Oiling pneumatic air guns

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gabegabe

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Sep 20, 2021
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Minnesota, United States
Dear Sirs:

This is my first post and my searches came up empty so here goes (I am sure this topic has been covered ad nauseum).

The subject of oiling an air gun can be daunting. There are millions of oils and tons of misinformation circulating on this subject. While I realize following the manufacturers instructions is the simplest and most straightforward option, I am betting that there are endless options available that would be much cheaper and work just as well.

In my quest to find the best, cheapest oil available what would you recommend? Many say oil is oil. Ok, I get it (they might be right). And I know no solvents (distillates) can be in the formulation since they will destroy the gaskets. I have just about every oil made including Pellgun Oil which is recommended by Crosman (their product of course) for my Benjamin 1377 .22cal single shot pellet rifle.

But I am intrigued by all of these synthetic oils that are becoming available. Particularly Pennzoil Platinum motor oil (I know, I know, car oil) which is the first full 100% synthetic oil made with natural gas=zero petroleum oil base. Clear, clean, and sold in multiweights for cold and hot weather. Even high mileage for expanding seals on old cars. How could this not work for a pneumatic air gun? I am willing to bet members have a goto oil for pneumatic air guns that is not Pellgun Oil or Magnum Air Power High Performance Air Gun Oil for $7.90 + shipping for 1/2 oz. !!!!!! And I will bet the oil does not have to be “non-detergent” as many claim. I am presently using 30W non-detergent motor oil (which is what Pellgun Oil is supposed to be, minus some super-duper additive called Monolec). They also suggest that Automatic Transmission fluid would work just fine.

Here is a list of the oils I presently have available:
”Food safe“ mineral oil, sewing machine oil, turbine oil by Maintenance Warehouse, Ballistol, 30W non-detergent motor oil, full-synthetic motor oil, Boeshield-T9 chain oil, Liberty 100% synthetic lubricant, Remington gun oil

Any advice you can give me would be most helpful and appreciated. Thanks!!!

Dave H

[email protected]

P.S. My gun would not shoot. Turned out the poppet in the exhaust valve was frozen. After disassembling, cleaning, and lubing it seemed to work fine, but now the gun is leaking and will not maintain air pressure. Pumps up fine. 


 
Hi DesertSilver,

I am using a Benjamin pumper (1377 model). I also was hesitant about expanding seals, but one guy used Alphabet org “Stop Leak” after getting no pressure and it solved his problem. The seals looked good but maybe that doesn’t mean anything. The gun doesn’t have hardly any rounds thru it except for sighting in but sat around for a few years. Used it sparingly in the summer to shoot squirrels. Screwed up and left it cocked but the spring/hammer mechanism seems to be working fine. Just low air pressure soon after pumping. It shot really good the last two days. Now nothing.
 
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Taking a tip from an old shooter, I switched to regular Mobil1 oil about 10 years ago and never looked back. It's cheap, readily available & I use it on everything. Rifles, pistols, shotguns, air rifles, fishing reels, etc.. Never had any issue whatsoever. Grease is grease and has its place, but for basic lubrication, Mobil1 in a plastic fine tipped squirt bottle is hard to beat. A quart lasts a long long time.
 
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Silicone is worthless as a lubricant of any kind EXCEPT on rubber parts. It does almost nothing for metal lubrication. 

The flip side is petroleum based oils won't hurt the rubber parts in airguns, as they are Buna/Nitrile most of the time. 

What you DON'T want, is anything with acetone or similar in it, as it causes these rubbers to swell. 

Air tool oil lubricates metal well, rubber well, and is usually water displacing to some degree which is a big deal in pumpers since they generate condensation with use.

The biggest killer of Buna-N seals in is actually ozone. That's why sitting unused with no lube or pressure (which leaves them vented to atmosphere in some guns) is the hardest on them. 

Just thinking out loud of some things to consider. 
 
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Oops, DesertSilver was my first reply. Thanks gang for all of your help and advice. Most appreciated. I learned a lot. Some really good thoughts thumper! Keep’em coming folks. I love to hear how people take care of their guns. And air guns are new to me. Thanks again!!!

If anyone knows what page oiling air guns is on let me know. Searching isn’t working for me. 
 
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Fully synthetic air tool oil with no solvents. They sell it in bulk as "air tool oil". Almost all paintball oils will be sold this way. If it smells like kerosene or petroleum at all its probably not going to be what you want to use. Air tool oil has a very faint smell.

Follow manufacturers instructions on your PCP stuff because highly pressurized oil can catch fire don't screw around with 3000psi and oil.
 
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Natural gas is a petrochemical/hydrocarbon gas. It's components, which can vary depending upon the source are of shorter carbon chains,and sometimes only one carbon atom as compared to the crude oils commonly referred to as petroleum. A synthetic oil made from natural gas is a petrochemical product and as such should not be used in the chambers of spring air or air piston guns as it will still burn or diesel at the temperatures generated. You can find full synthetic outboard motor and 2 cycle oil for small engines, which like their standard petroleum derived products are designed to burn rather cleanly in the combustion chamber of such engines. The silicone oils recommended for air gun chamber do not generally lubricate metal to metal as well as petroleum based oils, but then the seals are synthetic materials on steel so no problem. The advantage that they have is a much higher ignition point hence no dieseling or igniting to cause excessive pressure and heat in our air guns.
 
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Silicone is worthless as a lubricant of any kind EXCEPT on rubber parts. It does almost nothing for metal lubrication. 

The flip side is petroleum based oils won't hurt the rubber parts in airguns, as they are Buna/Nitrile most of the time. 

What you DON'T want, is anything with acetone or similar in it, as it causes these rubbers to swell. 

Air tool oil lubricates metal well, rubber well, and is usually water displacing to some degree which is a big deal in pumpers since they generate condensation with use.

The biggest killer of Buna-N seals in is actually ozone. That's why sitting unused with no lube or pressure (which leaves them vented to atmosphere in some guns) is the hardest on them. 

Just thinking out loud of some things to consider.
Click to expand...

I have no idea what the piston seal in my Remington 1100 semi auto shotgun is made of, Basically a very large O-ring. I bought the gun in the autumn of 1972 and as a matter of choice replaced the seal about two years ago, it was still in good shape, soft and pliable and the gun functioned perfectally with it before changing it out, have not tried it since. There is no pressure on the seal to keep atmosphereic gases from it, on either side, vented from barrel ports or exhaust side.
 
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So the moral to the story is that we should not be putting full synthetic (highly processed) oils in our high pressure guns because they have lower ignition points and will diesel. Stick with silicone based oils. Ok, I get it.

But what about pneumatic pump guns? 
Straight 30W weight synthetic, multi-weight synthetic (0-30W, 5-30W), or NO synthetic? 

What are the seals in a Benjamin 1377 pneumatic pump rifle made of? They look like rubber to me. 
 
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I can attest to the fact that putting a petroleum product in a pumper (a modified 382) will diesel when pumped up high. I cleaned my barrel out with Rem Oil and failed to run some dry patches through it. I got a report and lots of black carbon inside the barrel. I won't forget again.
Click to expand...

I have never had a pumper, well just got a Zoraki pistol, but would have not thought that would happen. Dieseling is dependent upon a suddden temperature rise, above the ignition point of the fuel, oil in this case. I would have thought the temperature rise in a pumper to be much slower so the metal mass would cool the air charge quickly enough to prevent dieseling. When the air charge is released there is sudden cooling as expanding compressed air cools rapidly, the same principle that makes an air conditioner work. Just my thoughts.
 
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The valve/hammer relationship in my 382 pumper is the same as it is in my Prod PCP and the air comes out just as fast, especially when you have the valve body milled out and valve turned down, ports angled and enlarged and reinforced pump arms allowing for 14 pumps. I imagine the air entering the barrel is pretty hot for a short period of time.
 
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