Old Petzal.....on gun oils

Hoppes no.9 for cleaning, high temp grease for lube. That's what I use and it seems to work.

Mr Berryhills wonder lube, CLP, gun butter, or any modern lube will do better than motor oil. That’s been my experience over the past 3 decades.

Ive used many of the big name lubes in the past, and the only thing I think they do different or better than synthetic motor oil, is take money out of your pocket.

JohnKSa said:

Ed's Red was originally supposed to be a sort of CLP type product which would account for there being some "cleaner" type ingredients in it.

That said, the recipe provided is not for Ed's Red although it does have some similar ingredients.

Here's a discussion of Ed's Red with the original formula.
https://noebulletmolds.com/smf/index.php?topic=61.0

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There are two recipes out there. One for the cleaner one for the lube. The cleaner is well known, the lube, not so much.


Ed's Red lube:

2-Quarts Synthetic Motor Oil.

1-Quart Automatic Transmission Fluid. Brand and spec don't matter.

1-Bottle of original STP. The blue bottle.

1-7 oz. jar of Hoppe's #9


Cleaner:

1 part Dexron II, IIe or III ATF

1 part kerosene, deodorized K1

1 part Aliphatic Mineral Spirits (odorless mineral spirits, Stoddard Solvent, Varsol)

1 part Acetone

Optional: up to 1lb Lanolin Anhydrous, USP, per gallon. Ok to substitute Lanolin, Modified, Topical Lubricant

What's the best Mobil 1 synthetic oil weight for pump shotguns, lever actions, and semi-auto shotguns (specifically 870, Marlin 336, and Auto 5)

JohnKSa said:

Well, you're certainly right about the latter--I've never heard of Ed's Red Lube. Where did you find the recipe?

It must be based on quite a different philosophy than the cleaner since the point of the cleaner was to use all "hardware store" available products while the lube recipe uses a gun specific product--and a cleaner at that.

Edited...​

I found that recipe (or similar recipes) from various sources called "bug juice", "Marine Corps Red Oil", or "GI Red Oil" but I can't seem to tie it back to the inventor of Ed's Red Bore Cleaner.

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I've had the recipe for years. I can't remember where I found it. But it was in an article about Ed's Red.