Marvel Mystery Oil?

[Canuck Bob]

I've heard of this stuff used in the gun world. Can anyone elaborate?

A gallon can was found in our shop and no-one wants it. It is the color of red is this correct in case the can was reused?

[Blaine]

I might be mis-remembering, but I thought it was black.....

[Merle]

I've heard of this stuff used in the gun world. Can anyone elaborate?

A gallon can was found in our shop and no-one wants it. It is the color of red is this correct in case the can was reused?

The small bottle I have is a bright red. I mostly use it on my auto loading 22 pistols & it does the job. Of course the price sounds even better in your case.

[TedH]

It's red, but not as dark a red as ATF. I've used it for years at work in air tools. Works good in some firearm applications too.

[stretch]

It should be red and very aromatic. Smells nice!

Used as top-end oil in older engines (add a little to the gas),
free stuck nuts and bolts, clean mechanisms, and works as an
air tool lubricant. Definitely worth keeping.

I've never used it as a gun lubricant, but maybe somebody else
will weigh in on that. ATF is another red liquid that works well
as a gun oil.

Even though I have gearhead tnedencies, I've never tried
it as a mixer.....

-Stretch

[Blaine]

Oops.....(Reminder, Blaine: check short term memory before you look foolish again )
Wait, are you talking about the can, or the oil itself?

[Canuck Bob]

Thanks guys, the stuff is a clean medium red and smells ok. I'm going to scoop it but just for a shop oil as it is priced right! Some googling revealed guys use it in Ed's Red, cast bullet lubes, and cut with a solvent as a gun oil. Problem with home recipes is verifying the claims!! Hoping for some of the usual good advice around here.

Edit, here is Ed Harris' own note on Mystery Oil from CBA forum:

If you want Ed's Red which smells better substitute Marvel's Mystery Oil for the ATF.

You can also leave the acetone out to reduce VOC emissions. I do this for ER which I intend to use indoors. The cleaner still works, its action just isn't as fast and you need to leave it to soak for a while.

Many people have emailed me about using Marvel's Mystery Oil. It is sort of a cult item among motorcycle, off-road and hot rod enthusiasts. It does smell better, but makes the mix more expensive. It works every bit as well, some people think even better, but my reason for publishing the recipe was to enable use of inexpensive, common ingredients. Using more expensive substitutions defeats the purpose.

To each their own...

[octagon]

Anybody ever use this stuff on older motors? I have used slick 50 with good results, but this stuff is way cheaper.

[Chuck 100 yd]

Yes, it`s red colored and quite thin. Good stuff!! I have used it as a general lube in the shop but find Rem oil in the spray can is what I usually use for guns and small things that need a little oil.
Grab it up, you will like it.

[Blaine]

Anybody ever use this stuff on older motors? I have used slick 50 with good results, but this stuff is way cheaper.

I've used the Slick 50 before. A really beat to heck 75 Caprice Estate Wagon with over 200,000 miles I got for a few bucks....it smoked, and the valves clattered. The slick 50 made a noticeable improvement
in both respects. I drove that clunker for a year or more with no problems so the (ex)wife could have a nice car.....

[M. M. Wright]

I had an old Caddy, ('55) that had a Marvel Mystery Oil top oiler on it. Plate under the carb. It had 180,000 on it when I got it so I bought the oil and filled the reservoir. Don't remember where it went or when but the stuff works. I have a full can under the sink in my shop kitchen. Never thought of using it in bullet lube but maybe now I will.

[Tycer]

It's in my Ed's Red which is my go-to gun cleaning product. I've also used it to free a stuck lifter in a '69 Ford 390.

[jeepnik]

Always have some on hand. It's like three in one oil, old tech but works like a charm.

Though, I imagine that when our generation is gone those two products will likely die with us. Sort of like Brylcreem and my dad's generation. I know it's still available but the users are becoming fewer every day.

[Canuck Bob]

The can is going home with me. I have a pump hand oil can that needs a refill and this stuff will do fine. This should leave a little better than a 1/2 gallon, or whatever volume you Yanks supply that is called a gallon. the can has some history and is from the original manufacturer.

Ed's Red for me using this stuff. I should be able to mix up a gallon for a few bucks! I'll try a small mix with acetone to see if it smells ok.

[Malamute]

I've used Marvels in an old Harley Knucklehead. In the summer, they run hot with their cast iron heads and start sticking and chirping valves. Adding some Marvels to the gas always made it quit, so I just started doing it regularly, keeping a can in my saddlebags and dump a little in when filling up. It was bad when they started sticking valves, as the valve guides were what held the spring covers on that oiled the valve guides and rockers. Theyd start leaking oil from the spring covers and stinking the place up from burnt oil.

The first time I got the chirping valves, I went to an old Harley dealer that had been in business since before the war, he said that's what they used and recommended. Worked like a champ.

[oldgerboy]

I've used it as my go-to lube for anything requiring a thin oil for 40 years. When I worked for Pitney Bowes repairing mailing machines a very knowledgeable elder statesman of the company told me that it didn't attract and hold paper dust unlike the company's own oil. There was one bushing on one machine that would need replaced four times a year until I started using MMO. After MMO, replacement of the bushing went to once every year or two. That is what sold me on it. It also does not turn to lacquer like RemOil and the like. Many of the newer synthetic lubes are better in many uses but MMO will not let you down.

[Sixgun]

It should be red and very aromatic. Smells nice!

Used as top-end oil in older engines (add a little to the gas),
free stuck nuts and bolts, clean mechanisms, and works as an
air tool lubricant. Definitely worth keeping.

I've never used it as a gun lubricant, but maybe somebody else
will weigh in on that. ATF is another red liquid that works well
as a gun oil.

Even though I have gearhead tnedencies, I've never tried
it as a mixer.....

-Stretch

Stretch said it right....good stuff and still available here in the East. Over the years I've heard many old timers tell of its great properties on old engines. Google it....you might find some interesting things about it. hey....the price is right even if you have to use it to help burn the trash.----6

[GonnePhishin]

Yep, was gonna say people use it for older engines.

[crs]

A recent article on the guns of Earnest Hemingway ed d his Winchester Model 12 pump with MM oil .

[harry]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

[Buck Elliott]

Also available at Walmart, if you aren't offended by entering such a business...

[Merle]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

[Blaine]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

A condensation from natural gas production, IIRC.

[Merle]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

A condensation from natural gas production, IIRC.

That doesn't sound like something I'd put in my car ....

[bdhold]

it's great for carburetor floats

[t.r.]

I mix 8 oz. of Marvel's with 18 gallons of gasoline when I fill up. Keeps injectors clean and other good stuff for your engine.

TR

[mikld]

MMO is/was used more for a cleaning treatment rather than a oil treatment (like STP). Worked great as a top engine cleaner but don't know how todays fuel injection engines would like it. I have softened beeswax with MMO and used it as a lube, and made my own Ed's Red with it. I guess I'm just used to it as I've seen it in "the shop" since I was knee high to Dad's '46 Chevy 1 ton truck...

[piller]

My Dad was a mechanic from about 1941 until about 1965. He used Marvel for a lot of things. He still puts it in the gas of a car now and again. It does not seem to do anything bad to the fuel injectors, and actually seems to quiet the engine.

[hfcable]

[quote="stretch"]It should be red and very aromatic. Smells nice!

that is why we used it as mens cologne !


well......not really but it does really smell good.

[Blaine]

The last I remember using it was ages ago: I had a 289 that pinged because of carbon buildup on the cyl tops, and I had someone hold a high idle while I dripped it down the carb....that blew a lot of "stuff" out the tailpipe, and IIRC did the trick. That HyPo 289 drank tons of Sunoco 260 in the day

[jeepnik]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

A condensation from natural gas production, IIRC.

Sometimes called "wild gas". It's just slightly heavier than "natural gas", and while a liquid at cooler temps or slightly elevated pressures, it evaporates quite readily. Much lower BTU value than gasoline, but if you get it free and use it to spike gasoline, you can get away with it.

[Blaine]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

A condensation from natural gas production, IIRC.

Sometimes called "wild gas". It's just slightly heavier than "natural gas", and while a liquid at cooler temps or slightly elevated pressures, it evaporates quite readily. Much lower BTU value than gasoline, but if you get it free and use it to spike gasoline, you can get away with it.

Which reminds me, I need to followup on my interest in turning organic garbage into a mash that will distill worthwhile engine fuel...maybe for my little scooter, or to extend gasoline someday.

[Merle]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

A condensation from natural gas production, IIRC.

Sometimes called "wild gas". It's just slightly heavier than "natural gas", and while a liquid at cooler temps or slightly elevated pressures, it evaporates quite readily. Much lower BTU value than gasoline, but if you get it free and use it to spike gasoline, you can get away with it.

OK, thank you.

[williamranks]

Now you need one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/?_nkw=Mar ... =&LH_CAds=

Instructions:
http://vwjudsonregister.tripod.com/oiler_page.htm

[williamranks]

Now you need one of these:
http://www.ebay.com/sch/items/?_nkw=Mar ... =&LH_CAds=

Instructions:
http://vwjudsonregister.tripod.com/oiler_page.htm

[harry]

Back in the day we would put 1 gallon of Marvel to a drum of drip gas to stop the pinging in your motor from the drip gas.

OK, I'll bite-what is drip gas?

A condensation from natural gas production, IIRC.

Sometimes called "wild gas". It's just slightly heavier than "natural gas", and while a liquid at cooler temps or slightly elevated pressures, it evaporates quite readily. Much lower BTU value than gasoline, but if you get it free and use it to spike gasoline, you can get away with it.

The MMO would raise the Octane, drip gas has an Octane of about 30 - 50, a gallon to 40 or 50 of drip would make the octane more in the 75 to 85 range.