Does gun oil have a certain shelf life?

[RogerP9fan]

I have a bottle of Hoppe's #9 solvent that's been sitting around for about 6 years.
1) Is it still good to use?
2) Can solvent also be used as a lube or do I need to buy 2 separate products? A solvent for cleaning and a lube for lubrication?

[wyntrout]

Mine's 20 or 30 years old... seems to work okay. I don't think it has lost its taste... er, smell. I have all kinds of stuff like that. If it doesn't seem to work I might pitch it.:D

I use bore cleaner on the barrel, but for a quick cleaning, I might just shoot some oil down the barrel and run a patch through a couple of times... an oily one. I did that with my shotgun today. I had planned to use it today, but stayed home to be domestic. I only fired four shells testing it a few days ago. So I sprayed some Remington Oil -- big spray can... with Telfon -- down the barrel and put a large patch over a wire brush and ran it through a few times, folding it to a cleaner side after the first pass. The first pass was nastier than I thought it would be, but the second was okay. I couldn't see the whole cleaning "process" over a few shots when I hope to use it real soon.
I use gun oils and improvise with grease for the rails, primarily. I spray some white lithium grease in a bottle cap and then apply that to the rails and the little grooves in the slide where the rails go. I put a bit on the plastic rails, too. I used some silicone grease the other day on my PM45's rails and then lost track of the little container in my clutter.

Oh! And solvent doesn't make a good lubricant. You might clean with a lubricant, but not the other way.

Wynn:D

[RogerP9fan]

Thanks for that. Upon reading more previous threads, I just ordered a couple tubes of Mil-Comm TW25B grease.

[DKD]

I to also use Hoppes #9 solvent, followed by Breakfree CLP for lubing and have had exceptional results over the years. I am aware that CLP comes is standard as well as a specialty one for stainless steel. Both work great.
In a pinch for a short term I have just run a lightley oiled patch after firing a few round knowing that I intended to do more shooting in not too distant future.

[WMD]

Old Hoppes is OK. I have some bulk containers of # 9 that is quite old (Years). No issues at all and the bores get sparkling clean. You could get fancy and get some JB Bore butter. That is excellent stuf as well. Do not over lube your barrel (with CLP or otherwise). Excessive lube will act as an obstruction when you fire the first shot. You really do not want that to happen! ;-)

Just my .02 cents, but I would not recommend putting any thing in the barrel that is going to leave a teflon coating. Remember, the P/PM series guns have polyganol barrels. They are much tighter then land and groove. As with over lubing, it is probably not a good practice to put something in the bore that makes the bore tighter.

[RogerP9fan]

WMD, thanks for the great tips.

[wyntrout]

I always run a dry or slightly oily patch through the barrel. I never leave it wet... any visible oil. The Teflon is just a lubricant additive as in Remington's Rem Oil. It doesn't leave a measurable coating or build up, just aids lubrication. It's not like a frying pan coating.:D
The oil spray on the left I use all over the gun where grease isn't needed.
The DriLube does leave a whitish residue that I don't like. I wouldn't spray that into the barrel and not wipe it out with a dry patch. I was using it in magazines and on the springs but I won't get anymore of it.
Wynn