Grease vs Oil

[mountainspruce]

You must be using something else because i use the brake clean on my car parts / maintenance all the time , and ive never had my skin come off.. lol

Maybe a little exaggerated, but I would leave the Tetrachloraethylene off the skin all the same. Oh yeah: ...heh heh.

 

[milshooter]

should be using grease in all semi auto's where there is sliding or rotating going on.

oil for keeping rust at bay

 

[Hungry]

You guys aren't gonna like to hear me say that I hardly ever remove / swap/ exchange the grease on my M14 rifles. I'm too lazy, I just leave it on there and keep adding more! Just keep it greased, that's all that matters! Don't matter how exotic your grease is, just get some grease on the moving parts, you just have to examine the metal on metal wear marks! Grease it THERE!

Cheers mates!

Barney

 

[ton45-II]

Same here as Hungry. I just keep adding and I use cheap Canadian Tire multipurpose grease. Never had problem with it even in -15 weather during the hunting season.

 

[sobo4303]

The M14 is basically a "dry" gun, unlike its successor, the M16, which is "wet" (ie. soaked in oil). When it comes to grease, you just have to make sure it exists. You don't see people bleeding/wiping down and re-greasing their machinery or automobiles daily, and there's good reason, there's nothing wrong with the grease.

In my opinion, I would use a little caution with this statement. Automobiles and machinery require lubrication. Most new vehicles are designed with better grease systems (bearings, chassis, drive train, etc) which only require periodic "top-up", usually during the required warranty maintenance.

Most heavy equipment and machinery require daily or more frequent greasing.

As for your M14, I was taught very early that two pieces of metal moving against each other create friction, heat and wear. A good grease or lubrication between the two surfaces drastically reduce this wear.

On my M14 I use wheel bearing grease for the roller and op rod groove. There is a lot of stress and movement in that area and that grease is designed for that type of service. For the other gliding surfaces, I use the white lithium grease.

I clean it often, not because of needing to replenish the grease, rather, dust, grit and debris can also cause wear to the parts. It is a messy affair to clean and wipe that bearing grease but something that has to be done.