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Rejuvenate or replace leather seals

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cobalt327 View Drop Down
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    Posted: January-03-2019 at 6:43pm

SOAKING LEATHER SEALS WITH OIL 

Leather seal guns don’t have an “OIL HERE” hole. Oiling the seals on a lever action gun can be done by dripping oil in from the lever flange area (see photo). Oil can also be dripped into the shot tube. It helps to block the lever partly open. After applying the oil, switch between butt down and muzzle down about twice a day for up to a week. Be sure to have the gun over something that will catch the oil that inevitably leaks out.



Getting oil to the leather seals of a No. 25 pump gun or an early lever action gun can be done more efficiently by making a tool from a length of 3/16” OD brass tubing that has a short length of weed trimmer fuel line (or similar tubing) attached to the end of the brass tubing. Keep the flexible tubing short so it is stiff enough to fit over the air tube. The tool is inserted into the shroud where the flexible tubing is a snug fit over the air tube. Then the oil is squirted into the tubing and allowed to drain (or it can be blown) down into the compression chamber. I use a block of wood between the cocking lever and receiver to hold the plunger piston away from the barrel seal before adding the oil. Let it sit butt down over something that will catch any oil that leaks out. Switch between butt down and muzzle down like mentioned above. Add oil as needed- you should hear a wet squishing sound when you work the lever from closed to partially open. No need to fully cock it during this process but if you do it’s no problem, just dry fire it (avoiding the oil that will spray out). Give it at least a day for the oil to soak in and if that doesn't revive it, chances are it'll need fresh seals.

 
Once you have completed the soaking, dry fire the gun with the muzzle down to help get rid of the excess oil. Also clean the inside of the shroud where the BBs are stored. Oil there will make the BBs and shot tube oily. And oil on the BBs or in the shot tube kills accuracy so don't expect it to shoot to POA while the shot tube is oily inside. Clean the shot tube often. Eventually patches will come out clean but it will take a lot of shooting and a lot of cleanings before they do. Also, the gun will continue to smoke from the shot tube long after the soaking is done, but it's harmless other than some oil may still come out in a fine mist that can settle on things so be aware of that.


Some oils that will work:

1. 3-In-One Electric Motor Oil (not the same as “regular” 3-In-One, see photo). Found at Ace, Home Depot, etc.

2. Motor oil. Daisy recommends straight 20w or 30w. Personally I use 5w-20 Mobil 1. Thinner oil preferred over thicker. Don't give a second though to using a detergent oil. Pellgunoil is detergent motor oil, after all. In fact, I use detergent multi-grade motor oil, 5w-20 Mobil 1.

3. Crosman Pellgunoil. It would not be my first choice because $4 for 1/4 oz is expensive. Walmart has it in the sporting goods area. 

 

If you choose to oil the seals through the shot tube and not to make a tool to put the oil in through the air tube, you want to clean the oil from the shot tube when you're done. The shot tube will continue to get oiled up from the mist of oil being discharged from compression chamber by the now-wet seals every time it's shot- this cannot be helped and while it's doing this accuracy will be subpar. Only after many, many shots will leather seals settle down and quit expelling a smoky mist every shot and then accuracy will improve as long as the shot tube is still periodically cleaned free of oil. If there's one real negative to leather seals- the last two sentences describes it. I shoot all my guns and want them to be as accurate as possible, so I personally prefer to use synthetic seals to replace the leather ones when they need replacement.

 
One way around all the mess and to have the best chance of maintaining accuracy is to disassemble the gun and with the plunger in hand, apply oil sparingly to the piston seal allowing it to soak in between applications. Same thing for the barrel seal, although getting oil on the seal can be tricky- dripping it down the inside of the gun seems to go everywhere except the seal, but as long as the oil hits the walls of the compression chamber, it'll reach the barrel seal. But only use a little at a time, allowing it plenty of time (hours) to soak in between applications. The whole routine can take several days if the seals are really dry. Use paper towels to blot the barrel seal of excess oil after its saturated- wad it up and push it against the barrel seal with a wooden dowel. Same for the piston seal- blot with paper towels. If oil contaminates the BB magazine inside the front part of the barrel shroud, if you care about accuracy it has to be cleaned out. Oily BBs are as bad as an oily shot tube for killing accuracy! Most people won't go to all this trouble and are satisfied adding oil through the shot tube and be done with it.
 
If you take it apart and you see the leather has become dry rotted and/or is missing chunks or the leather is flaking away/falling apart, they're toast and you need to then decide which type seal you want to replace them with. I can't help with where's best to get leather seal. I buy synthetic seals from Daisy, it's good to have several things you need to help defray shipping costs.

 

 

I'm sure other members will have there own thoughts on all this, and I encourage anyone with an opinion to chime in! My way is not the only way and may not be the best way- it's simply the way I do it.


Note- section on replacement is being updated. 

 

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FREEBIRD View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FREEBIRD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January-03-2019 at 7:18pm
Good stuff, I have tried a few times to put the synthetic plungers in old 25's and they would not fit?
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cobalt327 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cobalt327 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January-03-2019 at 10:07pm
Piston wouldn't fit into the compression chamber or the piston wouldn't fit onto the plunger, or ?
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BurghDude View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote BurghDude Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January-03-2019 at 10:19pm
Thanks for the post Cobalt! 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote FREEBIRD Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January-04-2019 at 5:39pm
Would'nt go down the compression tube
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cobalt327 View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote cobalt327 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January-05-2019 at 1:05am
If you were using a piston from a Red Ryder or Buck, etc., they're 7/8" OD. You need an 13/16" piston. If you bought a new one for a Model 25, they could have sent the wrong part- they look the same until you compare them side by side, or try to use the wrong one.
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Jharl View Drop Down
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Jharl Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: January-26-2021 at 3:13pm
Sorry. Wrong thread
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