FireClean Rust Test

Last month I did a review on Fireclean Gun Oil.  It worked exceptionally well as a lubricant, and very well as a cleaner.  I like using CLP (Cleaner, Lubricant, Preservative) because then I only have to carry one thing with me.

So I wanted to test how well FireClean would work as a preservative.  The company doesn’t claim their product is a preservative but a conditioner.  Really not sure what that means, but it’s good marketing.

I got the same piece of steel I’ve been using for previous tests (Frog Lube Review vs CLP) and used a grinder to get rid of the rust showing.  Then I simply placed the steel in front of my garden and watered it every other day, and let it sit through two major thunderstorms.

I did notice when I watered it that after about a week there was a different look to the water on both sides.  On the Frog Lube side the water beaded off like on plastic, but the FireClean side looked just like the untreated part.  The water just seemed to flow in.  The beading tells me that the water isn’t penetrating as much (I should have gotten a picture, but failed, sorry).

I could also see that the rust started a lot earlier on the untreated part of metal then either the treated parts.  The FireClean held off the rust for a while, and then when it started rusting the entire area went fast.

At the end of the test you can see that the FireClean did better then that of the untreated metal, but no where as good as the Frog Lube.  FireClean seems to do everything well except rust prevention.  I’ll continue to use Frog Lube for that.

I also wanted to see how well both lubes worked to get rust off, so I wiped off the metal with the lube on it’s side.

The Frog Lube side almost all the rust wiped off with minimal effort.  On the FireClean side I couldn’t really make that much progress.  So I decided to try something else.

This is my Winchester 1200 Defender.  I nice cheap shotgun that I’ve had for years, and haven’t touched or fired in at least two years.  There was some nice rust build up on the gun.

So I got a brass brush and used each lube to scrub some of the rust off.  First thing I noticed is the finished came off with the rust and the brass brush.  I’ve used brass brushes on other weapons without a problem.   The Winchester just doesn’t seem to have that great a finish.

After that, I used both lubes on a nylon brush to work on it.  Both worked about the same, I just found the FireClean a little easier to work with; being more liquid then the Frog Lube.  The Frog Lube is almost a past.  I’ve also found that Frog Lube is extremely hard to use in cold weather.

Conclusion:

I’m still in search for the perfect CLP.  I’ll keep using it on my carry gun and find out what happens, but just as a test.  If I weren’t testing it, I would use BreakFree CLP on my carry gun.  I would suggest using FireClean if you where going to a high round count course or range session and don’t want any malfunctions.

I’m still searching.  If you have any suggestions leave me a comment or shoot me an email.

Stay Safe,

Ben