5 Best Lubricants for Airsoft Guns in 2023 (Buyer’s Guide)

Most people think airsoft guns are toys, but they’re replicas of real guns and have working parts that need the same amount of maintenance to improve their longevity and performance. Lubrication is vital for ensuring their smooth operation and efficiency. But there’s a wide range of products with various materials to pick from; which ones are best?

The best lubricant for airsoft guns in 2023 is Slip 2000 Airsoft Lubricant. You can safely apply it on all types of airsoft guns and materials, from plastic and rubber to metal and aluminum. It’s petroleum and silicone-free, non-toxic, non-inflammable, and highly efficient in reducing friction and wear. 

Keep reading this article to learn more about airsoft gun lubricants and the features you must look at when buying one. I’ll also provide you with a list of the best lubricants you can use for your airsoft guns. 

Slip 2000 Airsoft Lubricant 

Slip 2000 Airsoft Lubricant is a 100% pure synthetic lubricant that doesn’t contain Teflon, silicone, or petroleum at all. So, it doesn’t burn off and isn’t hazardous like other products. You can use it safely on wood, plastic, or metal.

It’s also safe on aluminum and rubber, making it an excellent lube for O-rings and BBs (bio and non-bio). Slip 2000 Airsoft Lube doesn’t harden or get tacky, and as a bonus, this product is a non-toxic lubricant.

The manufacturer claims that it contains a proprietary anti-wear agent that’s able to reduce friction and wear by 95-98 percent! But its advantages don’t end here; it also protects your airsoft gun from corrosion by creating a long-lasting barrier without attracting dust, dirt, or other abrasive pollutants. 

Despite its benefits and outstanding performance in cleaning and lubricating your airsoft guns, you shouldn’t use it for a propane adapter and inside the magazine. And if used for barrels, it can increase your FPS.

WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant

While like many available products in the market, it’s not 100 percent silicone oil, it’s great for lubricating plastic on plastic, especially the inner parts of airsoft guns. You can also use WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant Spray Oil on rubber.

Unlike regular WD-40, this product isn’t petroleum-based, so you can use it on your airsoft gun barrel to efficiently get dirt and dust out of it and lubricate the area. It’s also great for using O-rings and valves.

WD-40 Specialist Silicone Lubricant is an excellent silicone-based lube for all types of airsoft guns, including airsoft AEG, CO2 guns, Gas BlowBack Rifle, and Pistols, paintball markers, and airguns. However, it’s better to pull the battery out when deep cleaning.

Elite Force Airsoft Slick Silicone Spray oil comes in a spray bottle with a handy dandy straw that makes it easy to use in hard-to-reach places and prevents messing around.

Team Associated 5420 10 Weight Silicone Shock Oil

Team Associated 5420 10 Weight Silicone Shock Oil is another great silicone-based product for lubricating your airsoft guns but at a lower price. Its 10 weight version is super light and slick; it doesn’t get sticky and remains thin even on cold winter days.

However, this feature can be a disadvantage, too! If you don’t use it sparingly, it can run all over the place. So just dab a little oil. Don’t worry; just a light touch of it goes a long way and lasts for an extended period, too.

You can use it safely to clean your airsoft gun barrels, lubricating mags, and hop-ups. It doesn’t contain any petroleum distillates and is pure silicone oil.

Scuba Choice Scuba Diving Silicone Grease

The products mentioned above are silicone oils with a thin viscosity. However, you’ll probably need a silicone product with a thicker texture for O-rings, valve seals, and fast-moving parts. Scuba Choice Scuba Diving Silicone Grease is exactly the silicon grease you need.

This product is an all-purpose silicone-based product that works magic for O-rings and other rubber parts, no matter where they are. 

Using Scuba silicone grease can increase the lifespan of rubber parts of your airsoft gun by permeating onto them. A thin layer of it provides excellent seals that last for a long time.

Although it might seem a bit pricey for such a tiny container, it’s certainly worth it.

Gun Grease LT2

While silicone grease is perfect for rubber, it’s not suitable for metal parts like pistons that are also highly susceptible to wear. Silicone grease is highly viscous and has low surface energy. As a result, it can’t make a strong hydrodynamic layer for separating surfaces and preventing wear.

Gun Grease LT2 is an excellent choice for lubricating metal components. It’s Molybdenum-based – commonly known as Moly grease. It’s considered a dry lubricant which means it doesn’t need any oil medium for functioning. 

The molecules of such greases are naturally attracted to metal surfaces and adhere to them. So, they create a coating that protects surfaces against wear and tear, corrosion, and highly lubricated metallic surfaces.

What To Consider When Choosing Best Airsoft Lubricant

Not every product is suitable for lubricating your guns and some materials are completely out of question. 

Don’t use regular WD-40 or GUN OIL as it’s a petroleum-based product and primarily a solvent, not a lubricant. While it’s safe to use on many surfaces such as metal, wood, rubber, and plastic, it evaporates fast and leaves your guns dry.

Besides, by dissolving the gunk in your gun, it makes the components gum up because dissolved gunk moves into tiny crevices, which is harder to clean up.  

Gun oil is also a big no-no because such products can damage (melt, dissolve, or corrode) the plastic and rubber components of the airsoft guns.

You should only use silicone-based products and white lithium grease on or around your airsoft guns. However, not all silicone-based products are the same, and they come in various types with different amounts of silicone. So, make sure it’s a 100% silicone product and not less than that.

However, if your airsoft gun includes metal parts that rub on each other (metal on metal), such as AEG gears, Gas blowback rifle bolts, or pistol slides, you can use a molybdenum-based grease or white lithium grease.

And finally, remember that regarding lubricants, less is more. Always use it sparingly and wipe the residue using a wipe pad or cloth. 

What Kind of Lubricant Should I Use for My Airsoft Gun?

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution for lubricating airsoft guns because there are different types of airsoft guns made of different materials. Airsoft guns are generally divided into three categories: electric-powered, gas-powered, and spring-powered. 

Let’s take a look at each category. 

Electric-Powered

These are the airsoft guns with a rechargeable battery. There’s a gearbox inside these guns, which holds the internal component—motor, piston, and spring—and produces the required power for shooting the BBs (tiny plastic balls or pellets).

The most common airsoft guns in this category are electric rifles or AEGs, electric pistols or AEP, and electric shotguns. Since the inner parts of airsoft guns are made of different materials, you’ll probably need to use a few different products.

In other words, you’ll need to use a specific lubricant for metal on metal friction and another for plastic parts.

The components in an electric-powered gun feature metal-on-metal contact and rotate rapidly. So, you’ll need molybdenum-based grease with high viscosity. You can also use the same product on piston rails if they’re metal. Otherwise, a silicone-based product is preferred.

The cut-off lever is another part of such an airsoft gun that needs lubrication. If metal, use a molybdenum-based grease again and otherwise use the silicone product.

The Cylinder Head, Piston Head, and Air Nozzle O-rings also need lubricating to ensure your consistent FPS (feet per second). Use just a few drops of a silicone product, and they’ll remain fresh. The Hop-up or barrel areas don’t need any lubricant since it can badly affect their range and accuracy.

Note: AEPs are smaller and have more plastic inside, so using a silicone-based lubricant is better.

Gas-Powered 

Such guns use a compressed gas system for shooting BBs. They usually use green gas/CO2 cartridges or occasionally external gas such as HPA or CO2. The common types are GBBR (Gas BlowBack Rifle), GBBP (Gas blowback pistol), NBBP (Non-BlowBack Pistol), Gas Sniper Rifles, and Gas Shotguns.

These guns have a more complicated mechanism and internals. One of the most significant parts of gas airsoft guns is their trigger assembly, which contains many tiny parts like springs and sears. You should lubricate these parts separately with a molybdenum-based grease. Take a picture of the disassembly process to assemble them correctly.

Their gas magazine, which stores gas for shots, also needs lubrication. This part contains O-rings that can’t seal gas inside if they get dry. A few drops of a silicone product would be perfect. Don’t forget to lubricate the valve on the back of the magazine, too.

The gas routers are rubbery and are heavily used while shooting. So, they should be lubricated by a thick silicone product to last longer and not get wiped off. You should also lubricate its piston lightly with the same product. However, the bolt is metal, so molybdenum-based grease is perfect for it. 

In gas pistols, you also need to lubricate the top slides (usually metal) – it doesn’t move in NBBs, and no lubricant is required. However, the feed nozzle is typically made of plastics, so lubricate it lightly with silicone product on the outside.

Spring-Powered

These airsoft guns are less complex than others. They’re manually powered and have a pull-back action mechanism for each shot.

Lubricating this type of airsoft gun is much like the two others. Use silicone-based products for plastic parts and a non-petroleum-based one for metal parts. The cylinder needs a thin coat of molybdenum-based grease, but its head requires silicone grease – silicone oil can get into the barrel or hop-up rubber.

The O-rings on the piston head also have to be lubricated by silicone-based grease to provide good sealing.

Spring pistols are mainly made of plastic, so you’ll only need silicone-based products. But be careful about slides, piston, and trigger assembly.

Here’s a helpful video for you to watch on how to properly oil an airsoft gun:

How Often Should I Lubricate My Airsoft Gun?

Ideally, you should clean and lubricate airsoft guns after each game. But it seems excessive to some. So, lubricating every week or at least every month can be more reasonable. 

Remember that proper care and maintenance increase the longevity of your gun and preserve its optimal performance. 

Best Pick 

I can’t choose just one lubricant as the best pick for all airsoft lubrication aims. As mentioned above, airsoft guns are replicas of actual guns and have both metal and plastic parts, each requiring a different treatment. Though hard, I chose one product as my best pick that every airsoft gun owner must have in their arsenal.

My best pick for airsoft gun lubricating is Slip 2000 Airsoft Lubricant, almost an all-purpose lubricant for airsoft guns. It’s a safe, non-toxic, 100 percent pure synthetic lubricant that’s highly efficient in reducing friction and protecting your gun from wearing. It won’t harden or get sticky, won’t freeze, and won’t gum up when used with Co2.

The only drawback of this great lubricating oil is that you can’t use it on barrels, hop-ups, or magazines. The airsoft guns’ hop-ups and barrels basically work on friction, and if you lubricate them with such oils, the friction reduces, which lowers the airsoft gun’s range.

Key Takeaways

Airsoft guns aren’t toys and need the same amount of care and maintenance to have a proper function for a long time. They’re made of both metal and plastic/rubber parts and require both silicone oil/grease for plastic on plastic friction and molybdenum-based grease for metal on metal contact. 

Remember to use compatible products and avoid over-lubricating your airsoft gun as it can run to other parts or gather dust and dirt.

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