I did take this test out longer than the first test. The humidity varied more in the summer (current test) than the winter (first test) and the time of day may have some effect on the humidity.



If you noticed the BF CLP seemed to work longer in the first experiment but it was in the middle of winter. Possibly the cold helped it stay put longer in winter? It took four days in this test for signs of rust with the BF CLP but five days in the winter. Maybe it washed off with the rain in the heat? The difference between the spray can CLP and the squirt bottle CLP and the BF LP seemed consistent.



This time the EWL Lasted far longer than in the first test. The pics form the first test show that The EWL streaked in the winter and showed rust after four days but lasted almost 17 days in the summer. Does the heat of the summer help the EWL bond better with the crystalline structure of the metal? Maybe I'll try it in my bbl and see if the lands get cleaner with each use.



There is no question that Eezox lasted very well in the summer but I did not test it in the winter. I've seen this in other tests online.



It is obvious that some products did poorly in the winter as well as the summer.



The indoor test is still going and I want to see how long it takes to develop rust on the control. Another reason I did this test was because I think my Colt 1911 had a little rust from being in the safe. The weapon felt rough but there was no visible rust however, when I cleaned it the metal felt smoother and the white surgical sponge I used to clean had a very light brownish tint. The finish still looked perfectly fine.



Some of these products may be perfectly fine lubes especially in a pinch to keep the rifle running however I'm pretty sure the EWL, CLP and now Eezox will be in my cleaning kits for now on. If I were in a situation where I used and cleaned my weapon daily I think the lubricating and cleaning properties would be more important to me.



I think I'll have to run one more test on the EWL just to see some reproducibility.



Stay tuned for the update on the indoor test.



11July10: (day 28)

Indoor 22:35 T:73 H:70











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21Aug10: (day 69) Rust starting to form on the non protected areas (corners, control, and in between areas) and surprisingly on the area protected by Bob Marvels

Indoor 18:46 T: 77 H: 76









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26Nov10: 5 months

Indoor

Quite a write-up.

What are you going to use now?

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SoCal,
Thanks again for all of your work. Very well done & informative.

To me, what's really telling is how bad some common oils did at the 4-day mark. I think that is an important time because you might have shot in the rain, got home late (or whatever) and you didn't have time to clean your guns right away. Your info might put some urgency into some peoples cleaning routine.

For the overall ratings, according to the pics, looks like the best 3 in this order are: Slip2000 EWL, EEzox, CLP Collector. Seeing it live, Is that how you would rate them?

I was surprised to see that TW25B grease did so poorly. I always thought "grease" was the best??

I'm sure you'll get another pile of "sugestions", so let me get mine in early. Next test, take 3 or 4 of the best oils from this test, put each oil on a different one of the fine looking AR's in the pictures, and see how they hold up. Don't forget to have one for the "control"!   Now THAT would be taking one for the team...

Seriously though, great job. Thanks a lot!

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Thanks for the info I found the results a little shocking, some of my old stand by's did not do so good makes a person really think things over.

Thanks for the great work.

TAG.

So Cal this is a fantastic write up and experiment......this is the stuff that I like to read about....as an engineer in the machinery business and R&D department, your approach to the problem is great, the control specimen and etc is great.....

I use Slip 2000 and I was glad to see it fared well.....I was disappointed in the Mobil 1, as I work for the BIG company that makes the stuff.

77

Great write up, the photos were a dramatic indicator.





Thanks for the time and effort expended.





I too was surprised by the results of the outside test.
 

Damn.










 

Excellent write up, perhapse the difference in the test times in the CLP and EWL could be tested by doing two more plates with multiple samples of each.

The average would take out some of the variability.

However at this point its like splitting hairs

Very good read, thank you

I noticed in your frist test the plates got pretty wet.  This could have washed away the EWL leaving the metal unprotected.

If you are going to retest, maybe you should protect one sample treated with EWL from direct moisture.

Although I live in California, I have spent several years in MA, NY, and NJ.  I understand why you are so concerned about rust haha.


Thanks for taking the time to do these tests.  While, as you mentioned, they are not scientific in the truest sense, they are still informative.  We don't use our guns in labortories afterall.

If it will wash away then it might not be the best gun preservative after all.

Some one should also try the old LSA lube..that stuff is pretty thick and always stays put.

Well done SoCalTrojanSoldier!!  I'm glad that my two mainstays for my safe queens came out on the top end.  Definitely reassured me of my choices.  Thanks again for the hard work!!

EWL is the best lube I have ever used, bar none. I use it exclusively here in Afghanistan. I use it on my M4, M249, M9, M240, and M2 .50 cal. It works extremely well in all of these aplications. It doesn't burn off easy, and best of all it doesn't attract dust. My m4 and M2 will stay relatively dust free on the insides  and be able to go without rigorous cleaning after protracted patrols and even sandstorms. Wipe down the outside and the inside is still clean. I love this stuff, and the best thing is, they sent it to me for free. Before I deployed they asked if they could send me a bunch of lube for my unit to deploy with, I said absolutely and they sent me a ton of it. They are stand up guys with an incredible product. Can't recommend it enough.

Nice job SoCal!    


I like seeing that EWL did so well because that's what I use more than anything.  I'm trying out some TW25B and was pretty surprised at how it performed.   I was kind of expecting it to do better than some others being a grease and all.  

Thanks for posting this!  This was very interesting and  informative.

Tag.  Nice write up.  I've seen other tests like this.  I'm surprised Break-Free CLP did not do better.  It'd performed closer to Eezox in the other tests I have seen.

I'm curious––Did you use the same kind of steel in both tests?  I suspect direct exposure to the weather explainst the differences between your tests, but it would be interesting to do the same test with the steels and finishes used in ARs (e.g. parked 4150, 8620, etc.).

Good job.  Thanks.

Thanks everyone for your input.  The indoor test is still ongoing.  I used the same steel plates from Lowes but I don't know the quality...just welders grade.



The indoor ones don't show any rust yet. This week it's been really hot and humid.  We'll see.

apparently the old fashioned Breakfree CLP still works pretty good.

Updated indoor test in OP

Thanks a lot!



Off topic but how does your Cav Arms compensator work?

As you can see, I live in a ban state and thus have to use a compensator rather than a FH/FS. The Cav Arms compensator is on my LWRC and this is the loudest and most offensive of the compensators that I have. It seems to work just as well as the PWS FSC556 in controlling muzzle rise but has a larger concussion when standing behind and to the side about 5'. My POF has the POF compensator has the worst concussion when directly next to the shooter. And the most of the rest of my rifles have the PWS FSC556 which seems to have the least concussion and is the least offensive to other shooters to the side.



It seems that the pistons are louder and have a larger concussion than the gas DI.

Thanks for the info. As far as the test, do you think the reason the outside test failed a lot faster was because the rain washed away the lubes? It's interesting that earlier tests of Slip2000 show it not being very rust resistant but this current one shows otherwise. Maybe they altered the formula slightly?





It seems that the inside test is going to last a long long time. Heck the control isn't even rusted at all.
 

I'm also confused with the performance of the Slip EWL.  I plan on doing the test again but just with the Slip EWL and the BF CLP.  These are the lubes I use the most.  I was thinking that possibly I did not shake the Slip EWL before the first test and definitely the snow probably had something to do with it.



For the weapons that really don't get used much I'll be using the EEZOX.  I have a NIB Colt 1911 reproduction that actually got me thinking about doing the test.

+1, awesome test!



i've always loved Eezox



 

Thanks for the test!

Nothing much to say that hasn't already been said, great write up!

I just wish it could have included gunzilla to see how well it protects against rust.

Cheap wd40 aint that bad

One I would have liked to see is balistol.  I use synthetic motor oil, like mobile 1. oz

I recently had a handgun that was lubed with TW25B oil rust on me.

First time for everything.

Looks like I'll be sticking with Slip!! Thanks for the write up!

If you do another test i suggest you include the new M-Pro7 LPX.
Thanks for taking the time to do the two tests.

I realize you can't test every product but I'm curious as to why Weapon Shield wasn't tested.

X2. I am interested in seeing ballistol as well.

I am impressed with the testing methodology except the "wiping down to a sheen" part.

I would prefer the draw down method where a set amount of product is pulled by an apparatus.

Otherwise, a great comparo.

Thank you for an excellent job on this Test.

Nice project keep up the good work.

Thanks for the test!

Would have liked to have seen Red Lithium wheel bearing grease though...  That's what I use on everything.

This testing was with light weight oils and lubes unless I missed something. There were no thick products used or tested like a Red Lithium wheel bearing grease. That would not be comparing apples to apples that would be like comparing apples to oranges.  If a guy wanted to test out greases and only grease that would be a fare comparrision. The consistancy of grease being so thick would have to be applied at a pre-determined thickness and then all others would follow suit. Grease should outlast almost any of these thinn lubes used in this test. Might be fun to try for the fun of it..


Sorry, guess I did miss the TW25 Grease. Wow had not noticed this. Oh well, dosnt look like it did very well anyway. A grease test may just be in the works here for me..

Wow, I just found this. This should be locked at the top of this topic.

=======================================

I did a "grease test" of my own and was shocked at how bad grease did overall. Don't know why but thin EEZox and BF Collector easily beat the greases I tried.

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i really like this test. kinda funny if you think of it in a ounce vs dollar thing wd 40 did not do to bad.

Well done sir.   For the price WD40 does a good job for a every day spray lube.

I vote sticky

great work

Great stuff! Hopefully you can try the other stuff out there to see how it performs. Thanks.

Good work.

I use CLP for normal storage and Breakfree Collector for long term storage, in lieu of Cosmoline.

The CLP washed off in your test. It's pretty thin to begin with and moves around very easily. Collector is much thicker and stays where you put it.

In any case, no one is going to leave their guns out in the rain for days on end without cleaning, so IMO CLP is still the winner overall.

New update in OP indoor test 5+ months.

Thanks.

Interesting that your Nov 26 plates show different rust patterns for control on plate one and plate two.

I agree. I was thinking the same thing.  Same metal, pretreated the same.  I haven't touched the plates since the start and I might be surprised to see whats on the other side.