Favorite Cleaners and Oils

[Chevusa]

What does everyone like to use for gun cleaning and lube?
I have been using M-Pro 7 and have been pretty happy with it. It has no smell and works pretty good. The other day after a range trip I noticed some of the barrels weren’t cleaning to 100%, but were good enough. Tonight I got out my bottle of Hoppe’s #9 and I was getting patches that were black out of the barrel’s that were just cleaned the other day. It is definitely a more effective product.

As far as oil goes, I’ve been really happy using Weapon Shield. There are some impressive demonstrations on YouTube from them. The needle tip oil pen works great for just the right amount of lube in the slide rails.

I gave BreakFree CLP a shot but found it to be impossible to get the excess off to my liking. After using it for a while I did a detailed slide strip after a range session, and found the parts that should be dry were soaked in it and retaining burnt powder residue. The all in one solution doesn’t make a lot of sense to me. There are parts on the gun that should not get lube, but need to be cleaned. If you use a CLP product there is going to be an oil residue left behind to attract dirt and powder to those areas. I do have a can of Ballistol but don’t use it for that reason and the smell is horrible especially in my little area where I clean guns. Does it still have the cult following it used to? I can’t imagine it being a very effective solvent down a barrel. What do you guys like to use?

 

[Jem45472]

Brake cleaner, clp, and Mobil 1 for me.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

I used to use Hoppes then tried Butch's Bore Shine. Amazed at the carbon buildup it removes. I finish the barrel with a patch of Ballistol and then a dry patch.

 

[redtail]

Hoppes/Kroil 50/50 for clean.
Mobil1 for lube.
ETA- Ballistol for everything easy.

 

[Vapor]

Slp products.

Slp 2000 oil
Slp extreme weapons grease for semi autos
Mp7 or slp for the bore
Hoppes elite copper terminator for copper


I am done with anything toxic/petroleum based.

 

[Edwardteach72]

Oh I'm following because these threads get fun

 

[kev74]

A bucket full of mineral spirits for general cleaning. Hoppe's for rifle barrels.

Slip2000 for lube, high pressure grease where needed - bolt lugs, etc.

 

[Carlos Hathcock]

I am done with anything toxic/petroleum based.

Is this part of the Green New Deal?

 

[Darth]

Ballistol for everything.

 

[4 paws]

Used BreakFree CLP for years. Probably around 5 yrs ago switched over to Ballistol and have been very happy with it and no issues with reliability or functioning of any firearms.

 

[Acer-m14]

Hoppe’s #9 .. my friends wife loves the smell so i get some extra hugs LOL .

 

[Acer-m14]

I am done with anything toxic/petroleum based.

so go black powder .. just need soap and water LOL ..

 

[Vapor]

Is this part of the Green New Deal?

Nope, just personal preference.

There difference here is I'm fine with whatever you guys use...I don't feel the need to tell you how to live your lives while being a total potato...

 

[kev74]

so go black powder .. just need soap and water LOL ..

You got your quotes mixed up. I'm not the hippy!!!

 

[Mosinitis]

Go Juice from Geissele is becoming very popular lubricant. It's also organic and totally harmless to your health. I started using it on AR few month ago and I love it. Clean with CLP and lube with Go Juice. It doesn't attract carbon like CLP, less fouling to deal with during cleaning and it stays where you applied it. No smell either.

 

[togmaster]

I'm switching from Mobil 1 to full synthetic Shell Rotella 5w-40. Only because that's what I use in my truck.

 

[Saltwater60]

I’d switch it up every once in a while personally just because one product probably won’t be great at getting everything off. They all excel in one are IMO. I do that with most things cleaning wise.

 

[Chevusa]

I would be curious if you Ballistol/ "green" type product guys ran a patch through your barrel with something like Hoppe's what it would look like. Anyone got a bottle laying around that is up for an experiment? My patches were clean with M-Pro 7 and black with Hoppe's.

 

[Robin]

A hand full of masonry sand and 90wt. gear oil, flush with scalding hot water with some Dawn in it, effing shines like Venus on a dark night!
Robin

 

[Phauxtoe]

CLP
Cleanzoil

 

[Vapor]

Honestly, to the op...

I've used hoppes number 9, hoppes elite, mp7, etc. The best bet is to run a patch of any of then and let it sit for quite awhile. Maybe an hour. Then patch clean.

None of them get it "all". I can run a patch of any of then several hours after I'm done and there will still be a little stuff coming out usually. I don't think your mp7 failed. It may also vary depending on how tight your patches were, how much you disrupted the copper equilibrium of the barrel, and if you used a bore brush or not.


We tend to over clean our bores anwyay. Less is more in this case. You'll do more damage buggering up your chamber/crown than you will cleaning sparingly.

 

[Chevusa]

Here is my current line up. Don't even ask to see my box of holsters. I just like to try different things. I think maybe next time I will try the Ballistol process. I bought it after seeing Hickok 45 use it, like a lot of others I'm sure. I just never liked the smell so I don't think I've ever tried it for cleaning. Maybe it'll grow on me if I decide I like how it works. Not 100% sold that it will do a good job as lubricant though.

 

[beebee]

Meh.. As long as the lube is wet and oily or greasy, its fine.. Gun oil, motor oils, synthetic or not, ATF , automotive white grease, Lubriplate, gun grease, they all work..
Tried everything and just don't see much difference, everything works..
I clean tough to reach spots and barrel bores with tiny brushes and bore patches, and I use plain old WD 40.. Its a good gun cleaner.. Its NOT what I use to lube.. It cuts through old oil and grease, powder residue quite well.. I wipe it off very well,, and then lube with a variety of things depending on the day or my whim.. Most often I use Remoil, synthetic motor oil, Lucas white grease, or something called Black Rifle Balm that my son gave me a few years ago.. Tiny bottle, VERY expensive.. Works OK, but no better than plain old synthetic motor oil..
I don't know, but I just don't see or feel much difference in anything I've tried.. If its slick and hangs in pretty well, it all works for me, My guns work well, and don't seem to have any wear or breakage.... I like to clean the weapon and run it on the wet side.. Remoil does not "evaporate" like some have written.. At least not in my guns.. Seems to hang in ok, even though its on the thin side..
Look, for the first 75 years or so of their existence, semi automatic weapons had NO special cleaners or solvents available, and were cleaned with Kerosene, a rag, and some straight weight motor oil, or a dab of automotive grease.. It worked fine, and many of those same guns are still perfectly functional today.. I think way too much time and money is spent on fancy expensive offerings designed to separate gun owners from their money.
If a gun is cleaned properly, and lubed well, its fine.. No need for expensive "specialty" gun products. bob

 

[BDinPutnam]

Sidenote: I was going to try Ballistol on some boots but I read some posts out in the wild that they break down (stitching and whatnot) over time. Anyone have experience?

I use CLP mostly on firearms though I have been known to use Hoppes prewet wipes on surfaces cause I'm lazy sometimes. I have a couple different greases I like for slides and other metal/metal parts.

 

[meketrefe]

A good sonic cleaner, simplegreen, baking soda, hoppes, alcohol, ballistol, motor oil, and multupurpose Honda spray wax.

 

[Popeye243]

Hoppes #9 solvent, whatever gun oil brand I found last at the lgs, and G96 CLP on exteriors that need a little more rust protection. And if a something is really fouled up, Marvel Mystery Oil is awesome for hard buildup

 

[redtail]

Best penatrating oil on the planet.