By Jeremy
This spring, I was able to get ahold of a bottle of Frog Lube gun cleaner, and a tube of Frog Lube CLP along with directions on how to properly prep my gun for a first-time application and lubrication. It was easy enough…apply the solvent to all areas and vigorously scrub clean. Then wipe down and apply the Frog Lube CLP, preferably after the gun has been sitting in the sun for a little while or after a heatgun has been used to warm it. As you use the gun and let the lube become conditioned into it, it will get easier to clean . . .
The gun I used for this test was a Windham Weaponry WW15. My WW-15 had an estimated 1,000-1,200 rounds through it without a single gun-related incident, so I was pretty confident in the gun’s ability and was secure in knowing as long as the lube held up it’s end, the rifle would have no problem with operation.
Ok, I’ve got my WW15 lubed up and ready to start my own test. First, I simply lubed it and tossed it in a locker for a month. People do this all the time, and I wanted to see if after a month, it would still be covering all areas equally and not have evaporated, if there was any run-off or had hardened up. After the month was up, it was looking alright. It was a little thicker than your average CLP, almost like it has a touch of gun grease mixed in with it. I figure this was intended to keep the product on the gun with a decent thickness, and increase its ability to catch and hold carbon build up. The heat created by my gun from shooting should have no problem loosening it up.
Next was a simple performance test. I took it to the range and I ran 90 rounds of Federal M183. It wasn’t anything like a mag dump — I was actually just doing normal range day fun while watching for any issues in performance. At the end of the day, there were no issues.
When I got home, I took it apart to do a quick inspection of the parts I could see without doing a BCG tear-down, then I ran a Bore Snake through the barrel a few times. I knew that my gun group had a meet coming up in about a month, and a lot of people let their rifles go with far more rounds fired before they clean them, so I just put it away to simulate someone with the mindset of cleaning every 500-1000 rounds.
Another month passed and I pulled my WW15 out of the locker and did another inspection of the lube. Sure enough, it was kind of tacky, but it ran pretty well last time so I wasn’t too worried about it. I brought along some PMC X-TAC, PMC X-TAC GREEN TIP, Federal M-183, and put out an open invite to everyone in the group that they could run whatever they wanted through it.
The morning started out with me grabbing a few mags and dumping them on the Mustang that we had brought out to shoot and then blow up at the end of the day. After playing around with it a little bit, I was offered a chance of a lifetime. One of the members brought along a very nice sized stack of loaded mags. A total of 840 rounds after all the mags were dug out. He offered, I double checked to make sure it wasn’t a joke and that I was understanding him clearly, and then it was on!
At that point, this test went from being a Frog Lube test to a Frog Lube torture test. We were firing the rifle non-stop as fast as we could feed mags into it. There’s smoke drifting into my eyes from the oil on the barrel burning off and we have a nice brass pile building up. At one point we even had to stop momentarily to swap out foregrips.
Apparently, the angled foregrip doesn’t hold off heat so well. Since I happened to have gloves, I was able to swap it out for a traditional vertical foregrip, took off the gloves and then we kept going. In hindsight….ehhh, maybe wasn’t the best move to just go non-stop like we did on that barrel, but DAMN it was a blast! I actually had to keep swapping out with the guy who provided the ammo to give our hands a break.
At one point, most people broke off for lunch, so a handful of us stepped up to the 30 yd line to unleash on the Mustang from a closer distance. I took a break after that, and placed my AR on my portable AR workbench so it could cool off.
About an hour later, I came back and ran a few more shots through it to make sure everything was still functioning properly. That entire day, I only had two issues with it and both were mag-related failures to feed. I think both times it was just a round not seated properly in the mag. For as many mags as we went through, that’s almost expected, so it was no big deal. Once I got home, I learned one thing DID fail on my rifle. I wore out my gas rings. Not that I’m really upset – if that’s the only problem I had mechanically after all that we put the gun through, then I’m doing pretty good.
As far as the lube goes, here’s where it impressed me: I had very minimal Frog Lube burnoff and the carbon buildup was pretty much non-existant. There was one small patch that may have been ⅛ inch wide by about ¼ inch long stuck on the rear end of the bolt, and a small ring around the firing pin, but that’s it. Even the little bit around the firing pin wasn’t as bad as I’ve seen with Break-Free CLP and far fewer rounds. After the 90 rounds from the first outing, then another 120 rounds I ran myself, and finally the 840 rounds added to the mix, I wound up firing 1,050 rounds for this test.
I’m very impressed. In my opinion, Frog Lube CLP performs above and beyond my expectations and I will be a continued user as long as it keeps up it’s outstanding performance.
Mil-Comm TW-25B
If Mil-Comm is good enough for surgeons and F-22 Raptors, it’s good enough for me. But Froglube is good too.
Try this for a comprehensive review of gun CLP products. Long, but thorough.
http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/showthread.php/141077-Results-of-gun-care-product-evaluation
840 rounds isn’t a lot of rounds. I’ve seen wheel bearing grease go for 2,000+ rounds between lubrications. And it is one tenth the price of Frog Lube.
I bought the 4oz liquid and 4oz paste containers of frog lube about 2 years ago.
I use it on over a dozen guns (long and hand guns), some knives and a bunch of tools. I still have 1/2 the paste and about 1/3 of the liquid. And a good part of the liquid went on de-comsolining a Mosin.
If I get another year out of it (I should, easily) that’s around $8/year. I don’t see how much cheaper good gun care can get.
I bought a 16oz jar of wheel bearing grease for $3, it will probably last me at least decade (I’ve barely made a dent in it over the past 5 years but I am being conservative) despite shooting 10-20,000 rounds a year. So that is what $0.30 a year?
I bought a gallon of Simple Green for $15, I use maybe 4 oz a year in my ultrasonic so that will last me 16 years, so lets round up and say $1 a year.
So in total I pay $1.30 a year for lubrication and cleaning chemicals a year.
I have other stuff that I use for other tasks (cooper/lead removers, corrosion inhibitors) but they are used so sparingly that they are pennies a year. But they are things that Frog Lube doesn’t do well so I can hardly consider including it in the total.
People look at me weird when they see despite having an entire shelf of high end gun lubes, and gun cleaners I reach for a tub of Wal-mart wheel bearing grease, and Simple Green. But they work, and they are reasonably priced. It is the same reason I use blue shop towels and not patches for everything but bore cleaning.
my buddy does the same thing. i might have to follow suit. i’ve put a lot of money into brand name gun lubes and they have mostly failed me at some point
I’ve used a lot of Lubriplate with good results. Have it in a nice tub like what you can get from Brownell’s (but can likely find locally to you in other variants and for even less money). Greased parts of my suppressor and other things that get really hot and also move. There are certainly plenty of “normal” options out there that are great. Oils and greases made for lubing and protecting expensive machine tools that operate under really high pressures and are running (moving, reciprocating, heating, etc) 24/7.
However, since getting that Tactical Triad kit to test out I stripped most of my firearms back to bare metal and have been using their Slip Mist for everything lubing and protecting-related. It’s working super well for me so far and I like that it’s 100% non-toxic (like Frog Lube is). It also has absolutely zero scent, and I really like the weight of the oil (how thick/thin it is). From the MSDS it’s modified soy bean oil, and this has been used for a long time for critical machining equipment like the stuff I mentioned above. Anyway, it’s been a few months now and it prevents rust very well, doesn’t burn off, works great in below-freezing temperatures, doesn’t gunk up from age (I really like Weapon Shield oil & grease, but when it starts to get old it gets thick and gummy compared to when it’s new), and it’s super freaking slippery. Working quite nicely on a $2,100, tight-fitting 1911 that I’m testing out now.
I’ve played around with the commonly available Lubriplate as I know people that use it, I found it quite thin, if I needed a cold weather grease I would probably pick up a tube as it is cheaper than the TW-25B that I’ve used in the past and I am out of the sample tubes I collect (free lube is good lube). Also Lubriplate is reasonably priced for the size of the tube because it isn’t a low volume gun specific lube.
But I found that NLGI grade 2 high temperature wheel bearing grease is right for most firearms uses. Lubriplate sells an example of this, but it isn’t commonly available. Mobil 1 also is good, honestly I don’t think there are too huge of a difference between brands. Even the name brand stuff like Mobil 1 is reasonably priced because no one outside the government is going to pay 10 times the price unless it gives 10 times the performance.
NLGI grade 2 grease is very tacky, so it stays put. As long as it stays outside the barrel it doesn’t burn off no matter how hot the gun gets. Also grade 2 greases are much more resistant to separation that you get with thinner greases. That is what happens when you leave a thin white lithium grease like TW-25B too long, the binder and the oil separate leaving a tacky mess. If it is still in a tub you can take something and stir it, but on a gun your only choice is to clean it off.
1 16 ounce tube of moly grease – $6. not as cheap, but handles corrosive 5.45 by the can between cleanings, which consist of a shop rag soaked in kerosene. Spotless.
I can understand the cost per year analasys but for me the selling point of Frog Lube was the lack of harsh chemicals and the smell. I can clean my guns anywhere in the house without it smelling like a machine shop and worrying about getting cancer from the vapors. The fact that it is food grade doesn’t hurt if I have a cut on my hand and it manages to come in contact.
So yes you can save money but if the 1 dollar vs 8 dollar difference doesn’t matter then I would opt for something that is safer and more pleasant to the nose.
Look, man… To each his own. I’ve used grease, I’ve used frog lube, I’ve used oil. Frog lube is great. If you don’t like it, use something else. And if you can’t afford $3/ year, maybe you should find another hobby.
Grege,
Simple Green is non-toxic too. And your typical lithium grease isn’t going to be toxic unless you swallow a whole tube worth. Remember that lithium is used both as a medicine and as a supplement.
For me it is not about cost but cost to performance. I haven’t seen anything beyond other grade 2 greases that perform as well as my $3 tub of grease. Same with simple green, I pull the gun out of the ultrasonic cleaner and it is the cleanest it has been since the factory. In fact the barrel looks perfect all the cooper streaks are gone with a few passes of a brush.
So I ask, does this product that costs ten times as much work as well as cheaper products? I haven’t found a case where the answer is yes.
What ultrasonic cleaner do you have?
Nice review/test.
I’ve been a FL believer for a couple of years now and wouldn’t go back to the old lubes and solvents if you paid me.
So, I can use frog lube to lube other stuff right?
I used some on my door hinges that squeaked about every 2 months…. been a year since. no squeaks.
I use it on just about anything that needs lubing.
I’ve even used it for wet/dry sanding metal.
I keep some on my night stand ……..
lol
Well played…
You can also use a heated pad of the sort you would use if you had lower back pain. Wrap the parts in a dish towel and then the heated pad and turn it on, then the TV.
It has not only a frog on the label, but an operator frog. That means it is probably good.
just don’t use froglube on a cold day. i’ve had too many failures when it’s below 40 degrees
Are you using it with oil? I haven’t had those problems. If you use it with oil based cleaners or you haven’t decreased properly before your first application it will gum up.
On cold days, if you don’t do the proper heat and let soak in and wipe off treatment, it really turns to paste. I’ve had a few guns that were excessively lubed with the stuff and the bolt would seize up or slow down to the point of failure…
Agreed. I was testing it this winter in single digit temperatures and the paste and liquid both seized up. It was on an AR-15 with various amounts of both and the rifle would either short-stroke or not fully go into to battery. I’ve used it on other firearms and the liquid is reasonably good but the paste is just too thick. I have returned to Mobil 1 5W-20 for my rifles. It runs no matter what- engineered for *all* temps, is designed to pull carbon out is an amazing lubricant and can be had at $5 for 32 oz (1 quart).
You’ve got it on too thick. The stuff isn’t like a regular CLP. You don’t slather it on and “run it wet.”
I use frog lube on everything I own. It works great and makes clean up a breeze!
Eezox is the best dry lube and rust preventive.
http://www.warrencustomoutdoor.com/pl-eezox.html
Any sort of grease or oil attracts dust and other contaminants.
Clean the guns each and every time you shoot, and Hoppes #9 is all you’ll ever need for cleaning unless you run a lot of plain lead or copper jacketed stuff. Just don’t let a buildup happen.
I’ve been using it for a couple years, works great so long as you don’t overdo it. Over applying, then leaving it sit for awhile will cause it to sludge up a bit. Used sparingly, never had an issue and I like that it’s non-toxic.
It’s minty fresh to boot.
I brush my teeth with the stuff. Haven’t gotten lockjaw yet.
Cool torture test. But, you should note that no frogs were actually tortured during the making of this test. PETA monitors this site closely and they aren’t too bright.
FYI, all of my frogs came prelubed and I’ve never been able to shove one into an AR-15’s action. And the little bug-eaters are noisy, too.
I think it’s great on big surfaces, but be VERY CAREFUL if you get it into small moving parts. If you use it on small moving parts, you need to FULLY clean them after application. I used it on an XD and it got into the striker channel and the grip safety and it totally clogged up those areas such that the striker would no longer cause a cartridge to fire and the grip safety wouldn’t release. I had to completely disassemble those parts and thoroughly clean them before they would work again. If you don’t clean after application, you are leaving a thick paste that clogs up the works.
That’s my warning story about XDs, too (see below). I suppose you could blame the design of the XDs, but I don’t have the problem with Breakfree, so….. yeah..
Frog Lube CLP = best gun cleaner/lubricant I have ever used personally. I now use nothing else but Frog Lube. What is nice is most solvents and such smell really bad and are toxic – which means not good for you. My better half hates the smell of most gun cleaner/lubricants. Fortunately, FL smells like mint and is non-toxic.
I have used it on a new 1911 I was breaking in – no malfunctions, a Walther PPK/S – no malfunctions, and I could go on.
Great review.
Agreed! To properly apply you need to completely disassemble the firearm and remove every last vestige of previous lubricant. Heat the parts. Apply Frog Lube. Wipe excess off. Applied to every last spring and lever!
My XDs has no problems BTW.
It is amazing how much smoother the actions are compared to CLP.
1911, BG380, XDs, G21…variety of shotguns and I even use Frog Lube on my AKs.
Slip 2000 gun grease is all I use, but the FL doesn’t look bad either; it just the Slip 2000 already does everything FL does without all the prep work that seems to be involved with FL.
Nice review. I particularly like the non toxic/minty fresh angle.
I’m interested to see ttag do a slipstream weapon lube review.
I used to like Froglube, up until my XD’s striker safety started going “squish” when you touched it. Turned out the FL migrated into the striker guide channel. It was a little gunky with residue, and turned into a sludge in there. The theory is that it created a sort of hydrological pressure across the retainer pin that traverses the channel in the striker guide, which cased the pin to shear during firing, which jammed the firing pin forward.
And that’s the story of how my XD Subcompact went full auto!
And also the story of why I relegated my FL stock to non-gun-related lubing.
If you really want to test the stuff send it off to a real lab. Motor oil to fancy gun lubes, they all work ok. Just like all the auto lube additives that claim they gain 5%, who knows. It’s fancy marketing.
Snake oil. I’ll stick to the Mobil 1.
Agreed. Hard to beat $5 for 32 oz.
I like the Frog Lube scent; the price isn’t bad; my guns stay slick where I want them to. Local availability is my only problem….so I borrow my son’s!
I’ve used the same bottle of conditioner for like a year-and-a-half…but I bought a Mexican Coke yesterday and it only lasted like 20 minutes. What’s up with that crap am I right, folks?
You bought “some Mexican coke” or “a Mexican coke”.
Just FYI. Semantics.
Is it made with real frogs?
In all seriousness, any lube or cleaner will work more or less. The big factor is your committment to taking care of your gear.
I’m all in with Ballistol now…Use it on my guns, mountain bike chains, 1914 dated Luger holster, GI issue 1911 leather holster, etc. Good stuff! Smells like black licorice to me.
I got rid of mine. It’s expensive and doesn’t do as well of a job as other cheaper alternatives. I like when they say it conditions the barrel after a few uses like seasoning a cast iron pan…..I don’t think they have ever seasoned a cast iron pan and I don’t believe it frog lube would do the trick. Best bet is for using frog lube is CC but I had to clean after every use because when it dries it becomes very tacky and sticky. It seems like a thin wax with a low melting point.
Impressive, but is really overkill in my opinion. Sure if I was trekking through the jungle, and crap it’d be awesome.
I just use 1 quart synthetic automatic transmission fluid, 1 quart synthetic 5w-30, and 1oz Hoppes #9 mixed in a gallon jug. Its cheap, it works great and I have enough to last me YEARS for just a few bucks.
Excellent lip balm and good pimple remover. Stuff is impossible to stop. Scent is great, non toxic, easy to work with, American company, runs like a prize horse on ar bolts. What’s not to like? I always laugh when people spend 2000 on a 1911 or 3000 on an ar and then slap them on a belt from Walmart or lube them with transmission fluid. Dedicated gear for dedicated work. Frog lube was designed to run weapons in extremely adverse conditions, particularly maritime or desert engagements. Your gun might run great at the range when you grease it up with garbage. Different application.
All this obsession with the “perfect lube” is a great way to separate people from their money.
Exactly. I have Slip 2000 EWL right now and when I run out, its back to Mobile 1.
Used it until I had problems with a AR I use for hunting in the cold weather. My BCG would drag so hard and FL tuned into gel. I would fire a round and not go back into battery fully. In fact it was the first time I ever actually had to use the FA in civilian or military life.
I changed to Slip 2000 EWL and the problems went away. I had a rifle out shooting targets when it was 1 outside and -19 with wind chill and it ran fine with Slip2000 EWL.
FL in small gun parts is VERY hard to clean out once it sits for a while
We just started using Froglube and my hubby loves it. We haven’t been able to find it locally but there are several ebay stores that have the solvent and CLP at reasonable prices. My husband is a retired diesel mechanic and was happy to get away from the petroleum based products we were using. Froglube was designed by veterans, another plus as far as my retired sailor is concerned. The wintergreen scent is a plus as is the non toxicity.
I have only been using Frog Lube since Feb of this year, but I have to say I love the stuff, while I didn’t put it through that torture test, every time I have pulled the trigger I haven’t had a problem with it, as much as I like the smell of Hoppes, I gotta say FL is my new go to cleaner, I can literally wipe the carbon off the bolt (and I shoot tulammo at the range). The only problem I have ever seen is someone know who put to much of it in the trigger group of a shotgun, and there were some FTF’s but other than that, no problem what so ever.
I’m sorry, but if it has been sitting too long it congeals into a gummy mess. Nice that it is non-toxic, but so is any organic oil.
I could not agree more. The stuff will gel up in cold weather causing issues. Once that happened to me, it was dead to me.
I want/need my firearm to work every time. If my lube kills a baby seal every time I open the bottle but makes my gun work every time that is the lube for me. Its not FL that is for sure. I could care less what it smells like.
I’ve used it before and had no problems but it’s expensive and I hate the smell. To me it smells like back rub.
A buddies 1911 failed in the Georgia winter weather (20-30 degrees) with FL and was not over lubed. The fl became very viscous and was slowing the slide down. From then on, I went back to breakfree clp and hoppes 9.
I suppose I should experience some kind of quantum leap when I switch from Redisol to Frog Lube…
I just got a tub of the froglube paste. I did a few, nonscientific tests. I found 2 things out. 1, their recommended application is bad, don’t just slather it everywhere on the gun and wipe off the excess. I only applied where i would not mainly oil, and wiped the gun down lightly. If you slather it everywhere it has a propensity to build up places it does not belong, like the firing pin channel, in in and around the extractor. 2nd thing i found out is that i would NOT recommend this be used in the cold/winter. I put a glob of it in the freezer… 14F, it froze solid, and was not slick to the touch. I also tried this with RIG grease, and Weapon Shield grease, both were softer and generally pliable instead of solid. I also tested out several products, including, rem-oil, break free CLP, weapon shield, and Eezox, none of which froze up or had any issues. Im still on the fence, i am going to get and test some Ballistol and a few other soon to see how they do. I want to like FrogLube…. but requiring me to heat my gun to apply, and the issue with freezing it making it rater difficult.
Love the stuff. Clean up has been expedited and improved. Less fouling. Only issue I may have had is parts coming loose. Screws on my Super Blackhawk have been coming loose. So I now check to make sure they are tight.
Have used Rem oil and Rem dry lube and CLP and like them.
ive used the rem oil in my day but ive personally noticed it kinda collects dust bunnies quicker than other clp’s ive tried, im still digging Miletec
MPro-7 beats it hands down. Axle grease would work just as well. Just as messy too. Pitch Frog Lube where it belongs, the circular receptacle.
this is a good clp I use it on my 17 but it is water soluble, id prefer sum thing petroleum based for the metal on metal contact. This lube reminds me of the type they use on industrial ice cream/food machines
i watched my buddy apply frog lube to his colt 45 acp then he applied heat, and then cleaned the excess off
he obviously didnt follow directions , is this going to cause him problems?
I’m curious as to how Frog products stack up against other brands. I’ve always used Mil Comm products and in my opinion I’ll always use the tw25b, but I want to find a straight up cleaner. My options locally are Hoppe’s, Frog, birchwood, and the other few brands that are found everywhere. Any advice on just a good cleaner?
My experience with Frog Lube was pretty bad. At first, I liked it once the smell of chewing gum wore off so I put it on several guns that I don’t fire very often. BAD MOVE. This stuff thickens up and finally hardens. After just a couple of years, I had to completely disassemble those guns to scrape the Frog Lube out because the hammers wouldn’t fall fast enough to touch off the primers. I forgot to do my CZ 75 and went to the range last week and it didn’t fire a single round. I guessed that was the problem and soaked it in G-96 for a couple of days and then rinsed it out and put in some Remoil. Went to the range today and it works perfectly.
Comments are closed.