in the last few days i read a post that included a statement about molying a barrel , BUT i cannot find any information on this technique . I have no idea if it is good or bad or nothing but a waist of time and money ?
moly ing a barrel ?
- Thread starter beerthief
- Start date
Don’t know what was described here?, but this is what I have Tried. (With dry moly only!)
1- Clean your barrel until you have removed all traces of mold release, lead, previous coatings etc. then swab with alcohol. (Bore scope is nice to check barrel)
2- use a tight fitting bore mop saturated with the moly and swab back and forth threw barrel adding more as you go. (Do this more than you feel necessary, it really has to be burnished into the steel as well as can be)
3- use 1 or 2 dry patches to swab out excess moly. And you’re good to go.
Things to consider is the transfer port in barrel will allow some moly to drop into the air passage, not sure it’s a problem? But I dry fired a shot about halfway through procedure. And at the end. I really didn’t see any real advantage to keeping the barrel from fouling like I hoped it would. Good luck!
1- Clean your barrel until you have removed all traces of mold release, lead, previous coatings etc. then swab with alcohol. (Bore scope is nice to check barrel)
2- use a tight fitting bore mop saturated with the moly and swab back and forth threw barrel adding more as you go. (Do this more than you feel necessary, it really has to be burnished into the steel as well as can be)
3- use 1 or 2 dry patches to swab out excess moly. And you’re good to go.
Things to consider is the transfer port in barrel will allow some moly to drop into the air passage, not sure it’s a problem? But I dry fired a shot about halfway through procedure. And at the end. I really didn’t see any real advantage to keeping the barrel from fouling like I hoped it would. Good luck!
Upvote 0
This was very popular once in CF competition using high velocity jacketed bullets. The moly was applied to the bullets, not the bore. Most shooters decided it wasn't worth the effort. With lead bullets or pellets at much lower speeds, I would be surprised if it offers any real advantage. But I've become lazy in my old age, and I tend to rationalize the advantage of doing nothing, where the more energetic always see the advantage of being active. Equipment and supply makers love those folks.
Upvote 0
get some moly paste, i think hoppes makes some ... just swab some down a clean unoiled barrel, then swab it oit, dont try to get it perfectly clean after molying, the stuff is nasty, just swab it mostly out ..all it takes .. the treatment should last maybe couple hundred shots ... for best results keep an eye on accuracy and velocity before and after treatment to see how often your gun likes it so to speak ..
Upvote 0
Honestly.i got a nice tube of ultra fine graphite and though about it just scrub it in with a bore mop ..
All it can do is work out or it don't .. shrug shoulders and move on to the next bright idea..
All it can do is work out or it don't .. shrug shoulders and move on to the next bright idea..
Upvote 0
I decided on the barrel vs. the pellet because of washing and drying all the pellets, figuring the barrel was a faster and more efficient method not knowing if provided any advantages. Plus I already had an extremely high grade and very, very fine industrial moly. (Yes use latex gloves, I forgot to mention that in previous post)
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Unless it's an epoxy based coating, JUST applying a dry moly paste/film, is NOT...a one time, forever application. It WILL wear off over, not that many shots, depending on the pellet fit and speed.
Lots of work for...what gain, 10fps ?
Mike
Lots of work for...what gain, 10fps ?
Mike
Upvote 0
moly is some messy stuff, 
I took Scott's, aka Motorhead, advice and purchased some TreWax,,, waxed the bore 
I took Scott's, aka Motorhead, advice and purchased some TreWax,,, waxed the bore Upvote 0
If you want a ridiculous coefficient of friction, use powdered HBN, hexon boron nitrite to coat your bore. Its amazing stuff. Can be mixed in rubbing alcohol as a buffer and swabbed through the bore.
Upvote 0
It does not hurt anything but can be messy. Did this alot back in the 80's. By the early 90's I found out about beeswax ! Far better than the moly because it is less messy, much easier to clean and redo and has in most cases increased accuracy !! Now this has been my experience in springers, never been a pcp guy. I have posted many times the benefits of beeswax furniture spray wax. I use it on my pellets and inside the gun barrel as well as using it to remove finger prints on the blueing and is great for your nice wood stock !! Cleanung the barrel is a piece of cake as beeswax doesn't build up. So....while moly is good and won't hurt anything, it is messy, hard to clean and re apply, gets all over everything....beeswax is so much easier, cleaner and in my springers and my " firearms" it has made cleanup and accuracy better.
Upvote 0
I've been told that Molybdenum has an affinity to steel and bonds to it at a molecular level. The moly acts as an interface - typically: steel/moly/oil/moly/steel and greatly reduces friction.
At a study (at the James Bay Dam project) had the engine parts of half the earth moving equipment brushed with a single application of Molybdenum then checked after the project. All of the parts in the treated engines were still within original factory specs where the untreated engine parts showed substantial (as expected) wear.
For all my guns (after they have been broken in!), I just put a small blob of Molly grease on a patch and pull it through the bore followed up with a couple patches to burnish it in and remove the excess as part of my normal cleaning process.
I've been doing this for years (since before owning a chronograph) and never did a before/after check so I can't offer any stats. From my other experiences with molly I just presumed that it couldn't hurt and would likely help.
Just my 2 cents.
At a study (at the James Bay Dam project) had the engine parts of half the earth moving equipment brushed with a single application of Molybdenum then checked after the project. All of the parts in the treated engines were still within original factory specs where the untreated engine parts showed substantial (as expected) wear.
For all my guns (after they have been broken in!), I just put a small blob of Molly grease on a patch and pull it through the bore followed up with a couple patches to burnish it in and remove the excess as part of my normal cleaning process.
I've been doing this for years (since before owning a chronograph) and never did a before/after check so I can't offer any stats. From my other experiences with molly I just presumed that it couldn't hurt and would likely help.
Just my 2 cents.
Upvote 0
Now I could see ... melting some TreWax and adding dry moly powder & mixing well. Let harden in a small sealed container.
Lapp / Polish & clean your barrel to a squeaky dry surface & Use the moly-wax mixture as you would straight TreWax on snug fitting patches worked back-n-forth on a stiff cleaning rod & jag tip .... Winner winner & may need to try this as I have both the components
Ok, went out took a spoon daub of Tre-Wax and a slightly smaller scoop of Dry Moly powder and heated it up then stirred.
Once cool should have MOLY-WAX
FYI ... Can of wax is @ 50 yrs old (1970's ) and Dry moly closer to 70 ( 1950's ) Both still very viable.
Lapp / Polish & clean your barrel to a squeaky dry surface & Use the moly-wax mixture as you would straight TreWax on snug fitting patches worked back-n-forth on a stiff cleaning rod & jag tip .... Winner winner & may need to try this as I have both the components
Ok, went out took a spoon daub of Tre-Wax and a slightly smaller scoop of Dry Moly powder and heated it up then stirred.
Once cool should have MOLY-WAX
FYI ... Can of wax is @ 50 yrs old (1970's ) and Dry moly closer to 70 ( 1950's ) Both still very viable.
Last edited:
Upvote 0
Dry MoS2 is what you want and is used in my profession as a dry lubricant for metals and fine threads where a paste form can’t be used. Do not breathe or leave on skin!
I only used it in an attempt to reduce or eliminate lead fouling. Hopefully retaining accuracy for longer periods.
I only used it in an attempt to reduce or eliminate lead fouling. Hopefully retaining accuracy for longer periods.
Upvote 0
I had some spray moly I used to use in the barrels a few years back, It stained metal, skin and anything else it got on ,
Have not used it in my barrels in a long time , May try it again.
.ok the stuff i use is DRY SLIDE its MoS2 and graphite
Mike
Have not used it in my barrels in a long time , May try it again.
.ok the stuff i use is DRY SLIDE its MoS2 and graphite
Mike
Last edited:
Upvote 0
I'll post it one more time. This stuff far surpasses moly and it's forever in the bore. Mix with alcohol as a carrier and swab the bore. I've personally used this stuff and watched it perform miracles. Went from breaking taps trying to tap an rmr cut and thread in a Sig Sauer slide and then used this stuff and it cut like butter. Also slugged my 50 barrel before and after with noticeably less resistance afterwards.
lowerfriction.com
Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) Powder | Hex Boron Nitride
Hexagonal Boron Nitride Powder- One of most reliable lubricant for high temperatures. Hexagonal Boron Nitride can provide lubricity at temperatures upto 1400 deg C.
lowerfriction.com Upvote 0
I've used Boron Nitride in industrial applications (refractory), real slick stuff. Depending on the surface being applied to and carrier used, it can have extremely high wear resistance to friction, but is excellent for friction + high heat. It can be had in powder form or a "paint", at least as I've seen it.
Upvote 0
I've tried coating my springer bores and or pellets with Krytox. Krytox supposed to bond molecular with metal as well. It would increase velocity maybe 10fps initially. It's effects would be gone in ten shots or less. So much for molecular bonding.
This is a similar subject as pellet washing and lubing. You'll have polarized viewpoints on that as well. For me the juice isn't worth the squeeze on either practice. I put good quality pellets straight from the tin into barrels that haven't even been cleaned in tens of thousands of rounds. Pretty happy with the results. When I'm not it's usually something more serious like a bad seal or spring.
This is a similar subject as pellet washing and lubing. You'll have polarized viewpoints on that as well. For me the juice isn't worth the squeeze on either practice. I put good quality pellets straight from the tin into barrels that haven't even been cleaned in tens of thousands of rounds. Pretty happy with the results. When I'm not it's usually something more serious like a bad seal or spring.
Upvote 0
Just finally broke down and tested some of this that I had purchased in the summer. It is definitely the slickest stuff I've ever experienced. Mine is powder form. I purchased it to try and solve a fouling problem with 177, 20 gn slugs. I've tried all kinds of lube but poor accuracy after a few shots is the norm and in factory guise, the NSA slugs have a silicone coating that doesn't foul with lead... it fouls by increasingly constricting the bore, which seems to me to be a product of the high friction and the silicone.I'll post it one more time. This stuff far surpasses moly and it's forever in the bore. Mix with alcohol as a carrier and swab the bore. I've personally used this stuff and watched it perform miracles. Went from breaking taps trying to tap an rmr cut and thread in a Sig Sauer slide and then used this stuff and it cut like butter. Also slugged my 50 barrel before and after with noticeably less resistance afterwards.
Hexagonal Boron Nitride (hBN) Powder | Hex Boron Nitride
Hexagonal Boron Nitride Powder- One of most reliable lubricant for high temperatures. Hexagonal Boron Nitride can provide lubricity at temperatures upto 1400 deg C.
I treated the slugs by washing them with acetone a then putting them in a plastic bag with a teaspoon of the HBn. It seemed to coat them well and they were slick enough to be fairly difficult to pick up and load.
It was a massive fail, with this application technique, anyway. Accuracy was mediocre initially but deteriorated quickly and upon cleaning, a LARGE amount of lead was pulled from the bore. I even tried pretreating the bore but the results were still the same. The velocity WAS a bit higher though... at least initially.
Given the characteristics of very high lubricity and resistance to heat and pressure, I had high hopes. I will try adding it to some different carriers before giving up on it, but that's my experience so far. If nothing else, there are tons of applications for this stuff so it will NOT be wasted.
These slugs have been on my radar since first experiencing them as related in my post about "Happy pills". Still looking for a way to shoot a lot of them before fouling...
Bob
Upvote 0