Results of gun care product evaluation

Rancid Crabtree · #1 05-05-2014, 04:58 PM

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***8217;m sure everybody living in my area of the state hated this wet stormy spring weather except me. I couldn***8217;t have picked a better set of days to do this evaluation. Upper 30***8217;s to low 40***8217;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***8217;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***8217;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***8217;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***8217;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 ***8216;s One Shot, edge corrosion shown below is edge contamination on my part as described earlier. I can***8217;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

Here is a picture of Board #2

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

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

Rancid Crabtree · #2 05-05-2014, 04:59 PM

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***8217;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***8217;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***8217;t mean much. None of the 3 water displacers performed well in the corrosion or lubrication evaluation.

4. Don***8217;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***8217;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.

Edit 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.

Gil Martin · #3 05-06-2014, 06:45 AM

I am curious why RIG gun grease and cosmoline were not part of the evaluation. These products were the most effective in the Brownells review of rust prevention products. All the best...
Gil

Rancid Crabtree · #4 05-06-2014, 06:47 AM

See final notes #7.

Rancid Crabtree · #5 05-06-2014, 09:05 AM

I 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.

Adam Helmer · #6 05-06-2014, 12:42 PM

Rancid,

Thank you for a very extensive study and complete report. I get the feeling you have too much free time and this is "Information OVERLOAD!"

Since my first gun possession and care requirements began in 1958, I have used Hoppes#9 for smokeless gun cleaning and G.I. Bore Cleaner for corrosive ammo gun cleaning followed by GI gun oil or Hoppes Gun oil for short term corrosive protection and Mil Spec Rifle Grease or RIG for long term storage of treasured arms. I have NEVER experienced rust or corrosion using my gun cleaning/preservation regimen.

Bottom Line: In 50 words, or less, WHAT do you recommend for corrosion protection? I guess I missed your final recommendation and need an index of the indices!

Adam

Rancid Crabtree · #7 05-06-2014, 02:35 PM

Rancid,

Thank you for a very extensive study and complete report. I get the feeling you have too much free time and this is "Information OVERLOAD!"[/quote]

I have the same 24 hours in my day as everyone else. I stopped watching TV 9 years ago. That may account for what you consider "free" time.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Adam Helmer

Bottom Line: In 50 words, or less, WHAT do you recommend for corrosion protection? I guess I missed your final recommendation and need an index of the indices!

Adam

LOL at 50 words or less. Adam If you read through the entire text you’ll notice I made no recommendations for what you should use on your guns, tools, autos, etc. I would not be so bold. Everything you need to make up your mind is contained in the text.

(The above text was 50 words)