SO JUST HOW SHOULD ONE TEST LUBRICITY?? I KNOW HOW......

chief38

chief38

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Over the years, my favorite 3 in one gun juice has been Rig #2 Oil. Now most here know that when you combine 3 different aspects (cleaning, lubrication & rust prevention) of a "gun juice" there are compromises and while my coveted Rig #2 Oil is still my Fav / go-to, it is not the BEST at any single purpose.

Over the years I've read article after article, watched video after video and have tested MANY of the "gun juices", all in one's, etc. personally. Heck, I've got a metal storage locker full of them! :o

Everyone here has their own way of judging just how good the lubricity is of their favorite potion and many might even have a particular firearm that is a bit stiff, sticky or functions inconsistently when the wrong lube is used. So I will give you guys my own "Litmus Test" but don't laugh....... :o :o

I live in my home for 23 years now and after we moved in we expanded the house, gutted it and there is almost nothing here left from the house the way we purchased it. The exception is a huge and heavy (really heavy) sliding glass door that goes from my Den onto my Patio. I don't have any idea what brand it is as there is no name on it that I cold ever find. All I can tell you is that the Thermopane insulated glass is thicker and heavier than any sliding glass door I have ever seen anywhere else. It also works GREAT and that is why it is one of the very few items in my home that I have not replaced. That said, it is REALLY heavy and even though the roller bearings work perfectly, unless it is lubricated on a weekly basis, my Wife needs two hands to open it!

Over the 23 years we live here I have been constantly experimenting with new lubricants - mostly "Gun Lubes". About 2 years ago I found that the Birchwood Casey Synthetic Gun Oil worked exceptionally well and lasted longer than any other one I've tried. I've been using that for 2 years now and have been pretty happy with it. Unfortunately, BC took out the Teflon (health concerns they said) and the new version just doesn't work as well. :(

5 weeks ago I bought a new Sig Sauer P365 and in the owners instruction manual ( I read it on line prior to picking up gun) they recommended CLP. So while at the gun store that day I picked up a bottle of the very popular "gun juice" that I never tried before (no particular reason) which was Break Free CLP (4 oz bottle). It seems to work very well on the gun but since it is now so cold here, the glass sliding door was a Bear to open and close. I used the BF CLP on it and it beats the BC Syn. Gun Oil for both performance & longevity! So far this is the best Gun Juice I've seen so far - at least in the lubricity department. I can open and close the door now with one finger! Also because the BF-CLP doesn't really smell, Cody (my Golden Retriever) doesn't keep sniffing at it all day long as he did with the B/C Syn. Oil. :D

OK, while this may not exactly be scientific and it's not being tested solely on firearms, I know no better "test" for heavy contacting surfaces to test lubricity with. So even though this might seem a little funky, to me it's a great way to test the lubricity of a product. Not saying that BF CLP is the best at everything - it's still too new to me, but as far as a lubricant, my sliding door says it's #1 so far!! :D :D
 
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REGARDING THE DOOR

We have a similar door with similar issues. We tried lubes, candle wax, replacing the rollers. I thought maybe the house shifted & the opening was no longer square. The fix we found, was to replace the track. It now opens/closes with 1 finger, almost too easy, requires no lube, no gunk build up. The only problem is not slamming it open or closed. AS for lube & guns, I guess I'm old school & solvent is for cleaning & oil is for lubricating/preserving. Still can't wrap my head around shampoo & conditioner in the same bottle. :rolleyes: Whatever blows your skirt up.
 
I have used Break Free for nearly 30 years. Yes, I have tried a few other "magic" blends over the year, but always go back to Break Free for lube. I still use Hoppe's #9 for handgun cleaning, and on my better guns that don't get constant use I use Renaissance Wax for protection. Works for me.
 
chief38,
FWIW, I have also had great experience with the BC synthetic gun oil. I generally like BC products, so I bought a can of their synthetic gun oil. I certainly have not tried nearly all the gun lubricants, but I have used a good many different brands and types over a good many years. The BC has been slicker than fresh snot on a doorknob for me, and it does not take a lot of it to do the job. In my experience, it does not seem to collect dust and dirt and lint, etc like many gun oils do. In the beginning, I used a bit too much, and am still kind of surprised at how little it takes in the right places to really make a gun run. About once a month or so, when I'm carrying a small semi auto (Sheild) daily, I'll remove the slide and wipe and brush and blow things out and off, then reapply the BC SGO in the appropriate places. Sure keeps things working smoothly, plus I have fired as many as 500 rounds at a time at the range and the gun was still running just fine after. I haven't been tempted to try anything else. I also use this stuff on my hair clippers, my electric razor, and a few other things that benefit from being lubricated by it. I use a small bottle with a needle type oiling spout that will dispense just a small drop exactly in the places where I want it to go. It sure works fine for me!
 
kthom said:
chief38,
FWIW, I have also had great experience with the BC synthetic gun oil. I generally like BC products, so I bought a can of their synthetic gun oil. I certainly have not tried nearly all the gun lubricants, but I have used a good many different brands and types over a good many years. The BC has been slicker than fresh snot on a doorknob for me, and it does not take a lot of it to do the job. In my experience, it does not seem to collect dust and dirt and lint, etc like many gun oils do. In the beginning, I used a bit too much, and am still kind of surprised at how little it takes in the right places to really make a gun run. About once a month or so, when I'm carrying a small semi auto (Sheild) daily, I'll remove the slide and wipe and brush and blow things out and off, then reapply the BC SGO in the appropriate places. Sure keeps things working smoothly, plus I have fired as many as 500 rounds at a time at the range and the gun was still running just fine after. I haven't been tempted to try anything else. I also use this stuff on my hair clippers, my electric razor, and a few other things that benefit from being lubricated by it. I use a small bottle with a needle type oiling spout that will dispense just a small drop exactly in the places where I want it to go. It sure works fine for me!
Click to expand...

Yup, still an excellent product! I just wish they had not removed the Teflon..... :(
 
Protocall_Design said:
Break Free CLP is good stuff. Shake it up before each use, as it has tiny Teflon beads that settle to the bottom while on the shelf.
Click to expand...

Not any more.
Some years ago Breakfree changed the formula to a type of Teflon that can't be seen.
You still need to shake the bottle but there are no microscopic beads to settle in newer versions.

Here's one of the few lubricant tests that isn't just a rust test. This one uses a friction device to gauge how well it lubricates.....

Results of gun care product evaluation - Shooters Forum

I've used CLP Breakfree since the late 70's. A National Guard officer gave me part of a quart bottle they were issued to use to clean M48 and M60 tank cannon barrels.
I've been using it ever since as a rust prevention coating and as lubricant on my AR-15 rifles.

Another excellent lubricant I've used for many years is Synco Super Lube.
This is a clear-white synthetic Teflon bearing lubricant.
It's available as a thick grease, and as a oil that's a thick oil-thin grease consistency.

I used it for years on my own and on customer guns.
I've opened up customer guns that I lubed with Super Lube as much as 10 years earlier to find it still there and working.
The thick oil stays where you put it and won't run off, sling off, evaporate or dry out, or wick out.
This makes it ideal for a CCW pistol because unlike most thin lubes the Super Lube stays put and working.

Just as an experiment I lubed my Kahr Arms K9 with Super Lube oil on most parts and the grease on the slide and frame rails, the barrel, and the sear.
I carried the gun every day for a full year without any servicing.
After a year I did a full strip and the Super Lube was still there, still working.

You can buy Super Lube in small tubes of grease and needle oilers, and in a spray grease that comes out of the can as a liquid, hits and sticks, the carrier evaporates and leaves a coat of thin grease.

I bought the larger cans of the grease, and 4 ounce bottles of the oil.

Super Lube
 
I've had very good results with Corrosion X.
Watch it climb the threads in the vid on this page-
CorrosionX
It migrates!
When I photo guns for sale ads, I wipe all oil off before taking the pics. If the gun has had Corrosion X applied to it, I only have seconds to photo the sideplate area before the Corrosion X starts migrating out of the seam and forming an ever widening band at the seam. I have to wipe it multiple times while taking the pics. Same thing occurs beside the hammer- it creeps out of the guts and starts spreading across the hammer and the edges of the frame.



CorrosionX for Guns the best CLP for gun cleaning, maintenance, performance and storage


It has a lower coefficient of friction than even full synthetic motor oils.
 
I've read and heard great things about Super Lube. Apparently, that is what Snap-on tools uses inside their Ratchets. When you get a Ratchet rebuild kit from Snap-on, there is a small tube of it in the kit to lube the gears.

I am not aware of their Oil but I will read about that too.

Corrosion X must be relatively new as I've not seen it in any LGS yet. In fact, I don't recall seeing it listed on Midway's or Brownell's yet either. Yet another one to try......
 
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Outta maintaining 6 sliding glass doors until replacements (1 six footer left) ..... the secret goo to slick-up aluminum: marine foot dope!

First time trying it on a dragging heavy aluminum door, nearly broke the glass out unintentionally slamming it.
 
WORTH A LOOK SEE.

Take a peek at the rails on the floor track of the door. If they become rounded, dinged, flattened, or otherwise not in original condition over time & rolling/dragging heavy items over them, no amount of goop will repair them. Tracks & roller wheels in good condition should work fine dry.
 
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nachogrande said:
Take a peek at the rails on the floor track of the door. If they become rounded, dinged, flattened, or otherwise not in original condition over time & rolling/dragging heavy items over them, no amount of goop will repair them. Tracks & roller wheels in good condition should work fine dry.
Click to expand...

Thanks - I just inspected it as best I could. Everything looks ro be in good shape, even after all these years. I don't know what this door weighs or what brand it is, and truthfully I've never seen a Thermopane Glass so thick! It looks like it's either 1/8" or 3/16" thick glass times two. Most Thermopanes are 5/8" - 3/4" total thickness and this one is an inch. So I think the only issue I have is its weight and size. I even checked the adjustable wheel height for being level - it was pretty close and only had to tweak it one click on one wheel.

Truthfully, this door is built like a WW2 Bunker and it really keeps out the windy and cold. The frame is all Vinyl and there is no wood in it to paint or rot. So far the BF-CLP has performed quite well and even though it's in the 20's here the door has been sliding perfectly. I think I will keep a small bottle of the CLP right in the Den, nearby :)

PS: I just get the feeling this was a custom made door and not an off the shelf model from a Home Depot or Lowes. Since the previous owner installed it, I'll never know.
 
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OK - Here's a very perplexing conundrum! Last night I watched videos on Corrosion X, Eezox, and a mass testing of many that dfariswheel posted the link to on another Forum (which was quite interesting bye the way). It seems to me that in different tests by different people, results are never the same! Could the metal they are testing be that different. Could the salt water concentrations that the tester's are using be so different? Are the results purposely monkeyed with? Are the tester's forgetting to shake up the products prior to application? Who knows...........
 
Rust tests vary wildly.
Even when done under near laboratory conditions and standards the results are usually so different as to be almost useless.
The reason you see many rust tests is because they're easy to do.
Gauging lubrication not so much. That requires a method of testing and that requires some sort of test bed.

That's why I liked the wider based testing I linked to.
Preventing rust is only one factor in choosing a lubricant, and the linked test is the only one I've seen that did a repeatable lubrication test.

I'd posit that rust resistance is of far less importance then how well a lubricant lubricates a firearm.
A totally rust free firearm is not as critical as one that fires repeatedly when needed.
It all plays a part in choosing a lubricant, but the key is what works for you.
 
I stopped trying to over-think lubricants for guns some years ago. ;) I've found other hobbies I enjoy more.

Having listened to my fair share of thoughts from gun company factory techs, lubricant companies, other firearm instructors and armorer instructors (26 classes, it seems, since I tried to gather up all my certificates and count them a year ago) ... it changes almost as quickly as opinions form.

I've watched the armorer bench at my former agency collect all manner of oils and greases, as different armorers "liked" one or another, or felt victim to the latest snake oil from some class they attended. :p

"Practical" tests done by interested hobbyists and even professionals, published in magazines or online? Ditto. Everyone's got an opinion and their own experiences. Consistency is a difficult thing to find. ;)

A couple years ago I came across yet another in a long line of synthetic oils I thought I'd add to the bunch I've tried over the years at my home bench. It's Liquid Bearings.

Liquid Bearings

Applications: Liquid Bearings

Tech info: Liquid Bearings

FAQ's: Liquid Bearings

It was relatively cheap and piqued my interest, since it might fit the bill for many of my knives, as well as some various things some things around the house ... and my guns.

No smell. That's handy.

Doesn't evaporate.

Doesn't harm plastic.

Non toxic (but not approved for food processing equipment according to the FAQ's). The older I get, the more I like non-toxic products, as long as they work, anyway.

So, I started using it to clean, wipe down and lube my guns. The more I used it on the guns, the quicker and easier it became to clean the guns after each range session. More wiping, less brushing.

I suggested it to one of the other instructors & armorers at my former agency, and he quickly became a user. He especially liked how even guns heavily fouled after long shooting sessions could be cleaned. He also thought the cycling seemed faster and easier on his pistols.

I use it virtually all of the time now (and my other fancy and old-style lubricants sit in reserve). On lots of things.
 
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