22 replies to this topic

[nerfer34]

Yes I searched and found info but still have a few questions.
-Is veggie oil the best lube? What is better?
- Do you only lube spring guns?
- Where do you lube the gun, the spring and the plunger?

[PissBacon]

Silicon (silicone? I do not understand the difference) lubricant is what I use. It'll never errode your rubber stuff and it works great. For spring guns you can put it around the plunger and the barrel. For air guns you should just put it in the barrel and pump mechanism. Generally think of where friction is created, and apply.

Edited by PissBacon, 13 February 2006 - 09:27 PM.

[Carbon]

Seconded for silicone spray....seems to make less of a mess than veggie oil (which I used to use in my homemades).

As far as silicon/silicone, the difference is that silicon is a basic element, while silicone is an organic silicon oxide.

Edited by Carbon, 13 February 2006 - 11:52 PM.

[LordoftheRing434]

Third for silicone. You don't necessarily need to purchase a spray either. I've picked up a few tubes that are just as effective and easy to apply. It's always been my choice, so I haven't tried veggie oil. I wouldn't know about it.

[Forsaken angel24]

I tried this silione lubricant spray called Jigaloo and it irreversably ruined two of my guns. The silicone spay after being applied started to harden and leave a white crust wherever it was applied.It ruined the front valve on the Titan and a supersoaker. I now use This stuff called Clearglide. It is a wire pulling lubricant. Most importantly this stuff is Non corrosive and non toxic. When a thicker lube is needed I use Dielectric silicon grease. Found at Canadian tire.

Edit: Clearglide is garbage too. This stuff evaporates within the month.

Edited by Forsaken_angel24, 07 March 2006 - 10:01 PM.

[CaMbLaM]

I have a funny story to tell everyone about how lubricants going wrong.

Awhile back Illadar and I made a sorry attempt to build a homemade. We had a three foot barrel made of aluminum inside of a PVC tube hooked up to the leaky air tank, with the faulty trigger.

We were not aware that our gun sucked when we first tested it. Illadar had just before we pumped it up wanted to lubricant the barrel. After he was done pouring all in way too much veggie oil down the barrel, I who was standing a ways back with the bike pump started pumping when he told me to. First pump, not much happened so Illadar said pump harder. Second pump i pushed down and fast as I could. Out of the side of the barrel a wave of oil coated Illadar.

I recommend that the first time you try a lubricant in each gun you stay behind the gun, incase there is a leak of any sort between the barrel and the, air tank or spring chamber.

[nerfer34]

So is my best bet sillicone? Where can I get it?

[Black Wrath]

I'm no expert, but I'm going to suggest the plumbing section of your local hardware/home store. If not there, then it may just be in a general area, or even the check-out lanes.

If you ask about it, I'm sure someone will be able to help you.

[Lopius]

I am a big fan of the petroleum jelly, aka Vaseline. I usually use it for my pump guns. As for Silicone Spray, I use STP. It works just fine.

[deathwolf]

I really like plumber's lube...it works pretty good, and I don't see any erosion on the plunger tube of my NF

[J cobbers]

I am a big fan of the petroleum jelly, aka Vaseline. I usually use it for my pump guns. As for Silicone Spray, I use STP. It works just fine.

Vasaline = bad, for a couple reasons. 1) it can dry out over time, and 2 it can weaken the rubber on your plungers.

I suggest you take all your vasalined guns, clean off the stuff and use something else.

Question, has anyone tried using paintball gun lube? I would think that it would be perfect for nerf guns as it is designed to protect rubber and I've never heard of it harming plastics.

[SirTofu]

Yeah, I use paintball lube. I think it's the best you can use, seeing as its meant for o-rings...

[nerfer34]

Is it absolutly necessary to lube your guns? How often should you lube?

[Black Wrath]

Is it absolutly necessary to lube your guns? How often should you lube?

No.

If you do, every time you use them.

I spray my barrels with WD-40 and fire a few darts out to get the oil spread evenly. For my tank guns, I spray WD-40 on the air-release valves. For my spring guns, I spray WD-40 into the plunger tube and all over the plunger head, and cycle it a few times to get it all sealed.

This method really helps my guns' performance after long inactivity, or even in the middle of a war.

[GeneralPrimevil]

Umm, doesn't WD-40 eat away at silicon O-rings? I thought it did last time I checked. Just pick up a good silicone spray. NAPA makes one I can recommend; truthfully, they only really make one, or so it seems.

Petroleum jelly is what comes on prelubed silicone O-rings. Again, to cover my ass, this was the last time I purchased prelubed silicone O-rings.

[PissBacon]

WD-40 is indeed corrosive to rubber parts. The problem with petroleum lube is people do not notice it because it ruins your parts over a long time period, so you won't know you're getting screwed over until it's too late.

[Black Wrath]

Well that just sucks.

I guess my Nerf guns are as good as canned then.

[davidbowie]

What's your opinion of dish soap? It's nice and slippery, but what are the downsides? Is it bad for plastic?

[J cobbers]

What's your opinion of dish soap? It's nice and slippery, but what are the downsides? Is it bad for plastic?

Dish soap won't be harmful to your guns as soap are pretty much as safe as you get.
I would think, however, after a while that the soap will dry out and probably leave behind a residue that won't help lube you gun.

[PissBacon]

Black Wrath, if you just clean the guns out and change to a silicone lube, it should be fine.

I know from experience soaps leave residue (tried on a wildfire long long ago).

[Scott]

I wanted to chime in with two things, since lubricants (for the barrel and moving parts) are something I've been looking at lately. Vegetable oil, while offering great lubrication, comes at the price of easy oxidation - it seems to 'wear' off very quickly; if it doesn't wear off, it picks up little bits of dust and hair that seem to more than negate any gain from the lubrication.

One lubricant I've been looking at that I haven't actually tried yet is teflon-based - it comes in little tubes at radio shack, and I think it was originally intended for motors in CD drives. I know not many people want to plop down money on teflon tubing, but I was wondering how if anyone had had experience with teflon-based lubricants in, say, brass or PVC barrels.

[lilsniper]

For my crossbow and NF, I use vegtable oil on the plunger. It works great for me.

[Pineapple]

Umm, doesn't WD-40 eat away at silicon O-rings? I thought it did last time I checked. Just pick up a good silicone spray. NAPA makes one I can recommend; truthfully, they only really make one, or so it seems.

Petroleum jelly is what comes on prelubed silicone O-rings.  Again, to cover my ass, this was the last time I purchased prelubed silicone O-rings.

Yeah, petroleum jelly is fairly incompatible with rubber products. WD-40 too, but less so. The problem is fairly long-range, like if you use the products for a year or two (without cleaning your blasters' plungers,etc.)...you'd notice black residue inside the pump tubes, plunger tubes, etc., about the same time that your plungers feel "sticky". That would be rubber transfer from the deteriorating o-rings.

It's not as though, "aww crap, I just put some Vaseline on my o-rings, they're falling apart." The damage is over time.

Most things people mentioned as lubes (except soap; didn't try that one) work okay if you find time to take apart and clean your blasters periodically. I think you should clean them more if you play indoors, where they can pick up lint, dust, hairs, etc. (that sounds nasty). Or maybe if they get really dirty often, you should help with the housework and vacuuming.

Most all of our Nerfing is outdoors, but I still take time to clean out the kids' NiteFinders (most used blasters), and pump o-rings on the air-powered blasters. I use WD-40 as a cleaning solvent, blasting out all the dust that might accumulate, then wipe and swab the parts dry with lint-free microfiber cloth before shooting them with silicone spray (I use CRC brand; easily found in auto parts stores).

About Teflon; I bought a Prolong vehicle lube set a couple years back; it was the stuff you could add to your car's engine oil and drive around, even if all the oil was drained from the car. PTFE was it's trade name...basically, Teflon. I used a pen-sized oiler (liquid lube) on a NF back then...I never recorded the results. I'll try it again and do a stress test on a NF and maybe one of my AT2ks.

I remember taking apart my son's Max Shot, and finding a clear lube on the plunger; I assumed it was some kind of silicone lube, and it works really well. I'd sure like to find something similar; the dielectric slicone lube I have for wet electrical connections looks opaque and feels kind of pasty, so I haven't even tried that on a Nerf blaster yet.

I'm talking moving parts here; since making most of my recent modifications with PETG tubing, I haven't lubed the inside of barrels for awhile. When I used PVC barrels, I used silicone spray or WD-40 to occasionally lube and clean them.


-Piney-