> Canola oil works super well in practice without any of these risks.

I cannot advise enough against using canola oil for most lubrication purposes. It's biodegradable and will break down (good for some applications) but for the most part oil breaking down is a bad thing if you want to keep something well maintained. It would gum up over time, start reacting chemically with dust or other chemicals, and potentially even cause damage. Especially if you lubricate to prevent rust.

Also, in the context of breaking loose bolts, oil alone doesn't have any capacity to break up or penetrate rust.

Spray on white lithium grease works for most "architectural" or furniture uses (ex: door hinges, gas springs on chairs, garage door rails and chain, etc).

For anything constantly moving (ex: gearboxes or bearings) you want a more viscous lithium grease (ex: red n tacky or lucas xtra/green).

But in pretty much every situation (on land) you want to be using a form of lithium grease if you want to actually keep the interface lubricated.

From childhood experience, thinking all oils were the same, absolutely not. It goes rancid and gums up after some time.