Assume everyone on an internet message board has an agenda, especially those who write articles with direct links to Amazon web stores.

Myth #1: PTFE lubricants turn to deadly toxic fumes

The most impactful falsehood that got around well over a decade ago was that PTFE in Mil-Spec CLP caused toxic fumes that killed people, leading to a reformulation that banned Teflon. This was based on a false claim made by a former U.S. Army official with an agenda, later debunked, but never corrected within the Army Arsenal System, strangely enough. As the story goes, a crew inside of an armor vehicle – possibly one soldier – was seriously injured, and possibly died. However, sources confirmed later that this was a cover-up for something unrelated within the vehicle itself, possibly having to do with a classified technology.

That slanderous statement decided the fate of the Army’s own CLP formula, forcing them to eliminate the most valuable part of the lubricant – the particle. The rationale behind the debunking was that not one, but two defense contractors involved in hardware related to the incident proved scientifically that the claim was false, if not impossible. Bottom line: Medium caliber weapons operating at an extended cycle rate (in other words, firing 100s if not thousands of rounds in a singular event) maintain a sustained temperature below the threshold for PTFE to breakdown and turn to gas. That would only be possible if you surpassed temperatures in excess of 500F. In fact, these guns are realistically in only a flash temperature environment.

When I hear about a related complaint from a handgun owner, I just grimace because they don’t get anywhere close to a military-grade environment, ontop of only dealing with a fraction of a gram of oil.

Myth #2: Tetra Gun Grease causes rust

The pride of the firearms owner is unmatched, even in American politics, if I can make light of it. Almost every time somebody points blame on the grease, it often comes down to the same culprit – solvent residue. Remember, an effective cleaning agent is designed to breakdown lubricant, and fouling, and the strongest solvents accentuate my point. Despite what people believe with the own eyes, not to mention their egos, you don’t easily remove “all” solvent residue when you wipe it out. Not even close. In fact, cleaner materials can leach from gunmetal for years, especially with gunmetal that has a lot of history. In other words, after 100s of uses and dozens of cleanings, at least, accumulation gets a footing under the surface, and since it makes contact with the metal, it owns the performance.

So, what do you do? Clean thoroughly, and then lubricate to protect gun parts going forward, but if you applied lubricant to clean, dry parts in the first place, the solvent would not be as much of an issue, but it still is. The solution is giving it a test. Use cotton patches or similar to apply 91%+ isopropyl alcohol. After wiping the parts, look at that cotton. Is it showing a color … like amber? That is solvent residue. And worst yet, solvent and fouling mixed together, which with the right chemical reaction, can create a debilitating pasty material that will jam your firearm action. Uh – sound familiar?

You probably know that the alcohol will evaporate quickly, and it doesn’t really leave residue, which is a plus. It is just not the best cleaner designed for gunmetal, but it’s pretty good as a Step 2. Step 3 is to lubricate! C+LP.

Myth #3: Any lube will work, including household products

As if the first two didn’t cover it, though there are quite a few acceptable gun cleaner and gun lube products on the market, ignore the comments from know-it-all fools who say anything will work fine, especially motor oil and transmission fluid. Oops, is he your neighbor? I heard one opinion years ago about someone’s homemade bore seasoning, which was a mix of rendered pig fat, automotive grease and cayenne pepper sauce. I think they were serious. At least the heavy accent was.

All joking aside, the point is to use common sense, realize the voices of strangers are not really credible, and to listen to professionals. Service techs from leading firearm manufacturers usually offer good advice, even if they often have to avoid endorsing and gun care product. That is the other problem with the firearm industry. Nobody wants to admit that their guns need anything on them to operate. Their reputations are at stake. However, I know first-hand that almost all of them buy cleaners and lubes from somebody, even if its classified.

Any product will do something, at least briefly, like say, vegetable oil. There are also people out there trying to push their friend’s brand of Johnny-come-lately lube. That’s fine, but very, very few of these products can back up their claims, and even fewer have the certified verifications that their product is legit. I guess this all ties into human nature. So, buyer beware.

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