Depends on the quality of the oil.

Some will simply run off and leave nothing behind while others will stay put. Some will evaporate in a couple weeks. Some will be good for a year and others will need weekly attention. I use seafoam deep creep and it cleans very well and leaves behind a very small amount of lube that never fgoes away. Ballistol is the same way. Frog lube seems to stay put too. I'm sure more will chime in with lubes that don't run or evaporate.

 

Agreed ^^^^^^^^^^ Some oils do tend to evaporate but not extremely quickly. Good grease more-or-less lasts a looooong time. I use EEZOX dry lube, myself as it is a cleaner, lube and metal protectant in one. When dry it leaves a film (sorta like Teflon) that coats and penetrates. Lasts a very long time. So I guess to answer your question, it depends.... :supergrin:

 

I usually just lube any firearm if it has not been fired for a while. I generally don't clean it again.

 

As a general rule I'll "clean" a firearm once a month weather it's been shot or not. It only takes a couple minutes to run a patch down the bore and spray a bit of lube onto the barrel and slide rails so why not.

 

Never to cosmoline. You are going to get every brand name of lube thrown at you here. Depends on how they are stored.

I do not lube my guns that I have in a safe in the basement. The only humidity control device I use is a room dehumidifier set at 65%. My Glocks have not had any issues....over the past 10 years, can't say that any of my other non-Glocks have had any problems either.

YMMV.

 

I will lube a gun before taking it to the range if it has sat for several months.
My EDC guns gets relubed and the dust bunnies cleaned out every few weeks if they have not been shot.

 

I will lube a gun before taking it to the range if it has sat for several months.
My EDC guns gets relubed and the dust bunnies cleaned out every few weeks if they have not been shot.

What he said.

I also found some very nice silicone cases for storage- Bore Stores P1 and P2.

 

OP- you really don't need to. I clean all of my guns after each use, always have. But there are far too many ppl lately who have become obsessed with cleaning, luring, wiping down and maintaining their Glocks when it really isn't necessary. I've owned well over a dozen Glocks in various calibers, put thousands and thousands of rounds downrange with them in the past 15 years and you rally don't need to do much of anything to them (beyond general cleaning, which you dint really need to do either). I don't care what any "internet experts" say, just my experience and opinion. Glocks aren't sidelock doubles, vintage automobiles, or heat pumps. You don't need to overthink them because everyone else is.

 

Let me get this straight. This is a brand new in the box, Glock right? If that's the case, leave it alone. It has the factory lube on it. If it hasn't been fired or exposed to any harsh conditions, it should be fine for about a hundred years.

 

Glocks are pretty corrosion-resistant to begin with (polymer frame, gas-nitrocarburized* steel) so frequent and repetitive maintenance of a properly stored pistol shouldn't be necessary.

For a Glock that is stored correctly -in a safe with a dessicant pack- once a year ought to be more than enough. If lubricant run-off or evaporation is a concern, go with something a little thicker like Break Free LP or Collector.

*Gaseous ferritic nitrocarburizing achieves the same result as the salt bath process, except gaseous mixtures are used to diffuse the nitrogen and carbon into the steel alloy. The parts are first cleaned, usually with a vapor degreasing process, then nitrocarburized around 570° C (1,058° F), with a process time that ranges from one to four hours. The actual gas mixtures are proprietary, but they usually contain ammonia and an endothermic gas.

 

Any quality gun oil will "stay put". It doesn't evaporate, it soaks into the pores of the metal and/or migrates and evens out where an excess has been used. You shouldn't be using enough to see it anyway. If it's stored, check it monthly. If you carry it, or if it's subjected to hot/cold cycling, weekly. Glocks aren't that picky, but like any gun, without attention they can rust. It's just incredibly rare.

 

As a general rule I'll "clean" a firearm once a month weather it's been shot or not. It only takes a couple minutes to run a patch down the bore and spray a bit of lube onto the barrel and slide rails so why not.

I'm old school and I agree with this 100%.

 

My Glock 22 Gen 3 shooter hasn't been cleaned in a dogs age. Actually I own several Glocks but this is my general purpose shooter. I won't touch this puppy until at least 10k rounds have been put through it. I just want to see if my Glock stands up to it's reputation of 'Perfection'.

 

I know I should be going to the range on a regular basis, come home, field strip, clean & lube my Glock... But what if (for various reasons) I don't get the chance to go shooting for a while. When should you field strip, clean & re-lubricate an unused Glock?
I appreciate your feedback / opinions on this?

I don't.

I might put a few drops of oil on it if I haven't fired it in many months, I suppose. Or I might not.

My Glock 22 Gen 3 shooter hasn't been cleaned in a dogs age. Actually I own several Glocks but this is my general purpose shooter. I won't touch this puppy until at least 10k rounds have been put through it. I just want to see if my Glock stands up to it's reputation of 'Perfection'.

I don't know that going thousands of rounds without cleaning is a legitimate test of much of anything. All firearms pretty much need to be maintained to some degree. It doesn't matter if it's a pump shotgun, a Glock, an AK style rifle, whatever. No pistols I have ever heard of are designed or intended to go for such a ridiculously high round count without being cleaned/lubed along the way.

 

If I was depending on the gun for protection I would lube it after a quick cleaning once a month. I am basing that on what Glock has written in the manual that comes with the gun, not some internet lure. If it was just locked away in the safe not in potential use for protection then probably only before shooting it.

 

If I was depending on the gun for protection I would lube it after a quick cleaning once a month. I am basing that on what Glock has written in the manual that comes with the gun, not some internet lure. If it was just locked away in the safe not in potential use for protection then probably only before shooting it.

I don't think they need cleaned after a month. Or lubed. I base this on nearly a decade of owning, shooting, and daily carrying Glocks, as well as talking to a great number of other people who have done the same.

 

I don't think they need cleaned after a month. Or lubed. I base this on nearly a decade of owning, shooting, and daily carrying Glocks, as well as talking to a great number of other people who have done the same.

It is owner dependent. In September we lost power for a week. For 172 straight hours it was running generators for well pumps, sump pumps, the house, shop, chainsaws for a month cleaning up downed trees, damaged trees, then shredding and distributing free mulch. On top of regular farm activities like bailing hay and so on. My Glock was so full of saw dust it should have been cleaned a few times a day. Waiting a week would have been a bad thing.

These things are like a huge F150, lifted and best tune, fattest stupid tires, after market parts, then used as a milk and bread fetcher. Or the same truck used as a farm truck. Same tool, different uses, create different maintenace needs.

Fetching milk and bread I could get away with a yearly cleaning even with the 3,000 rounds I shoot every year from it. I can't go more than a week most the time and it's pretty dirty when it does get cleaned. One thing I do like, no matter how dirty my Glock gets, it always goes bang and always feeds the next round.

 

I don't think they need cleaned after a month. Or lubed. I base this on nearly a decade of owning, shooting, and daily carrying Glocks, as well as talking to a great number of other people who have done the same.

It is owner dependent. In September we lost power for a week. For 172 straight hours it was running generators for well pumps, sump pumps, the house, shop, chainsaws for a month cleaning up downed trees, damaged trees, then shredding and distributing free mulch. On top of regular farm activities like bailing hay and so on. My Glock was so full of saw dust it should have been cleaned a few times a day. Waiting a week would have been a bad thing.

....

I agree that alot of the time a gun may not need cleaning or lubricating once a month. I also agree that sometimes it may need it more often. And I believe the Glock manual also says something to the effect of "... and as needed" in addition to
the once a month suggestion. In the winter I have sometimes skipped a month. In the summer, monsoon season, sometimes more than that. I have also read similar suggestions about the once a month thing in one or two manuals other than from the Glock. My guess is that the companies have come up with the monthly suggestion based on talking with owners and seeing a few guns here and there also. I have carried a gun daily for a few years now.

 

I agree that alot of the time a gun may not need cleaning or lubricating once a month.

What kinds of things have you exposed it to where it did need cleaning once a month? What do you clean off of it? Had it been carried IWB, OWB...?

What about a Glock that just sat in the safe? (OP doesn't say carry gun, it just says "Unused Glock", and I would argue that carrying a handgun is using it, FWIW, so we may be off topic from the OP with this)

 

What kinds of things have you exposed it to where it did need cleaning once a month? What do you clean off of it? Had it been carried IWB, OWB...?

What about a Glock that just sat in the safe? (OP doesn't say carry gun, it just says "Unused Glock", and I would argue that carrying a handgun is using it, FWIW, so we may be off topic from the OP with this)

Salt moisture and spray. Water. Perspiration. Dust. Blowing sand. Bodily fluids once or thrice.

Even in a safe if it was a gun I was depending on for protection I would take it out, field strip it, check for dirt, dust, corrosion and lubricate it, or check for the presence of lubrication once a month.

 

Some of you might be astounded by what LEO's Glocks the nation over go through. Without failure.

But if you want to go over it every month even after sitting in the safe, well, there's really no reason not to, if you are so inclined.

 

There has really been a movement in the past 2-4 years of ppl who are suddenly interested in maintaining, over-cleaning, lubricating, etc their Glocks and I think it is kind-of a perfect storm. I clean all of my guns after each use from shotguns to hunting rifles, AKs and ARs, to Glocks because that's just the way I am. Do my Glocks or AKs Ned to be cleaned after every use?? Certainly not. But today's "perfect storm" is largely due to the following factors (IMO)...

Firstly there has been an abundance of new shooters (which is great) who aren't as familiar with their guns as they claim (on the internet). Not knocking them but what most have in internet knowledge they lack in actual experience- lots of these are ppl who deer deer hunt in havy timber with a .300 Win Mag (again not being critical just making comparisons).

Secondly Glock has changed some things up a bit which hasn't helped (early Gen4 RSA problems, 336 ejector, inconsistency in finish) and this adds to the "well it needs to be taken care of" cases.

Thirdly, the internet has contributed immensely to the "bad news travels fast" idea whereas 10-15 years ago one didn't hear about these issues like we do today.

I have a Gen 2 23 that was mfg'd in April 1997. It has seen thousands and thousands of rounds from my reloads, to PD ammo, to range ammo, you name it. It has been carried in all temps, and most conditions. It still functions as well today as it did in 1997. Does it look like it did back in 1997, no, but I'm not a stickler on having pretty guns. If I was I prob wouldn't be using Glocks. Again I'm not trying to be critical but rather to shed some light on these finish/cleaning/lubrication posts we've been seeing so much of in the past few years.

 

Of all the "bad news" I've read about here regarding glocks, I've never found any of it to hold true with agency or my personal weapons- except for the recall affecting a limited number of guns due to possible frame rail breakage. I learned of that here- glock and the glock LE distributor didn't tell us. Over hundreds of agency glocks and more personal ones than I'd care to admit, never any problem since, gen 2 through gen 4, same reliability, same durability of finish. That is, until I bought a new gen 4 for my wife and it came, new in box, with a chewed up RSA washer. Left the factory that way. As is normally the case, the gun fired fine, but you could tell something wasn't right. They replaced the rsa fast after a 30 second phone call. I've seen more guns affected by over lubrication than lack of lubrication, but that's to be expected with a dry gun like glock. If done properly, no downside to keeping them cleaned and properly lubricated.

 

I won't touch this puppy until at least 10k rounds have been put through it. I just want to see if my Glock stands up to it's reputation of 'Perfection'.

First, 'Perfection' isn't a reputation, it is a slogan.

Second, I don't mean to sound like a grouch, but neglecting reasonable maintenance procedures doesn't prove or disprove anything about a gun except how it functions when neglected. If it fails, then functions again after cleaning, all you proved is that you shouldn't neglect your pistol. If it doesn't fail, congratulations, but that still doesn't mean that neglecting it is a good idea, since you might be staking your life on it one day. I just don't see the point of neglecting a firearm, especially since it takes nearly no effort to field strip and clean a Glock.

 

Flawless function is the norm, at least in the real world, but if only for peace of mind, don't you want to shoot a new gun? Its an excuse to shoot. The gun is probably fine, but does it fit you? Enjoy.