FrogLube and High End 1911

J

jimbear

New member
I've been doing a lot of research on FrogLube and it looks like a decent product, but I'm afraid of using it on my Ed Brown Special Forces. 1911s require a lot of oil and the fact that you are supposed to rub all of the FrogLube off and let it "sweat" when shooting makes me nervous to use it. I think it would be fine on something like a glock that can run on spit alone but a tight fitted 1911 gives me pause. What do you guys think?
 
Avoid Froglube. I can't get into it publicly on a forum but there were documented failures of this product with agencies that tried it. That's all I can say.

There's other well documented products that have had successful extensive testing like Slip 2000, Weapons Shield, etc....
 
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Ed Brown sells his own brand of synthetic lubricant. I'd go with that. If Ed Brown recommended FrogLube I'd use it, but he doesn't.
 
Froglube is not a good product. I have tested it extensively in a variety of conditions, as well as FireClean. Neither is worth much, but both charge a lot for it. There are much better choices.
 
Frog Lube is over hyped. It may be fine, but that much hype is scary. You don't need hype, if your product works.

Hornady One Shot TacXtreme and Weaponshield for me. Testing and real experience proves them both good.
 
There have been a lot of reported problems with FL including hardening to the point that it prevents the firing pin from igniting the round in the chamber. That is what I call a show stopper.

There are a LOT of quality lubes and if doubt ask the manufacturer what they recommend.

I personally like M-Pro 7 LPX but there are a lot of other fine products available.
 
There have been a lot of reported problems with FL including hardening to the point that it prevents the firing pin from igniting the round in the chamber. That is what I call a show stopper.
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I had a discussion online about that point in particular. From my experience it is extremely important that you follow FrogLube's instructions exactly. This usually involves heating the part/pistol, applying the lube, letting it cure, and then wiping off the excess. That last part is extremely important and to me makes FrogLube rather unusual. Breakfree CLP, Ballistol, Slip 2000, the list goes on. These lubes are free flowing enough (not viscous) that excess oil is generally not a problem and will be thrown from the part or continue to flow (within reason, obviously sitting in a tub of said lubricant will prove problematic). FrogLube, on the other hand, can congeal if left in more than a thin film. This is especially true in the cold.

For me this manifested in the following way. On hammer fired guns I put a drop of lubricant on my finger and run it over the part of the slide (inside, center) that runs over and cocks the hammer. I performed this action on an HK P2000 many times. Months later I took it to the range and couldn't get a cartridge to fire for the life of me, including Speer Gold Dots. On taking it home I found the lube had leaked a little bit each time down the firing block and into the firing pin channel. It formed a gel in the cold that retarded the motion of the firing pin to the point where the cartridge wouldn't ignite. I had to use an aerosol degreaser to remove the build up.

Now in the argument I had online the other gentleman argued that because I wasn't careful to wipe the excess that the problem was a result of my own misuse. I will accept some responsibility there. My counter argument is similar to the above, in that I have never used another lubricant that could have such detrimental effects if left sitting. The other lubricants I mentioned above simply won't solidify to the same extent. The way I see it, FrogLube is a lubricant that must be applied with notably more care than its competition with little advantage over the competition, and potentially notable detriment compared to the competition if notable care isn't given. If you clean your firearms with even mild regularity, the long-lasting claims of not needing to clean your firearms so often became essentially moot. The whole point of this more expensive than average gun product is that you don't need to apply it as often, but most people still apply it as often anyway out of habit.

To paraphrase InRange TV from their piece on FireClean, it's modern day snake oil. There are specifically chosen anecdotal pieces of evidence that say it will make your life easier. Or you could just clean your guns. I have an AR that went a year and 1200 rds between cleaning on Breakfree CLP (by the end of which there was no CLP still on the rifle) and it was still working. My point is if you're cleaning your guns regularly, the product is essentially wasted on you and if you're not then I don't see FrogLube as being much different in performance than much cheaper products.
 
Now in the argument I had online the other gentleman argued that because I wasn't careful to wipe the excess that the problem was a result of my own misuse.
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IMHO you should not have to be that careful. The very fact that it can even happen IMHO is a serious flaw because it turns a firearm into a doorstop. The whole blow dryer/crock pot thing with FL to me is crazy anyhow.

Glad to hear that you detected the problem before you might ever need your firearm to defend your life. :eek:
 
I used FrogLube on my AR and had intermittent jams and FTF issues. Switched to Weapon Shield and not one malfunction since.

I no longer trust FL and won't use it on anything. If you know somebody who likes it, I have a bunch of it for sale.
 
Try Wilson's Ultima II lube oil .....( its better than Ed Browns product in my opinion )... or Break Free CLP as a cheaper alternative.

I tried frog lube ...and wasn't impressed with it either .
 
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Wow lots of hate for the frog. I'll just save it for my glocks then. Once I run out of the Ed Brown lube that came with the gun I will switch over to Wilson's Ultra Lube.
 
Upon further review... I see Ed Brown gets $6 for 1/2 ounce of his lube. I see why you are looking for alternatives. I'd go with the Wilson's lube as mentioned above.
 
My free sample of Frog Lube was so small that I only used it to "condition" a barrel with in an effort to reduce leading from some mediocre bullets.

I did once try another product with a similar prep ritual for lube "in the pores of the metal". It did not do much. I noticed that its original application was as a gear drive lube additive, so I blended it with my big can of mil-spec oil, lubricating and preservative.

I haven't bought a "gun lube" in years. Free samples and leftovers from my more impressionable period, plus automotive and industrial lubes serve well.
 
I really like Slip 2000 gun lube. It is a CLP type product, and I find it works well.

Its cheap compared to similar products. I can get 16oz bottles for $20-25. (4oz tends to be close to $10, so best value is in the larger amount)

It's non-toxic.

It has little to no smell.

Designed for military use in things like ARs, but I find it works well in all firearms.


I also use Lubriplate products designed for food processing machinery... Non-toxic and excellent lubricants. I really like their SFL grease for barrels and slide rails. It's very cheap compared to gun grease, 16oz for $15. That's a lifetime supply for the price of one or two ounces of "gun grease"
 
Just a guess, but the cost of FrogLube may be due to it being made of food grade ingredients so as to be nontoxic.

I'm wary of the concept of a single product doing all jobs at once. If that were true, I'd be able to get by in the shower with just water, but I assume society is appreciative that I also use soap, lotion, and deodorant to do a truly good job of cleaning, lubricating, and protecting myself.

It appears that even FrogLube, which is sold as a CLP, is stating that a cleaning solvent is needed to truly clean a weapon.
 
Yeah, CLP is good for general cleaning and maintenance, but you need a solvent to really get a firearm clean.

Most of the time... CLP will get it "clean enough", and it will run and function fine for a long time.



The kicker is... That the food safe lubes tend to be plant based, and at industrial scales, that stuff is cheap. The additives (if any are used) can add to cost, but in general, lubes like frog lube have a huge markup.

Do if that matters to you, then don't buy them.

I don't because they tend to not work any better than other options, even non-toxic ones, and these options cost less.


Automotive engine oil works, but has several big issues with its use in firearms... I avoid it. It's cheap, but not worth the trade off to me.

The stuff I use is not very expensive anyway.
 
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I've been using Wilson Ultimalube oil and grease on my 1911s for . . . 15 years? It works great.
Of course, Break-free worked great for years before that.
And the little can of oil that came in my Wards gun cleaning kit in 1972 worked great, too.
Where you put the lube, and how much, is more important than what you use, as long as you use something with a proven track record.
Proven track record includes ATF, Mobil 1, and a lot of other stuff that isn't "gun" oil, but there are lots of gun oils that appear to be sub-par despite manufacturer's claims, and very expensive.
 
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