I bought a buffer spring made by Sprinco. It came with a free little container with their own machine gun lubricating oil. I forgot about that. Directions said to lubricate the spring. I did wipe a tiny drop of Breakfree CLP down the spring.
Should I have used the Sprinco oil or is Breakfree just as good?
It it good to even lube the spring in the first place?
Lube and grease are a great way to collect lots of crap blowing around in the weapon.
That is what I was thinking.
Time to clean off the spring and wipe any excess out of the tube with a paper towel and drop of soap with the end of a wooden spoon!
Simple enough!
Edit: and blow dry.
Edit 2: All I used was a paper towel at the end of a cleaning rod to wipe away any oil that was inside the tube. I also thoroughly wiped down the spring. It was less than 1 drop of oil- it was barely any oil I used. Good as new.
:lol:
Lube the spring and buffer.
I do this as part of routine cleaning and lubrication, too. I apply a few drops along the length of the spring and a couple drops to the buffer, spreading the oil around them before reinstalling. Action feels noticeably smoother/less “draggy”. Doesn’t attract much fouling in my experience. I periodically clean inside the tube, like a couple times a year.
Why does everyone say to run these guns dripping wet than? I’ve never agreed with this because oil also attracts dust and dirt.
I think Stickman was kidding.
And the whole attracts dust and dirt thing is not a big issue for AR’s, as it’s mostly a closed system except for the barrel. It’s more of an issue with crew served weapons with exposed feeding mechanisms and ammo. When operating in a sandy/dusty environment, lube the internals of the gun as usual, and remove as much excess lube from the external surfaces/parts of the weapon as you can, AFTER they are lubed.
Not the gun. The bolt.
C4
I spray new buffers/springs with Dri-Lube. Smoothes the action, doesn’t collect crud, and last a long time.
A lite coat of oil on the spring and buffer would do no harm, nor for that matter no good. Sure there will be some crud attracted to the oil but it shouldn’t be an issue unless you only clean your weapon every ten years or so. I’ve yet to meet a piece of crud big enough to stop the buffer. It may feel/sound a little rougher to the hand and ear, but it will work.
And yes, wet bolt not a wet weapon. I can’t believe how much oil some people use on their AR’s
Been using FIREClean lately on my SBR and it was really the first time I haven’t made sure the BCG was dripping wet. We’ll see how this goes. With my other ARs, i use whatever is free but make sure the BCG is dripping wet. I’m sure it wouldn’t hurt to lube the buffer spring, or the buffer and buffer tube for that matter. Just don’t pour oil down it.
Carlo I thought that’s what the drain hole at the end the RE was for. Fill it up with oil and let the excess run through the opening. 
-Jax
I put a light coat in the spring to aid in corrosion prevention and it also helped to quiet down the noise the spring makes sliding in the inside of the tube.
Same here,
There is a lot of metal to metal contact in there and sliding along of surfaces…I just can’t imagine that should be doing all of that in there with no lube of any kind.
Spring corrosion? That isn’t a problem.
Noise in your stock? Your weapon discharging is a lot louder.
I spray down the new buffer spring with an old bottle of Hoppe’s. I don’t use my good lube on it. Don’t really ever fuss with it after that, certainly don’t lube it regularly with the rifle.
I’ve been an aircraft mechanic for over 17 years and everything made of metal will eventually corrode. The dry spring wearing the finish off the inside of the tube can’t be a good thing. The noise in the stock I was referring to was when cycling the bcg by hand. It definitely is much smoother when there is a light coat of oil on the spring. I don’t see how reducing the friction between the tube and the spring can be bad. Feel free to run yours dry though if that’s your prerogative.
I would think it would take an infinite amount of rounds to create enough carbon/crud to accumulate in the buffer tube due to lubricating the spring and buffer to cause any type of problem.
I lube mine with TW-25 grease once after cleaning, and don’t do it again until the next cleaning. (Every 1,000 rounds or so)
I never oil anything in my lower. Ever.
But after a few hundred rounds, oil from my BCG seems to have made it everywhere throughout, including the buffer, spring, tube, and FCG.
I think too many people are concerned with actually wearing something out that they forget this is a weapon meant to be used. Parts will wear out, after many thousands of rounds. Premature wear? Eh, I don’t consider that to be a real thing. I use it, it wears, replace and repeat. Life isn’t fair.