OILING OR WAXING?

[aadhaulya]

Dear Experts,

We hear about regular maintenance of guns and oiling of the gun is an important part of it. But applying oil on the exterior of the gun causes some problems specially, hand guns. As I always carry a hand gun and the oil on the surface dries up very soon and the holster wear is quite evident. Therefore I have to touch up the bluing very often. but he oiling of the rifle and gun also stains the clothes.
My question is that wax polish instead of oiling has a longer life and does not stain the clothes. Also the wax polish prevents the rusting because of its water repelling property. In your opinion is waxing a good option compared to oiling the exterior surface??

Atul

[brihacharan]

COSMOLINE is the trademark for a generic class of rust preventives, typically conforming to United States Military Standard MIL-C-11796C Class 3, that are a brown colored wax-like mass; have a slight fluorescence; and have a petroleum-like odor and taste (as detected when working with it).

Chemically, COSMOLINE is a homogeneous mixture of oily and waxy long-chain, non-polar hydrocarbons. It is always brown in color, but can differ in viscosity and shear strength. COSMOLINE melts at 113–125 °F (45–52 °C) and has a flash point of 365 °F (185 °C).

It’s most common use is in the storage and preservation of some firearms, hand tools, machine tools and their tooling, and marine equipment.

During World War II, U.S. Coast Artillerymen used to coat weapons, including entire tanks, for long sea voyages, as it prevented rust even in salty conditions.

Ref: COSMOLINE - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmolin
Briha

[aadhaulya]

Briha ji,

It was rather complicated and It is still not very clear to me. Can I shift over to regular wax polishing of my revolver at least, as I always carry it with me.

Atul

[brihacharan]

Briha ji,

It was rather complicated and It is still not very clear to me. Can I shift over to regular wax polishing of my revolver at least, as I always carry it with me.
Atul

Tell me why do have to 'oil' your handgun often?
Just wipe it with an oil soaked muslin cloth once a month.....this is what my uncle who owned a S&W 0.32 revolver did....
Also when the gun is not in use or being carried around over longer periods - do not store it in its holster / cloth bag,
as these attract moisture & contribute to rusting....
Briha

[aadhaulya]

Briha ji,

I carry it every day hence it remains in a holster all the time. This leads to the oil coming off and wear off at the edges. I have to touch up the bluing every about 2 months. I feel the wax polish is easy to apply gives a good finish and doesn't stain the clothes.
Therefore, my question that to apply polish I have to clean up the oil totally and how will that effect the life of the gun.

Atul

[ckkalyan]

My advice is not to worry about the 'holster-wear'. Remember the 'faded jeans' (stone-washed etc.) effect, aadhaulya?

But I hear where you are coming from...you want your gun in pristine condition at all times.

OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - I understand, because I have it myself)!

Just carry it normally, do a thorough wipe and light re-oil every week / two weeks. It would very much depend on how often your bare hands touch the gun, every day (frequency).

[aadhaulya]

OCD is correct, when I bought my first car I was obsessed with the minor details.
After getting a number of cars that obsessions over. But here it is different with guns, as you know that with the greatest of difficulty one can manage to get only 3 guns. So one can be excused for being obsessed.

Atul

[ckkalyan]

OCD is correct, when I bought my first car I was obsessed with the minor details. After getting a number of cars that obsessions over. But here it is different with guns, as you know that with the greatest of difficulty one can manage to get only 3 guns. So one can be excused for being obsessed. Atul

Absolutely excusable - nay, encourage-able, even!

In that case Oil + Wax - I hear the Brazilian variety is really good!

Just kidding!