I have a collection of gun lubricants that seems to get bigger on a regular basis.  Most of the time, when someone makes a suggestion and there is a lot of concurrence, I’ll go out and try it out.  I currently use Slip 2000 EWL for most of the firearms. Living in the northeast USA I have been concerned about the longevity of the various oils, especially in the safe.  It always seems the air is damp in there despite using a golden rod and two rechargeable desiccant dehumidifiers.  I don’t have any hygrometers (could use one from the humidor though).  Thus I decided to conduct my own non scientific study of the various oils I have around.  I tend to clean my weapons immediately after use and rotate through all of them so that each one gets cleaned and inspected several times a year.  This is the first of a few tests I anticipate conducting.  


Materials and Methods:

- One steel plate welding grade, no zinc 4”x18”(divided into nine columns with a sharpie marker)

- Two drops of each of the following per column (rubbed in with finger and excess wiped off).
     - Rem Oil (Spray can)
     - BF CLP (squirt bottle)
     - BF CLP (Spray can)
     - Machine Gunners Lube (sample from Larue)
     - CONTROL 
     - Slip 2000 EWL (squirt bottle)
     - Hoppes gun oil (squeeze bottle)
     - BF LP (squeeze bottle)
     - KG4 (squeeze bottle)
     - Forgot about MilCom TW25B in tube (not tested)


The drops were rubbed into a light sheen as I would for my weapons and wiped down. (Care was taken to prevent cross contamination):





Outside stats by The Weather Channel
The Plate was left outside. Ignore the times in the pics, not changed back to STD from DLST.


First day (21Feb2010 – 1543): Temp: 36*F, Humidity: 39%, Dew Pt: 21*F I know it’s very dry but another winter storm is coming with freezing rain.



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22Feb2010 – 2005: T: 34*, H: 80%, DP: 33*, light rain  Note: EWL - No beads, drops running





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23Feb2010 - No entry, had to work late


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24Feb2010 – 0718: T: 30*, H: 94%, DP: 37*, raining




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24Feb2010 – 2032: T: 36*, H: 87%, DP: 37*, no precipitation – waiting for 4”-8” snow in a few hours.




Stay tuned for more. Waiting for BF CLP to rust.

I plan to clean this plate off with each of the products in each respective column and reapply. I’m interested to see if repeated application will show any difference.

Future test will include TW25B but will keep steel plate inside next to safe. And will get a thermometer with a hygrometer.

UPDATE:
I do have some Marvel Gun Oil coming (compliments of Tom Miller - Spikes Tactical) and some BF Collectors and Eezox (compliments of OneUp) coming. I plan to repeat the test on another thread with all of the products again for direct comparison. I will also add Mobil 1 and TW25B and whatever I might have at the time.

25Feb2010 -1940 : T:16*, H: 33%, DP:27* Snowing




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26Feb2010 - 2126: T: 22*, H: 69%, DP 24* Stopped snowing




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27Feb2010 - 1410: T: 28*, H: 66%, DP: 26* flurries





After bringing inside and cleaning each column twice with respective oil. I rubbed until scant rust was seen on the surgical sponge and no further significant progress was seen. I used water on the Control:





After letting each oil sit overnight and re-cleaning:





None of the oils (alone - without brushing) removed all the rust.
Some of the oils (which I'll let you conclude for yourselves) enhanced rust formation and actually was harder to remove than the untreated control.
Next installment will be a new thread after a few weeks after I get some more new products.

Part 2 is done:  http://www.ar15.com/forums/topic.html?b=3&f=7&t=502758

Good job.Looking forward to next installment.Oh and i use CLP, glad to see its not the worst so far.

Tag.....Good work.

Interesting results. My personal experience has been the lubrication qualities of BF CLP wear off much faster than Slip 2000. Somewhat odd that the corrosion resistant qualities don't correlate.

Loving your test so far. One thing I might suggest is that you add Mobil 1 to your oil testing. Seems like a lot of guys are running full synthetic motor oils and this would be a good control test.

Wow, great thread.  I'd be willing to send a sample of Breakfree Collector and Eezox if you wanted to test them too.

 

I agree.  I was also surprised.  I haven't figured out a way to test lubrication coefficients.  Any suggestions are welcome.

I just saw a comparison which included Eezox.  This was the nidus for this un-scientific test - I almost bought Eezox until I saw the other comparison.  Perhaps someone has the link?  Maybe temperature affects the corrosion protection properties.



This was just a back yard test.  I'm no scientist.  I just fix bones for a living.

Cool test.

There was someone on a local forum that did a similar test.  I don't remember all the brands he used, but I do remember that Outers Gun Oil did the best out of all of them.  I'd be interestd to see how that would compare to your results.

Sure

I've seen that test too, although I can't remember where it was I read it.  I have been using Eezox for long term storage for about 10 years now and have been happy with it.  I fit more into the category of "firearms collector" than anything else, so corrosion protection is paramount for me.  I have dozens of guns that haven't been shot in over 15 years and I may never shoot.  They get treated entirely different (in terms of storage) than the select few I take to the range frequently.

Back on topic, I'm a little surprised that the Breakfree CLP aerosol fared worse than the liquid.  They definitely smell different, but I always attributed that to the propellant in the aerosol....

Tag.  Good article

Good work. I'll be waiting for updates

Wow, this is a great thread! I'm surprised about how well CLP did. Gives me even more faith in it. Great work, can't wait to see the rest of your experiment.  BD

great thread!

The military didn't pick it because it's trendy. It works. I was in Panama in the early 1990's and my weapon never rusted. Even after I cooked the barrel after a few engagements. It "dries" but still keeps it corosion and lubrication properties. Even back then. Good stuff, and the only stuff I use for all my weapons.

I'd tag it.

Thanks for taking the time for this write up! Very interesting.

excellent job

Great test. Since the CLP works better as a rust prohibitor does that mean it is a better lubricant? (Considering results of this test) I use FP-10 which works great as a lubricant but I saw a similar test as this once and it didn't fare well protecting against rust.

Awesome

Well shoot, now I gotta tag this.

in for epicness

I just went with CLP cause my brother recommended it and it was readily available.  Good to know it's gtg.

Thanks for your time and energy on this.  Mayeb you'll be the "Plate of Steel" guy to old painless's "Box of Truth"

Slips Ewl lube I belive is water based, so that's probably why it didn't bead up. Water can pretty much wash it off.
My two cents. All the lubes shown work on moving parts. A friend that did civil war renactements  turned me on to Birchwood casey Sheath ( they have since renamed it Barricade). Their guns were outside in all types of weather...  I use this on the outside of all my guns. A quick mist and a wipe with a clean rag and rust just doesn't happen. If my guns were to be outside in the atmosphere you show for your test I would probably consider using car wax.
I never tried it but from what I hear is start with a clean dry surface and apply something like the old green liquid turtle wax. Reapply before each trip outside. Like as in a hunting trip.

Amazing how all those lubricant treated surfaces actually rusted so much.  Very Interesting test, good stuff.  I use the TW25 in my guns, wondering how it performs now. Also Marine Tuff Cloth (wipedown the outside) performs.  Thanks sir.

I done the same test using degreased nails. I used motor oils in addition to gun lubes. WD40 and Break free where nose to nose.
So I use Break Free CLP for everything.

I now know with certainty I can throw a beautiful blue model 29 (Dirty Harry) revolver on my front lawn in the most humid time of the year, leave it there for a week and NOTHING will rust!

Cool testing!

Well look at that!  Good thread, thank you

While I appreciate the time and effort to do this test, I feel the need to point out something.

Your comparing lubricants with lubes with rust preventatives - it's not an apples to apples comparison. I'm not surprised at all that the Breakfree CLP isn't rusting. It's not supposed to.

Great thread. Tagged. I would love to see Mobil 1 added to the mix.

I use Slip 2000 so I'll be interested to see where this goes...

Thank you for the test.

Cool, it looks like I'm using the right stuff!  I'll stay tuned for the end results though.  Thanks for performing this test, great idea!

Now we need somebody with one of these to do a follow up.....
4 Ball Test

He is using common types of firearm lube that many apply and leave on for periods of time. Most people do not use specific "preservatives" for firearms that they shoot fairly often. Sometime these people go on vacation or don't shoot and clean their firearms for a while. This test is a decent indicator of the preservative powers of these chemicals.

Interesting thread but not surprising. Every time I've see a thread like this, BF CLP always wins the rust test. BUT... Before people starting throwing out their old stuff and running out to buy BF CLP, keep one thing in mind... this test only demonstrates the "P" part of CLP - i.e. Rust prevention and that is only one aspect of why we use CLP on our weapons.

I myself am not too worried about rust, at least not on my AR's. For one I'm a civilian so my weapons don't spends days\weeks\months outdoors at a time. I take them out, I use them, bring them home, clean them and lube them. On top of that, AR's have protective coatings on just about every part so even without any type of protectant, It's not likely your AR is going to rust up in your safe. YMMV but my house is climate controlled and I have never had anything in the house rust… lubed, coated or not.

What I'm more concerned with is the "L" part of CLP lube. It's a pretty well documented fact that AR's need to be properly lubed to run reliably. When I clean, lube and store my weapons it’s with the thought that at anytime I may need to grab one of those weapons to defend my family. That means they need to be cleaned, lubed and ready to go. That is where my issue with BF CLP comes from.

If I lube my weapon with BF CLP and put it in the safe, within a week or so, the weapon is almost bone dry. I’m sure some of it’s still there and from a “P” perspective, it’s still working but from an “L” perspective, almost nothing. I see that same thing when I go shooting. I’ll lube up right before I leave the house but after a couple of mags at the range, there is almost no trace of the CLP left.

I started using Slip 2000 CLP (EWR) about 1-2 years ago and have found it to be a much better “C” and “L”. If I lube using Slip CLP and check my weapon 2 weeks later, it’s still “wet” and I see the same thing at the range. 4-5 mags later and you can still clearly see the lube. That is why I made the switch to Slip 2000.

Just to be clear before I get jumped on… Obviously YMMV and I’m not saying that BF CLP is crap. I know it’s been used for decades and I used it myself for years. I’m just saying that for me and my uses, Slip 2000 is better for the reasons I listed. Because of it superior rust protection, I still use BF CLP on most of my tools in the garage

Slip 2000 EWL is marketed as a "CLP".

Great write up, please try eezox as well. This is all I use and would like to know how it rates.

tag

that's damn fine work. good job!!!

It appears BF CLP 2nd from the left is the winner so far.

Thanks for this however I have a comment.  It appears that most of the samples have rust showing and it doesn't even appear to matter that any oil was even applied.  I kinda find that hard to believe that after only a few days this steel has rust already showing even on places where the oil was applied.  If you notice the individual squares you can't tell a difference between where the oil was applied and where it was not.  This seems odd.  It's as if most of the oils had no effect at all.  I find this hard to believe.  Not questioning the OP however.

This got me thinking.  Would the type of steel being used make a difference?  I mean we're talking about weapons lube mostly here and it's been formulated to the steel used in making a weapon and not some cheap steel used in this test.  Perhaps the oil used in the test did not meet the bonding qualities required by the steel used.  Maybe this test needs to be tried using common household lubes(WD40, 3-in-1, etc) next to see if that makes a difference.

As some have pointed out most of the lubes used are mainly for lubing and not preserving however one would expect most oils to protect for more than a few days.  Were the lubing qualities washed away quickly?  Why?  Porous vs non porous metal?  Perhaps this test would be better performed on barrel grade steel.

Just some random thoughts!

And FYI I had already been under the impression that BF CLP was one of the best preservatives out there from reading what other people had to say.  At the very least least this test shows something about BF CLP is different.  ;-)

I USE ROYAL PURPLE

Royal Purple’s Synthetic Gun Oil is specifically formulated to provide exceptional protection against wear, rust and saltwater corrosion and fouling. It works well in a variety of temperatures and will not thicken in cold weather.

Its performance advantages come from Synerlec, Royal Purple’s proprietary chemical technology that strengthens the oil for unmatched performance and protection.

World Champion Sporting Clay Shooter and Elite Shooting School Instructor Bobby Fowler, Jr. said, “I’ve tried every gun lube out there. None of them compare to Royal Purple.”

http://www.royalpurple.com/gun-oil.html

now a time lapse camera would be awesome. nice write up, cool experiment. the AR world needs more of these.