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Just got back from my local Canadian Tire where they don't sell reel oil. The guy there thought it was weird, too. So, I bought gun oil. I'm getting mixed reviews on google. Just hoping to get some opinions, gun oil for reel maintence, safe?

Good old 3in1 oil does the trick

I don't know if gun oil will do the trick but I would opt for reel oil.
I'm sure you can get some good quality fishing reel oil at either one of the following tackle shops: Paddletales and/or Bennett's Bait & Tackle
If distance is a problem, I would start with Sail or Le Baron with CTC being the last place on my list.

What are you oiling?

I'm oiling a reel. The closest reel oil I could purchase is about an hour away. The gun oil I found was only $5. I gambled, and apparently lost.

Obviously your oiling a reel.

Nevermind. Good luck.

biggs wrote:Obviously your oiling a reel.

Nevermind. Good luck.

I literally laughed out loud to this.

What Biggs meant was what PART of the reel do you plan on using this oil on?
Spool bearing? Worm gear bearing? Knob Bearings?

Also what type of reel are you performing maintenance on?

I use boca lightning oil for my bearings, shimano grease on my worm gear and main gear/pinion and Shimano drag grease on the drag washers.

I could see gun oil being good for the worm gear bearing (if your reel has one) or knob bearing but I would think it may be too thick for spool bearings and would slow the spool down.

I'm still ....

biggs wrote:Obviously your oiling a reel.

Nevermind. Good luck.

Classic ....

It's a spinning reel, and I don't know the names of the parts. I usually just take the spool off, remove the handle then hit it with some air in a can. Oil what I think needs to be oiled and put it back together. No open heart surgery here...

Gun oil will not hurt any part of the reel.... I use it on my guns and reels all the time oil is oil and it gun oil is used to clean gun powder and dirt from the chamber it will definitely do the same on the old fishing reel!!!! You have your self some of the cheapest reel oil at bottom dollar price. I'd look up what's in some top of the line oils and look at what's in gun oil... I'd bet my best fishing spot on muskrat lake if there is much of a difference
Chris

Steady Eddy wrote:It's a spinning reel, and I don't know the names of the parts. I usually just take the spool off, remove the handle then hit it with some air in a can. Oil what I think needs to be oiled and put it back together. No open heart surgery here...

For what you are doing I think the gun oil will be fine. I was referring to a baitcast reel but the process I would use is about the same.

As for the gun oil having the same properties or ingredients as gun oil, you probably are not that far off. The difference is going to come down to viscosity. You do not want to use a thick oil in a spool bearing because as stated before, it will slow down the spool and reduce the performace of it. This isn't a factor in a spinning reel but makes a huge difference in a baitcast reel. I use the boca oil because it is a low viscosity oil that is better than factory oil. There are others on the market that are thinner but I already had the lightning oil. I bought Abu oil before but it is one of the thickest reel oils on the market and makes a noticeable difference in
castability.