Hw 45 spring oil

[k-man]

I recently performed a lube tune on this fairly new pistol. I noticed the spring looked pretty dry so i just dabbed a small amount of moly grease to spring and cocking lever feet. After 200 or so shots the gun has smooted considerably,but has lost about 20 fps. A guy has a huge blog on this gun and recommends adding a drop or two of pure silcone oil to spring to thin out moly. From what ive read silicone is BAD. Has anyone ever tried using a drop of (i feel stupid saying this) olive or vegetable oil?  K-man

[OleTomCat]

I do not put any oil anywhere near the compression chamber of any air rifle...

[Blue]

My guess is that a vegetable based oil contains so many organic impurities that it will eventually turn into something that acts more like glue than oil.

You can thin moly paste with oil (Gene Sunday's Mystery Oil would be an example) but I wouldn't let a petroleum product get near a compression chamber or seals.

Blue

[Roadworthy]

Over time vegetable oil does get almost like a paste or glue.  Keep it in the kitchen, not in the shop.

[OleTomCat]

Moly paste is made with Mineral oil and vegetable was used as the original base for diesel fuel and it is now being used for BioDiesel so both will combust.....

[k-man]

Thanks for your input guys. NO OIL!  K-man

[RedFeather]

Silicone oil is great for leather seals but poor for metal lubrication.  Some feel it does more harm than good.  Get some JM heavy tar when you get tgechance.  Your drop was likely due to the Molly but you gained more in a smoother shot cycle.  It ain't all about fps.

[Bullit]

Mineral oil is not a bad choice as it has a high ignition point, and can hold temperature for a long time.  It'll soak into the seal good.  Canola is also a high temp choice, giving it time to soak in.  Use them sparingly, it don't take much.   I would steer clear of Silicone.

[EMrider]

I recently performed a lube tune on this fairly new pistol. I noticed the spring looked pretty dry so i just dabbed a small amount of moly grease to spring and cocking lever feet. After 200 or so shots the gun has smooted considerably,but has lost about 20 fps. A guy has a huge blog on this gun and recommends adding a drop or two of pure silcone oil to spring to thin out moly. From what ive read silicone is BAD. Has anyone ever tried using a drop of (i feel stupid saying this) olive or vegetable oil?  K-man

Might be the moly.  But the hw45 has a tendency to lose power and mine certainly does after 300 or so shots.  Mine will consistently drop 20-30fps.  I have read that this is due to the design of the piston seal. 

Easy fix is to dry fire the gun 2-3 times. The piston seal material needs to re-seat and is made of a very durable and hard material.  After a few dry fires, mine is always right back to normal power levels.

R

[OleTomCat]

Do not dry fire your gun that is a good way to break the spring, it is worse than firing with PBA ammo.....

[EMrider]

Do not dry fire your gun that is a good way to break the spring, it is worse than firing with PBA ammo.....

I know that is a no no with most spring guns, but not with the hw45. 

R

[tomykay12]

EM rider is correct; there is documentation on this very thing. Actually from what I read, they do it at the factory when new to seat the seal. I haven't been inside my HW 45, but understand the seal is not a parachute type, but a slab sided chunk of seal material. Also, repeated firing on 1/2 cock will lead to a low velocity condition that is corrected by a few judicious  dry fires. I bought a HW45 a while ago in this condition, fully disclosed  by the seller and at a reduced price because of the low velocity. It is now functioning beautifully at full velocity. The HW45 is an exception, tk

PS, no oil please. As red feather said, the moly may be dragging the FPS down a bit. no biggie.

[OleTomCat]

I stand corrected...

[tomykay12]

I was surprised to learn of this as well Mr. tomcat.. I own many springers, and know the no dry fire rule well. I was amazed at the results on my HW45, and happy that I did not have to do a teardown. The previous owner had fired it exclusively on 1/2 cock, and the velocity was down over 50 fps when I got it. They are wonderful pistols, tk

[EMrider]

I was surprised to learn of this as well Mr. tomcat.. I own many springers, and know the no dry fire rule well. I was amazed at the results on my HW45, and happy that I did not have to do a teardown. The previous owner had fired it exclusively on 1/2 cock, and the velocity was down over 50 fps when I got it. They are wonderful pistols, tk

Yep, I came across this info while researching now to "fix" the loss of power problem that was caused by firing the hw45 at low power.

It fixed the problem right away.

I don't bother with the low power setting any longer and just do 1-3 dry fires occasionally if/when I notice the power slipping a bit.

I have two spare piston seals for the hw45.  They are made of a very hard plastic material; very different from the seals on my other spring guns.

Good luck.

R