what is the "mil-spec CLP" I bought...curious

[RobertMcC]

Cool. Yeah, I'm finding that ATF is actually pretty good stuff. In the CAF we are ONLY authorized to use CLP to clean our weapons which is a bit, meh. I found that once I started using ATF, in my civi AR, cleaning away the carbon was pretty easy. A couple of quick wipes get away a lot of it and once I soak the bolt in it for 10 minutes I can wipe/pick away some of the more troublesome stuff.

Might give the diesel engine oil a shot now, too.

KevinB was using it and figured he knows...

[Bad_mutha]

i find that was trade dependant. As a tech, we used the varsol bath on a regular basis.

That's nice.. We can use the Biobath (same difference?) on the crew served weapons but not the C7.

[nza]

Some folks advise against it, but due to logistics of getting specialized CLP-type liquids into areas I work, we just use variations of Ed's Red for Cleaning (24/24/24/24/4 ATFIII/Kerosene/Varsol/Acetone/Lanolin). For Lubing and Protectant, we use a 45/45/5 mix of ATF/Kerosene/Lanolin. But then we're doing batches of 5-8 guns at a time. Plus, the natives love the fumes - makes them delirious lol. We just make sure the wood is wiped down else the acetone tends to dissolve the skateboard tape glue on the woodgrips and handles.

After years of using Breakfree CLP and other issued stuff, plus trying frog lube, slip, militec etc, I've come to the conclusion, that throwing your guns into a tub of Ed's Red and then going for 'dejeuener et un pour la route' trumps sitting down to C then L then P our guns. I can't imagine what my guys did before white people came in to show them that their guns won't work without CLP...

[BPM]

Well I ordered a bottle as an add-on to an order I placed 2 weeks ago and most of it leaked out all over the shipping package and everything else I ordered by the time it got to my house, so I never got a chance to use it.

[hnachaj]

Sentinel probably does not actually make the stuff as it is a small building on St Jacques in Montreal. BreakFree CLP was used by the US Navy and most US military for many years until recently. I had a friend who was an armourer at Longue Point. He told me that they used BreakFree CLP by the barrel from everything from the Browning 9mm to the 105! I met the actual developer some years ago. It was the only lubricant that worked at -40C in the M16 according to a US Colonel's paper to become a general! The white stuff in the early clear bottles is Teflon. But it is not there to be a lubricant! It is a drying agent.

I did a milspec test plus on 8 CLP products this spring. The worst products that did not protect from rust or would remove powder burns were the so called miracle all natural vegetable based clp (sic) that claimed to be a used by so many military! EWL 50 was the best product. It protected against rust in the 100 hour test. It also did not let smokeless or black powder to attach itself. It was good at removing rust and powder from metal. Number two was BreakFree ClP. It does have to be shaken before use.

Be wary of claims by the new vegetable based miracle products. If it has served many nations military, it should be good for you. BTW both SLIP 2000 and BreakFree actually make from scratch their products.
Henry

[Salvo]

A bit of a sidetrack, but I'm curious to know how many of you are still NOT using gloves (or glasses) when handling oils and solvents?

[canadiangunuser]

Just to throw this out, as it appears some posters in this thread don't seem to realise- CLP is not "a" product. CLP is considered to be any product that meets a certain US Military standard. CLPs are made by several companies, and all are different enough to legally exist and be labelled as CLP. I have used Sent, Break Free, Otis, and Safariland versions. Look it up on wikipedia for a quick summary.

I'm only noting this as some have written that they have used "CLP" and don't like it, or that it smells etc. There are different types.

Now I will throw out that graphite is #### for weapons (and corrosive to aluminum), carbon is NOT a good lubricant, and that I have had weapons failures with all but the Otis brand CLP in temperatures below -10 degrees C. (I have never used the Otis brand in the cold)

For the cold I recommend straight up Outers or Remoil. "Gun oil" has worked well for me for years, and I use CLPs only to clean service weapons if I have nothing else (I prefer Hoppes), and they will NEVER touch my personal firearms. YMMV.