Gun oil isn’t something we think too much about aside from, “ah shit, didn’t clean my stick last range day because I’m not a basic training private that has to suck the bluing off my gun to make it clean. Just slap a bunch of whatever brand I dumped in this little dropper last time I was at the range and was out of oil, then asked anyone around me if they had any C.L.P…” Which in all likeliness probably wasn’t even C.L.P. But who cares. It’s all the same now anyway. Oil is oil, and this gunky bullshit that’s all over the place is just par for the course.
That was entirely true until recently. Every new oil that came out was not some new technology. Born from years of development and lab work, it was re-purposed solvent and lubrication taken from other industries that they thought would also work in weapons. When I first got a bottle of FIREClean I was skeptical, despite the claims of my friends and coworkers who said it really was different, and some magical unicorn piss they were all amped up about. They sounded like PR guys for FIREClean that mainlined concentrated Rip Its.
I can sit here and bash other oils and cleaners all day, but all of you have the same bad experience with that crap that I do. Except until now, we didn’t know they were bad experiences. We thought it was just “the way of the gun” (which has the best opening scene, ever). So let’s just get into FIREClean, and why it should immediately replace whatever that generic, label-less dropper in your range bag contains. And who knows what that is at this point.
Other oils, as I said, are re-purposed from other industries. Why spend the research money if someone else has already done it. FIREClean was designed from scratch to be used in firearm operations. Unlike other oils, FIREClean does not evaporate or burn off over time or due to abuse. The evaporation of oil is something we have all experienced, and again, thought it was normal.
With FIREClean, you apply a thin layer wherever there is mechanical movement or points of carbon buildup. I just put it all over the guts and inside of the receiver to be thorough. This layer acts as a barrier between the metal and carbon after chemically bonding deep in the metal, allowing the function of the weapon to blow out carbon that has nothing to adhere to, rather than soak it into the lubrication. But it also conditions the metal to give it lubrication on contact points.
FIREClean was designed with a very high heat threshold and very little volatility when stressed with heat and external chemicals, making it much more effective at sticking to the applied parts. You will not find yourself having to continuously reapply it. Even when you can’t see the oil, it’s there doing its job. You’ll notice a lack of the smell of oil. The smell of oil is the smell of evaporation and breakdown. You will also notice a lack of oil smoke after extended and extreme use. That is FIREClean’s high heat threshold maintaining the chemical bonds under stress.
After a very long day at the range, you just wipe your stuff off and it’s just as clean as when you were stuffing your gums with chew and pounding coffee on the tailgate of the truck while jamming mags in the morning before you started shooting. Sound familiar? Then you’re doing it right.
I have been running the hell out of my guns with FIREClean and I won’t use anything else on my freedom sticks again. Even with the notorious mess suppressors make and foul your guts to the point of full-blown malfunctions, the amount of fouling I see using FIREClean is greatly, greatly reduced. A ten-mag day looks like a one-mag day. And what was there, came off with an effortless wipe.
The Special Forces Qualification Course’s 18B Weapons Sergeant MOS school house has seen excellent results with their recent use of FIREClean as I have been told by a source. If anyone’s endorsement is worth a shit in regards to this type of product, it’s theirs.
The amount of oil your weapon needs to work as its supposed to is surprisingly low, as well. I can’t say how long each bottle will last because everyone shoots a different amount, but I promise you won’t use nearly as much of this stuff as you did with anything else. I still have the original bottle I got early this year, and I shoot like it’s my job. Because it is. I also pass it around to other guys to try out. Every one of them has ended up switching over to FIREClean.
As for cleaning parts that are already caked in carbon-y goodness, I have not had a more effective solvent in removing hard buildup. I don’t know what in the product allows this, but it fuses with and breaks down carbon, allowing for a very easy wipe down. It also accomplishes this without being a toxic hazard, as all other oils and solvents are. It’s non-toxic, biodegradable and therefore safer for the user. Especially with how much we shoot and handle oils, lubricants and solvents, that stuff really isn’t good for you. I can’t even tell you how many times I’ve been in the middles of cleaning a gun with a solvent that burns the cuts in my fingers, only to put my hands under a sink for a second, and throwing a chew in. Probably not the best idea. But it is certainly not my worst.
I promise you guys won’t be disappointed with this stuff. Like I said, I won’t use anything else. Seriously, check it out.
Buy it direct from the FIREClean Shop
*Featured image courtesy of FIREClean