Maintenance, Servicing and is Silicone Oil good or bad?

[junglie]

Sm50 does not contain silicone, I checked this with the managing director

So what is in it then? that'll teach me to belive a word written in airgun world years ago.

[Barryg]

So what is in it then? that'll teach me to belive a word written in airgun world years ago.

I got the managing director to repeat to me twice on the phone that it did not contain silicone, here is the number if you would like to ask him yourself 01202 623 258

[junglie]

I got the managing director to repeat to me twice on the phone that it did not contain silicone, here is the number if you would like to ask him yourself 01202 623 258

Did I say you were lying mate? No, try reading my post again, I just wanted to know if it's anything that would diesel in there. it wouldn't be the first time i've belived somthing in an airgun mag that didn't prove the same as my experience in real life....;-)

[bighit]

notice the date . long before ben Taylor brought it to attention on here

Quote (HEADSHOT @ May 03 2002,17:54)
hi phil, i was always told not to use silicone based oils in any air rifle as it is an abrasive and will grind the air chamber with grooves? anyway i was also told that you do not lube a leather washer when it is installed in the gun, but you soak it in any oil after it is fitted to the piston sleeve for a few days prior to installing it into the gun.

Yes, silicone on metal to metal surfaces is a total no-no. Such oil tends to strip away other lubricants and will soon make short work of metal surfaces. It's use in leather may be valid however, although the volitile carrier needs to be evaporated first. That's the theory anyway. Personally I've not used this and don't intent to, I'm not totally convinced it's safe.

Posted 04 May 2002 - 09:01 AM
Quote (TopRapid @ May 04 2002,08:36)
Perhaps a compromise product being a mix of both moly and silicone would be safer for leather piston head use.Its also OK for metal to metal contact. Bisley Gun Lubricant is such a product as is Abbey SM50. Shake WELL before ues. Hope this helps. Fred.

another post

That sounds like a good idea. Good job Fred knows what he's on about. So a moly silicone mix is the answer? Somebody did mention to me SM50 (is it 'SM' because it's silicone and moly, or did the inventor have other 'hobbies'?).

I might give it a whirl although the number of guns I service with leather washers is few and far between. I assume you would just smear it around the side of the washer and not on the face. Can this stuff burn and diesel? It's very heavy but surely it would cause problems if present on the front of the piston head?

(yes it did help Fred)

Phil

another post

Posted 19 December 2014 - 10:00 AM
I just saw this when checking for pirated scans of my old books and thought I might as well throw in my 2d worth. Thanks for the compliments, btw.

Dri Slide was a fine moly-etc in a volatile medium that eventually evaporated leaving the moly etc behind. Great on metal but not for leather and plastic.

For leather and plastic working in metal we sold silicone oil. It doesn't work on metal to metal surfaces and will stop things working eventually. Please bear in mind that this is from memory and I'm talking about the late 60's and early 70's.

Some of us experimented and came to the conclusion that silicone oil or a mixture of it with saddle soap was best for keeping or making leather washers supple and so on. Plus it didn't diesel and so was great as a drop or two inside the air chamber. Or better still spread on the walls of it.

One other point, oils can be thick or thin, it is, or was, measured in centistrokes. What we sold was 500c/s viscosity. Dow Corning, who made it, gave us a chart and it showed how to mix the viscosities to get exactly what we wanted but we found 500c/s was OK and never went down that path. I'm told that some did to be able to offer a "unique" mix...

Hope this helps.

Regards, David

http://www.airgunforum.net/agf/index.php?showtopic=1503

and I'm guessing Phil is Phil bulmer from the magazines .

and D R Hughes is a member on here also http://www.airgunbbs.com/member.php?132385-D-R-Hughes