Lubricants

[Kyle Reese]

Fred, do you change out the Slide Glide in cold weather, or have you had any problems in that regard? I know they make different grades of it depending on your ambient temperature. I've heard a few complaints regarding it's use in colder climates.

I don't use much grease, but when I do I stick with Super Lube or TW-25B when cold, or Hoppe's/Lubriplate when it's warmer.

Clay,
I use the Slide Glide-Lite on my handguns, and haven't had any issues with it in cold climes. Of course, I shoot indoors (mostly), and have had very little outside range time in the last few months. Not sure if that helps.

[Clay]

Gotcha, thanks man.

[LangdonTactical]

Pat Rogers swears by Slip, and he likes to do things like only lube/never clean an AR and run 14,000+ rounds through it.

Yeah, I kind of treat my guns like an old truck. I never really change the oil, I just keep adding a little every once and a while.

I am with KevenB on this one. The Fire Clean stuff has impressed me quite a bit. It does wonders in all my ARs and it's magic with my treat it like an old truck way of doing things. If your running a suppressor, it's almost a must have in your AR. IMHO.

[Spr1]

How is Fire Clean on corrosion prevention?

[David S.]

Results of Gun Care Products Evaluation.

I thought this was a pretty interesting product evaluation.

TLDR: FrogLube and Hornady One Shot are his winners.

H/T.

Cheers,
David

[orionz06]

Not gonna lie, if Frog lube comes out on top I am not gonna bother reading that filth and will further discount anything coming from that source. Much of the info is great to know but doesn't cover all the bases of concern for guns. Rightly so though, I am sure it wasn't cheap to do what he did but adding heat and shooting would be a significant cost increase. Cold testing of the plate would be cool too, just to see how gummed up some of them get at low temps, much like the cold temps us from PA shoot our guns in.

[Maple Syrup Actual]

I wouldn't discount it at all. He tests a particular set of criteria which is probably fairly applicable to his uses.

His uses are not very much like my uses, but that doesn't make his testing invalid.

[orionz06]

That would be 100% correct. That was just my pure hatred for Froglube jumping out. But yes, the things he tests are only a small chunk of what really matters to me making it a poor standalone guide. It is however the most encompassing corrosion guide I have seen. The static friction isn't far from OK but I think I would rather compare each lube how I would use it and the surfaces they're applied to matter a little as well.


But yeah, I shouldn't have dumped all over it.

[guymontag]

I'm a bit of a gun maintenance snob, simply because I enjoy learning about and trying new products, but I'm also pragmatic and realize that a fancy high-tech lube isn't necessary - it's more of a hobby for me, and I think a lot of other folks too. For this reason I normally recommend common, readily available products for newbies, and higher tech (and price) products when I know someone is wired more like me.

I'm happy to see I'm not alone in this world ha! Thanks for the great compilation of comments and experience Clay.

Weaponshield CLP - I will say at the beginning that George Fennell is a friend of mine and I've used FP-10/Weaponshield since about 1998 or so. George is a Tribologist and a shooter, so he does know what he's doing, but like any smart guy he has strong opinions. I believe that overall it is the best CLP-type product out there. Safe, no known shelf life, smells nice, offers good protection and great lubrication, and cleans pretty well for what it is - a do it all, easy to use solution. If you want a CLP that excels at the "L" part, this is it.

My experience with Weaponshield is limited, but I liked what I saw from the product, both in the grease and oil formats. I believe the additives it contains are ZDDP and long chain chlorinated parrifins. After a few weeks of owning the products, a family member needed some gun care products and off my shelf it went. I would buy it again... and yes, the smell is awesome.

Slip 2000 - All of their products are very safe to use, and Pat Rogers has shown us that they work well. If you want a non-toxic line of specialty gun care products then here you go. They are a good company to deal with and don't mind revealing test results.

I do not know much about the composition of it (other than it's non-toxic and lacks PTFE) but it supposedly reduces wear by 90-95% and it certainly has gained a following. I recently purchased some of the EWL and found it to be thin without any discernible odor. I have heard the original non-EWL is a bit more viscous? I like viscous. For an oil, I would probably choose this product or LPX.

Mpro7 - This is a line of products made by Pantheon who does some of the higher end stuff for Hoppes. It's a good company with line of stuff that seems to be widely available. I've been using their stuff on and off since it came out in about 2000 or so. The LPX oil is a very good CLP, but has a foul smell, as do all the other moly-based lubes. I think their kits they offer at places like Wal-Mart and Academy are perfect for new shooters.

I don't know if I would characterize it as a foul smell. I did not notice too much of a smell difference between their "first-gen" oil and the "second-gen improved" oil - it may be due to acclimation as I successfully used their "first-gen" oil quite a bit in the past few years. I believe their new LPX version contains TCP, molybdenum, and PTFE as the additives. MPRO also responds quickly to questions or concerns and has a nice FAQ on their website. I would buy it again.

Milcomm -I've used TW25-B on and off since it came out in the early 90's. It is a PTFE-based lube meant to replace LSA-T for use on GE miniguns. It is non-toxic and safe on all surfaces. It is expensive and as mentioned earlier it can dry out and gunk up under heavy use. It does work well in all temps and can really slick up a Glock trigger when applied to the trigger bar/connector. It has been widely tested and used and the company is very good to deal with. Gordon Furlong, the inventor, knows his stuff and is a shooter.

I bought this after reading Hilton Yam's 1911 user guide, and I likely will not buy it again. It did dry out and gunk up on my 75B after about 1K. I went back to my previous standby Slide-Glide.

Rand CLP - I received a sample of this and wanted to like it due to it's non-toxicity and lubrication properties (contains boron I think). It has nano-particles too, which is what guns crave. Of the lubricants I've tried, it smoothed out the trigger pull on my Glock the most... though it was short lived. After only a few hundred rounds, both .22 and 9MM, I found it to become gritty and needed re-application.

Wilson Combat Grease - A new product, and one that I have but haven't tested. It is not as thick or as tacky as BE Slide-Glide, but it feels similar when applied. It advertises including "the slipperiest substance known to man" in the formulation, so I presume it contains PTFE? Maybe WilsonCombatRep can confirm or deny. A necessary caveat - it is only advised for use on AR15s. However, I use grease on my pistols (and cut with oil when necessary), and I wanted to try using their awesome looking bottle.

Slide Glide - My favorite. It claims to have the EP/AW additives, but I have yet to see a VOA. I'll take it on faith as it's an Enos product. It's quite similar to red wheel bearing grease, and you may be able to get away with using that as a less expensive alternative.

Fluid Film - I've used this on my .22 conversion for a few thousand rounds with no issues, and on my 9MM Glock for a few hundred rounds with no issues. It's basically lanolin and petroleum oil, and mainly used for corrosion protection. Guns were mentioned a potential use, so I decided to try it. If I get a wild hair I may try it on an AR to see how quickly it burns off.

There are my musings of a dudebro.

[Clay]

TW25B can indeed dry out and create a caked up mess as others have mentioned. This can be mitigated by cleaning and lubing more often. It is also a bit expensive. I do like that it has a very wide temp range.

The only downside to Slide Glide that I have seen is that it does have a pretty limited temp range, although on a CCW pistol this is probably a moot point. Bruce Gray is a big fan of it and that might be considered a clue.

The Wilson Combat lubes used to be made by Protec, but they have changed formulations, I believe. I'm sure they're good products.

I tried Fluid Film and didn't care for the smell on my guns. I had some shave cream with Lanolin in it that I didn't care for either. Just me. It is great at rust prevention and a very good lubricant, though. I use it on vehicles and other gear though and it seems to be very long lasting. The Navy has used it for years on ships and stuff.

I wasn't impressed enough with Rand to pay the high price for more than a sample. But then I have a ton of other stuff to use. I'm sure Fireclean lives up to it's claims of reduced fouling/cleaning time, but I don't mind cleaning guns and I don't shoot more than a few hundred rounds at a time, so it's a moot point for me.

For the money it's hard to beat a big can or bottle of Ballistol, Slip 2000, or Break-Free CLP.


Guymontag, thanks for your comments. I appreciate it.