I have been seeing posts and other promotions strangely appearing on the internet as if Ai knows best when it comes to gun care if not firearm storage. Cosmoline and other mothballing greases used in WWI, WWII and the Korean War are somehow a good idea. They are not. They existed during your granddad’s era because that’s what there was available at the time but don’t be fooled. It is heavy, messy and absolutely not designed to perform. They are preservatives. Period.

It is almost the same scenario with the Vietnam era and the introduction of the original CLP. That formula as I have written about prior was specifically a short-term fix for M16 jams. Sadly enough, the arsenal system never figured out anything better until commercial fluoropolymer lubes like Tetra Gun Grease and another product that’s now defunct, called T-6, which is a product Colt actually branded for a while in the 1980s. Good stuff.

Here are some reasons that are obvious to me for avoiding these materials?

• Using it on guns because it is cheap is flat out stupid!

• Any automotive greases or oils lack the necessary features needed for firearms. The same goes for trying to use motor oil or transmission fluid and alike. You will only make a bigger mess than what even WD40-type stuff will do to your guns, so avoid.

• Those who think overpaying for products that they say are all marketing and no substance, you can still find reasonably priced firearm lubricants. You just have to do some research.

• Modern gun lubes are made with a unique mix of specialty additives that deliver performance characteristics that old school materials simply can’t. You will not get more than a short life out of a common grease before you experience a failure because, among other reasons, it will fade away or literally slip off those critical friction points. Why? It’s not meant for that vs. applying it to a trailer hitch.
  • High temperature resistance
  • Low temperature resistance
  • Protection from rust and corrosion
  • Pressure and load bearing
  • Longevity
  • Material that can embed properly within the gunmetal substrate. That’s a big point in why a fluoropolymer particle has proven to be the best option. And even, not all companies use it correctly in their chemistry.
• One recommendation out there was for a high temp grease. That is what you call a one-dimensional product. That means it literally sacrificing the other deliverables. That is why it is so impressive when someone can build a well-balanced formula that truly delivers.

• And, with all due respect to old timers, these comments about “the good old days,” and “it was good enough for me,” typically come from old men who don’t adapt well to change. That’s just a truth.

• That old, low-tech grease is notoriously difficult to get off of your guns, and it will only make your life that much more unpleasant.

Since when is good enough what you want to put on your guns. It doesn’t get you the results you want. Aim higher.

And by the way, if you also took the old man’s advice and coated your rifles and shotguns in Hoppe’s or some other traditional solvent that smelled good to them, for your sake, clean it off the gunmetal before applying a superior lubricant because whatever material makes contact with metal owns the performance. This is yet another point about cleaning up a mess.

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