CLP vs Dedicated Solvents/Lubricants
This has been an issue that has really bugged me for a number of years, now. I’ve tried numerous various products related to firearms cleaning and maintenance, yet one thing seems to consistently hold true; CLP of any brand just doesn’t seem to cut it, at least in my experience. Every CLP seems to leave something to be desired, sometimes in a big way. In most cases that I’ve seen, it is typically the lubrication that falls short, however, others seem to not do so hot as far as cleaning. I was reminded of this again after, despite my extreme bias, trying a different brand of CLP. It had come as part of a kit, so it wasn’t something I needed to purchase. Instead, it was something I looked at that would just live in the case of cleaning supplies forever. Curiosity ended up getting the better of me, and I gave it a try. I was not thrilled with the results.
The CLP in question in this particular instance, was none other than Pro-Shot’s 1Step CLP. As of this writing, a small 1-oz bottle cost $7.62 on the Pro-Shot website. An 8-oz bottle is $14.53, and a gallon is a whopping $96.63 (all prices in USD, of course). This is outrageous - Ed’s Red, a home brew cleaner that I use regularly, is a fraction of that cost. Let’s break it down here (all prices via walmart.com):
Valvoline Dexron VI - Mercon Automatic Transmission Fluid: $6.88/QT
Crown K1 Kerosene: $7.93/QT
Rustoleum Acetone: $11.97/QT
That brings us to a grand total of $34.26, which is almost one-third the cost of the aforementioned 1Step CLP. I will say this, the CLP has no odor, which is nice, but I’ll be damned if the Ed’s Red doesn’t outshine it in every other aspect. Even in lubrication, which I don’t consider Ed’s Red to be, it feels far more slippery on the gloved fingers than does the 1Step. I honestly don’t see how that stuff would even lubricate anything. The directions don’t claim it to be a dry-film, so what exactly is this stuff doing? Maybe it’s a great protectant - I didn’t leave it on so that I could test it. The CLP, for all intents and purposes, appears to me to have a viscosity similar to water. Again, if it is that thin, and doesn’t feel slippery, what exactly is it doing?
That brings up my next point - lubrication. Realistically, I’ve used just plain ol’ engine oil for years and years. Just by itself, it is a great lubricant for a great many things, and many quarts have been expended on the various AR-15s and AKs I’ve had through the years. A quart bottle of 5W-30 can be had for less than five dollars at the time of this writing. I bought many at less than two or three dollars some years back, and still have some hanging around. Recently, however, I’ve become aware that maybe, just maybe, a slightly thicker viscosity would be beneficial. Chad Albrecht, over at School of the American Rifle, has developed what he calls “Sotaracha”, which is simply a mix of synthetic engine oil and synthetic grease. The video on how to make it and use it is here. That got me to thinking, and that’s always a problem. Needless to say, I decided to come out with my own creation with stuff I already had. The engine oil was already there, and on the shelf was a tube of black moly grease and blue marine-grade grease. Into a container they went, maybe half a quart of oil and a few ounces each of the two greases. I wanted something a bit thinner than the Sotaracha, so I also mixed in a roughly equal part of some of the leftover ATF from when I made my Ed’s Red. The result was a dark purple color. Not to be left behind in clever names, I immediately dubbed my creation “Plum Sauce”. This batch was made years ago, measured by eyeballing everything, and nothing was written down, but that same batch persists despite constant usage. A little goes a long way with this stuff, and it was super cheap to make, too. The moly grease was around $5/tube, and I think I paid around $7 for the marine grease. How can you beat that cost/performance ratio?
Let me say this - I don’t have any problem with gun-specific cleaners and lubricants, because they tend to do their job with minimal fuss. I still use a bit of Hoppes bore solvent from time to time, specifically with heavily copper-fouled bores. I have long since run out, but I’ve had a few gun-specific oils back in the day as well. The only issue with them is cost; that Hoppes, bought around 2018, was something like $20 dollars for a 16oz bottle. Compared to the $34 bucks of the whole GALLON of Ed’s Red, Hoppes costs a fortune. As of this writing, I still have about a quarter of it left, but unless I have a specific reason to use it (like the copper fouling, or maybe just a bit of nostalgia for the smell of it), the Ed’s Red gets the nod every time.
