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Posted: 10/28/2007 10:31:00 AM EDT
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Hopefully with some new chemicals. The lineup: CLP- Breakfree CLP LSA- mil surplus LSA (Lubricant Small Arms) SG- Swiss rifle grease M1- Mobil 1 motor oil (20-50w) ATF- Dexron II automatic transmission fluid MGL- Machine Gunner's Lube (sample from Larue) CONTROL- nothing applied after cleaning The setup: Each clip had the brass removed and the center channel cleaned with acetone on a fresh swab. During and after cleaning nitrile gloves were used to handle the clips. The clips were then attached to the plastic board with double sided tape. Each lubricant was then applied using a separate foamy swab. Lubricant was applied so that each clip was shiny, but the lube wasn't dripping or runny when held upright. Salt water was mixed up using 25g of rock salt in 500g of water. The clips were misted until water droplets began running off. The whole test board is stored outside, protected from direct exposure. The plan: Take pictures each day then spray with salt water. Continue until rust is evident on all samples. BSW Day 0 (weather at noon: 54F, 57% RH)  Day 1 (weather at noon 50F, 83% RH) Some light freckling noted on the control, no other rust seen. Spraying the clips in the morning and at night after taking pics.  detail of control  Day 2 (weather at noon 49F, 80% RH) More obvious rust on the control sample. No rust seen on any of the protected samples.  Day 3 (weather at noon 44F, 85% RH) No rust on the protected clips. The surface rust has progressed on the control. After 3 days of being hit with 5% salt water, any protectant is better than nothing.  Day 4 (weather at noon 51F, 65% RH) No significant change from yesterday.  Day 5 (weather at noon 45F, 71% RH) No significant change from yesterday.  Day 6 (weather at noon 50F, 71% RH) No rust on anything except the control. I had really expected failures by now.  Day 7 (weather at noon 56F, 80% RH)  Day 8 (weather at noon 56F, 69% RH) Day 9 (weather at noon 52F, 69% RH) Droplets on the clips are from fog. 93%RH as of 1853. BSW  Day 10 (weather at noon 49F, 80% RH)  Day 11 (weather at noon 51F, 78% RH) Day 12 (weather at noon 53F, 96% RH) Starting to get some staining at the top of the ATF and Mobil 1. Not sure if this is rusting of the protected area or rust stains from the top of the clip.  Day 13 (weather at noon 55F, 59% RH) Light rust on the ATF, Mobil 1 and Machine Gunner's lube.   Day 14 (weather at noon 52F, 71% RH)  Day 15 (weather at noon 52F, 86% RH) All 3 'gun specific' products: CLP, LSA, Swiss Rifle grease remain free from rust.  Day 16 (weather at noon 51F, 68% RH)  Day 17 (weather at noon 52F, 44% RH)  Day 18 (weather at noon 49F, 93% RH) Some discoloration seen at the bottom of the LSA and Swiss grease clips. Not sure if this is staining from the unprotected areas of these clips.  Day 21 (weather at noon 45F, 90% RH) Slacked off over the weekend. Generally rainy weather on the days I missed. Small rust spots seen on CLP clip, many larger rust spots on the LSA clip. Swiss rifle grease is the only clip with no rusting on the protested area.    |
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Brian, Looks like an interesting test. Glad to see M1 20W50 in the line-up alongside some other alternatives. Haven't had the time to conduct such tests and looking forward to the pending results. Just out of curiosity, is the salt spray that you have applied at the onset of the test going to be the only application of salt spray or were you going to do it on a daily basis? Anyway, thanks in advance for doing this experiment and keeping us advised of the results. I really enjoy these backyard experiments since I think that they replicate "real world" conditions so much better than many lab tests. TK |
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I was planning on spraying down the clips each morning. I used clips because I wanted to try steel that had been parkerized, like most of my firearms. If I had a lab with a salt fog test apparatus already set up I would be using that. This setup is cheap and I already had all the parts. BSW |
M1 is a mediocre performer. I say it does about like the greases, depending on whether he wiped them or just smeared them. My money is on good ol' CLP! |
Nope. I only coated the center channel of the clips, rust around the edges doesn't count. I eyeball the clips pretty closely to look for the 1st signs of rust. The LSA and Machine Gunners Lube were still clean last night. BSW |
| Nope, Rem-Oil is just a lubricant without significant cleaning or protective properties. It will keep rust off of a blued gun in a low humidity environment and will clean somewhat, but not as good as CLP. It is also not particularly good at lubrication, either. |
use em on squeeky car door hinges. Noone lubes those and they all rust. Rem-oil has caused me more annoyance than it has done good. Here in the south it wont keep rust off a stainless barrel practically. |
No kidding...this is more a testament to parkerizing than to oils, in my opinion. I was in a gunsmith's shop after Katrina hit and was looking at some "rescued" weapons. All of the parkerized guns with chrome bores made it through full submersion in a safe in Gulfport without a hitch. (Some small internal parts like springs had to be replaced). All of the blued guns were ruined beyond salvage. According to the gunsmith, the owner's house was demolished and it was 3 days before he was able to find the safe and hose off the guns. In my own experience, I had just cleaned up my grandfather's antique tools, Japanese Arisaka and Colt pocket pistol with Breakfree Collector before Katrina took out their house on the beach in Gulfport. The Arisaka was salvagable since it had a chrome bore. The pocket pistol was a bit worse for wear, but it was salvagable since it was buried in rubble that was constantly inundated with fresh water that was spraying from a broken pipe. (They spent 2 days buried in sand after total immersion). The really cool thing was the tools. Other than the saw blades, all of the wrenches, screwdrivers and other tools were in great shape after being buried under 1.5 feet of sand for over FIVE MONTHS!!! It took us that long to locate the resting place for the contents of the attic (it was a quarter of a mile away from the slab). Of course, we went into drought conditions right after the storm, so it wasn't wet, but I was still really impressed. |
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