Rifled bore - install grease?

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I had received a new, old stock Schultz and Larsen barrel - from patching it, was something like a clear light grease or perhaps a clear heavy oil that was coating the rifling - with bore scope, metal looks "perfect", even though likely 50 years since it was made.

I also read that Swiss military use a "grease" of some sort to coat their rifled bored for storage. Obvious, I think, that needs to be patched out before shooting?

So how is that done? - What kind of products can we buy today for that service? - How is it applied within the bore? If I know a rifle or shotgun is not going to be used for some time - what is the "best" way to coat inside of a very clean barrel, to stow it?
 
To remove the grease any petroleum based cleaner will do like mineral spirits home brews like Ed's red. It will probably be caked on a bit so brushing will help and even heating the barrel with a hair dryer may soften it up. For storage a light coat of good gun oil will protect the bore for a prolonged time.
 
hunter5425 said:
To remove the grease any petroleum based cleaner will do like mineral spirits home brews like Ed's red. It will probably be caked on a bit so brushing will help and even heating the barrel with a hair dryer may soften it up. For storage a light coat of good gun oil will protect the bore for a prolonged time.
Click to expand...

,,,,,,,,, Same.
 
To apply grease or heavy oil (I use oil), cut a 1/4 in by 2 in strip of patch. Wrap it in a spiral around a brass wire cleaning jag of the proper diameter. Apply oil to the patch strip - I use an oil can with a small nozzle. Run through the bore.
Same technique can be used to clean a bore, use powder solvent rather than oil.
 
For storage over a couple weeks I re-used the Hoppes Oil bottle that came with a cheap cleaning kit (I bought at yard sale for the jags,etc) and use Synth-auto oil on a patch wrapped with a cotton strip like cosmic. Oil sorta heavy then solvent/patch it out b4 next shooting trip. And I always oil up my SKS after every cleaning. I had 'residual' carbon throughout the bore and finally bought a .338 brass brush to 'really attack' it - Now very shiny w/NO Carbon or Brass streaks. Only a couple passes needed since I got it shiny. I use Hoppes Copper solvent and Boretech C-4.
 
cosmic said:
To apply grease or heavy oil (I use oil), cut a 1/4 in by 2 in strip of patch. Wrap it in a spiral around a brass wire cleaning jag of the proper diameter. Apply oil to the patch strip - I use an oil can with a small nozzle. Run through the bore.
Same technique can be used to clean a bore, use powder solvent rather than oil.
Click to expand...

I have definitely used patches wrapped around bronze brush for scrubbing in really grungy old milsurp bores - my thought was that the wrapped patch carried a lot of reserve "juice" for scrubbing in the bore - the bristle tips stuck out and still seemed to "scrub". I had never thought to apply coating that way, though.
 
Buck1950 said:
For storage over a couple weeks I re-used the Hoppes Oil bottle that came with a cheap cleaning kit (I bought at yard sale for the jags,etc) and use Synth-auto oil on a patch wrapped with a cotton strip like cosmic. Oil sorta heavy then solvent/patch it out b4 next shooting trip. And I always oil up my SKS after every cleaning. I had 'residual' carbon throughout the bore and finally bought a .338 brass brush to 'really attack' it - Now very shiny w/NO Carbon or Brass streaks. Only a couple passes needed since I got it shiny. I use Hoppes Copper solvent and Boretech C-4.
Click to expand...

Your experience similar to mine - once bore is actually good and clean, is easy to keep that way after a day of shooting - as if the old grungy stuff left behind just catches or makes more, the next time. A couple of my rifles want a couple or three "fouling shots" before they "settle down", but is not really a serious issue. A few hunting rifles that go out most will almost always put the first cold bore clean barrel shot into the first 5 round group that I fire at targets. I am maybe not fussy enough, but for 40 or more years 5 rounds into inch and a half - even into two inches - at 100 yards is just fine for deer hunting that I do / did.
 
The Mobil-1 I use doesn't disappear until I use solvent and it only cost $20/5-ltr. instead of $20 5-0z.
 
I've been using it for about a year, on all my rifles. Nothing has caught fire or blown up . . . so far. I bought all my solvents on Amazon, 8-oz or larger. C-4 was $40+ for 8-oz!! but should last a couple more years. The SKS uses a lot, as does the 'dirty' .22s. I like the barrels starting out shiny ;-)
 
To remove grease before shooting:
















To re-apply the grease after shooting use nylon bristle bore bore that was dunked into your preferred grease can.
Don't need to block the barrel, just coat the rifling and chamber.
 
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Diopter - thanks for the links - was working from the German (?) website - looks like Swiss military used "Waffenfett", which I think they are saying is "Aeroshell Grease 64". Found some listed on Amazon.ca
 
Waffenfett= gun grease

There has been at least 2 different Swiss version in the 20th century.
First was a vegetable based grease used in the Vetterli's through to the end of the K31 service life.
Then came the Synthetic oil lithium-moly grease version needed for the STG57(Automattenfett = Auto weapons grease).
Not sure if new version is used by the army or just a commercial substitute.
 
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When a Swiss shooter forgets to patch out the grease from his barrel, the result is a small-medium size cloud of smoke and a chorus of "Fettschuss"(grease shot) rings out in the poor unfortunate's ear's. No harm but to pride is done. Would not recommend trying it on a 3000fps magnum round, but harmless at GP11 velocities in a K31 or M1911.
 
diopter said:
Waffenfett= gun grease

There has been at least 2 different Swiss version in the 20th century.
First was a vegetable based grease used in the Vetterli's through to the end of the K31 service life.
Then came the Synthetic oil lithium-moly grease version needed for the STG57(Automattenfett = Auto weapons grease).
Not sure if new version is used by the army or just a commercial substitute.
Click to expand...

I looked up the description / spec about that Aeroshell Grease 64 and very much sounds like your description of "Automattenfett" - synthetic, lithium and moly. I was not so concerned about grease for within the rifle mechanism - was more about the bore - my limited experience is most oils must evaporate off some lighter components and the sludge left some years later is not the same as what was originally applied. Also, I stored a few rifles with muzzle down, after reading about that - inevitable to have puddle of oil - some amount of the oil that I slathered into the bore, just drained out, I think. Hence, I was thinking that the grease idea had some merit.
 
Waffenfett.2.jpg


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I just received confirmation from a vendor in Canada that I have a 14 ounce tube of Aeroshell Grease 64 on the way, so I will get to see what that is - the more that I read the write-up, the more it seems like an Extreme Pressure (EP) rated grease - I did not read the various Mil standards to verify. Certainly, when zooming in on your picture of 500 g "Waffenfett", it says "Aeroshell Grease 64", so I am hoping that I have purchased the equivalent, at least.

Also, from the picture, I see what I think is a nylon or synthetic bore brush - so I presume that is the appropriate thing to use to swab it into and throughout the bore. I am not so concerned about cleaning it out again - it was about how to get it properly placed throughout the bore, for corrosion protection, mostly.

EDIT: And, I did just now see your comments at end of Post #12, which clarified for me how it install that stuff.

Thank you!!
 
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