Mixing two different kinds of lube?

[ruchik]

I have some Fireclean that I'd like to use as a cleaner, and some TW25B for grease. The problem is that I don't know if using Fireclean as a cleaning agent, then applying TW25B on top of that (once everything has been wiped off) can cause problems of any sort?

[Failure2Stop]

FireClean should be used alone.
You will see the best result if used as recommended.

[Meplat]

I've used SLiP2000 EWG on slide rails and their normal EWL on the rest of the pistol. Sometimes it mixes with the grease and gets a little runny, but it still wipes down incredibly clean with just a dry rag.

I don't see how using either one solo or in tandem with each other would cause an issue, though.

[1_click_off]

Buddy I used to work with was a luberication technician. He was always carful when swapping lubes in the plant. Some lubes when mixed can cause the properties to change and seperate. I would see what the base of the lube is made of and match the ones that have similar properties. I have seen bearings fail from a couple pumps of the improper grease injected into them.

This guy was actually changing his oil on condition based monitoring. He would send lube samples off to his lab and do oil analysis on it. Check for metal particulates to know what was wearing in the oil, moisture content, viscosity, and all the other stuff he checked for. He was getting some pretty crazy mileage out of Mobil 1 before changing his oil.

I would surely check if the bases are going to mix together or seperate.

[ruchik]

Good points. I ask because TW25B grease by itself isn't a very good cleaner. I'd like to use the Fireclean I have to scrub the gun down, then apply the grease after it's clean. Both are non-petroleum based, so I would imagine it's good to go? If not, I suppose I should wipe the gun clean with mineral spirits or alcohol after cleaning with Fireclean.

[SteveL]

What's so special about the grease you want to use?

As far as cleaning, just use non-chlorinated brake cleaner. Lots of people use it. It works well and it's cheap. I think the last cans I bought were less than $4 each at Wal-Mart. Just spray it on outside, scrub as necessary, let everything dry (it evaporates pretty fast), and apply the lube of your choice.

[ruchik]

It's not that there's anything special about it, I just prefer grease to oil for handgun lubrication. Since my gun sits in my car when I'm out and about (near impossible to get a CCW permit in the area of California I'm in), the gun gets quite hot, and oil eventually completely runs out or evaporates. I also find that through several cycles of this heating up and cooling down, both Fireclean and Froglube have become sticky/gummy. No idea why. I've never had that problem with TW25B, which is why I want to go back to it.

[SteveL]

Understood. I'm in back and forth in northeast FL and southeast GA. Every time I have to leave my gun in the car for whatever reason FrogLube has seeped out all over it due to the heat this time of year so I know where you're coming from there.

If you want to use that particular grease I would just clean the gun really well with Brakleen (non-chlorinated, green can) and then apply the grease.