FrogLube CLP a Natural Alternative

Hey Folks,

I used to use this for my Beretta mostly.

Shooter’s Choice Grease. It works very well but it’s expensive for what you get.

Today I’m going to get going on a category that is near and dear to the hearts of all shooters everywhere.  Cleaning and lubricating products. For years I was an uncommitted user of many different products to clean and lubricate my firearms. I’ve used many different options, from the standard CLP (Cleans,Lubricates,Protects) from my military days on up to using automotive greases and some purpose made lubricant greases for firearms. I will say that everything that I’ve used works and works fairly well. I certainly can’t complain about any of the products that  I’ve used because they all work. Each lubricant used is purpose made to lubricate machinery or engines or of course firearms in particular.

Ed's Red made from several different automotive lubricants.  Works well and cheap, but you don't want to breathe it.

Ed’s Red made from several different automotive lubricants. Works well and cheap, but you don’t want to breathe it.

Perhaps one of the cheapest solutions I came across in my research of cleaner/lubricants was a homemade option known simply as “Ed’s Red”. This product is a concoction of several different automotive lubricant products all put together to create a very large amount of homebrew gun oil. I have a supremely large amount of it still sitting in my garage ready for widespread use on lots of guns for a long time. All of these products have a flaw however, if you can really call it that. Everything I’ve used is all petroleum based and toxic (albeit in large amounts) which as I get older and spend more and more time with my 4 month old son isn’t all that desirable. For 8 years I used solvent tanks and copious amounts of Gov’t issue CLP with bare hands and often times I would take my chow break… or more likely at that point in my life, a smoke break without washing my hands to clean off these hazardous chemicals that had been absorbing into my skin for the last couple hours. I never gave this a second thought frankly and I shudder to think about all the chemicals I’ve ingested over the years. Don’t worry though, there is another option.

FrogLube 4oz tub $9.99 from www.amazon.com

FrogLube 4oz tub $9.99 from www.amazon.com

Today we’re going to go over a fairly new product simply known as FrogLube. This is a CLP product that is made from an all natural and non-toxic compound of plant material.  I initially dismissed this product to be honest. I thought to myself that there is no way this could be as good as my old tried and true methods. I can report today that my initial thoughts were incorrect. I had done some more research on the product and found it to be a very interesting idea and my mind went back to those days sitting on a bench cleaning tons of M-4’s without gloves and the idea of a non-toxic, non-petroleum based product was looking very good. I bit the bullet and ordered a 4oz tub of the paste variety of the FrogLube. I was excited to try this stuff out so since I had just purchased a new firearm I thought that this would be a perfect platform to test this lubricant. FrogLube is a product that requires seasoning of the metal, kinda like a cast iron skillet. You heat up the metal gun parts and apply the FrogLube all over and let it sit for about a half hour to an hour and once cooled you simply wipe it off. When the firearm is shot and warms up, the FrogLube leeches out of the pores in the metal creating a liquid barrier for the friction points. This allows you to run your firearm “dry” or with only a very thin film of lubricant applied to the friction points. The paste variety of the FrogLube will melt its way into all the nooks and crannies of your firearm, making it pretty easy to apply. In my research I found that it is recommended to apply two treatments of this product initially for optimal performance. I broke down my Kel-Tec SU-16C and began the cleaning and treatment process. Using my wife’s hair dryer I heated up the metal parts of the rifle and began to apply the FrogLube. The application process went very quickly and easily as this rifle was brand new and only required minimal cleaning as I went. After the parts cooled I wiped off the excess lubricant and found the parts to have a very slick feeling to them, almost as though they had been well broken in from hundreds of round of shooting. The very next day I treated the rifle with FrogLube a second time and the results were similar to what they were yesterday. There was a very nice slick feeling to the metal parts which as I have discovered is also a water resistant protective coating as well. The next day I took the Kel-Tec to the range to break the rifle in. This particular rifle is noted in the owners manual to require a 200 round break-in session to ensure subsequent reliability. Since treating with the FrogLube the rifle ran flawlessly only having a double feed malfunction, I wasn’t the shooter during that string of fire and can’t comment on that malfunction and after it was cleared there were no more hiccups with the rifle. I got this rifle very hot and after it cooled down and I brought it home I broke it down to clean and it simply wiped clean without scrubbing or excessive effort.

froglubeMy final impressions of this product are that I’m excited about it.  It’s a Non-Toxic U.S. made product from a veteran owned business that has a fantastic wintergreen smell to it.  You can apply it with your bare hands safely (be cautious though since the parts you will apply it to are going to be very hot). Very simply this product works and works well. Since my test at the range the other day I have since treated two of my pistols and my daily carried CRKT M-21 knife. The CRKT is prone to rust from moisture and sweat from wearing close to the skin in my pocket. I haven’t seen any rust on the blade since FrogLube was applied. If this product meets the criteria that you are looking for, I have no reservations recommending it to you for whatever use you can find for it. As for now stay safe, train and have a good ‘un.

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