MILITEC-1 Application Tips & Hints

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Outside of the MILITEC-1 Firearms Application Instructions, you may also want to consider the following tips & hints:

 

A controlled heating environment by way of a baking oven is the simplest, fastest and most effective method to treat your firearm. Line multiple racks with aluminum foil to heat multiple parts simultaneously. The following constitutes tips and hints primarily for treatment by way of a heat gun, or hair dryer.

 

1. Review the MILITEC-1 MSDS before starting your initial treatment session.

2. Use nitrile (or PVC, or neoprene) and not latex rubber gloves. Latex has poor resistance to hydrocarbon based products.

3. Treat your other firearms, knives, flashlight threads, etc., at the same time as a little bit of MILITEC-1 goes a long way.

4. Work on an inert, heat dissipative surface (e.g. concrete slab) to prevent accidents by way of fire.

5. A fully cleaned and degreased firearm works best as applied heat may serve as a catalyst for the carbonization of accumulated debris. 99% isopropyl alcohol is recommended as a finishing cleaner.

6. Disassemble the firearm into as many individual parts as you feel comfortable with, including the recoil spring tube and rear sight assemblies.

7. Gloved hands brushed with MILITEC-1 and a 1" foam brush work well as applicators.

8. Use an air compressor to evenly distribute MILITEC-1 during treatment and to remove excess product upon completion of treatment.

9. A needle tip applicator helps to induce sparing applications and increases the accuracy of product placement in tight areas such as the trigger group.

10. A controlled heating environment by way of a heat gun, or hair dryer, is recommended over placing the firearm in the sun due to variable weather conditions and speed of treatment.

11. Keep all applicators (particularly the foam brush, if used) clear of the direct path of blown air, else oil mist may be blown from the applicators resulting in possible eye and respiratory tract irritation.

12. Do not heat MILITEC-1 past its flash point of 410°F (set your heat gun well below this point, or use a hair dryer), else the product will smoke and possibly flare and release hydrochloric acid.

13. Use tongs, or equivalent non-marking pincers, or nippers to safely handle heated objects.

14. Remove the choke tube from the barrel before treating.

15. You may opt to apply MILITEC-1 to part threads as the product is reported to not increase incidents of cam out. Rather MILITEC-1 is purported to help reduce incidents of galling.

16. Heat small individual parts (e.g. cam pin, firing pin, front sight post) by placing them in a small coffee, or aluminum can and then directing the heat into the can. This helps to evenly distribute heat.

17. The same individual parts can also be placed within the magazine tube to be heated along with the tube itself.

18. Longer parts such as the barrel, magazine tube and receiver can benefit from the use of two heat guns, or hair dryers placed at both ends of the part.

19. Thicker layers of MILITEC-1 can benefit from extended heating times so long as the surface remains wet and lubricated (inhibitor remains on surface) during the duration of the heat treatment. An oven works well in this regard, so long as the work area remains well ventilated.

20. MILITEC-1 can be applied to the gas pistons and gas plugs (with O-rings removed), only ensure the gas pistons and plugs are thoroughly wiped and blown completely dry before assembly.

21. As an extra precaution, dissolve and dilute excess MILITEC-1 on the gas pistons and plugs with a solvent of your choosing (99% isopropyl alcohol is recommended as a finishing rinse) before drying.

22. Avoid the effects of thermal expansion and contraction by allowing all parts to cool down until cold before attempting to reassemble the firearm.

23. Unless immediate use is expected, there is no need to patch, or snake out excess MILITEC-1 within the bore and chamber and magazine tube upon completion of treatment as MILITEC-1 was originally developed as a lubricant.

24. Accessories such as the Mesa Tactical SureShell (remove the Sanoprene insert prior to treatment) take well to applications of MILITEC-1. NOTE: Treating the interior of SureShell shell holder rings will allow for easier loading and removal of shells from the holder (due to decreased friction) at the expense of a more secure hold. This may, or may not be to your liking.

25. Excess MILITEC-1 on part exteriors can be burnished into the metal with a lint-free cloth.

26. A sparing application of MILITEC grease can be used as an anti-seize along all threads, if desired.

27. The MILITEC-1 Bonus Pak provides both a needle applicator and a small tube of MILITEC-1 grease and is recommended as a starter kit.

 

Although certain areas are more critical to lubricate than others (e.g. barrel-breech extension, bolt head lugs), I applied four applications of MILITEC-1 to every single metal component of the firearm to ensure that all bases were covered. This included the recoil spring and all visible screws (e.g. windage and elevation adjustment) and threads (e.g. accessory mounting rail). How well does MILITEC-1 work? For those of you who have cleaned and degreased the trigger assembly before, you may have noticed the safety having been rendered inoperable (outside of unnecessary force) due to the loss of lubricant on both the safety button and safety plunger. Treat with MILITEC-1, clean and degrease the safety region well and notice the safety working as well as under normal, lubricated operation. This is not to suggest that your firearm does not require lubrication after treatment as it most assuredly does. For the record, Hoppe's Elite Gun Cleaner and MG Chemicals 99% Isopropyl Alcohol were used as the cleaning and degreasing agents. Weapon Shield was used as the finishing lubricant.

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Weapon Shield appears to produce similar results. Both are halogenated hydrocarbon based extreme pressure (EP) additives activated by applied heat (by way of direct heat, pressure, and/or friction). Both appear to contain antiwear (AW) additives to maintain lubricity. MILITEC-1 is the more concentrated EP product. Because Weapon Shield is formulated with a lower concentration of EP, it likely contains higher concentrations of cleaning agents and corrosion inhibitors and is not only the superior cleaner, but may be the superior finishing lubricant. The best of both products can be obtained by first treating your firearm with MILITEC-1 before a final pull through and wipe down with Weapon Shield.

 

NOTE: There have been concerns over the use of halogenated hydrocarbons on firearms as it relates to possible acceleration of corrosion of certain metals. the following represents an excerpt from Corrosion Resistant Materials Handbook - D. J. De Renzo, Ibert Mellan - 1985:

 

 

Key are the composition of the metal alloys used in the firearm and and the stability of the halogenated hydrocarbon in both MILITEC-1 and Weapon Shield formulations. Both products profess to contain corrosion inhibitors, both likely contain stabilizing and acid neutralizing agents as well (effective concentrations unknown). It has also been suggested that the addition of EP additives in base oils result in embrittlement fatigue in treated products. It appears however, that such fatigue is limited to EP additives of the sulphurous, phosporous and chlorinated wax types, of which both MILITEC-1 and Weapon Shield appear not to be.