We all want to use goods quality products on our guns, bows, fishing gear, knives, autos, hunting and lake front gear and like you I�m not a fan of letting things get rust on them nor am I a fan of items wearing out prematurely. To protect my investment in gear, I began searching for rust inhibitors and lubrication solutions to make the maintenance of my gear as effective and efficient as possible but I understand that neglect is the primary cause of corrosion and wear and we must be diligent but having a corrosion inhibitor and lubricants aiding us in meeting those goals is helpful.

The problem is there are so many products on the market all making claims of how well they perform. Who do you trust? What is one to believe? Online searches turned up all manner of comparisons, reviews and evaluations of a couple of products here and a few more there but no large sampling of a really long list of products all compared at the same time. So that�s what I set out to do to determine for myself which product I want to use as a rust inhibitor and lubricant. Along the way I will also look at water displacement (a common claim) as well as reactions with non-metal components. The attributes I set out to evaluate are:

Water displacer:

Many of the products I purchased for this evaluation make claims in regards to being a water displacer or that they have water displacing properties. Its an interesting claim but it got me to wondering why I should care?? I thinks its great if a product displaces water does it adds to a products worth or usefulness?? We all know that moisture is everywhere from fog to rain to snow to humid environments to warm to cold condensation as well as sweat and dew. so perhaps the water displacement claims are meant to drive us to their products with promises of improved protection so I plan to investigate that claim.

Smell/odor:

Because my primary passion is bowhunting followed by gun deer hunting, scent/odor is important to me. If a product stinks to high heaven I am less likely to use it even if it offers other benefits. Gauging odor is pretty subjective since something that smells bad to me might be appealing to the next person. I will evaluate odor as best as I can.


Lubrication:

How well does the product lubricate? And in what state, meaning does it reduce friction better in its wet form or in a dry form after its wiped away/allowed to dry? If it offers the most friction reduction in a wet form but that wet form is a magnet for dust, dirt and carbon, then its counterproductive because that wet lube becomes a gritty sludge. If it can be applied, wiped dry and still reduce friction (while fighting rust) that would be preferred. I will investigate lubrication.

Compatibility:

How safe is it for plastics, rubber and gun finishes and coatings?

That a fair question since these products are expected to be applied to guns, bows, knives, fishing gear, etc that are composed of a variety of non-metallic materials and finishes/coatings. A product that displaces water and inhibits rust is great but if it melts your plastic and rubber and destroys the finish on your gun, its destined for the trash can. I plan to investigate compatibility as well.

Corrosion inhibition:

That�s the primary reason for this evaluation. I plan to investigate these products compared to one another for their ability to delay the formation of corrosion.

The goal here is to find a product that does the best job at inhibiting corrosion, reducing friction, does not harm plastic, rubber or finishes, displaces waters and does not force me to wear a gas mask to apply. A product that can do all of the above may not exist but I�m willing to find out.

The next question was "Which products?" Until now, my stable of gun/bow/tool care products was pretty small. Like most sportsmen I had my "go-to" products because that is what my local retailer carried. I hadn't thought much beyond availability and then fell into a comfort zone with those products. I took to the web and did a search as well as asking for suggestions on a couple of web forums and learned many of these products have passionate followers even if I had never heard of them. Was I missing out on a superior product????

The next step in the process was to take out a 2nd mortgage and buy up as many products as I could get my hands on and then wait for the brown truck to become a daily fixture in my driveway. The products I will be evaluating (in no particular order) are

G96 synthetic CLP



Eezox gun care



M-Pro 7



Gun Slick Gun Seal Rust preventative



Breakfree CLP



Breakfree Collector



Frog Lube

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/froglube_zps4da3706d.jpg[/img]

Ballistol

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/ballistol_zps2cfd511d.jpg[/img]

Gunzilla

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/gunzilla_zpse603e76b.jpg[/img]

RIG #2

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/RIG2_zps7363228f.jpg[/img]

Birchwood Casey Barricade



Rem oil (with Moistureguard)



Rem oil (regular)



Shooters Choice Rust Prevent



Strike Hold



Tuf Glide



Boeshield T-9

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/T9_zps389862b9.jpg[/img]

Viking tactics Rand CLP

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/randclp_zps83e1e7ff.jpg[/img]

Clenzoil

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/clenzoil_zps4ea299a6.jpg[/img]

Quicken CLP

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/quicken_zps7dcc90a7.jpg[/img]

slip 2000 gun lube



Hornady's One Shot



MILITECH-1



PB 50 Blaster



Weapon Shield



Rusteprufe



Hoppe's No. 9 Solvent

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/hoppes_no9_zpsc6519dd5.jpg[/img]

Hoppe�s Lubricating oil (with weatherguard)

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/hoppesoil2_zpsdaea3a4e.jpg[/img]

Hoppe�s MDL (Moisture Displacing Lubricant)

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/hoppesmdl_zps66d248ac.jpg[/img]

Hoppe�s Elite gun oil

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/hoppesoil1_zpse7c3ae94.jpg[/img]

Archoil AR4400



Ogre HP gun oil



Gibbs



CorrosionX



Kano Kroil



Silicone Grease



WD-40 (blue and yellow can)

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/wd40_zps6018f2f2.jpg[/img]

WD-40 specialist Corrosion inhibitor

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/wd40rust2_zps6a98c321.jpg[/img]

ATF

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/atf_zps8caa5494.jpg[/img]

Fluid Film Rust and corrosion protection

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/fluidfilm_zpsea6921dd.jpg[/img]

Max Professional Super Lubricant



CRC 3-36 corrosion inhibitor



3-In-One oil



Pennzoil synthetic oil



Minwax paste wax



Atsko Silicone water guard spray



Here is the entire ensemble of products used I this evaluation.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/products_zps79aac764.jpg[/img]

Here are the products marketed and sold for gun care/maintenance.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/products2_zpsa3ddacc3.jpg[/img]

You probably recognize many of the products in the lineup. Most are dedicated products marketed to the sportsman for this purpose but some are products that over the years have been used by sportsmen that are not necessarily marketed for this purpose. One such example is simple paste wax and Kroil which were recommended to me by people living in coastal environments. Another is WD 40 and 3 in one oil which have been used by everyone that owns metal since the 1940's. These are not marketed as a gun care products but since they are used by so many in that regard, they were thrown into this evaluation for comparison sake. All products were purchased from either local retailers, online or at gun shows with the exception of the Pennzoil motor oil. I secured that from the local speedy oil change location and only a small amount for this evaluation.

First up is an evaluation of Smell/odor:

Because my primary passion is bowhunting followed by gun deer hunting, scent/odor is important to me. If a product stinks to high heaven I am less likely to use it even if it offers other benefits. Gauging odor is pretty subjective since something that smells bad to me might be appealing to the next person. I will evaluate odor as best as I can.

While this evaluation might seem firearms-centric I�m hoping to come away with products that I will also use during bowhunting trips on things like my bow, broadheads, knives, pruning saws, treestands, climbing sticks, camera arms and other items I take afield as well as my firearms and hunting gear that I want to protect from corrosion. For that reason, odor/scent is something I pay close attention to. Some of these products have an odor that is present straight from the container that dissipates quickly after drying while some products continue to smell long after application. A strong odor even if its pleasant is still a strong odor and something I hope to avoid in the products I use.

I created the following ranking for odor.

No odor

Mild odor

Strong odor

And then any notes about the particular odor. I wrote down the first thing that popped into my head after taking a wiff of each product. See the data below.

**NOTE**This exercise may not account for much once you factor in the dissipation factor once dry and the scant amount left after wiping off the excess product but since I had to use each product I noted the smells and recorded them.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/odorchart_zps3be3fbad.jpg[/img]

Next up in this evaluation is the water displacement claim. In regards to water displacement, the implied message is that the product, if applied to a wet gun/bow/tool will drive out (displace) the moisture and then protect the metal from moisture and corrosion. This is a pretty easy claim to prove or disprove since the very definition of displacement occurs when an object that is introduced to water, pushes the water out of the way and takes its place (displacing the water). If a product simply floats on top of water, it does not �displace� it.

If the product doesn�t break the surface tension of water, penetrate and displace the water to reach metal parts, then for the purposes of this evaluation It won�t be counted as a water displacer. In contrast, those products that break the surface tension of water, displace the water and penetrate it will be counted as water displacers. This will be done with the raw product directly from their container and NOT the dried or cured product after the propellant, carriers or distillates evaporate or dissolves.

The process of evaluating water displacement is as follows.

1. A container is partially filled with water

2. Raw product (from its original container) is introduced to the water filled container.

3. The product is observed and noted as to whether it displaced (penetrated, broke the surface tension) of the water or whether it simply rested on top of the water.

It should be noted that the ability of a product to displace water does not automatically imply that it will inhibit rust or provide lubrication. A rock or brick (if placed in a container of water) will displace water but will offer no corrosion protection or lubrication. Simply because a product can actually displace water does not automatically translate into corrosion inhibiting or lubrication properties.

Rust inhibiting and lubrication will be evaluated separately but so many of the products made a point of claiming water displacing properties that I thought it worth evaluating. In the grand scheme I dont know if water displacing is going to amount to a hill of beans since lubrication and corrosion fighting can take place even if the product does not displace water but so many of the products made the displacement claim that I opted to evaluate it.

Results: The vast majority of the products evaluated DID NOT displace water. 3 in one oil is a good example. It was in no way a water displacing agent but to its credit, it does not claim to be.

Rather than listing each product and whether or not it displaced water, Here are the only 3 that DID displace water as well as a look at 3 in one oil as a comparison. The water displacing products are:



The picture above can be a bit deceiving. The 3 water displacers look as if a thin film of product is floating on the water. That is not the case. What you are seeing is the surface tension of the water acting like a mirror. You can tell by looking closely to see the reflection of the top of metal hex nut that looks to be floating on that thin film. There was no floating compound on the surface of any of the 3 products. I then rolled and tilted and shook the bottle to see if the compound clung to the metal surface and kept water off the metal part. In all cases, the metal part was coated in the compound and resisted water clinging to the metal. After this agitation I allowed the bottles to rest for an hour to see if the compound separated or changed in any way after being exposed to the water. No change was noted. I did however observe some changes to the plastic bottle that held the Strike hold product. Notice the impact Strike Hold had on the plastic bottle. That leads me to the next area of interest.



Compatability:

Next up is evaluating compatibility with non-metal compounds. This is a tough claim to challenge since there are more plastic and rubber compounds and types of finishes than anybody could possibly check. Some products clearly stated they are not safe for rubber or plastic or finishes and cautioned the user to first test on a discrete location. Other products stated they are safe for (or outright encouraged use) on finishes, leather, wood, etc while still others made no warning nor statement in this regard. A simple check for reaction is to place a small amount of each product on polystyrene (Styrofoam) and observe the reaction. We know what Gas and Acetone do to Styrofoam and we wouldn�t use those harsh products on our gun finish or plastics or rubber so I will use that as a base for this evaluation. Compounds known to destroy polystyrene are Gasoline, Benzene, Toluene, Acetone, Xylene. There are other agents harmful to polystyrene but you get the point. Since its not practical to do a compatibility evaluation with every known type of plastic and every type of gun finish and paint, I only tested polystyrene and took the warnings about compatibility from the product labels.

The majority of the products did not harm nor soften polystyrene. Here is the sheet I used for the evaluation.



Here is an easier to read image of the products in this evaluation that dissolved polystyrene. It should be noted that all 3 water displacers were harmful to the evaluation sheet of polystyrene yet 6 other products that were not water displacers were also harmful to the sheet.

lubrication:

The reduction of friction/heat in moving metal parts is what I evaluated next. Many of the products make claims in regards to lubrication meaning a reduction in friction/heat/wear. (some make fantastic claims) To evaluate lubrication claims I will evaluate static friction forces. If you slept through your science/physics classes, Static Friction is the force that resists the movement of two objects against one another when the objects are initially at rest. To evaluate the lubrication claims I made a simple device to evaluate static friction forces. Two polished steel surfaces are used to mimic firearms parts. Its size and length of travel was meant to mimic the travel of the action of your typical firearm. A force is applied to cause the weighted steel sled to begin moving on a steel track. Increasing amounts of water are added to a container that is tethered to the weighted sled until the weight is great enough to overcome friction and move the sled. The weight of that water will be recorded to establish a factor compared to dry steel against dry steel.

To establish a baseline value for two dry steel surfaces, the exercise was repeated 8 times and then an average was established. Each product will be evaluated by applying the product to both surfaces and recording the amount of weight (force) required to get the weighted sled to move and then repeating the exercise 8 times to arrive at an average force.

Here are a few photos of the device used to capture static friction forces.











Here is a brief video of the device in action. (note that in an effort to make the video as short as possible I poured the water faster then I will during the actual evaluation)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nfdn5OuL8TY

How much lube to use:

We have all been instructed to apply lubrication liberally and to wipe off any excess. This seems counter intuitive if you consider something like packing a wheel bearing or using a grease zerk where metal parts are suspended in a bath of lubricant. Gun parts, folding knives, fishing reels and tools however are tightly toleranced with almost no room for large volumes of lubricant but aside from space constraints, excess lubricants cause an increase in effort required to get parts moving. I�m not versed in fluid dynamics but I quickly learned what happens when too much lubricant is applied. Being curious about what I observed I took to the web to review terms such as �Cohesion�, "Adhesion", �Fluid tackiness�, "Viscosity" and "Fluid shear" which explained what I was observing.

Excess lubricant acted like a glue that slowed or resisted parts from movement because of the surface tension and viscosity of the excess lube. As I removed more and more of the excess, I observed that less force was required to overcome static friction. In almost every case I found that removing all visible lubricant resulted in the lowest levels of friction between the two polished steel plates. What we have been told is correct, apply liberally to coat and then remove all excess to the point where you think you have removed too much and you will enjoy the least amount of friction. The side benefit to that dry level of lubrication is that it will not attract foreign contaminants that could get trapped in excess/wet lubricant.

To ensure there is no cross contamination of products on the sled/track device, after each product is evaluated, the sled and track are cleaned with acetone and paper towels until the dry to dry friction values were restored. Several dry runs are performed before the next product was evaluated.

NOTE** I recognize this evaluation may have deficiencies. My lubrication evaluation was conducted at 70 degrees F so it is unknown if the results would be the same if evaluated at 0 or 120 degrees F. Also I am not evaluating longevity. I cycled each product 8 times to arrive at an average force and understand that a product that performed well during 8 cycles may fail long term where a product that performed slightly worse may in fact have better long term lubrication. With that said, equity was my first priority. Every product and action was conducted the same way to ensure each product was getting a fair evaluation.

I recorded the results of the force required to move the sled and used a spreadsheet to tabulate the results for this chart.



To ensure that I was getting credible data and to increase my confidence level, I conducted the lubrication evaluation a 2nd time because as you can see, one product (Frog Lube) in the first evaluation reduced friction so much that I could no add water to the container. Simply hanging the empty container on the device caused the sled to move. For the 2nd evaluation I added weight to the sled and raised the end of the track to create a 10 degree upward slope meaning the sled would have to slide up-hill with the added weight. The results changed but not by much. The top 10 performers remained the top 10 and the bottom 10 remained the bottom 10. The products did jockey each other for position within their respective groups. Here is a chart showing the results from the 2nd evaluation for friction. To make it a little easier to read I am showing only the top 10 performers and the bottom 10 performers in their new rankings.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/frictionchart2A_zps8083e02e.jpg[/img]

Corrosion protection:

Lastly I evaluated corrosion protection and inhibiting. It�s a common claim made by the products in this evaluation so I want to evaluate that as well. Some of the products state that they meet or exceed this test and spec or that test and certification (the most common being ASTM B117 and ISO 9227 salt fog chamber corrosion test and a variety of mil specs. ) All of those tests are very good and harsh controlled environment tests but where I found them lacking was:

1. No UV component. All the tools and gear I use spend a lot of time outside and UV rays break down even the best of products . Those UV effects are not mimicked in a sealed fog chamber in a lab.

2. Constant temps. Our gear is expected to perform in subzero to super-hot temps and sometimes those fluctuations may happen all in the same day or week. A fixed 95 degree F test is certainly equitable to all the samples but not a true environmental test with real world applications for a guy that hunts in freezing temps and then brings his gun into the cabin where it sets near the wood stove to dry out and then is returned to sub-freezing temps the next day.

3. Proximity and cross contamination. Since it�s just not cost effective to test each metal plate all by itself in a fog chamber, many samples are ganged together in a small test chamber. Being that the test chamber is only so big, they are positioned very near one another and samples are misted with the same recycled salt water carrying the corrosion from products failing the test (and the products being tested) onto samples adjacent to other parts. I hope to avoid that.

4. No real life dirt or debris. The wind carries all manner of debris on it that rests on metal parts (some more than others) An outdoor evaluation more closely simulates real �in the field� situations.

For these reasons (and because I plan to sample far more products than has perhaps been done at the same time during any other evaluation conducted) and because I want to increase my confidence level in the results I get, I conducted 3 evaluations. Many of the home spun evaluations I have seen online ran only a single sample set implying the results would be the same if repeated. I ran 3 separate evaluations under a variety of conditions. A portion of this evaluation took place outdoors in direct sunlight with the fluctuations of night and daytime temps as well as UV exposure and wind, airborne debris and rain. Rain or not I planned to mist one group of the sample plates with a salt / water solution in the ratio of 1 tsp non-iodized salt per cup of tap water (and I have hard water with mineral deposits). This will be the most harsh environment meant to expedite the formation of corrosion.

All the sample plates were given a 320 grit (two direction) brushed finish to remove any rust inhibitors the steel maker placed on the steel so they don�t rust in the store. Then the plates were chemically cleaned with acetone prior to applying the product. Each product in the evaluation was applied to the metal per the product instructions on the label. Nearly all products labels direct the user to apply liberally and then wipe off excess product. I followed those instructions as I don�t care for a sloppy, wet gun where excess product is dripping or rubbing off, onto my clothing, gear or car. I left an amount of product on the metal just as I would when I store my firearms. The plates were attached to a suitable (non-metallic) holder at a roughly 15 degree angle from vertical. I didn�t want them lying flat so water would pool on them and I didn�t want them standing perfectly upright either as they would shed water and debris too easily.

All the metal samples were sheared out of the same sheets of cold rolled steel sourced at my local hardware store. Several of these sheets were purchased for this evaluation.



Here is sample board #1 after all the products had been applied to the sample plates. This sample board then sat in my shop for 5 hours to allow the products to fully dry or cure or evaporate or set a film before the board was exposed to the elements.



Here is a short video of all the samples on board #1.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8sj8HZApO6Y

Then the samples were misted with the salted water. Here is a closer view of the plates after the misting. Notice the different reactions with water. Most plates beaded the water.





Not all products beaded water. I don�t know the significance of this but observed and recorded it anyway. The products that did not bead water can be seen below.





[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board1E_zps14cdc95b.jpg[/img]

After 2 hours I observed the samples. The controls were already exhibiting signs of corrosion. White spots are the result of the salt left behind after the water evaporated and does not indicate rust, just dried salt.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board1F_zpsd60ebc22.jpg[/img]

The plates spent the night outside and it was quite a night. Temps in the upper 30's, a storm rolled through with wind gusts to 30 MPH and on and off rain. 24 hours after each product was applied to the plates they were observed for signs of corrosion.

**NOTE** Before I go further I will state that during the process of applying the products to the plates, I had to hold the plates by the very edges. The last contact with the plates was along the very top edge as I pushed the sample into the foam board. Some samples took considerable force to place them in the foam. For this reason I will not count against the products that are essentially corrosion free but exhibit corrosion along the edges where otherwise the bulk of the surface is corrosion free. The edge rusting is a result of my handling the samples and removing the product.

Here is sample board #1 after 24 hours

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/board1G_zps79313ae3.jpg[/img]

Some of the corroded samples. (some with only light corrosion and others with significant corrosion)

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/board1H_zps9998ed74.jpg[/img]

Here is a video of sample board #1 after 24 hours. It�s still quite windy as you will be able to hear in the video. Pause and restart as required to get a better look at samples of interest to you.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IZinIJ0k3tY

I recorded the samples with mild rusting and major rusting after 24 hours. The samples exhibiting mild rusting were

Rand CLP
Ballistol
Breakfree CLP
Hoppe's MDL
Rusteprufe
Boeshield T-9
Rem Oil w/ moisture guard
ATF

The samples exhibiting significant rusting were

Kroil
PB-50
Rem Oil (regular)
Gunzilla
Super Lube
Militec-1
Hoppe�s Elite
Ace Silicone Grease
Atsko Silicone Spray
Pennzoil
3 in One oil
RIG #2
Gibbs
Paste wax
Both Controls

After 24 hours of exposure, 22 of the 46 products (48%) have already begun to show signs of corrosion but remember, the samples were misted with a salt water solution to speed up the process. The 2nd and 3rd group of plates will NOT have a salted water application.

After 48 hours of Board #1 being placed outside, here is a list of the products on board #1 that are still preventing corrosion.

CRC 3-36

M-Pro 7 LPX

Fluid Flim

Archoil AR4400

Quicken HP

Clenzoil

Barricade

Corrosion X

Frog Lube

Eezox

Hoppe�s gun oil

One Shot

WD-40 Specialist

Gun Seal

Rust Prevent

After 72 hours (and lots of wind and rain), the un-corroded sample plates on board #1 are



After 96 hours (and a mostly rain free day) here are the remaining plates from board #1 still protecting from corrosion.



After 120 hours with a day of light rain, the remaining samples have dwindled to just 3.



Another day of on and off rains and the final three are still holing on.



A rare sunny and windy day. 168 hours (7 days) have elapsed since I placed Board #1 outside. No change from the day before.



At this point I will close out the evaluation of board #1 (but continue to monitor) Here is a picture of the entire board.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board1O_zps9a0335f4.jpg[/img]

Here is a video so you can get a better look at each sample. Start and stop the video as you see fit. Despite the constant rains and clouds, the UV rays have taken their toll on the sharpie marker used to denote each brand.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5F_QnEa-gc

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board1corrchart_zps38fda4f8.jpg[/img]

The second group of plates was also evaluated outdoors and started the day after board #1. The metal samples were treated with product and then sat in my shop for 12 hours to dry, cure, evaporate, film-over before the board was placed outside. Here is sample board #2



Here is a short video close up of all the samples on board #2. Even though I crossed off Frog Lube a couple days ago because of the formation of corrosion you will see its still doing a pretty good job of protecting the plate.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCOOAnvMWe8

The plan was to mist them with clean water but with all the rain that was not required. The duration of the evaluation was a mix of sunny and bright and heavy rains but very windy exposing the samples to UV, wind, rain, dust and all the other elements we encounter when using our firearms, bows, knives, tools, etc. It was a time to conduct such an experiment.

I�m sure everybody living in my area of the state hated this wet stormy spring weather except me. I couldn�t have picked a better set of days to do this evaluation. Upper 30�s to low 40�s, high winds, on and off showers and breaks of sunlight and cold rainy nights. Its like living in a corrosion test chamber.

Most evaluations of this nature run a single set of samples and call it good enough. I�m running 3 sample boards and already I am seeing differences in results from board #1 to board #2 so I think it was a wise move to run multiple samples. Recall that board #1 was misted with a salted water solution to expedite corrosion. Sample board #2 has only seen exposure to rain water but the results after 24 hours are showing sample board #2 is has more product failures than board #1 in its first 24 hours (something I did not expect to see). When I observed sample board #1 after 24 hours, a total of 23 samples exhibited signs of corrosion. Sample board #2 has been outside for 24 hours and already 34 of the 46 products are exhibiting signs of corrosion (74% of the products are failing)

Oddly, the controls on board #2 (which are treated with nothing) are faring better than some of the plates that are protected by product (opposite of what was observed on board #1)

Here is a photo of sample board #2 after the first 24 hours.



It�s a shorter list to name the products that are still providing resistance to corrosion on Sample board #2. They are.

Gun Seal

WD-40 Specialist

Hoppe�s gun oil

Boeshield T-9

Frog Lube

Rust prevent

Tuf-Glide

Rem Oil with moisture Guard

Weapons Shield

Hornady One Shot

Militec-1

Rand CLP

Here is a video of board #2 so you can see which products are failing in the first 24 hours. (don�t confuse debris with rust. The video may make it look like some plates are corroding when they are actually use dirty from all the wind blown debris and rain)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LikzlnnZ9hQ

After 48 hours, the un-corroded samples from board #2 are shown below (I contend that the Hornady �s One Shot, edge corrosion shown below is edge contamination on my part as described earlier. I can�t otherwise explain why the majority of the plate is corrosion free expect a strip along the left edge except that I failed to apply the product to that portion of the plate.)



Its clear that if I had only used a single sample board, I would have arrived are incorrect conclusions about some of these products. Multiple boards that show products preventing corrosion on those boards increases the confidence level in the evaluation.

With a break in the rains here are the remains of Board #2



More rain and the list is growing shorter.



After 120 hrs, Board #2 is down to the final 3.



144 hours and no change from the day before. Based on board #1 and no change in board #2 I am ending the evaluation of board #2

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board2G_zps96612884.jpg[/img]

Here is a picture of Board #2

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board2H_zps567f25ba.jpg[/img]

Here is a video of Board #2 so you can get a close up view of each product. Pause and start as you see fit.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b4VNF5VRSY4

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/rust/board2corrchart_zpsb6db75e8.jpg[/img]

By now you may have noticed some commonality in the remaining samples of board #2 and board #1. Results would indicate that

Hoarnady's One shot

WD 40 Specialist

And perhaps Frog Lube

Have shown they outperform the others with Rust Prevent also doing a heck of a job. Running multiple boards has increased my confidence level in the results observed. But there is a third corrosion evaluation (the indoor one) that started the same day and Board #2. I will remind you that Board #1 and #2 were extreme conditions (abuse) simply to expedite the formation of corrosion under salted water and rain water conditions (as well as fog, cold temps, temp fluctuations, lots of wind and some UV rays thrown in for good measure). It�s doubtful any gun, bow, knife or tool owner is going to subject his gear to this in real life but that is the nature of such an evaluation. By design it was meant to be tough. Board 3 will more closely mimic conditions seen while storing our gear.

The third and final Board will be a combination evaluation. One portion will focus on the fingerprint issue on firearms and the other portion of the evaluation deals with longevity. This evaluation will be conducted indoors with no application of water to speed up corrosion.

Here is sample board #3 with all the plates coated in their respective products. Sample Board #3 sat in my shop for 4 hours to allow all the products to dry or cure or evaporate or skim over (some products make claims in this regard) then each was given a fingerprint on the metal. We all have different oils and acids and salts in our fingerprints so not every fingerprint will cause the same level of corrosion. I don�t have 48 fingers and washing after each sample to prevent cross contamination would only remove the salts and oils from my finger so I had to outsource the fingerprint job to a friend (we will call him "Frank" or "Oscar") because I will substitute a hotdog for a finger.

Like me the hotdog is made mostly of meat (with some fillers) water, salt and fat (in my case perhaps too much fat) to prevent cross contamination, a fresh slice was made off the end of the sacrificial wiener to provide an equitable fingerprint on each sample plate. A nice greasy and salty fingerprint was placed in the lower left hand corner of each sample.



Sample board #3 will spend its time in my dinning room and be observed for signs of corrosion.(Until my wife gets sick of it and makes me move out into my shop)



Board #3 will be observed and photographed and at the point plates begin to fail (determined as rust appearing on the surface) they will be tallied until all the samples have failed and I expect at some point all will eventually fail. It may take weeks or months (perhaps years) for that to happen to sample board #3. As of this writting its been 9 days with no signs of corrosion on any plates.

As for me, Here is what I took away from this (even though Board #3 is still being observed)



With this evaluation behind me, I an unlikley to condsider the WD 40 specialist as a gun care product because it wasnt marketed as a cleaner (not meant to be a cleaner so I cant knock for that) and it didnt rank terribly high for lubrication but I will be using it for many other outdoor applications and tools where I want to delay corrosion. The column of my drill press, the top of my table saw, my lathe, saw blades, hand tools and lots of other tools will benefit from its ability to protect from rust.

Frog lube impressed in both lubrication and corrosion inhibition but I wonder how good a cleaner it is? The mfgr website touts it as a cleaner but I am uncertain. (only speculation on my part)

Hornady's One Shot strikes me as more of a cleaner than Frog Lube and WD 40 specialist (speculation on my part) and it certainly performed well as a lube and corrosion inhibitor.

Final thoughts

1. There are two enemies to our guns. Neglect and liberal Democrats who dislike the 2nd amendment. Do everything in your power to make sure neither are allowed to make any advances on your weapons.

2. Use these products in a well-ventilated area and wear gloves. Health is your first wealth. Protect it like you do your gear.

3. Water displacing claims don�t mean much. None of the 3 water displacers performed well in the corrosion or lubrication evaluation.

4. Don�t over lube. Its far worse than under lubing. Wipe off the lube to the point you think you may have taken off too much and you should be just about right.

5. Not all gun care products are created equal. Choose wisely. Knowledge is power. I have a little more thanks to this evaluation.

6. If you have had a preferred gun care product that has served you well for many years, there is no need to change even if your product did not fare well in this evaluation. If your outdoor gear functions well and is corrosion free and you are happy with the product and like the smell, why fix what isn�t broken. See note 1.

7. This WAS NOT an evaluation of all the gun care products on the market. It was only an evaluation of the 46 products I assembled for this evaluation. If your favorite product was not included in this evaluation, all anybody can do is speculate as to how it WOULD have performed. While seaking suggestions for which products to include in this evaluation, The recommendations I received came with comments about how I neednt to look any further than their prefered brand as it is the best of the best. In spite of asking for suggestions on multiple forums, nobody recommended Hornady One shot. I found it via a web search at Midway's web site. Frog lube was suggested by many. If there is a better product out there, I will no doubt hear about soon by those lamenting the fact it wasnt included in this evaluation.

8. Since I now have more product than any person should own, I may entertain conducting another evaluation with additional products to see how they stack up against the top 5 from this evaluation. Ive set aside the friction test bed (after coating it with WD 40 specialist to prevent rust) just in case I get the urge.

Edited May 6 9. I am In no way affiliated with or in any way attached to any of the products or companies of the products I evaluated. I am in no way compensated by any product brand name or manufacturer as a result of this evaluation. No company asked me to conduct this evaluation. All products were purchased by me and none were sent or gifted to me for this evaluation.

great study. please include lucas gunoil in your next one.

If you want to get in to the shower while handling energized electrical appliances there is only 1 answer and it is Strike Hold.


Kinda weird the Ballistol got water to bead considering how it reacts when mixed with water for cleaning up after corrosive primer residue.

I'm sure it's a great read but I wouldn't spend that much time on the phone with a good friend that is contemplating suicide.

Thank you for such detailed information!

Very nice!

Wow - great info. That's a lot of work. Serious A-type study!

I did not expect it to appeal to those with short attention spans that refuse to put forth even a modest effort.

that's pretty funny, right there!

AND

great article. thanks for the helpful info. i am sure many will use this info.

ked

WOW!

Great work! Im saving this one.

One question though.....you must be an engineer. No sane person would go to this extreme. Still, a hell of a good job!

Ive spent my adult life in the design engineering field desiging diagnostic imaging devices. Ive got a few patents and I am a curious sort that enjoys long walks on the beach trying to figure out how to improve it.

Wow, I feel like I just studied for and aced the MCAT!

I've been using Hornady One Shot since it came out and couldn't be happier.

Thanks for the validation; seriously cool work!

And the winner is?

You if you are taking good care of your guns.

DIY, Great job. Thanks for taking the time to do something both useful and helpful. I too have been using the Hornaday lately, but some of your findings really flew in the face of what I thought I knew.

Wow, impressive study.

Thanks for the great info.

twofish

Might want to work on a sense of humor the next time around and post results.

I'm long on actual field results.

Was not going for humor. Just calling a spade a spade. I am not responsible for knee jerk injuries or bruised egos. Im going with first hand results but if you are having good results with your products, your doing well. You would have read that had you actually read the results or had somey read them to you. I included lots of pictures for those not strong with the written word.

Awesome test and definitely making me look at rem oil differently! Thank you DIY for your time and effort to educate us that have to rely on who spends the most money feeding us crap in commercials about how great their products are!

DIYguy, what do you use on your guns?

Really interesting and useful. Have to admit, while I've used One Shot for reloading I've never considered it for the firearms themselves.

Thanks for the effort.

dude, I can't argue with the handle you chose

DIYguy pretty well sums it up!

okay so bottom line what are you gonna be using on your firearms for cleaning, lubing and corrosion resistance?

damnit Scott, those long walks on the beach aren't used for coming up with material for his stand up routine!

we all serve a different purpose, engineers fill one role, and we got you and deflave to crack us the F up!

I'm going to have to buy a couple cans of One-Shot. Tomorrow.

Thanks, DIY. That was a lot of work, and I appreciate it. In fact, I'm going to save it to hard drive.

And I notice you're a fairly new member and may not be familiar with Steelhead's whimsical ways. He's really a sweetheart, but if someone dangles a chain in front of him, he will pull it. He's funny that way.

Don't think that's the One Shot you're looking for. Interesting study I reckon. Been messing with Safari Charlie lately.

Stainless steel wins again

Oh I know of him on every site I visit even if he is not the same person. I can spot em a mile away but usually I detect them by the faint smell of vingar and water akin to something one would use on a Summer's Eve. Not to worry, I can deal with that sort in short order.

Prior to this, I was like so many here drifting from one product to another on the promises of slick sales pitches. The scales have been lifted from my eyes. I have seen the light. This was not entirely about firearms and equally about tools and archery gear and medical devices shipping over seas in containers as part of my real job. The WD - 40 specialist impresses me for non-firearms applications. The One Shot will be getting more firearms usage in my stable of firearms.

DIY:

Just spritz the One-Shot on the firearm, or spray it on a rag first?

Thank you for your effort and your report. I have only skimmed it so far, but will study it in more detail as time allows.

Nice job DIY. I'm gonna have to rethink some of the products I've been using. I appreciate the effort.

Either or. It comes with a straw tube so you can pinpoint the spray or wide mist or spray a rag and wipe on. I sprayed the plates and just used a paper towel to wipe off for the corrosion evaluaion.

Thanks much. Will give it a go.

Geo

Over the past 25+ years, I've never found anything that could hold up to the NE extremes as well as Eezox but, that being said, I think it's time to give Frog Lube a serious look. I like the fact that, on top of being slick as owl-sheet top notch at preventing rust, it won't harm synthetics and is non-toxic. Those qualities make it a very well-rounded option and I want to give you a big THANK YOU for taking the time to highlight the pros/cons of all those products.

Thanks for all that work. I will change what I use now too.
Well done.

Outstanding approach and data. Thanks for this.

I am shocked at how Break Free came out and also by just how many products are on the market these days. I've been too secluded out here in Japan.

Thank you for your time and patience with this detailed study, looking forward to what else you might have for us in the near future.

Anyway this can become a sticky?

Well I did also do ths side by side evaluation of gun produccts a while back.

http://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/8756684/1

a good read--and it had to be a lot of work for you...

this study surely took a great deal of time as well.

studies i've seen in the past would almost always rate eezox and breakfree rather high on the list, so was surprised by your findings.



thank you for all of your efforts, and taking the time to post them.

(have your other studies included Outers gun oil, which they claim is "polarized", so that it "bonds" to the metal?)

also, for clarification--on the corrosion protection chart where one of the hoppes products did well, which "Hoppes gun oil" do you mean? would guess it must not be the "Elite" product, as i thought i had noticed where that rated lower on your corrosion chart.

do you refer to the ordinary clear oil that i recall would come in the orange colored bottle (which had no odor)--your graph shows a strong odor, so am assuming it must be a hoppes i'm not familiar with?) would like to know, as your chart shows that particular hoppes product as rating quite high in the corrosion tests...

Been using eezox and rust prevent for years, looks like I need to add frog lube to the cleaning box.

Many Thanks for all the work and informative testing DIYguy.

Gunner

You're right. It appears that Hornady has multiple products with that name.

I have not evaluated Outers gun products.

It's amazing to me how one person could spend this much of their time and publish it free for the common good of others, and somebody's first thought is to make fun of it.

I guess I need to work on my sense of humor also. Thanks again for your efforts, I have several of your posts saved.

Its the interweb, dont sweat it. There are very draining people in all walks of life. Tune them out and extend them pitty. Its the best you can do for them.

And Tetra Gun products. They make a synthetic general spray lube, carbon blast spray, liquid form lube, and some barrel solvents/copper remover.

FWIW, Tetra Gun or Eez Ox have worked the best to keep semi-auto shotguns running smooth and reliable on late-season MT, ND, and Northern MN upland game.

I always enjoy reading stuff that uses the scientific method, but I am not sure anyone here is willing to try to duplicate your results. I will take your study as is <GRIN>.

Have you ever tested Renaissance Wax?

Very interesting. So far I see the Hornady One Shot at the top for both lubrication and corrosion resistance.

No. In fact I have never tested anything. This was only a side by side comparison. I used floor paste wax but not Renaissance wax.

I have edited the initial post with the following.

9. I am In no way affiliated with or in any way attached to any of the products or companies of the products I evaluated. I am in no way compensated by any product brand name or manufacturer as a result of this evaluation. No company asked me to conduct this evaluation. All products were purchased by me and none were sent or gifted to me for this evaluation.

Thanks for taking the time do do this and post the results. Any idea how much freezing temps might effect said products?

Not for all the products but I can say that based on this evaluation and the fact that all liquid and visible lube was (and should be removed) leaving no residue I don�t think cold or hot would impact the results. As I stated in the text, I removed the product to the point where common sense would say I removed too much and it was at that point that the lowest levels of friction were achieved. Certainly if excess product were left on the metal there is a potential of freezing up but that is not the fault of the product, that is the fault of the user not following the instructions.

try amsoil metal protector

I will keep that in mind should I elect to do another evaluation.

We all are by you doing this. Thank you for your work!

Ed

great study!

In your next test, please include Krylon flat black.

Why non firearms related?

I dont think so. I think you read the wrong evaluation. Save me the trouble and tell me how it works after you spray it into your guns inner workings. Make sure to do all your guns at once so its a fair evaluation. Include the inside of the bore as well. SMDH

Because it didn�t fair real well in regards to lubrication. It is however a knock out in regards to corrosion. One Shot excelled in both categories (lube and corrosion) As did Frog Lube. I will say the WD 40 specialist out performed lots of dedicated gun care products from both a lubricity and corrosion standpoint but there are clearly better gun care choices. That being said, last night I used the WD 40 specialist on a shotgun barrel I have for sale that I put into storage. There are no moving parts so lubrication was not a factor but I can rest assured I don�t have to worry about rust waiting to sell it.

Tag

Ive received a number of messages asking what the 3 top performing products look like when dispensed. I will answer that here.

Frog Lube (in this variety) is a Green and runny product. It needs to be spread around and wiped off gun parts.



WD 40 Specialist is a spray that is thick. It reminds me of a non-stick cooking spray. It needs to be spread around and wiped off (or it could be left on in excess depending on the application)



One shot comes out of the can clear and quickly disappears. By the time I sprayed it on this plate while holding it over the trash can, set it down, started the camera and took the pic it was already dried (Hence the term Dry lube)




Also, there seems to be a misunderstanding that the WD 40 specialist that did well in this evaluation is standard WD 40. It is not. It is a completely different product that your regular WD 40.

Likewise, The Hornady One shot gun cleaner and dry lube is not the Hornady One shot case lube that reloaders use. (at least from a marketing and packaging standpoint. I cant speak to the contents.) The two may be the same and I would have no way of knowing but they have diff names, uses and packaging.

Tag

Tag

Breakfree came highly recommended by many on multple forums. It performed very poorly in this evaluation. Its not a corrosion fighter and didnt fare well for lubricity.

DIYguy,...THANKS for this great post, and alla' the leg work and brainstorming that went into it !

Good to see some of the "Snake Oil' mythologies rattled a bit.

I do have a concern regarding the "Chemical Cleaning" of the rolled steel coupoms. I've never really seen acetone as that great a degreaser. This becomes really evident in the rust bluing realm, where one is intentionally inducing uniform oxidization. The roll lubricants that are used in making your coupon material are TENACIOUS in the extreme, and would be best defeated by vapor cleaning, or a hot alkali soap like Dycro-Clean. The goal, of course, being to ensure that all the di-ester wax or silicones are GONE, prior to applying the product sample.

Will be looking for more of your well presented work, Sir.

GTC

Thanks for the input crossfire. I saw first hand ho quickly acetone made short work of almost every product when it came time to remove them from the sled. (silicone grease to the most effort to remove) and then the dry steel to dry steel forces were restored to the device. I went through a lot of acetone and lots of rolls of paper towel but in every case, was able to clean the sled of any product residue and return the sled to dry to dry friction results.

As to removing the factory protection that keeps the steel from rusting on the shelf in the store, I removed that with 320 grit with a brushed finish in 2 directions and then cleaned the plates with acetone. No roll lube during the manufacture of the steel could stand up to the level of abrasion I used with the 320 grit and then acetone.

DIY,

In what situations would you personally see the best uses of Frog Lube vs. One Shot?

Why/when one over the other?

Outstanding work DIY.

Im not sure im really qualified to say (but I will) If I would break a gun down to its base parts for a complete cleaning and had easy access to every surface to apply the lube and then wipe it off, then Frog Lube and One shot would be great choices because the frog lube is viscous and needs to be wiped off after application.

If I was not breaking a gun down and was only opening the action and spraying down the action and internal parts that could be reached by the spray tube, I would go with the One Shot because there is essentially nothing to wipe off. It is a dry lube (once the propellant evaporates) I would not open the action of a gun, squirt in a bunch of frog lube, cycle the action a few times and call it good. I would however do that with one shot. The same is true with the bore.

I think both would work great for corrosion inhibition and lubrication but Frog Lube would take more time to apply and remove than One Shot. The Frog lube pours like cooking oil (rumor has it has its foundation in avocado oil) and needs to be wiped off where the One shot does not.

I appreciate the time, effort, and of course, sharing the results. Well done!

Outstanding article and process!

well done; and thanks

On this subject an interesting follow up test would be to see if there's a difference between Frog lube and One Shot in how they deal with dirt and grit.

Oil that remains on a surface collects and holds grit. The supposed advantage of a dry lube is it doesn't have as much of tendency to collect grit.

So ... if you want to test this ... sprinkle some dry dirt on the surface of each test sample and see if there is a difference.

Just a thought.


BTW, good test. Thanks.

Thanks for the efforts DIYguy.

It confirms what I've thought about FrogLube. By the way, it does come in a paste as well.
In terms of cleaning performance, I wasn't as thorough as you were, but I did completely clean out a barrel of a pistol ( 1k rounds through it) and a rifle (about 50 rds through it) with my (formerly) usual regimen of Butch's bore shine and Montana Xtreme gun oil. After I got clean patches from the Butch's, I cleaned it with FrogLube and got more crud out as evidenced by the junk on the patches.

When I cleaned dirty barrels with the FrogLube first and then followed up with Butch's, I didn't get any dirty patches with the Butch's.

So, in my mind it seems to work as a cleaner as well. Plus, it's non-toxic.

anyway, thanks for the results.

Outstanding. I appreciate an effort to uncover objective truth. That was one HECK of an effort!

Thank you, very interesting and informative.
This is worthy of sticky status for a time.

Well done sir. I've always liked the Hornady One Shot products and now I'm a complete convert. Thanks again.

Upon completion of this evaluation I sent emails to several of the manufacturers of the products used. Thus far (4 days after sending the emails) I have received only one reply and it came from the founders of Frog Lube. Here is that reply.

�Ron,

We are stunned by the exhaustive and comprehensive approach of your testing. And we are quite flattered at the result. You have done something no one else has done.

We do our testing in primarily in operating firearms, but we have done some technical tests such as the corrosion and lubricity testing and have seen the same results.

May we use this link to share with our customers on line and in our facebook page? We have lots of fans (and a few competitors) who would appreciate seeing this.

Also, we very much appreciate your 'objectivity' and your public claims. This strengthens the validity of your results.

Thanks again for sharing this profound work with us.

Larry Lasky & Stacy Lasky
FrogLube Founders �

----

I replied to them with the following:

�Feel free to share or distribute the info as you see fit. Prior to this evaluation I had never used Frog Lube (or many of the products I evaluated) so I was curious and ended up doing this evaluation. My search for lube and corrosion solution was not entirely firearms centric as I am more of an archer and bowhunter so I would like to make this request. Archery and Bowhunting are very large markets with direct overlap to firearms owners. The same holds true for the rapidly increasing crossbow and crossbowhunting market. All of these user groups require lubrication and corrosion solutions.

The main difference for the bowhunting and crossbow hunting market is the scent/smell of products we use due to how close bowhunters and perhaps crossbow hunters have to get to prey to make a successful shot. The minty smell of Frog Lube may keep this user group from using your product. Would it be possible to remove the minty scent and create a scent free version? Breaking into the archery/bowhunting and crossbow hunting market would create another demographic purchasing your product. Please consider it. You would certainly have me as a customer for more than just firearms usage.

Ron�

It will be interesting to see if they take your suggestion seriously. IMO, they'd be wise to do so.

Well, that's pretty funny. I've never seen a bottle of Frog Lube, and had no idea that it smelled minty. "Minty Frog." Sounds like a flavor of Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

But I will certainly try it on your recommendation.

Almost sounds like a Frog Lube advertisement from this post..
If I didn't know better...

Im sure he has his saleman hat on when he emails people. I dont fault him for being pleased with the results of the evaluation.

If at some point any of the other Mfrg's I sent emails to reply, I will post them as well.

Its been 288 hours (12 days) since Board #1 was placed outside and 264 hours (11 days) for Board #2 so I thought I would update. There has been some rain this week but lots of sun and wind and the trees are spreading all manner of pollen and debris in the air. The Sun�s UV rays have all but made the sharpie marker unreadable but I have a map and can still make it out enough to see.

Here are the two boards where they are residing on the patio.



And here are the close-ups of the samples.





As for Board #3 in my house. Its been 240 hours (10 days) and as expected, the indoor protection in a constant environment has them all still in fine shape.

May have to give the WD-40 Specialist and Hornady One Shot a try. I've been using Rem Oil for the last 20 years or so. Thanks for posting all the results. Great Thread & very helpfull.

20 years tells me Rem oil has served you well.

With your background, I figured you'd know that Krylon would be an external protectant and inappropriate as a lube.

It'd be interesting to see the results of a bolt gun sprayed with these products and put in and out of a freezer for a few days allowing them to frost up and then test cold-function.

Cool story Bro. Let us know how it works out for you.

DIYguy, thank you.

Frog Lube is a bad ass product.

Fire Clean is more bad asser IMO.



Travis

The demo video looks badasser too. Did you eat it?

SMDH

Not yet.



Travis

Add me to the lot of lads appreciating your study/testing, DIY. Thank you.

Once again, excellent review.

I've used Frog Lube paste in the last couple months and have been very impressed with the lubricating qualities. For anyone who cares, it's also bio-based, USDA approved, Made In The USA, and the company was founded by a retired Navy SEAL.

One comment regarding the corrosion test, my guess is some samples showed rust faster without the salt spray due to slightly acidic rainwater in your area. I could be wrong though.

I'm going to find some WD-40 Specialist for my shop!

Couldn't agree more


Thanks for the hard work and the time it took to post all the info.

I'd be curious to see how Ultra Gun Shield would hold up?

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/cata...;osCsid=ca7a404e7201da2fdda06f45c1f76bd5

I am impressed that someone has the time to do such a thorough works. I am envious. Nice job.

We have been experiencing torrential rains and flash flooding. When it isn�t raining its very humid. Its certainly been a wet spring. The UV rays have now completely erased the sharpie marker labels on the boards but I know which is which from prior photos. Here is a picture of the two boards with board #1 at 15 days (360 hours) and board #2 at 14 days (336 hours). The top 3 performing products are continuing to protect the steel plates.

Color me impressed. Thanks for the effort and valuable info.

Great work. I bet your wife would like her patio table back now.

I hope they asked for your address to send you some swag.

With the constant rains she has not longed for the great outdoors.

To accept anything would be improper and cause concerns for integrity. I plan further evaluations and don�t want there to be any hint of impropriety.

I tried to find some One Shot this weekend due to this test, but unfortunately was unable to find any. The WD-40 Specialist stuff will definitely be getting used around the shop too. I'd seen it but never payed much attention, never expected it to be this good.
The Ultra Gun Shield is one I'd love to see tested as well, as its a different type of product than most commonly used gun care products. It seems like a good product, but then I thought a few of the ones you tested would have fared much better so you never know. Thanks for putting in the effort.

Thanks DIY! Good data to be sure without interference from the manufacturer. Props to your wife as well for putting up with the evaluation.

Tag.

She understands just how lucky she is so she does not complain.

Awesome test. Biggest surprise to me was all of the top three were none I had ever heard of. Ones I've purchased in the past (Ballistol, Breakfree CLP) that were winners in other tests only came out middle-of-the-road here. And I like your idea for testing lubricity, very clever.

While I haven't seen Frog Lube on any shelf I did notice that the local Sportsmans Warehouse carries the Hornady One-Shot gun cleaner/dry lubricant. I'll be grabbing some of that and some WD-40 for non-gun related uses.

If you do more testing, might want to include the "Bull Frog" rust preventer line. (Actually I thought that's who produced the Frog Lube that did so well, but see it is an entirely different company)

Bullfrog has an advertising display where steelwool has been treated with it and is in a jar of water and hasn't rusted in the year or so it's been on display. I've always been curious to see an independent test of their products.

Thanks for all your effort and the detailed results.

Its been 20 days since I started board #3 which is the indoor board with the (hotdog) fingerprint.



The first (and only) sample so far to exhibit corrosion has appeared. The rust is only in the fingerprint area. The sample plate is the one coated with Eezox.



For all the positive comments about Eezox, it has been a complete disappointment in lubricity and corrosion resistance.

Update on the two outdoors corrosion boards. Hornady One shot has finally failed on Board #2 Leaving Frog Lube and WD 40 Specialist but the Hornady product is still going strong on board #1.

looks to me like the frog lube is begining to fail on the bottom edge of board 1. i believe you have a winner.

yes but the foam is now water soaked and quite heavy. THe portions of the metal plates contancting that foam are essentially under water so the contact line is not only always wet but has the potential to wear off the lube so all pates got a pass for any corrosion forming at that point.

I am in the process of designing an experiment, process and device to do further lubricity evaluations on these products. The first evaluation was for the coefficient of �static� friction but I fear it was lacking (even though it was a reasonable side by side evaluation) so Im working on evaluating �dynamic� friction forces. The long holiday weekend should provide me with time to get this going.

Static coefficient of friction was pretty straight forward with the weighted sled and the addition of water to eventually break free the friction forces between the two metal plates but I am devising a constant motion evaluation so I can capture the friction forces between two metal plates that are continually moving to gauge lubricity of the products as well as wear over a great duration than the static friction evaluation.

Ive completed the device I assembled and plan to use to measure dynamic friction forces. There are some refinements I need to make but I think the concept is pretty straight forward.











Here is a video of the dynamic coefficient of friction device in action. Its clear I need to work on the consistency of the smoothness of the big saw blade. You can hear and see the variations in smoothness.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ll66unVgMo

In the coming days I will evaluate the friction reducing properties of the products I have previously evaluated for lubricity and corrosion resistance.

Are you from the future?

That's cool. Really appreciate the work and my bottle of Frog CLP arrived this week. Looking forward to a real-world test in Sept in Newfoundland.

Actually record players are from the past (and hard to come by these days) I got the idea from ET and his "phone home" device that used a record player and saw blade.

Rather than posting the day of the failure on the thumbprint portion of the indoor plates I have waited to lump the recent failures into a single post. Here they are. Again this is only in the thumb print area of the plate.













[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/board3J_zpsfe7abc5b.jpg[/img]

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/board3K_zps943d14d9.jpg[/img]

As for the outdoor boards. Board #2 has now had every product show corrosion at 29 days. Board #1 is at 30 days with the same remaining products still fighting off corrosion.

[img]http://i28.photobucket.com/albums/c239/212007154/boards4_zps9dbb4923.jpg[/img]

Here is an update on the corrosion boards after 43 and 42 days outside.



The last three samples on board #1 are about to give up.



Board #2 samples are all finished. Every sample is showing corrosion.



The indoor samples (after 41 days) are showing more failures. (Only in the thumb print area)

Rust prevent, WD 40 regular), Militech1, Strike hold, Archoil, 3 In One iol, Kroil, Hoppe's MDL. Mil Poro 7 have now failed along with the others that had failed earlier.

As mentioned earlier I put together a device to capture the dynamic coefficient of friction for all the products I have previously evaluated (including a static friction evaluation)

Ive tabulated the results and they are similar to those of the static coefficient of friction evaluation.

Here is a video showing how the evaluation was conducted and how excess lube actually worsens or confounds our attempts to make metal slide easier against one another. The video will show that only in the absolute minimalist state do the gun lubes actually reduce the friction/drag forces.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5LeeIfvLm0

All the products were run through the friction device and the chart below shows how each product performed in comparison to one another as well as dry steel (no lube at all)

After 62 days the outdoor evaluation has concluded. This past June was one of the rainiest on record. I did not post the failure date of the last three products on the date of the failure so I could lump them together. Here are the final products to show corrosion.

Frog Lube after 54 days

Hornady One Shot after 58 days and

WD 40 Specialist at 62 days.







The indoor evaluation is still on-going.

+1. I JUST 5 minutes ago was made aware of this thread. The man did a magnificent job presenting all the data, but I would suggest that IF anyone has the time to read all of this, well mister, you have WAY too much free time.

He's moved on....
Working up a miracle whip spreadsheet.

tag

DIYguy,

Thank you TONS for doing this report and posting it. I read it before, but failed to give the credit and kudo's that I should have back in May and June. AWESOME job, sir. Very useful and informative.

MARK

I think they runned DIYguy off awhile back.

Yes he got run off for inappropriate posts.

LOL

Kenbob, your magic notify powers are of little use here.

Who is Kenbob?

looks like Froglube is a winner

...and being a complete and utter doosh.

tag

How is this possible? We only have about 40 more that hang out here.

some dooshes are more notable than others?

Don't bother. Any test that doesn't include Eezox doesn't really matter......

Well, the head idiot of blue tape and "good stock ear weld" fame is back...

What a plick!

Nebraska-
Your post is puzzling, because EEZOX was included in the test.

From the first post in this thread:
.

.
Here's a screen shot of the youtube video linked from the post in this thread, showing the corrosion results of Board #1:
.

.
Results for EEZOX on test board #2 were similar.

Apparently EEZOX did not perform as well as several other products in this evaluation.
--Bob

Thanks I saw your write up on shotgun world, very helpful, and welcome back.

Good grief......first we gotta put up with 60 pages of SafariMan's lying BS and now someone has to drag up the ghost of Christmas past...

Can Christmas get any more disfunctional around here?

A 'dynasty' of disfunction?

Book it!

I have more respect for DIY Guy than a lot on here.

Sounds like jealousy.

Is this the guy Miss Lynn got flushed? What'd he do that was so inappropriate he got kicked off the fire? Holy Cow. I didn't think there were any standards here.

Christmas time sure has been interesting around the fire

Must be difficult being so easily duped... the vast majority of his stuff was just plain wrong.

Still sound like jealousy.

Still sounds like gullible...

What was "just plain wrong" about his stuff? Are you saying that his evaluation of gun care products was inaccurate or what?

Listing all the problems with his "tests" would take some time and someone usually stated the shortcomings of his "scientific method..."

His bowbuilding thread was pathetic for a lot of reasons, but the real standout was using ordinary epoxy and heatig it to cure... the longer epoxy takes to cure the stronger it is. Spending all that time just to build a bow which will not last is bad enough, but showing it so others will follow is just plain sad.

But back to this study... the metal involved in this piece is absolutely irrelevant to gun care. Show me a single firearm with untreated cold-rolled on the surface.

Corrosion blockers for guns in real tests are used on metals actually used on guns... with surface protection designed for real-life use. Something that protects bare metal better does not necessarily protect gun surfaces better.

If you are gullible enough to think this is a worthwhile study you need a little background in metals...

I am so gullible ….I knew SM was a con man before it was popular, before Yalie posts and Missouri Ed. I too purchased a rifle from SM. I got what I paid for, and I believe , saved someone in so doing, so I was told.
DIY guy is interesting. He is still on other forums.
His work with stainless, deer hide, etc. is much more interesting than any drivel you have spouted.

That's better than the 100% of your stuff thats just plain wrong. Cisco's got you pegged perfectly.

Show me a single error I have posted, please.

Cisco and BFD... Have to assume you were simply blowing more smoke as you declined to list a single error on my part.

I took the liberty to look at your posts...

Betting you would not really want to start crossing swords over idiot posts on your part... versus the inability to list a single actual error on my part.

I've looked at your posts too, and they ain't pretty. You are just another keyboard cowboy knowitall.

And a crook.

Now puff up your chest and hit those keys really hard so we all know what a manly man you are.

PS. You don't know [bleep].

another completely inane and useless dredging up of old chit. Gez

Bump