Frog Lube

[FreedomUIC]

Has anybody here tried it? I have read some great reviews and watched quite a few YouTube video's on it. Has anybody had a bad experience with it?

[Mike Irwin]

See this ongoing discussion.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=549130

[FreedomUIC]

Sorry Mike,
I looked and didn't see it so figured I would post about it.
You can delete this if you want.

[tynman]

Here is a better one for you. It tells you about a lot of different lubes.

http://thefiringline.com/forums/show...highlight=lube

[Mike Irwin]

Not a problem. I had just looked at the one I linked...

I've never used it. I've used DSX synthetic for years, but have run out of it, so I'm looking for something new...

[Shadow9mm]

I tried the paste, but for me, I found 1 fatal flaw, the stuff freezes. Also you need a more moderate application than just coat all the metal surfaces, its too much product and causes excessive buildup. but back to the freezing thing, i took and put a glob of the paste and put in the freezer, at about 15F, turned completely solid. if you have tight tolerances or it gets into the trigger parts, firing pin channel... ect.... it can completely lock your gun up.

[Theohazard]

Originally Posted by Shadow9mm

Also you need a more moderate application than just coat all the metal surfaces, its too much product and causes excessive buildup

This is incorrect. The wonderful thing about Froglube paste is that you don't need much of it; you only need a very thin coating. Then when you start shooting, it immediately melts and provides great lubrication. And after you're done shooting, it hardens back up again unless you're in a very hot climate. In my experience, this causes much less buildup than traditional lubricants.

I've found Froglube to be the best lubricant I've ever used, hands down. The BCG on my AR-15 appears dry, but when I start shooting it immediately heats up and the Froglube provides excellent lubrication. And it works pretty well as a CLP, too: Just wipe off the carbonized Froglube to clean your gun, the carbon comes off a lot easier. On my AR I only need a dedicated cleaner on the parts with high carbon buildup.

Originally Posted by Shadow9mm

i took and put a glob of the paste and put in the freezer, at about 15F, turned completely solid. if you have tight tolerances or it gets into the trigger parts, firing pin channel... ect.... it can completely lock your gun up.

First, you shouldn't be using globs of Froglube, just a light coating. Second, it appears the freezing isn't as much of an issue as many people make it out to be: I've seen tests where people lubed a gun with Froglube, froze it, and it still fired just fine. One of those tests was done by TFL's ploufedaddy (Mrgunsngear). If I recall correctly, he froze a Froglubed Glock and it still worked just fine.

I'm not alone in thinking that Froglube is a terrific lubricant. Here's an incredibly comprehensive test of many different products, and Froglube was one of the top performers.

EDIT: Oops, it looks like tynman already posted a link to that test.

[MarkCO]

Froglube...Snakeoil... anyone else see the pattern?

Really, it is not good lube. It freezes, separates, poor corrosion protection, rots and runs. Might make some people mad, but one of the things I do professionally is test products, many to ASTM standards. Spent 3 years working in an oil analysis lab and have a lot of advanced coursework and training in tribology. It did not take much effort to see that it does not perform as well as most of the mainline products.

I understand why people want to like it, but the stuff just does not even meet the performance of any of the mainline products for use in firearms.

[Hanse Davion]

Problem I had is although it does loosen up when shooting, it usually takes a while to do so, at least a few shots. As a result, I was having issues when first firing my gun with froglube. Thus, I will never use it on a carry gun, and for that reason no longer use it period.

[s3779m]

I understand why people want to like it, but the stuff just does not even meet the performance of any of the mainline products for use in firearms.

If you don't mind me asking, what do you use?

[MarkCO]

If you don't mind me asking, what do you use?

Not at all.

For bolts and triggers (things that normally use oil) I use a 50/50 mix of 30wt synthetic motor oil with synthetic ATF, both from Royal Purple. For slides/rails (that use grease normally) I use BEnos Slide-Glide. There are a few applications where I use engine assembly lube...like on a new build, or on a NiB or QPQ coated bolt carrier. I have some Tri-Flow dry lube on a few defense weapons that do not get shot as often as they are used.

I tried FireClean, and it has some good things going for it, but it needs a pour point depressant in the cold so I don't use it much. If I was not in a cold winter climate, I might use it more, but it is expensive.

I clean my ARs maybe between 1K and 1.5K. I took my match VersaMax apart a few weeks ago...had a tad over 5K on it and had not been torn down the clean since it was new.

[Jay24bal]

Really, it is not good lube. It freezes, separates, poor corrosion protection, rots and runs.

Mark - Would you mind extrapolating on this? Based on the testing that was done (there are two links to the thread farther up this thread), FrogLube seemed to perform pretty well as compared to other lubes in terms of the corrosion protection as well as friction reduction.

Now, that test was completed comparing it to other products specifically marketed as "gun lubes," and did not compare it to the lubes you use. Is it a matter of all gun lubes being inferior to other options (like the ATF and 5w30 you use)?

I am not trying to contradict you (I have ZERO experience with an in depth look at oils and I am not very scientific-minded), but I am looking to find a new lube and FrogLube looked great after that test.

Thanks in advance.

[MarkCO]

The tests use a static plate to evaluate corrosion, so while that is illustrative of the corrosion protection on say the exterior of a slide or barrel, it has nothing to do with metals surfaces in motion against each other. Really apples and oranges. Silicone and WD40 do a good job of flat surface protection, but are not sufficient lubricants.

On sliding plates, the congealed droplets adhere to each other and move off the base metal leaving the surface unprotected, after numerous cycles. It has some organic material which, in mold prone areas, will foster growth of same. When below freezing the droplets pile up even worse. The tests I have seen, at best, do a single pull. Again, that is not illustrative of the system that should be tested...100s, if not 1000s of reversing cycles.

In my forensic work, I conduct testing using the ASTM standard D1894 and have seen no significant performance benefit of FL over base oils, nor those marketed at gun oils at standard conditions. At elevated and reduced temperatures, the FL does not perform as well as petroleum stock oils.

Sure there are some gun oil formulations out there that perform well, but when tests are conducted, they need to be done in a manner consistent to illustrated cyclic motion on close tolerance plates...so far none of the studies folks are quoting have done that. I understand that some people have invested significant time and resources into their studies, but they do not have the appropriate conditions in their testing.

I'm one of two people I have heard of using engine assembly lube on firearms. I know what it does, why and how, and therefore I use it at times. I tried a lot of variations of synthetic motor oil, ATF and other lubes, but keep coming back to the 50/50 blend. Knowing what is in blends and base stocks is another part of the puzzle. Having access to equipment where I can literally figure out exactly what is in a sample provides some insight into whether a product is unique, or just a repackaging of a commercial or industrial lube, which a lot of them are.

I do like the Hornady 4 in 1 BTW.

[Ole 5 hole group]

I think this test conducted in Wisconsin over an extended period was pretty good and some of you might find it interesting. Just make sure you read/speed read the entire article, as it takes awhile to get real interesting.

http://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com/...uct-evaluation

Sorry, I didn't click on the aforementioned links, as that second link by tynman is the same test - my bad.

Myself, I usually use a grease - light coat of Mobil 1 synthetic and if I want an oil, I go with CLP.

I've used frog lube and know others who have as well - no problems noted with correct use (light coat) in bitter cold -20*F and on humid, hot 85*F days.

[AK103K]

I used Frog Lube for a couple of years and recently went back to Hoppes for cleaning, and Tetra Oil and TW25b for lube, mainly because its what I still had around and had good luck with before.

For the most part, I never really had any complaints (well, except for their "solvent", which I found about as worthless as water), but towards the end, I was finding the FL CLP was causing my revolver cylinders to become sluggish, and the last time I cleaned my Model 28, a few days later, I found light rust in the chambers and around the extractor star, which was something unexpected. Id never encountered that before. I was noticing that the consistency of the CLP was different more and more, and seemed more watery with the last couple of bottles I picked up. Not sure if that means anything on not.

Since going back to Hoppes for cleaning, I have noticed it takes about half the time to clean the gun, and the final patches come out cleaner, quicker. I use less of it as well. FL aint cheap, and goes quick. Do miss the smell though.

[FreedomUIC]

Ok, I took my S&W MNP 9mm apart. I hit every part to be lubed with Powder Blast which strips the gun down the to the meat and bones. I also hit the Polymer lower with Powder Blast as well.

I proceeded to heat up each piece at a time with a hair dryer. Once the piece was hot to the touch I Liberally applied "Frog Lube" to that piece. By liberally I mean I smeared the stuff on it. I did let each piece sit undistrubed for roughly an hour or so. I then hit it again with the Hair Dryer to heat it up and turned the receiver upside down so the excess would drain out onto a rage. I also heavily lubed the inside of the barrel with the liquid Frog Lube. I then let the whole thing set for another hour.

Wiped everything down and ran a patch through the barrel. I immediately noticed the barrel seemed smoother than before but there was no excess
of oil on it. I re-assembled the pistol and worked the actions with a snap cap.
Everything seemed to slide easier than before I did this. At this point I was impressed but still skeptical so I took 200 rounds, 100 factory and 100 reloaded with 4.4G of TiteGroup on a 115 RN bullet and head to the indoor range.

Results:
Groupings of shots seemed to get tighter as the shooting commenced. The handloads outperformed the factory loads by a noticable difference when shooting at 25 yards. No strays with the Handloads and four with the Factory loads. After getting I home I stripped the pistol and ran a rag through the barrel, just a spot of dirt showed up. Second swap showed nothing.....

I wiped down the rest of the parts with a white Microfiber towel, very little to nothing showed on the towel. I then proceeded to blast the pistol with "Powder Blast" onto a clean white towel. NOTHING showed on the towel, absolutely Nothing! I reapplied Frog Lube to that pistol, my tactical 12 GA and I am currently working on my .9mm RIA 1911.

I give it 4 and 1/2 stars, I deducted 1/2 star for the wintergreen smell after shooting....

[pturner67]

If they made Froglube unscented, I would use it. I don't like my rifle smelling like BenGay.