Understanding Cleaning vs Protecting and Rust / Usage

As someone who regularly cleans his guns, and it would be lucky if a gun was to sit dirty for more than 2 weeks - is rust protection still something I should be worried about? Or is rust protection more for people who use their guns for a time without cleaning inbetween, and for people who are going to store their guns for a long time without use - but not really an issue for someone like me (regular use of guns and regular cleaning)?

Please forgive my ignorance, but the question comes about as I've been looking at reviews of FrogLube. I like the idea of switching to it for a lubricant because it's natural, is used dry, and appears as though it makes cleaning afterwards easier. However I've also seen a number of reviews warning that it's not effective as a rust protector and that some firearms have been damaged because people expected it to protect from rust.

When a customers' gun doesn't work at my local public range, the first thing the range staff do is sniff it. They're looking for that Froglube wintergreen scent.

I bought Froglube years ago. Lubed up a Nighthawk Commander. Took it out of the safe after a few months, the lube and turned into a goopy mess. My friend said I used "too much"; never heard of using too much lube could make a gun inoperable before.

Froglube was originally sold as Track Lube, which is a amusement park ride lubricant. Add a wintergreen scent, associate it with SEALs, jack up the price and boom, a star is born.

I don't really clean my guns that much, but when I do I use Weaponshield. It's a $1.56 an ounce. Froglube is $3.94 an ounce. I don't see the point to Froglube.

Bare and clean iron (steel is mostly iron) will rust as you watch red spots form in mere seconds in the presence of water. That's one way to know you've gotten the protective anti-rust oil off new brake rotors before you install them.

How concerned you need to be about rust depends on what finish (permanent and temporary) your guns have and the environment (humidity and temperature, mainly) they're exposed to. Warmer environment promotes faster oxidation reaction.

A traditional blued gun can freckle on a humid day, not exposed directly to any droplets. An H&K USP slide or equivalent Melonite/Tenifer/ferritic nitrocarburizing finish can go for a swim in the ocean without a problem. Parkerizing is nothing but a sponge grown into the surface of the metal. It can hold water, or it can hold oil that lubricates and prevents water from reaching the iron.

I read the gun lube/protectant mega-test that's out there (google it) and was impressed with the Hornady One Shot stuff. I'm on my second can, and it's become a go-to for an around-the-house lubricant or wiper-downer of anything metal I don't want to rust. Used it on my garage's man door, and it now swings closed silently under its own weight unless I prop it. Garden tools get used and rinsed clean with the hose repeatedly without even re-applying and don't rust. I even have some bare cast iron things (like a bench vise) and tools in the garage that used to always rust in the stupidly humid conditions here and no longer do. I don't use it as a lubricant for gun parts that need to slide past each other rapidly and repeatedly, but I have been using it to wipe down all their other surfaces with good results in corrosion protection. Academy now carries it.

Lube is lube.

For every tale of woe, there are just as many tales of success for each and every product out there. Guns rust for a variety of reasons...... first and foremost is that the owner is a fucking dumbass.

Buy whatever floats your boat. If you don't like it, you're out a few bucks. If honestly clean your weapons every two weeks, you'll know if your chosen product is or is not working long before your firearm is rusted beyond repair.

Humidity can play a part. If your seaside or have high humidity in your basement where your safe is bolted to the floor, your more apt to have issues then a dry climate.

When I got back into guns, I was at a damaged freight store and picked up several lubricants, reasonably. The only one I picked up at a gun store was Frog lube, based on one persons recommendation. Before using, I saw more negative reviews, and haven't figured out what I feel ok using it on, yet.