By Tom McHale
Gun Lube baffles me. What is the best gun lube? Heck if I know, but it is messing with my emotional well being…
![Gun Oil Ban](https://www.ammoland.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Gun-Oil-Ban-2-600x600.jpg)
USA –-(Ammoland.com)- The gun lubricant market baffles me. Actually, calling it a market isn’t entirely accurate. It’s more like a kerfluffle, whatever that is.
For some reason, there are product categories that send us jogging gleefully right off the rational thought plank. You know, things like exercise and fitness gimmicks. When you step back and look at ideas like Prancercise, Thighmasters, barbell silverware, and Shakeweights, you have to wonder what the hell were we thinking?
That stuff just gets weird, and often creepy. Is it even legal to use a shake weight in the presence of minors?
Recently, I’ve noticed that the gun lubricant market is going just as wonky. Consider the following.
A Gun Lube Company Is Suing A Blogger Who Thinks Their Product Resembles Cooking Oil
First, a disclaimer, so that the company in question company doesn’t sue me also. I don’t know jack about tribology. In fact, I’d never heard the word until I Google searched “lubricant science.” After turning my “Safe Search” filter back on and taking a cold shower, I figured out that tribology is the study of friction, wear, and lubrication. Nor have I ever used an infrared spectroscopy machine. I’m pretty sure I don’t even own one, but if I did, I know it would impress the neighbors.
Now that I’m on safer legal ground, I can share my opinions on the topic.
[Attention aforementioned company: I am stating my opinion only and making no claims, representations, or potentially litigious statements about your product, your company, or the southern yellow loblolly pine wood pulp content of the tissue paper in your family-friendly restroom.]
So anyway, you may have heard by now that Fireclean is suing blogger Andrew Tuohy and some other folks over issues related to their testing of Fireclean with fancy laboratory machines. I won’t try to rehash the issue here, but the long and short of it is that Fireclean is apparently comprised of several types of vegetable oils and unknown other ingredients.
Infrared spectroscopy tests, which may or may not provide a complete picture of the chemical makeup of stuff, allegedly show that Fireclean resembles canola oil. From an outsiders perspective, there is probably some truth to that. I only say this because the company openly states that the formulation contains some types of organic vegetable oil blends.
Besides, from my layman’s knowledge, it’s a well-known fact that canola and other types of similar oils make great metal lubricants, so there’s no big surprise here. Heck, I use Fireclean and it seems to work pretty well on my stuff.
Time will tell the outcome of the lawsuit. Of far more concern for our collective sanity and ongoing education is the fact that a company is basically suing its own customer base and those who spend time and effort reviewing products. As a career marketing guy, I think that’s supremely dumb.
Hang on a sec, I have a quick question for all y’all. Can a company sue me for saying their strategy is dumb? If so, I was temporarily insane when I allegedly said that and have no recollection of ever making that statement. Back me up on that people…
You don’t win the battle of public opinion, which makes and breaks products, by making an appearance on Judge Judy. You win with information and education. This mess wouldn’t exist if Fireclean had just responded to these claims with factual information of their own. Here’s some advice guys, next time, spend a few hundred bucks developing and sharing a whitepaper called something like “10 Reasons Fireclean Is Way Better Than Canola Oil.” Make it funny. Or make it technical and boring. It doesn’t really matter, just be big boys and sell the benefits of your product. That’s your job after all. Or maybe you could invite said blogger to your factory. Cover up all the secret ingredient labels and educate your visitor on why your product and development process is so great. You don’t have to give away proprietary trade secrets to provide meaningful and beneficial information that will help sell your product. If your product is awesome, people will be happy to pay you for it, no matter what’s in it. Guess what? I don’t care if your product has canola oil, Mobil One, or K-Y Warming Jelly in it as long as it works. Hey, more power to you if you can figure out new uses for stuff.
Trying to stifle the flow of opinions on products via the legal system is bad for everyone. If you’re like me, you get a lot of information here at Ammoland News. Some is factual, some is opinion, some I agree with, and some I disagree with. Regardless, it’s this free flow of information that helps me learn something new every day. To all of you engaged readers and commenters, thanks for that! I can’t tell you how many good ideas I’ve learned from all this online discussion.
(P.S. – To Sidney from Birmingham: thanks for your suggestion on how to make a brass dryer out of scrap lumber and an old box fan – I’m totally stealing that idea.)
You Can Buy Gun Lube That Smells Like Movie Theater Candy
When I go to Chuck E. Cheese, which is never now that my kids are old enough to pay taxes, I expect to find candy and prize counter toys that smell like bubble-gum wintergreen lollipops.
When I want to clean and lube my Springfield Armory TRP 1911, faux fruit pheromones are not a feature at the top of my list. Call me boring, but I’d prefer my pistol not smell like a squeeze bottle of My Little Pony perfume.
Come on folks, plastic candy fruit is for sugar highs and making your lips turn purple, not cleaning your gun.
Then again, if you accept Skee Ball tickets for payment, I might look the other way on the whole silly fragrance thing.
94.87 Percent Of Us Can’t Properly Evaluate A Gun Lube Anyway
That’s a real number because I made it up in my head. But seriously, the way most of us use our guns, we could probably get away with using “I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter” with positive results. Actually, don’t do that even though it would make Fabio cry, I’m just exaggerating here to make a point.
But really seriously this time, you can’t really evaluate the real effectiveness of a gun lube without using one brand for very long periods of time, firing thousands and thousands of rounds, in all sorts of weather and environmental conditions, and all under very controlled circumstances. If you go to the range a couple of times a month, and your gun works, that doesn’t necessarily mean that your gun lube of choice is awesome. It means that your lube managed to stay in place for a couple of weeks while being primarily stored in a dehumidified 70-degree clean environment. Then it didn’t manage to stop your gun from successfully firing a couple hundred rounds without seizing. OK, I’m exaggerating a little, but you get the point.
I’ve used (and still use) a wide variety of gun lubes and it’s pretty hard to find one that fails under normal operating and storage conditions.
- Slip 2000 EWL
- Gunzilla
- Fireclean
- SlipStream
- Italian Gun Grease
- Militec
- Break Free CLP, and a host of others work fine for me.
If you made me pick the one that’s the absolute bestist ever, I couldn’t. Well, at least I couldn’t scientifically prove that one is better than the other. However, I clean my guns with some regularity, so it’s unlikely that any lube I use will have to perform over three years without reapplication after being subjected to nine Saudi Arabian sandstorms followed by cryogenic freezing.
I guess there’s some deep emotional thing that causes us to get all hot and bothered about gun lubes. Like exercise equipment, it’s not something that provides immediate and measurable feedback of success or failure. Maybe that’s why we have to work so hard to form all these irrational and emotional attachments to our bottles of Sham-Wow, Weapon Oil, Lizard Lard Gun Lube, and Slick Willy Weapon Wax.
And Now It Is Time for Some Prancercise….queue the Video!
About Tom McHale
Tom McHale is the author of the Insanely Practical Guides book series that guides new and experienced shooters alike in a fun, approachable, and practical way. His books are available in print and eBook format on Amazon. You can also find him on Google+, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.
I was turned on to a what I was told a new lube to the gun lube market but not new to lubrication. http://www.dumondetech.com I bought the Brothers and Arms TRUE BLUE Gun Oil which the gun shop and range (highly reputable) I frequent says they are very impressed after just 6 months of being introduced to it. They have converted all their range rental guns to it and is what the gunsmiths are using. There is a grease also. So far I am very pleased and have noticed some better action even after 750 rounds. A Special Forces friend… Read more »
I use synthetic Boron/Teflon grease (bike bearings) off-label for the AR and Glock for 3 gun. Finishline USA. Ceramic Grease. There are many off-label uses like motor oil. Ed’s Red – Kerosene and Syn Trans fluid. I like to experiment and have been working wth boron since 2005.
A lot of good ones out there. Only one I didn’t personally like was frog lube but it seems to be very popular. Lucas, M pro, pops, rem oil. Heck my favorite is kroil but its kinda pricey. I know a man uses wd40 religiously and all his equipment looks like perfection. Might be something to do with him spraying everything down twice every time he touches it lol.
“94.87 Percent Of Us Can’t Properly Evaluate A Gun Lube Anyway” LMAO You got that right!
Here is my mix for gun oil I use it on my hard guns and my AR’s it is 1 oz of each Lucas assembly lube / Permatex assembly lube and a good 5w30 synthetic motor oil
This many comments about a gun lube posting! Obviously all of us (me included) have too much time on our hands and no lives worth living!
Didn’t I look carefully, or nobody mentions WD 40, which has been perfectly cleaning and protecting my weapons for fifty years?
Enrico L. Appiano
Enrico the WD40 wasn’t designed as a lube,it was designed as a solvent corrosion preventative. A long ,long, time ago. That said it will prevent corrosion allmost as well as some newer products. Hope that helps . I like Tetra as a lube quite a bit too.
EXACTLY.
“WD” stands for “Water Displacing.” It is NOT a lube.
I use it if my gun’s been in the rain (we shoot in all weather), as a stop-gap until I get home and tear the gun down. It also works very well at removing powder residue and fingerprints.
After pouring a bottle of water down a barrel used with corrosive ammo (Mosin, SKS), I use a rubber squeegee jag, then WD-40 it on site, then do regular maintenance at home.
WD40 is fish oil and it is designed to loosen rust on bolts, etc. and prevent corrosion for a short period of time. It is good to spray on a burn, takes the sting away. I would not use it as a lube on my guns. I lived in the rust belt for 40 + years and had a need for it, but not my guns.
The Prancercise didn’t work on my 1911. Not one bit.
Try it with a Glock.
What is wrong with just using plain ole Outers Gun Oil ? I have used it for the last 60 years on guns I owned 60 years ago just fine.
Even better (and lots cheaper) is a quart of U.S. Government issue surplus LSA oil available through http://www.e-sarco.com. Even cheaper than synthetic motor oils (which belong in motors, not firearms).
Nonsense.
Your engine is a far more extreme environment than your gun as to both temperature and friction.
+Keith Langer , I’m not pissed at you at all . It was Clark I was speaking to. This is new fangled stuff to an old Infantryman like me. Maybe it’s WHY they made me Infantry ? 🙂
Keith: So is a frying pan. So you use canola oil on your guns? THINK before you post.
I NEVER said I use canola oil on my guns. If you’d actually bothered to read what I posted – with even minimal comprehension – you’d have seen that.
But nice lecture about “THINK before you post.”
Try actually doing it some time.
Keith,
Clark K insults everyone to insure that someone reads his posts. Otherwise he has nothing of value to contribute and little life outside being a troll. You mustn’t take him seriously. The rest of us recognize what he is from what he writes, and we just laugh.
After your remark on Viet Nam Son ,You don’t exist to me anymore ,without apologies. The Viet Nam Vets were more family to me ,than my own. Further they are the reason I have battle stars above my C.I.B. . Welcome home guys.
NO apology. “Clark Ken’s” blaming WD-40 for our withdrawal from Viet Nam was cretinism, pure and simple. I have no idea why you’re pissed at ME for calling him out on it.
Even less why you posted your little tantrum under a remark about lubrication, instead of the one you’re apparently – and unjustifiedly – upset over.
Gee, Thom, I understand your sentiment, but the poor boy is so filled up with liberal horse sh*t because he is a product of the modern school system and liberal propaganda. The only way he will ever learn the truth is by communicating with the men that were there. Even the NVA army supreme commander, Gen Giap, admitted that every time the NVA came in contact with the Americans the NVA got it’s head handed to them.
Truth.
WD-40 had NOTHING to do with it. The failure of the S. Viet Namese to create a government with national support, and to fight for their autonomy is why the NVA won.
Yes sir you said it better than I can. God Bless to you and yours. Dad was at the siege of Con Thien with the 1st Marine Division ,then the said they were sending him someplace nice and quiet. Next stop ? Khe Sahn! His Aviator sunglasses from a photo in ’67 are my most prized possession.
Wild Bill: SURE we won in Vietnam! So that is why we ran off in 1975, right? Grow up and learn some history.
Well, Clark, it is a historical fact that Gen Giap admitted that the American forces beat him in every major action. It is also a historical fact that Richard Nixon ended the war via a political “solution”. And the admonition to learn some history, coming from someone that thinks the American forces ran off from Viet Nam because of WD 40 just makes me and the other vets laugh and laugh and laugh.
Come on Clark, don’t be a nobody the rest of your life, join up and live some history.
Use the guts of dead muslims.
in nam back in the 60’s we found that the crap they furnished for our 16’s was crap most of us sent home for good ole WD40 I still use it today nuff said !!!!!!!!
No wonder the USA lost in Vietnam! Fuggitabout WD40 for ANY firearm lubrication properties. I do use it as a shotgun bore cleaner.
Clark, we didn’t “lose” in Vietnam, we quit !!
Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.
WD-40 is why we left Viet Nam.
Great grasp of geo-political realities, Ace.
That was plain rude Son. You wouldn’t have done it face to face I assure you.
1. I’m not your son, so spare me your presumptuous patronization.
2. You clearly don’t know me.
+Clark Kent ,Nope your not ,you wouldn’t have survived if you were. Your probably voting for Hillary too. .
What could possibly be better than 0W-20 motor oil…corrosion resistant, light viscosity, handles high pressure, enhanced lubricants…what could be better? I use Kroil Penetrating Oil for bore cleaning…lifts lead deposits, wipes out fouling extremely well. Copper fouling?…switch to CFE223 or CFE Pistol. We have the best of all worlds for gun care products right in front of us.
I like One Shot the best. Its a cleaner/lube and is dry. dirt does not stick.
any weapons I store for long periods i coat the actions, barrels and all other metal parts with LPS #1 If im shooting I use a CLP and when I’m finished and cleaned up I have a PBR.
Good article, and your right ,there are as many lubes out there as there are opinions on which is best ! Researched Weapon Shield and was impressed with Friction Tests! Bought some and treated a Brand new AR, a 35 yr. old 92S, and a Brand New Taurus auto-loader ! Made the Taurus slide and trigger feel like the Beretta ! I haven’t fired the AR yet but there is a ” Very Noticeable ” difference in feel of action compared to the Hoppes that I initially used to pre-clean and lube before firing ! I know there are many… Read more »
Oil is oil, veggie, dinosaur, synthetic, 0W to 140W, If it’s sold as gun oil, your getting ripped off…
Really had to get the plug in for the Primary Arms optics ,since the marxist turds @ State dept want to change the ITAR regs to make what I posted a felony… Got news for them , I’ll crank the handle on a mineograph machine furiously in a basement with a single naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling, and air drop them too, if I have too. (Ok I’m slightly demented I geuss.)
Ammoland you are the greatest! Thanks a bunch.
Such a relevant plug in a thread devoted to lubricants.
Thanks for sharing.
I get 0 out of it ,except for the pleasure of hoping my fellow American rifle men shoot better . Sorry your pussy hurts .
I get nothing from it but better American Rifle men .
Then start a thread about optics, instead of cluttering this one up with irrelevancies.
Kieth ,Clutter ? It was an aside from the performance that I was getting with a bore lubrication product. You allways this bitchy?
The way I see it, any gun lube will do if you will. Pick one if you don’t like it choose another, eventually one of them will be a keeper.
Hmmmn , Doesn’t seem to have posted so try again. Having washed many a Dog licked dish? WET DOG SLOBBER is the slickest thing I’ve ever seen. Love to see the marketing on that too I would .
The slickest thing we have used to clean our guns are Obama Tears, You can pick them up after every “mass shooting” and we are not talking about the real ones each weekend in Chicago.
Ding Ding Ding ! We have a winner with an empty can!
Great article. Hilarious.
I found that a bucket of Kentucky fried chicken works just the best
I am really pleased to read an article such as this. I always knew there were all manner of claims made by gun oil manufacturers. In fact I make my own brand of gun oil which is rather unique, it contains pure pig fat for those special foes. It is a blend of synthetic oils, molybdenum disulfide powder and pig fat. It really is no fowling, very slick, performs excellently ion all climates. I named it “Tears of the Prophet.” I have left one of my ARs in a creek overnight and it performed flawlessly the next day without any… Read more »
That sounds like a fine invention! And it can double as emergency field rations if you deep dry it, right?
Or deep fry your ration in it ? Vitamin M for Moly?
I hope the judge throws out that suit as frivolous, as Fireclean even says it is a vegetable based lubricant in their patent application. Hypocrisy at its finest.
Having been involved in the arms industry for early 60 years, allow me to make the following observation: I attended many NSGA shows and until
recently all of the SHOT Shows (I’ll turn 84 in July) I can hardly recall a year when there was not an introduction of a new gun oil, claiming better lubrication and/or better rust prevention. Fact is, they were all good, some marketed better than others, but they all did as advertised.
What is the advantage, if any, of dry spray lube vs. The liquids?
Dry is a nice option on Glocks and AKS HK91 etc.in my opinion for dusty climates and arctic cold. 1911s AR15 s seem to like to run wet. IF anyone has successfully run either dry lubed Id love to hear about it.
Dry lube works great, except it offers no corrosion resistance.
Tuf Glide/Tuf Cloth from Sentry Solutions . Marine grade version too esp. for salt water enviorments. Course I’m in High Dry Country my friend ,so I can’t tell you first hand . Stuff does stay cleaner and slicker for me though.
Back in the 80’s the Gunner’s Mates on the USS Horne were using Break Free CLP on our 5″-54 guns. Moving parts as well as the bore. If I remember correctly, they used it on the small arms as well. The GM’s never complained about it and others went to them for it for general use. Of course, Uncle Sam buys in volume regardless of quality or real needs. That being said I used BF CLP until I discovered Triflo with teflon. I have also used automatic transmission fluid on a firearm that had been neglected by previous ownership (people… Read more »
Break Free was liquid gold for my Marines in the desert. Armorers looked like Gollum on a coke binge whenever we came to get more (I was a Corpsman, so my little Beretta didn’t take much). I still keep a stock of it to clean things up after a good range day.
Hey doc! My youngest was an HM. Got out last year. He was trained in field med at Camp Lejeune.
CORPSMAN UP! Sender Fi!
Tom, you may be a little demented. I never want to hear of Prancercizing again. I think I have four different lubricants in the box, each for a different purpose (Greases, CLP, Snake and M-Pro 7 oils…oh crap.). Veggie oil stays in the kitchen, though – no black powder guns in the safe.
Not demented, retired. It’s worse , I’m not allowed in the house by the lovely little Sgt Major ,until the sun goes down. So I stay in my shop as much as possible. Don’t know Prancerize ,really don’t like the sound of it one bit though. ( 4-14 x44 FFP R grid Mil -Mil scope $279 and change . Rocks! Full Pyramid Xmas tree reticle , illuminated etc.) = 400 Meters with .22LR sub sonics , and 1100 Meters with M118 Spec Ball @ my Altitude on the Strelok Pro Android App. Ok maybe I’m slightly demented. Like I said… Read more »
OOPS Primary Arms is the scope brand.
Hey! Don’t knock Prancersize until you’ve tried it! I’ve gained 23 pounds doing that while eating Deep Fried Fried Butter 🙂
OK Now I’m just afraid.
It’s all money. Who wants to pay the price of FireClean when they can spend a fraction of that on a bottle of Canola? I use Mobil 1 10w30 and a quart of that lasts a long time.
Now, if someone could make it smell like bacon!
Ted cruz did ! Then they ate the bacon like joyus infidels. (Wrapped the bacon round the barrel while doing full auto mag dumps)
You just gotta love this one. I just have one question. How do you cook the eggs and patatos?
You Sir are a credit to your profession as a writer. I especially like the link for the KY . Nice touch! For factory loads I like Sentry Solutions dry moly coatings. Smooth Coat and BP 2000 powder burnished in. No cold bore p.o.i. shift,cooler barrel ,and I clean it with DRY patches usually 2 or 3 even running a can with its additional backpressure. Also like their Tuf Glide liquid and Tuf Cloth . Superb products as is their moly grease. For handloading I am looking at tumble coating my projectiles in HBN or Hexagonal Boron Nitride AKA white… Read more »
I was introduced to Moly Di Sulfide in alcohol on subs to stop seizure of Stainless Steel threads. The beauty of Moly is a little bit goes a very long way and everyone makes the mistake of using too much, The down side is when you use too much it manages to act like graphite and get into and onto everything.
Like the wise gentleman before me said,”I use Kroll to clean with.” He ain’t just whitlin’ Dixie. That stuff will cut through all kinds of build up. Accidently used to much on some bolts on the outside of the hull of a Navy ship. It blistered it. Used it on an old Montgomery Ward’s shotgun. It lifted the paint the po used in the metal. Made the bore nice and clean. Eats carbon really well. Then slicked it back up with Triflo. Comes in squeeze bottles and spray cans. Love it!
I laughed myself right off the couch…… “Prancercise” = old lady camel toe. I’ll pass and just continue to stay fat dumb & happy thank you…..LOL
“I don’t care if your product has canola oil, Mobile [sic] One, or K-Y Warming Jelly in it as long as it works.” 1. The word you’re trying for is “Mobil.” As in, one of the largest petroleum product marketers in the world. I have no idea why people keep trying to make that simple, common word into the term for a form of kinetic art. Still less why those writing articles about products can’t even spell them correctly. 2. I stopped paying outrageous sums for miniscule amounts of miracle lube over a decade ago. I went to full-synthetic oil… Read more »
Good thought on the syn oil. Will keep the dregs from my oil bottles in future!
That’s easy…5/30 Mobil One. If it runs my BMW for 153,000 miles it can run my pistols or rifles just fine and sure enough. One quart costs about $6.50 and lasts for, I don’t know…200 years?
The American Gunsmithing Institute uses Simple Green to degrease guns. I use SG HD the purple formula. Ballistol is a good lube read the history of Ballistol the German army used it. Frog Lube Mobil One Advanced Synthetic.
nice to see someone who found out like I did that synthetic motor oil works very well. Mobil 20W-50 same as goes in my motorcycle.
Hey Keith,
Is there any carbon build up from the burned powder? Engine oils are a little thicker, but your comment appeals to my frugal nature!
Carbon build up from powder is a product of – wait for it – the powder. Lube has little, if any effect on that, other than putting a protective layer between the residue and the metal. I haven’t noticed any different in residue accrual; I just clean the guns per usual.
I can see by reviewing my question that I did not communicate clearly. What I meant was does the carbon from the burned powder catch in the thicker viscosity motor oil more than the carbon from the burned powder in other for firearms designed lubricants, if application and all other factors are equal?
I anticipate that your answer that you have not noticed any difference in residue accrual will not change. Thank you for your input. I am going to try the motor oil.
I don’t really notice much difference. The motor oil I use is 0-30 or 5W-30, so the viscosity is quite low.
Like the wise gentleman before me said,”I use Kroll to clean with.” He ain’t just whitlin’ Dixie. That stuff will cut through all kinds of build up. Accidently used to much on some bolts on the outside of the hull of a Navy ship. It blistered it. Used it on an old Montgomery Ward’s shotgun. It lifted the paint the po used in the metal. Made the bore nice and clean. Eats carbon really well. Then slicked it back up with Triflo. Comes in squeeze bottles and spray cans. Love it!
Try Lucas gun oil. W0rks well for me
Sperm whale oil was very popular in centuries past. Sperm whale oil is, as I understand it, no longer available. The “go to” lubricant then became “sweet oil.” What is sweet oil and is it currently available. Oh, yes, it is available as close as your nearest food store. You will find it in the salad dressing section labeled “olive oil.” I have used it on my muzzle loading rifle and find it works fine. I have not been to Saudi Arabia during sand storm season and my freezer’s cyro cycle is broken.
Got a friend coming over to shoot our AR 500 2/3rd Scale IDPA plates with his Flintlock soon. Ayup , “Sweet Oil and Beeswax” is what he uses. Bear grease I heard tell was also liked by many.
Fireclean must be run by a group of crybaby, touch-me-not millennials
I grew up using 3-in1 oil, now I never will.
Why not. I don’t use 3-in-1 on my weapons, but I do on plenty of other items. What’s the problem?
That’s what I’d like to know. I’ve used 3 in 1 and never had a problem. I also use Ballistol and various CLPs. But I keep all my guns [fairly] clean and I don’t use or abuse them under extreme conditions.
I would never use WD-40 unless a gun became immersed and I needed to get the water out in a pinch. But I’d clean it with a good solvent first chance I get. WD-40 gets gummy and attracts dust and grit.
I use dry spray lube on my gas guns. So what ever works for you.
Black powder shooters have used vegetable shortening as a lube for decades. It cuts down on the fouling and eases cleaning.
I am sure it works great if you are shooting vegetables.
M Pro 7 works very good for me. Much better than anything else I’ve tried. The price is decent and its readily available at academy etc.
Matt,that is really great stuff.