Fireclean...is it just re-branded Crisco Vegetable oil? Video...

[wingspar]

I wonder if used Crisco oil would make your AR smell like french fries when it gets hot?

[WS6]

Has any one tasted both crisco vegetable oil and fire clean?

In a world where most meats all taste like chicken...serious?

[556BlackRifle]

I know nothing about Fire Clean other than what I've heard word of mouth and on the forums. Everyone I know in the real world, who has tried it, swears by it. It may be vegetable based like Frog Lube (which btw is the only thing I'll use on my Glocks) but it seems to work very well.

[DirectTo]

I just keep it simple and use regular CLP. Then I'm not so worried about whether vegetable oil is in my guns (never thought I'd say or type that).

[Hkbeltfed]

Some suppressor users have found silicone oil also makes it easy to remove carbon from suppressor internals.

[Horsehide]

You got to love those lube threads... I am not big on trendy stuff and never went the FrogLube way.
Going from the Mobil 1 made for Harleys (forgot the weight) to Fireclean, I noticed the BCG was easier to clean after a few hundred rounds. Same goes for suppressed fire. The idea of breathing petrochemicals for extended periods of time did not thrill me either.
I do not care who promotes it or what it is, but it works for my needs.
Other lubes worth of consideration are greases containing nano ceramic beads made for the food industry.

[ggammell]

Has any one tasted both crisco vegetable oil and fire clean?

Science for the win!

[Abraham]

I use it.

I like it.

End of story.

[JiminAZ]

As stated above, the OP has confused miscibility (whether one material is soluble into another) and density (specific gravity).

For instance, CLP is miscible with gasoline even though they have different specific gravities.

You don't use spectral analysis, (aka ICP Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) or mass spectrometer) for the simple reason that the elemental constituents do not conclusively identify the molecules present (In plain English, both mineral oils and vegetable oils are hydrocarbons, so the test is inconclusive for determining base stock.

One of the most common tests to determine base oil is FTIR (Fourier Transform Infared Analysis). In this test a range of infrared light is passed through the sample and a plot is generated of IR absorption versus wavelength. This plot is compared to plots from known base stocks to determine the material. Since IR absorption is a function of molecular structure, the test is good at identifying a complex mix of hydrocarbons.

The other test to do this would be gas chromatography.

There is a lot of work being done with plant oil based lubricants. Understand this, a plant oil based lubricant is not the same thing as Crisco or corn oil. It has been modified. The plant oil is just the starting point, just as crude oil is a starting point for conventional lubes.

As noted above one key issue is stabilizing against oxidation (which creates odor in plant oils, and ultimately results in gumming or varnish). This is also an issue for petroleum based hydrocarbons, although usually only an issue at sustained elevated temperature.

Bottom line: lubricant demands in a firearm are almost laughably low. Lots of products will work. Ignorance of the science is what the marketers use to sell, by selectively dropping bits and pieces of science to the uninformed. One of their favorite techniques is to quote a test as gospel proof that the product is better. People don't know how the test works, it's limitations, if it's even relevant to the matter under discussion, or how to interpret the results. They don't even know if it's the right test in the first place.

In my experience working with lubes, it takes a range of tests to figure out what you have going on. It's kind of like your doctor. He runs a full battery of tests, then interprets individual results in context of all of the other results. Isolated bits of info are almost useless.

[Rekkr870]

As stated above, the OP has confused miscibility (whether one material mixes fully with another) and density (specific gravity).

For instance, CLP is miscible with gasoline even though they have different specific gravitates.

You don't use spectral analysis, aka ICP Inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP) or mass spectrometer for the simple reason that the elemental constituents do not conclusively identify the molecules present (In plain English, both mineral oils and vegetable oils are hydrocarbons, so the test is inconclusive.

One of the most common tests to determine base oil is FTIR (Fourier Transform Infared) Analysis. In this test a range of infrared light is passed through the sample and a plot is generated of IR absorption versus wavelength. This plot is compared to plots from known base stocks to determine the material. Since the IR absorption is a function of molecular structure, the test is good at identifying a complex mix of hydrocarbons.

The other test to do this would be gas chromatography.

There is a lot of work being done with plant based oil lubricants. Unserstand this, a plant oil based lubricant is not the same thing as Crisco or corn oil. It has been modified. The plant oil is just the starting point, just as crude oil is a starting point for conventional lubes.

As noted above one key issue is stabilizing against oxidation (which creates odor, and ultimately results in gumming or varnish). This is also an issue for petroleum based hydrocarbons also, although usually an issue at elevated temperature.

Bottom line: lubricant demands in a firearm are almost laughably low. Lots of products will work. Ignorance of the science is what the marketers use to sell, by selectively dropping bits and pieces of science to the uninformed. One of their favorite techniques is to quote a test as gospel proof that the product is better. People don't know what the test is, if it's even relevant to the matter under discussion, or hoe to interpret the results. They don't even know if it's the right test in the first place.

In my experience working with lubes, it takes a range of tests to figure out what you have going on. It's kind of like your doctor. He runs a full battery of tests the interprets the results in context of all of the other results. Isolated bits of info are almost useless.

Great post, very informative.