"Vaseline" tins in cases?

[Eric Johanen]

Did tins really contain Vaseline and if so what was it used for? Many cases contain these tins and I've wondered what they were used for.

[Rick Losey]

Vaseline - or light grease of a similar consistency is used at the hinge pin / barrel hook mating to reduce wear

if it is not cleaned off and reapplied I would think it would gather grit and be counter productive

[Eric Johanen]

Thank you OH. Looking at the size of the typical tins would be a generous supply of Vaseline or other similar lube.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

I put vaseline on my shoulder when I'm going to do some heavy shooting. It keeps your clothing from chapping your skin as the recoil rubs it against you. Nobody realizes it, but half of a sore shooting shoulder is from this. Also putting a dab on the comb of the stock where it touches your face will almost completely do away with soreness in that area.

[todd allen]

I put vaseline on my shoulder when I'm going to do some heavy shooting. It keeps your clothing from chapping your skin as the recoil rubs it against you. Nobody realizes it, but half of a sore shooting shoulder is from this. Also putting a dab on the comb of the stock where it touches your face will almost completely do away with soreness in that area.

That's what I was told years ago, when I asked an old shooter. I suppose it would work on the action joint as well, though I'm sure there has been better choices for lube for quite a few years.
I had always used STOS for that purpose up until I bought my SC-3 P-Gun.
The seller gave me a little jar of pretty high tech lube, and said "use this".
Label is gone, so I don't know what the brand is. Good news; I have a lifetime supply left.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

It's an absolute fact. I shot 10 boxes of magnum 10 gauge shells in two days this past winter with hardly an I'll effect using this method.

[Eric Johanen]

Does the Vaseline effect the stock finish? I believe Vaseline is not good on barrel finishes.

[Destry L. Hoffard]

I've never noticed it doing anything to mine.

[allen newell]

Vaseline has many uses

[Mark Ray]

My friend, and gunsmith Kirk Merrington uses petroleum jelly ( vaseline) in place of “grease” on his workings. All forms of coagulated lubricants can attract grit. I used vaseline for my “wipedown” lubricant for years before changing to ballistol. Thinking of changing back..

[Dean Romig]

What is it Mark, about Ballistol that would make you change back to vaseline?





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[Mark Ray]

Dean, that is a good question. And after ruminating on the subject without the assistance of a little Kentucky Aiming Fluid, I recant!

I have come to enjoy that strange licorice smell of Ballistol as much as Hoppe’s.

I do however continue to use Vaseline sparingly as “Gun grease”.

[Dean Romig]

Kathy despises the smell of Ballistol...

I use Rig for all articulating surfaces and friction surfaces.





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[Russell E. Cleary]

For what it is worth:

The late Jim Sargent, author of the AMERICAN PREMIUM GUIDE[S] TO KNIVES AND RAZORS -- Identification and Value Guide[s]) --, and one of the king-pins of vintage knife dealing and collecting for several decades said the following:

” CLEANING.....

.....Vaseline should never be used because it allows moisture to seep beneath its coat and cause rust.” –Jim Sargent, PREMIUM GUIDE 5th Edition, page 10.

That said, applying grease on metal-to-metal contact working surfaces is not the same as applying it onto exposed surfaces for protection. (And that appears to be agreed upon while we maintain our Aiming Fluid-free discussion mode.)

[Chuck Bishop]

All this high tech grease is way overkill. Any kind of grease, even Vasaline works. The trick is to use it lightly and clean the surfaces routinely to keep grit out. Heck, Perazzi recommends oil on the hinge.

[Richard Flanders]

Ballistol seems to take a bit of a 'set' when left for a long time. It varnishes a bit. I make sure to brush it out of my chambers before shooting a S/S as it seems to really set up from the heat of shooting and the shells will get a bit stuck and not extract/eject properly. Don't get me wrong, I love it and use it especially to coat the inside of the action; it never seems to run off and I wipe every gun exterior with it. Mostly I just make sure to get it out of the chambers before shooting. I've had it do the same thing in a pump gun. Shoot a few clays quickly and the gun seems a bit stuck; brush out the chamber and it's fine. Anyone else find this? For the locking lug and the main hinge pin surfaces I use Chevron "Ultra Grease". It's a thickish and sticky wheel-bearing-like grease that really sticks to the surfaces and doesn't run off.... at all. It's intended use is in extreme impact and/or wet conditions such as the boom and bucket pins on an excavator and the rollers and bogies on a Cat that often runs in water. They give it away in small 2oz? bottles at trade shows and one of these will last decades for S/S use. I use it for everything on the suspensions and drive trains of all my vehicles and I've never used anything but this on heavy equipment.

[charlie cleveland]

3 in 1 oil use to be my gun oil till w d - 40 came along....I use it for every thing.....used engine oil is a great rust prevention but is messy....charlie

[Richard Flanders]

WD-40 can glue a gun up like super glue if left long enough.

[Bob Brown]

I use Quantum Hot Sauce reel grease. I don't know if it is better than other types of grease, but it works for me and the small tube that it comes makes it easy to put a dab where its needed and it fits into the gun case nicely. Balistol for the metal surfaces and grease on the friction points.

[Chris Travinski]

In regard the the areas requiring grease, I have always stored them dry. I put grease on the hinge pin etc. when I put the gun together to shoot and wipe it back off when I break it down to go back into the case. Minimizes grit in the grease.

[Carl Erickson Jr]

The US Army used to issue a small container of grease to go in the stock of the M1 rifle. The grease was selected after testing shown it to be the best all weather grease. The grease is white lithium Lubriplate available at any Auto Parts store.
As for a general lubricant, cleaner and preservative oil I use GI CLP (cleaner lubricant preservative) or equivalent. Seems to work well for me in many different applications.

[Dean Romig]

I tried white lithium grease on the hinge knuckles of several of my original Parkers as well as on three Repros and couldn't even close the guns I tried it on. The particles or molecular structure of that stuff is just too coarse.





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[Daniel Carter]

My 20 ga. repro after 30 years still will not go together if i am too liberal with grease on the knuckle. An almost invisible film is all it will allow. The gun may have 3000 shells through it but is still as tight as the day it was made.

[Chris Robenalt]

I always use Vaseline on metal when graffing wood, bedding or filling cracks in the wood. I like the wood attached to the metal when making repairs. A coat of Vaseline on the metal keeps the wood from becoming attached. Vaseline also makes those vintage orange recoil pads look great!