I wanted to conduct my own corrosion test to see which one of my lubes would protect my weapons and fishing gear the best when exposed to an ocean water salt spray. Since I had fishing reels in mind along with weapons, I wanted to have parkerized steel, brass (reel gears are often brass) and aluminum test media. The media that I had on hand that would fulfill these parameters was Federal Lake City 5.56x45 stripper clips for the parkerized steel and the brass insert inside them. I selected aluminum foil tape for the aluminum test media. The salt water spray was water dipped directly out of the Atlantic ocean, filtered through a coffee filter to remove the sand, and loaded into a spray mister.

I inspected each stripper clip and insert and determined them to be free of any rust and corrosion. The tape was a new roll and it was cut into strips similar to the length and width of the stripper clip. All media was completely degreased with 91% isopropyl alcohol and heated to 175 degrees in a toaster oven to insure that all alcohol was removed. I also used small bright steel nails to nail the stripper clips to a 1x4 board. I used used nitrile gloves and a fresh cotton swab to apply product to insure that there was no cross contamination of lubes.

Once the test began they were completely covered with a saltwater mist once each day for a total of 7 days. On day 5 it rained for approximately 30 minutes which actually washed off some of the accumulated salt crust off the test media. The photos were taken this afternoon on day eight of the test.



1) Control: No protectants applied and there is significant rusting of the parkerized steel. There is a blue green patina all over the brass insert and just a hint of aluminum oxide forming on the aluminum strip. NOTE: this aluminum strip is the only one to show any sign of corrosion.

2) Breakfree CLP liquid from 2006: This is older style Breakfree is green in color with gray PTFE. Bottle marked MIL-L-63460 and it has a National Stock Number as well. There is slight surface corrosion of the steel and brass. Nail heads are starting to rust.

3) Breakfree aerosol: Can purchased from Wal-Mart on clearance when Winchester CLP went on the shelves. This product smells just like the Breakfree I was issued in the USAF 1995-1999. Its an amber color with no visible PTFE. Visible corrosion is starting to form on the steel and brass.

4) Safariland Breakfree CLP: Product purchased new this year. Amber colored liquid and no visible PTFE. Significant rust is starting to form on the steel and there is corrosion on the brass. These results seem to fall in line with people saying that this product is not as good as it used to be.




1) Froglube paste: I applied this product while the test media was still warm as per the manufacturer recommendations. Very slight almost imperceptible freckling of rust under the word ASSY on the stripper clip. Nail heads are starting to rust a bit and slight corrosion on the brass.

2) Slip2000 EWL:  Slight surface rust on the stripper clip, heavy rust on the nails, and large areas of discoloration on the brass. Rust appeared on the third day and hasn't gotten much worse since then.

3) Weapon Shield CLP: Rust forming on the stripper clip surface more than the Slip2000 and the nail heads show significant rust. Brass is discolored the same as the Slip2000. I must add that there was zero rust on the WS test media until day 5. On day 6 the corrosion cropped up and became much worse on day 7.

4) Eezox:  By far the best performing product. Only a freckle of rust on the nail heads and no corrosion on the stripper clip components.

5) TW25B: Applied to level 2 condition, grease is slightly to moderately visible. Very light surface corrosion to the stripper clip and there is moderate rust on nail heads. There is salt buildup on the brass but it just wipes off clean.



1) Tufoil Gun Coat: Very light surface corrosion to the stripper clip and there is moderate rust on nail heads. Brass is discolored and starting to corrode. The parkerization did not show any rust till day 6 with slight rusting of the nails.

2) Shell Rotella T5 10w30: Nail heads covered and rust is cropping up on the stripper clip. Brass is starting to corrode.

3) Pennzoil High Mileage 5w30: Nail heads rusty and stripper clip rustier than the Rotella. Brass is starting to corrode.
 
NOTE: I don't use motor oil on my firearms or fishing gear but I tossed these two in the mix just to see how they fared. I know Mobil 1 is the gold standard for those who use motor oil on firearms but I didn't have any to test here.

4) ReelX: For those that don't know what ReelX is it's CorrosionX with an additional EP additive. (This is straight from their website: Starting with the revolutionary CorrosionX core technology, we added a package of extreme pressure additives specifically engineered to make your fishing reels achieve their ultimate performance. ReelX contains no wax, tar, silicone or other solids, so it will never gum-up). There is significant rust rust cropping up on the stripper clip and just a small freckling of rust on the nail heads. Brass is starting to corrode. I have this product in all my reel spool bearings.

What do you guys think? I would like some feedback and discussion.

Cliff's Notes: Eezox worked to best for me in this non scientific test.

Appreciate it. You did good. 7 days of salt water spray is pretty hard core exposure.

Great little experiment, thank you for posting.

No WD40 in the lineup?  Did i miss it?

Note to self:
If the gun gets dunked in salt water don't let it sit for a week!

You know it sounds crazy but the few times I've used WD40 I hated the way it smelled. I never bothered in buying any because of that.

thanks. good info

Eezox continues to impress. I've never used it, but its always one of the best in these kinds of tests.

Neat. What were the top 5?

The only problem I've noticed is that rust tests present often wildly different results for each tester.
Even when the tests are done using laboratory test standards, you still get varying results with one product at the top on one test and not so good in someone else's test.

A second issue is that there's no easy method of testing the ability of a product to actually lubricate.
A product that works just great as a rust prevention product often offers little ability to lubricate.

This leaves us with non-repeatable test results, where each tester gets different results.
So it comes down to what your results are as to what works best for preventing rust for you.

Awesome experiment! Great info!

Cool test. I know it is ridiculous to just name stuff that "should" be included, but, Fluid Film.



WD40 will affect the color, at least on blued guns.

Looks good to me.
Ive done several corrosion tests and they tend to vary greatly.I don't do salt fog that much and focus on humidity and local environmentals in that regard.I live in a wet dank area and humidity is the issue.Hot or cold its stuffy mess here most of the year.Especially considering the rather large temp swings and high dew points.Relative humidity in my house averages around 65% most of the year no matter what I do.So I know what works for me and know the limits from actual use and backyard testing.

Yeah,as said previously repeatability is an issue with alot of the tests.But there is some consistency to all the tests in regards to the top performers.That said the tests are what they are and just kind of give a good idea of what works well enough under EXTREME conditions.Salt fog with environmentals thrown in are likely to be the worst case nightmare scenario for any gun owner unless they store their guns on the front deck of a boat in the Gulf.The products that routinely fair poorly are the ones exposed over and over again.

Variations in the top performers results just have to be taken into account for reference in the long term ability they offer and set that as the limit on the amount of exposure they can tolerate while in use,and try not to reach or exceed that limit.

Personally I would consider anything more than 24 hours of "neglect" with any type of metal item,no matter what lube is use, in a salt water contamination event would be excessive and needs to be maintained as soon as possible if its nothing more than a fresh water flush.Ive seen knives heavily frosted due to salt air/environment corrosion that were never even wet with salt water,so its not just guns and the lube thats used on it.

So while these tests are not the end all of tests they do have some presidence.

Totally agree with the statement regarding preservative vs. lubrication properties.Good example for me is the Eezox,IMHO its totally lacking as a lube for harsh/heavy use under extended round counts.Works fine for a very short time as a lube and has no ability to float said fouling off in use..Works more like a wax more than anything else in my experience.

Another good example Ive seen is the previously mentioned WD-40.I used it for years back in the late 70's and most of the 80's as my primary gun lube.It tests pretty darn good as a protectant but quickly fails as a lube on anything other than a bolt action rifle as it flashes off so fast under heat from firing and friction its not there for long..

The other side effect is if the rifle is lubed and used with WD-40,then not routinely,and completely,cleaned the WD-40 and powder fouling will turn into a gummy mess before long.Its not like the modern CLP's that can be applied and have the ability to break down and float off fouling even with extended cleaning intervals,the WD-40 just flashes off too fast leaving muddy like layers.In fact I had a Remington 742 and Model 4 gum completely up and stop running from hosing the actions out with WD-40 and not completely cleaning.The layer of funk got to the point that it affected the working tolerances and hosing with WD-40 just added to the muddy layers over time,and in my case years of use.Was it really WD-40 at fault in my case,well no I should have disassembled and cleaned the rifles even with difficult disassembly of those platforms.But its certainly not as effective as the modern CLP's.I can say I never saw a spec of rust though in all the years I used WD-40.

Today I began another rust test to include:
1) Eezox (since it did the best in my last experiment)
2) Boeshield T-9
3) WD-40
4) Muscle Products PL-10 lithium complex grease
5) Pro-Shot 1 Step
6) Safariland Breakfree CLP (since it did so poorly last time rechecked to see if it's
performance last time was come sort of anomaly)

Check back for an update in a week.

Looking forward to the results.

eeZox for me

Rust tests are nice and I appreciate the info.

However, I think it is more important to choose an oil based on lubrication, friction, especially when it gets hot.

Just don't choose a lube solely based on rust testing alone unless you are for long term storage.

To me a rust preventative oil and lube are usually two different products.

I currently use Mil-Comm products for lube and Boeshield or Eezox for a rust preventative on the exterior.

Nice little experiment, thanks for posting.

This is a fair statement. The two are not mutually exclusive, however. Meaning a substance "could" be a great rust preventer and great lube. It doesn't minimize the posts content (as I am sure you are not implying)... I just liked that you pointed it out.
What would be a "fair" lube test? I remember some steel ball and a drill from years ago on wonder lubes....
Wags

Oh, and I am a huge fan of Eezox.... as a rust preventative... I know it works great! Long story short... newly machined cast iron surface.... fire, eezox coated, walk on it a couple times a month.... only a few spots of rust since April....
I think it works great as a lube. This is of course not specific to "how great" or vs brand x. I just know I use it, stuff runs smoother... I'm happy.
Wags

+1
I think the "CLP" concept can narrow peoples thinking.  A true "CLP" is great if you only can have one item (ie. in the field) or if you just want to make it as simple as possible.  But you get into the "Jack of all trades, master of none" area.
I think the ideal thing is to clean witha  cleaner, lubricate with a good lube (oil and grease depending on the application) and a good protector to keep your nice blued guns from rusting.

Case in point: there was a recent thread asking about WD-40 to get rid of water after ultrasonic cleaning and then using lube.  Lots or responses to him condeming WD40 as "bad lube" "doesn't protect" etc. etc.  In reality, WD40 would be fine for what the original post asked about, since he wasn't planning on using it for a lube or protector.  Similaryly, can't condem Mobil-1 since it doesn't protect well, as long as you are using it for a lube (and something else to protect) (I don't use Mobil-1, just an example from this thread).  Right tool for the job, I say.

Not sure on how to do friction testing. But I would looking into Motor Oil companies and how they test.  I would check out  Bob is the Oil Guy

You definitely want to somehow measure friction when hot.

It's true that the various rust tests often have widly different results, but some products are pretty consistent.
Eezox almost always does well in the rust prevention category, as does WD40.  Breakfree CLP is usually in the better third of the results.  Militec-1 is almost always the worst product tested.

So looking at all the tests you can get an idea of what works.  For rust prevention anyway.

As to it's lubrication ability that is the most important, but unless you live in a low humidity location, rust prevention is kind of important.  If your out all day, or for a weekend in rainy or humid weather you can have rust form in hours.  A poor rust preventative would still leave you with a rusty gun.

When I attempted to purchase the Ezox I found that the cost of shipping was more than the product. $15 for the product + $15 for shipping and I can go to my local supply house and get a lot of lubes for $30.

$13.74 shipped from Amazon.

I get mine locally, $7.50 for a 4oz can.