CMonty Posted November 11, 2014 Share Posted November 11, 2014 In preparations for the Samson 3 man 3 gun match 2 weeks ago, I made sure to wipe down all of my guns and reapplied a light coat of FireClean. Throughout the match there were many competitors rifles, pistols and shotguns, that were rendered single shot by the relatively cold (35-45) temps, However mine ran perfectly throughout the match. Any other FireClean experiences or a temp range where I will need to switch to a lower temp gun lube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flash74 Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 My experience with fire clean was not good. I used to use an 11-87 for 3gun. I replaced it with a Versamax. I cleaned the 11-87, lubed it with fire clean and put it in the closet loaded with buckshot for HD. A couple months later I was getting ready for the Benelli shotgun championship at Rockcastle and grabbed the 11-87 for backup and went to the range for practice. When I went to shoot the 11-87 it would not fire a single round. The fire clean totally froze the firing pin, it was sticky like syrup. This made me sick to my stomach since I have had this gun loaded for HD. I could not imagine needing to fire the gun and having a click instead of a bang. Racking the bolt and getting another click. I cleaned the 11-87 and relubed with slip2000 ewl. No issues since I changed lube and I function check my HD guns much more often. The fire clean was put next to my 3-in-1 oil for oiling hinges and the like. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 13, 2014 Share Posted November 13, 2014 Sounds like it was contaminated with the previous lubricant. I have FC on several guns that have been sitting in my safe since last winter with absolutely no change in viscosity at tall. I've used it to about -10 Celsius, again with no change. Very stable stuff in my opinion. Best lube I've used so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mfaith Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 This is the first I've heard of it. I'll have to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 (edited) I agree with R.Elliott. I watched the FireClean video and read their instructions, so I spent considerable time removing old lube and cleaning with FC and degreasing again with alcohol. Before finally applying final coat of FC. I took all my guns down to clean. Being a chemist, I probably am a little ocd on degreasing. But I've had enough problems with mixed CLP and oil in the past to want to really get rid of old lube and grease. But I've had no problems since including recent cold windy match. But the real proof will come this winter. Hoping somebody in Alaska or Canada is using FC and can tell us. Edited November 14, 2014 by Jadeslade Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I did the same thing to my shotgun with Frog Lube. Bought it new, disassembled, degreased the snot out of it and Froglubed it. That was a few months ago. Couple of weeks ago I was playing with it and the action was very "sticky/sluggish" feeling. The FL had really hardened up. Cleaned it all off and used my home brew synthetic oil based stuff on it and it's a vast difference. I also tested my brew by putting it in the freezer. At 0 degrees F, I can't tell any difference from room temp. Try that with FL and you'll pull a pale green brick out of the freezer. I've long suspected that Fire Clean and Froglube use the same base chemical, though I haven't a clue what it might be. Now I'm curious, gotta go throw the FC in the freezer to check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Well I haven't tried it in the freezer yet but I can say it performed flawlessly at temperatures below which I am not willing to shoot. My hands will freeze before the lube will. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yeah, I realized you were in Canada after I posted. Cause of the -10C. Good to have your input. FC has performed across the spectrum for me. 1911, ar, shotgun, sub gun with silencer, ak, small pistols. Shadow rider, frog lube and fireclean are not the same. I really don't get adding in peppermint or whatever oil to a gun lube - makes no chemical or useful sense, marketing only. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 I've seen quite a few guns seize up with frog sweat. It's wax, basically, so no good for cold. First time a lube fails is the last time in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 These experiences with the hardening of the FC and/or FL....could it be a dust thing? Could the lube be gathering dust/debri and drying/gumming up? Applying the lubes and placing in the controlled environment of a safe, I can see that no change would be likely. ..but on a HD weapon which is generally left out? Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Fireclean does not harden or lumpen up. It's frog lube that does that. You can open your ar and wipe it down with a rag and it still is lubed. Has a unique viscosity kind of like dry lube with more substance to it. I oil my guns with it just like always and it is never just oil and forget it. I don't think that lube exists. I think a HD gun needs to be checked as often as you feel it needs to be checked, which is not every Christmas. I check my carry gun every day. I think most of us do. FireClean is a specific clp with properties I like because travel, cleaning time, and different guns all the time. If I never left home Rem Oil and SlideGlide would do me fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Grumpy that's one of the good things about Froglube, at least with the paste. It does in fact act like some sort of wax that hardens so it just doesn't attract dust. I was also very skeptical about it soaking into the pores of metal, I was a machinist for over 20 years and the only metal I know of that's porous is cast iron, that's why you can't really weld it after it's been in service, you just can't bake the oil out of it. Steels, aluminum, brass, etc. just isn't going to absorb anything. But I did my own corrosion test using a bunch of different lubes and Fireclean and Froglube both did very well. The best one of the bunch was Froglube paste where the surface was heated before application and wiped totally clean after cooling off. It seems to leave a wax coating. I didn't use the heat with Fireclean since they don't mention it. A light coating held off the rust almost as long as either of the Froglube products. For this reason I still use it on the outside of the gun and in the bore, but all other areas I use a synthetic oil. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve RA Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Use Shell Rotella T or Mobil 1 and you won't have any of the above mentioned problems. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrumpyOne Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Use Shell Rotella T or Mobil 1 and you won't have any of the above mentioned problems. I was asking about the FC and FL...cause I use Mobile 1. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Mobile-1 is my go-to if I run out of FC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Well just like I thought. Froglube came out of the freezer solid as a rock. Fireclean wasn't quite as bad but was still plenty firm enough to lock up your gun. FC also took considerably less time to thaw. Both of them had the visual appearance of what Johnsons paste wax would be if you froze it. For comparison my my synthetic oil mixed with synthetic wheel bearing grease (NLGI#2) mixed at 2:1 ratio (2 parts oil) would still drop off of a tongue depressor pretty freely. Freezer temp is set at 0 degrees F. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Lol. I think Mobil 1 is everybody's go to if they run out, cause you can get it at the supermarket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Well just like I thought. Froglube came out of the freezer solid as a rock. Fireclean wasn't quite as bad but was still plenty firm enough to lock up your gun. FC also took considerably less time to thaw. Both of them had the visual appearance of what Johnsons paste wax would be if you froze it. For comparison my my synthetic oil mixed with synthetic wheel bearing grease (NLGI#2) mixed at 2:1 ratio (2 parts oil) would still drop off of a tongue depressor pretty freely. Freezer temp is set at 0 degrees F. How long did the FC take to freeze up? I have an outdoor match tomorrow morning and it's supposed to be cold.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadowrider Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Well just like I thought. Froglube came out of the freezer solid as a rock. Fireclean wasn't quite as bad but was still plenty firm enough to lock up your gun. FC also took considerably less time to thaw. Both of them had the visual appearance of what Johnsons paste wax would be if you froze it. For comparison my my synthetic oil mixed with synthetic wheel bearing grease (NLGI#2) mixed at 2:1 ratio (2 parts oil) would still drop off of a tongue depressor pretty freely. Freezer temp is set at 0 degrees F. How long did the FC take to freeze up? I have an outdoor match tomorrow morning and it's supposed to be cold.... Not long. I put maybe a teaspoon of each in a dixie cup and dropped them in the freezer. An hour later both were frozen. Not much thickness on the gun either and it will cold soak very quick but the real question is the gun. How long will it take to freeze? And in Canada and right now, I'm betting that's not long! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Not long. I put maybe a teaspoon of each in a dixie cup and dropped them in the freezer. An hour later both were frozen. Not much thickness on the gun either and it will cold soak very quick but the real question is the gun. How long will it take to freeze? And in Canada and right now, I'm betting that's not long! Thanks very much. I have to clean the gun tonight anyway; maybe I'll reactivate the M1 for tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jadeslade Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 No!I want to know if your gun will work! Don't do it. [emoji4] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sarpau Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Yes R Elliot, I too would like for you to experiment with the FC in the cold, seeing as I'm shooting Open tomorrow against you! Its Paul. I think we're in the same squad. I use FC on my AR, but I've only ever used it in decent weather. Have a 2gun match tomorrow after the IPSC match. We'll see if there are any issues with the AR. I may have to put some FC on my open Glock and see how it does at the IPSC match. My shotgun has always received my proprietary blend of Mobil 1 10w30, ATF, and Red n' Tacky wheel bearing grease. Never had an issue with that in any weather conditions, including being out in the "WTF am I doing out here" cold while rabbit hunting. Will report back after I thaw out tomorrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cd0306 Posted November 14, 2014 Share Posted November 14, 2014 Thanks for the info...Time to try some experiments with FC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Yes R Elliot, I too would like for you to experiment with the FC in the cold, seeing as I'm shooting Open tomorrow against you! Its Paul. I think we're in the same squad. Well in that case, I'm going to need every advantage I can get! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R.Elliott Posted November 15, 2014 Share Posted November 15, 2014 Ok, gun was flawless. Operator, not so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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