Is CLP (Breakfree) a good oil for resisting wear?

I've used Slip 2000 EWL before, but I noticed that while the bolt stayed wet, I still got a bunch of wear on the inside of my upper reciever as well as on my glocks. I use a pretty generous amount too.

I don't like to use grease if I can avoid it, I live in WI and it gets cold up here. I had an AR that was full of grease completely freeze up last year haha

There was a thread somewhere discussing  G96 as a lube for use for cold weather.

Mobil1 10W-40

Not entirely true.

Mobile 10W40 is way to thick, with a kinematic visocity of 107 cSt at 40C.  Even the thinner 5W30 oils run in the 60 to 70 cSt range.

A good gun lubricant should be around 15 to 20 cSt at that temperature.

Also, typical engine oils have wear scar (ASTM D4172) of 0.6 to 1.0, Royal CLP has a wear scar of 0.4 and G96 and Breakfree have wear scars of 0.5.

People fail to understand all oil is not equal.  Motor oils are thick and designed to work best at temperatures in the 100 to 110 C range.  Gun oils need to work best at -10 to 60 C.

For comparison, Slip 2000 has a wear scar of 0.68.

Don't put so much grease in your AR that it is "full of grease."  Just apply it to wear points like the bottom rails on the BCG and rails of the upper receiver.  Use CLP of other oil on other areas.  I use Cherrybalmz in this manner.  They make a light-weight grease just for very cold temps.



https://www.cherrybalmz.com/product-page/winter-balm

Source of 15-20 being best for gun lubes besides sales literature?

I’ve ran all sorts of lubes in all sorts of guns. In my experience, the majority of gun specific lubes are too thin and disappear quickly, especially shooting suppressed. Engine oil is what I’ve been using for 8+ years now, and that includes subzero temps. It hasn’t been an issue for me. Gun tolerances aren’t that close to know the difference.

I’ve never bought Cherry Balmz, but there seems to be enough successful users to disprove the 15-20 thing.

You know the answer from your shill thread.

Oil viscosity is governed by the load applied normal to the oil film.

Engines see loads of several thousand pounds on the bearings.  What is the load applied to a bolt carrier oil film (perpendicular to the direction of travel)?

So I looked at MIL-PRF-63460F, a performance spec for CLP. It calls for a viscosity of 14 cSt minimum at 40C, but notes that’s with the solvent.  What might that look like after the solvent has evaporated?

I’ve been using an ISO grade 68 synthetic oil (Synco Super Lube), so 68 cSt at 40C. What would be the downside to this this more viscous oil — too thick at low temperatures?

I get what you’re getting at, but a lightweight oil is worthless if the oil has blown away while shooting suppressed, or it ran away/evaporated before you get a chance to shoot.

The highest “hard part” wear from friction that I’ve experienced in AR’s is upper wear from the cam pin. That area experiences pressure friction and sliding friction as the round is fed into the chamber. It’s also a location that sees a lot of gasses and grit from the gas tube. It’s hard enough keeping a thick oil in that location, much less with a thin oil. The only solution with a lightweight oil would be drowning the upper in oil, but that would be horribly messy suppressed.

I do agree on the principle that you can go too thick. I’ve tried grease and noticed faster wear than oil. A comment made elsewhere by Foxtrot08 shed light that grease will hold onto grit and will become abrasive. I never experienced malfunctions with grease though.

Before I got my cans, I used Amsoil 0w30 Signature.  The rifles ran longer, especially in frigid temps.

After getting suppressors, I quickly learned that I did not like the taste of Amsoil, and that vapor burned the shit out my nasals.  I ingested enough engine oil in my career, so I went with a gun lube after that (reportedly not as toxic)


G96, Lucas Extreme, and Slip EWL are all great, now.

I have used Mobil 1 10w30 for years.  

Why not a synthetic ATF fluid?

Works great!  I used to soak my BCGs in Allison TranSynd to clean them.  The smell is the worst thing about it, and why I changed to 0w30 synthetic

I have noted the least cam pin wear when using CherryBalmz. They have a very robust add pack and a very light consistency that is stable in very cold temps. Sadly, they are discontinuing a lot of stuff due to the sole world supplier having issues of some nature.

The AR15 will wear out as you use it. The cam pin area, and the four rail tracks and the bolt lugs will all have wear to it. On many uppers, it comes at different times. Sometimes right away after using it but other times it takes a little while but eventually it wears. Sometimes a few 100 rounds other a few 1000s rounds. But eventually they all wear at the same places.

So you shouldn't look at oil/grease as a wear but if it is keeping the gun running all the time and smoothly.

Mobil 1 10-30 for all my rifles (w/ the exception of my M1a) and duty pistol. Haven't had a single issue.