits to increase power always ends badly.

Vincent10 said:

Is there much of a noticeable benefit to polishing internals like the compression tube and piston? Would a good set of guides and proper lubrication achieve the same results?

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Polishing the piston and receiver is not only a waste of time, but can be detrimental to letting the lube do its job. It also widens already sloppy tolerances if you go too far.

thumper said:

Polishing the piston and receiver is not only a waste of time, but can be detrimental to letting the lube do its job. It also widens already sloppy tolerances if you go too far.

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Thumper's right.
When hitting the inside of the receiver tube with 220 paper, you don't want to polish, but just remove any potential rough metal that could be left from stamping or whatever. The lube in the receiver needs to stay on the receiver wall grooves, so don't polish anything - 220 is as fine as I would go.

Polishing the piston tang is important to promote a very nice trigger lockup, polishing the skirt of the piston should only remove burs if present that could adversely rub in receiver tube. Also, over sanding/polishing reduces lubes ability to stay in place. I use ARH buttons, so piston never really touches receiver tube except most rearward part of skirt when cocking. I Polish that part.

Ya, most times its a clean it uo libe and drop in the new stuff. Then test results..

Also you may find rebreak in of a few shots to settle things in and you may find pellets you did use great may not anymore. Anyway unless after the fact and you find a issue with the new stuff outside ordinary behavior for the most part its drop in.

One thing i do is when i order i always get a extra piston seal or 2. Ive knicked them or had poor fits or degrading fps and had to swap to another. Anyway you may not need the extra but if you do need one your glad you have it right on hand .. ya get a crony. Without one your in the dark overall on where things stand

My Caldwell Precession chrono setup on the back deck, Chrono is connected to my iPad which has a Caldwell APP for data collection and storage.