So how do you do it? (Prevent rusting in wet conditions)

[coupe]

Ok gotta ask...
 What the heck is frog lube, never heard of it. Hope it's not the slime from the skin, from the text of the last post is assume it has a lot to do with coconut oil. Is it better than the castor oil I have been using?
coupe

[Joe S]

Scroll up and read davec2's post then look at the link. Very interesting data.

One of the best and most comprehensive tests of gun care and other commercial products for rust prevention, etc.  Long but very informative.

http://www.dayattherange.com/?page_id=3667

[davec2]

Jose,
Great data !!! I have nowhere near the energy to repeat the testing in that article but I do have the energy to try a few samples comparing Frog Lube with coconut oil.
Thanks for posting..... by the by , where did you find that data???

[Craig Wilcox]

I have long used Fixin' Wax.  50/50 beeswax and kidney fat from a butchered bovine.  I rub it in very well, and it both beautifies and protects.  Chuck it in a pot, stir while it heats, then pour it into various containers.

It is edible, works great as protection from chapped lips. and will burn with a simple candle wick.  I usually toss in some peppermint or spearmint oil.  Might make my firearm smell funny, but it makes the lips good when you rub a bit on.  I use an empty Altoids tin or 12 when I go to making it.  Makes great little Christmas gifts.

[Joe S]

dave - here's two references:

https://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/2016/02/21/froglube-is-probably-made-from-coconut-oil-not-frogs/

https://vuurwapenblog.com/general-opinion/lies-errors-and-omissions/froglube-tracklube-and-seal1-laboratory-analysis/

[Clark Badgett]

Frog lube is a product that will never be put anywhere near a firearm that I wish to depend upon. I like my guns to function and not lock up. Learned that the hard way, where function matters, really matters. Only lube I have ever thrown away.

[davec2]

I would be interested to know what the circumstances were for your “lock up”.  Unless you were in extremely cold temperatures, I’m not quite sure how you could lock up a firearm with coconut oil ?  But I would be interested to know what happened.

[Don Steele]

I have long used Fixin' Wax.  50/50 beeswax and kidney fat from a butchered bovine.  I rub it in very well, and it both beautifies and protects.  Chuck it in a pot, stir while it heats, then pour it into various containers.

It is edible, works great as protection from chapped lips. and will burn with a simple candle wick.  I usually toss in some peppermint or spearmint oil.  Might make my firearm smell funny, but it makes the lips good when you rub a bit on.  I use an empty Altoids tin or 12 when I go to making it.  Makes great little Christmas gifts.

Craig, I hope you don't mind if I expand just a little for the benefit of our friends (including myself) who might wish to give your recipe a try.
Folks...the "kidney fat" he's referring to is better known within the beef processing industry as Suet. It's composition is not the same as general Beef fat. When I was working in the business we kept Suet separate from Fat because it brought a premium price from the renderer, and occasionally had customers purchasing it for edible use.  You can often find actual Suet for sale in a grocery store, or you can ask for it...just be sure you tell them you're looking for Suet, not just "fat". 

[Craig Wilcox]

Don't mind a bit, Don.  Thanks for mentioning that suet.  I did, many years ago, try it with fat trimmed from a hind quarter of steer - egads, what a mistake!  That stuff turns rancid really quickly.
Most butchers will give you a pound or so of the suet, at least those who custom cut someone's steer.  I have been wanting to try some buffalo suet, and see how that works.

[Clark Badgett]

I would be interested to know what the circumstances were for your “lock up”.  Unless you were in extremely cold temperatures, I’m not quite sure how you could lock up a firearm with coconut oil ?  But I would be interested to know what happened.

I do shoot year round. Military rifle range in October 2010, about 30*. Took 5 founds before the action would fully cycle reliably. Not  a lock up per say with that incident, but a handgun that I have that has a round part that spins on a pin had to be disassembled, cleaned and relubed with bear grease and that was just from storage in my 60* basement. Sluggish performance after sitting with froglube is fairly common knowledge within the original targeted group of shooters.

[Scota4570]

Coconut oil becomes solid below about 75* F.  It is hard as a rock at refrigerator temperature.  Above 75* it is a thin oil.  Putting it in a mechanism would really gum up the works at anything other than shirtsleeve temperatures. 

[davec2]

Clark B,
Thanks for the info. I have never put it on any weapon thicker than a thin wipe. Never had the kind of difficulty you mention in any modern weapon with it. For muzzle loaders, I use it primarily to prevent rust on the outside and in the bore and I lube the lock internals with an action grease from Brownells.

[thecapgunkid]

Daryl...I don't put anything on them, now, or when I lived down on the coast. The stocks all have finish
and the barrels get wiped down with WD40 after cleaning.

Yup.  Even when I was out in the woods for two or three days I could never see the need to over grease or wipe.  I judge the trick is to clean promptly, a habit that was ingrained deeply, probably by the Smokey The Bear Cover.  Thanks,  SIR! Semper Fi.

[MuskratMike]

...and that is the lesson I learned from this. if you get your fine weapon soaking wet, don't take it from the cold wet environment and bring it into a warm dry garage or shop and not tend to it right away. There was no damage done but it was a little reminder I will not soon forget or repeat.

[Daryl]

I would add to this, that if I lived in a very humid area, I would likely use something like Hoppe's #9 (smokeless powder solvent) for rust prevention on the outside of the gun's steel.

  Wet tests have shown it to be second only to Eezox for rust prevention and much better than Hoppe's Gun Oil. Go figure.

Others on other sites have noted products like "Sheath" or some such name. I have no experience with that product. Others use Break-free CLP, although it's been 35 years since I used CLP

for anything. Seemed to do that job, but I lived in Smithers with 50% average humidity. There, WD40 worked just as well.

[MuskratMike]

Thank you Daryl. I value your opinion.

[Dennis Daigger]

RIG

[Nhgrants]

I use rig on the inside of the lock, 3 and 1 oil inside the bore and butcher's wax under and outside the barrel.
Not sure if butcher's wax is the best wax but the smell reminds me of an old store when I grew up.
I think that deer tallow patch lube slows some rust from forming in the bore and at the muzzle.
In cold weather i add olive oil to the tallow. I no longer put anything with beeswax in the barrel.

Break free CO (collectors oil) IS what I use inside and outside the barrel is the gun won't be used for awhile.

[adam h]

I just ordered a can of wd-40 specialist thanks for that information looks like it will work on
anything.

[Mike from OK]

WD40 Specialist Long Term Corrosion Inhibitor... It ranked high in some of the tests they put it through. Don't know if it's the best of the best, but it works and is easy to use.

Mike

[Brokennock]

Frog lube is junk, I've had rust get WORSE on some stainless tactical folders that were carried daily, had it seize and allow minor rust a couple 1911's (the company rep said it was because the gun was cold that it siezed), and the guys running the company are shady, ripped off someone else for the formula. The only claim they make that is valid is that it is natural and non-toxic.
I have over 20 years in the modern firearms business, the only modern cleaners/lubes I use are, MFR-7, Gunzilla, MPro-7, Wislon Combat grease and oil (on 1911s and Hi-Powers), and on a VERY dirty bore, I will sometimes use Butch's Bore Shine (stuff smells like death by chemical but works.
The only one of these I use on my muzzleloaders is the Gunzilla. I did a freeze test in my freezer and it didn't turn to a block of ice (I know, not very scientific) and I use it mostly as a lock lube. If I know it will be a while before I can clean the bore after a range session, I swab the bore with it before leaving the range. I plan to do some tests using it as a patch and/or felt wad lube, at some point. Initial test shots using it on felt wads with round balls shot from a smoothie resulted in those rounds impacting higher than with my usual olive oil and beeswax lube.

For rust protection on the outside of the barrel and lock I just use beeswax.

[borderdogs]

I use Ballistol and it works for me. I try not to shoot in bad wet weather and I usually have an oil rag somewhere on me to wipe the rifle down. I don't use wax on anything gun related. If it is really wet/snow when I get home I will completely disassemble the gun and remove the lock and barrel to make sure I get any water off and just add that to my cleaning routine. Been doing this for a long time never had a problem.
By the way I love those pictures Daryl!
Rob

[Daryl]

We used to shoot in more snow & cold weather than nowadays, although that wasn't that many years ago.
As to ballistol, I think it's water soluble, so likely it's not the best "oil" for wet or damp conditions as it won't keep water off the steel.
Complete take down and cleaning if wet with snow or water/rain, is a good thing. Well done.
Looking forward to the shooting tests.

[Clark Badgett]

We used to shoot in more snow & cold weather than nowadays, although that wasn't that many years ago.
As to ballistol, I think it's water soluble, so likely it's not the best "oil" for wet or damp conditions as it won't keep water off the steel.
Complete take down and cleaning if wet with snow or water/rain, is a good thing. Well done.
Looking forward to the shooting tests.

Ballistol emulsifies in water, it doesn't dissolve. Been using Ballistol since early may on all my firearms and tools at work (non-climate controlled and humid in winter and summer) and have had zero rust on anything. So far, it is working just as the can says, even cleans minor cuts and ends dry skin. Honestly.

[Bob McBride]

We used to shoot in more snow & cold weather than nowadays, although that wasn't that many years ago.
As to ballistol, I think it's water soluble, so likely it's not the best "oil" for wet or damp conditions as it won't keep water off the steel.
Complete take down and cleaning if wet with snow or water/rain, is a good thing. Well done.
Looking forward to the shooting tests.

Ballistol emulsifies in water, it doesn't dissolve. Been using Ballistol since early may on all my firearms and tools at work (non-climate controlled and humid in winter and summer) and have had zero rust on anything. So far, it is working just as the can says, even cleans minor cuts and ends dry skin. Honestly.

I even heard somewhere it was edible. That was probably someone’s simplification on it being nontoxic as well. 

Bear grease works great. However, like anything else I do in the rain or high humidity, I don’t so much keep something from getting surface rust on it as I do remove any rust that forms and oil. Rinse and repeat.