There is a ton of B$, conjecture, urban myth and speculation about gun lubes. Probably as much as there is about engine oils. However, there's very little empirical evidence to support much of the claims.
Rather than have a thread where people chime in with "I've been using this for years" or "never had any problems" or the "I use _____" all of which are useless, does anyone have any scientific comparisons between products?
I find the price of some of these products and their marketing claims hard to understand. It seems that just because the word "Gun" is on the label, it gets priced like it's made from baby unicorn tears. 4 ounces of Hoppes #9 is $14 at my local store. Apparently someone's great grandfather used it and it smells funny and therefore that makes it amazing. But it doesn't do well in any of the tests I've seen on it.
Good old Dexron III seems to be the most consistently well regarded product to use on a gun, possibly cut with kerosene or in "Ed's Red" mixture.
I'm not trying to save money necessarily, I just find it amazing that some 70 year old recipe using mineral oil can out perform modern ATF which is really a chemical engineering masterpiece. I realize auto lubes are not intended for guns and I wouldn't run CLP in my engine. But, as lubricants go, M1 is awfully good even at extreme temps and high speeds/pressures. I'm sure it prevents corrosion and doesn't gum up either. ATF is an excellent cleaning agent.
If anyone has an scientific comparisons of these over marketed gun specific products, please share.
Rather than have a thread where people chime in with "I've been using this for years" or "never had any problems" or the "I use _____" all of which are useless, does anyone have any scientific comparisons between products?
I find the price of some of these products and their marketing claims hard to understand. It seems that just because the word "Gun" is on the label, it gets priced like it's made from baby unicorn tears. 4 ounces of Hoppes #9 is $14 at my local store. Apparently someone's great grandfather used it and it smells funny and therefore that makes it amazing. But it doesn't do well in any of the tests I've seen on it.
Good old Dexron III seems to be the most consistently well regarded product to use on a gun, possibly cut with kerosene or in "Ed's Red" mixture.
I'm not trying to save money necessarily, I just find it amazing that some 70 year old recipe using mineral oil can out perform modern ATF which is really a chemical engineering masterpiece. I realize auto lubes are not intended for guns and I wouldn't run CLP in my engine. But, as lubricants go, M1 is awfully good even at extreme temps and high speeds/pressures. I'm sure it prevents corrosion and doesn't gum up either. ATF is an excellent cleaning agent.
If anyone has an scientific comparisons of these over marketed gun specific products, please share.
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