“Plum Sauce” - Pairs well with a nice “Red”

A few years back, maybe 2022 or so, I decided that if I were going to be primarily using “Ed’s Red” as a cleaner, I could follow it up with my own home-brew lubricant. I had come across a video on YouTube posted by School of the American Rifle talking about his own DIY lubricant, which he dubbed “Sotaracha”.

Well, I liked the idea, but wanted to put my own twist on it, so I created what I affectionately refer to as “Plum Sauce” - a mixture of marine-grade grease, moly grease, engine oil and ATF. The red of the ATF and blue of the marine grease developed into a deep purple hue, hence the name. The original Sotaracha is about the consistency of honey, whereas Plum Sauce is a bit on the thinner side - it gets cold in Oregon, and I wanted something that would be a little thinner for year-round use.

I have used this stuff on AR-15s, AKs, Glocks, 1911s, you name it. Just a little bit goes a very long way, and the “Plum Sauce” goes nicely after cleaning with Ed’s Red.

The recipe is simple; mix equal parts moly and marine grease thoroughly, then add in equal parts of oil and ATF until the desired consistency is reached. As I stated before, my personal mix is a bit on the thinner side; a fair bit thicker than a typical gear oil but not quite as thick as the Sotaracha. At some point, I will refine the mix and put an exact recipe on this page. I find the thinner consistency does well on parts that are hard to reach, but still remains tacky enough to function well on slide rails and bolt carrier groups.