Webley Premier now repaired after seizing up from neatsfoot oil

[Mr. Gen]

silicone oil on synthetic washers, anything else will diesel. polishing the tube will help as well. LT2 on metal to metal contact and don't polish if you can avoid it as the grease will slide off if the surface is too highly polished.

That said all my webley pistols get a drop of motor oil and fired regularly as God intended

[eyebull]

..silicone oil on synthetic washers, anything else will diesel...

While in theory silcone lubricant is good for synthetic-to-metal contact, in practice silicon oil may well find its way to other parts of the gun, where it can destroy metal-to-metal contact surfaces in short order.
For safety's sake, I would avoid silicon lubricants entirely.

A light smear of molybdenum grease on the sides of the piston seal (not the face), and the spring - as is common practice with modern spring rifles and pistols - will be sufficient.
And if it is kept away from the piston face, dieseling - if any - should be minimal.

[Mr. Gen]

While in theory silcone lubricant is good for synthetic-to-metal contact, in practice silicon oil may well find its way to other parts of the gun, where it can destroy metal-to-metal contact surfaces in short order.
For safety's sake, I would avoid silicon lubricants entirely.

A light smear of molybdenum grease on the sides of the piston seal (not the face), and the spring - as is common practice with modern spring rifles and pistols - will be sufficient.
And if it is kept away from the piston face, dieseling - if any - should be minimal.

I always put a smear of silicon oil on the seal before the piston goes back in - that is most certainly not enough to get anywhere else inside the gun.

LT2 on the piston seal will get onto the face very quickly, as you cock the gun it is transfers onto the tube wall and then when you fire the gun the seal does its job correctly and scrapes that LT2 forward onto the piston face, where it will diesel. I only put LT2 on the piston skirt if the stroke is short enough to prevent transference into the tube.

Most of my expensive springers have synthetic bearings on the piston to avoid having to use grease and having to clean the piston out too often.

[abellringer]

Andrew, easy mistake to make assuming a '75 era gun had leather seals, most did, but for many years before that, 'O' rings were common as were assorted 'synthetic' seals; guns in the mid 50's did indeed have 'synthetic' seals, and today a percentage of guns still use leather. A well known mod to W & S Hawks/Ospreys etc and even some pistols was and still is, is to mod the piston and fit one of the companies leather units, and it usually improved things no end. All of my leather washers 'live' in containers with an amount of Neatsfoot oil and get turned over on a regular basis to ensure they all get a share and stay supple [some of these are from the 40's but still fine]
It is kind of difficult to give a specific recommendation for lubrication; there are so many variables, as can be seen from the assortment of posts already, I personally never use pure silicon on anything as a lube per se; as I found it isn't really a 'lube' at all [ no doubt an expert will explain why this is wrong, but that's a good thing, experience is always welcome] I like many others have a big collection of 'lubes' and use them from experience gained in whatever we have worked on. I have the most amazing metal to metal lube [ I think it's now banned here, sadly] but let it come into contact with nylon, plastic, polyurethane etc and the squeals and protests are ear shattering. The post about a drop of engine oil is not far off a good solution, I often use some ancient basic SAE 30 engine oil in many applications as my tutor from the 60's said ''some lube is better than none, but only sparingly''.
I would suggest having a look around the forum or start a new thread ''what lube do you recommend'', the wealth of knowledge on here is phenomenal. The other best suggestion I can offer if you are unsure as to what is in a gun, is to post the question; what type of washer is in my ?????????????? and what lube do I use; you will get instant replies and that will help others too.
I just hope you enjoy shooting your pistol now it's back to normal, that's the ultimate goal, keep the gun working and enjoy your shooting.
abellringer

[Garvin]

For guns with leather seals, I've always followed the advice in this thread by our own Hsing-ee and it's worked out very well for me over the years:

http://www.airgunbbs.com/showthread....ing-Gun-Tuning

I also use SM50 on the few guns I have with artifiicial seals and it seems OK.

[ogilkes]

I'm 3 in 1 man, its always worked out fine.

[Mr. Gen]

I'm 3 in 1 man, its always worked out fine.

There is a 3 in 1 spray now as well which is very handy...