BreakFree CLP: Not in Edmonton

[bokchoi]

Well, here in the relatively cool temperature city of Edmonton, Alberta, I have discovered the hard way why those around me have continued to bestow their seemingly nonsensical knowledge and omnious warnings on me.

In all my infinite knowledge and wisdom and without much foresight and thought, I went out and purchased a 16oz can of BreakFree CLP, disregarding a few warnings here and there about its long-term effectiveness. After all, no one online had anything bad to say about it... it HAD to be good, right?

Wrong.

Turning off my brain, I decided to clean three of my guns with Breakfree: my Sig 226, my CZ-75B, and my HK P7M8. I found the liberation in using CLP to clean my guns once again; there was no more fear in having soap or water or MPro7 left in all the nooks and crannies of the action, rusting and destroying my precious toys from the insides like some sinister disease. I scrubbed away, knowing that this wonderful cleaning solution would give my guns some magical elixir of immortality and infallibility.

Oh, how wrong I was.

It was only a week since the last cleaning, and I was all ready for my semi-regular range session, smug with content about the day ahead. I opened up my safe to check out my children, slightly questioning the actual requirement of cleaning guns after every range outing...

... and found my answer.

Something sticky on my CZ's trigger caught my immediate attention. Something evil. I reached to retract the slide, and when it took some resistance to move, the dark truth suddenly dawned on me.

The BreakFree had begun to solidify.

Joy. I tried my Sig and HK with same results. What had previously been a layer of oil was now a gummy, sticky mess. I didn't take them out to shoot, but I can say with some confidence that they probably wouldn't have functioned at 100%.

Now, after 3 hours of cleaning, I have been able to get the P7 clean. I gave up on MPro7 as the mess only worked its way into the action enough to freeze up things even more, so I finally just went outside and gave the entire gun a huge blast of GunkOut, one chemical I wish I could live without. I'm now coughing and sniffling from the unhealthy dose of aerosol carcinogen, having learned my valuable lesson:

Stick to FP-10 in Edmonton.

 

[3 gun]

I've used CLP for the last couple of years on all my pistols and many of my rifles with no problems like you describe. This past winter was one of the coldest and snowiest one on record. I don't think the cold was at fault. Two of my pistols stayed in the car for 3 weeks and never showed signs of any trouble. Strange. Anyone else have this kind of problem?

 

[arinvolvo]

this may be a chemical reaction with another lubricant that you have used before....I have never heard of it on firearms, but I know in paintball, there were two lubes that did not play nice with eachother....each was good by itself, but if they got together they solidified into an almost un cleanable mess.

 

[WonderNine]

That's funny, I've been using Break Free CLP on all of my autos. I understand that's what the military uses as well, or at least it did at one time. It's supposed to be rated for use waaaaaaay below zero.

I've fired many thousands of rounds through them in sub-zero temperatures this winter and have never had anything happen like you describe. Even gone without cleaning between range sessions. Perhaps it was a chemical reaction as mentioned above, it seems like you've got alot of different chemicals you're using there.

 

[ruger357]

Never had that problem with CLP.

 

[JohnBT]

I've been using BF CLP forever it seems. I buy it by the quart

My guess is you used too much. "...had previously been a layer of oil..."

I use a patch or a rag to wipe it on and then use a clean one to wipe it off. That's enough for me and I'm nuts about rust prevention seeing as how I live in a high humidity area and store my guns in a safe in a damp unheated basement(90-y-o house, bare brick walls, occasional seepage up through the bare concrete floor and under the basement door if the drain gets clogged outside, etc.) Well, to be honest, the boiler and the hot water tank are down there so it doesn't get below 55*, but it's never cozy warm.

Let me suggest a trick. If the BF does 'dry out' or thicken up with powder residue when you're shooting - just add more to thin it and wipe up the mess. Works great on gas-operated shotguns - add more when the action gets sluggish and keep shooting.

The Cleaner part of the CLP is, IIRC, about 15% of the total and it does evaporate.

John

 

[RON in PA]

Been using CLP since the 1970s when it was first marketed and have never had any problems or any signs of rust. Excellent product in my experience.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Remaining crud

If there was some remaining crud after the last cleaning session, the CLP will cause it to turn loose and gunk up. I had the same problem on my XD, and it turns out that I just hadn't taken the time to make sure that I got all the nooks and crannies before my first application of CLP.

To remedy the problem I disassembled the gun, hosed it down with CLP, and then scrubbed the heck out of it with a nylon brush. I let it sit for a few minutes and then repeated. After that, I rinsed with a generous dose of CLP followed by a bath of Powder Blast to totally degrease the gun and remove any deposits that I couldn't reach with a brush. I followed that with another bath in CLP and a thorough wipe down to remove any excess (I also use a TEENSY dab of Wilson oil on the slide mating surfaces).

Since then, zero problems. No gunking, gumming, or other crud accumulation to speak of, and cleaning is accomplished by spritzing with CLP, brushing, rinsing, and a wipe-down (or is that how I brush my teeth? I forget )

Brad

 

[Trisha]

?

Scrub with Hoppes #9.
Rinse with Birchwood-Casey GunScrubber (thoroughly!).
Apply CLP Break Free, let cure for an hour or two and wipe off excess.

Everything works perfectly. Always!

And that's with outings to the range in -35 windchill and snowing, practicing with revolver and semi-auto.

When in extended shooting sessions (+ 1K rounds of .45acp) through the same semi-auto and the slide gets a little sluggish, I strip off the grips, literally hose it down with CLP and snake the bore once, rinse with GunScrubber, and then put a drop on each slide channel, replace the grips and continue.

As an experiment once, I left that pistol sit for a week beofre cleaning - and there was no stickiness (and it was a breeze to clean {full detail strip & clean}).

It sounds like cross-contamination. . .

 

[BigG]

Breakfree: A little dab'l do ya. Sounds like you "filled 'er up!"

 

[cratz2]

I've never had any sort of problems like you've described with BreakFree CLP. I've switched to FP10 but if were forced to use BreakFree, I would do so without fear.

Maybe you got a bad batch or your winters are way colder than in Indianapolis. Or you caked it on too thick. Maybe you ought to try Remington DriLube... you can't really put too much of that on. Unless you really try.

 

[Lone Star]

I use Break-Free on my guns, including My S&W M-66 .357, which is my duty weapon, wore in an outside holster in all sorts of weather, year-round. Never had a problem.

I do clean the bore and chambers with Hoppe's No. 9, for the added cleaning power, and to avoid any Break-Free residue penetrating the primers. However, the Break-Free people have told me that they IMMERSED ammo in Break-free and let it sit for hours or days, and it fired okay when wiped dry and chambered.

Lone Star

 

[George Hill]

Trisha's method is mine as well. Solvent to break everything up and then blast that gunk out with gun scrubber. After that, a bath in BF CLP followed by a wipe down. If I need anything more lube wise, I'll use 20W-50 or Brownells' Action Lube Plus on dark guns or Tetra Gun Grease on light guns. (AL+ is a black moly grease)

 

[blades67]

I tried FP-10 and found that while it is more expensive, it requires more effort to obtain because I have to order it over the Internet.

It didn't work any better, or worse, than the Breakfree CLP I've been using since 1985, it just cost more. If I run out of CLP in the middle of the night I can just run out to wal-mart and pick some up.

Did I mention that FP-10 is just more expensive and a PITA to get?

 

[TheMariner]

I think arinvolvo might be on to something... I've seen gum ups like that between different lubs but it never struck me until now that that may have been the problem... I'd have to mix and match and see if I could replicate this with some of the oils I have..

 

[bad_dad_brad]

Before you use Breakfree CLP, you should clean the firearm of all lubricants first, factory lube or otherwise. Gun Scrubber will do the job.

The other thing about CLP that sometimes people forget, is, you have to shake the can or bottle before applying. CLP is a combination of natural and synthetic oils, and teflon, and has to be shaken before using.

Used properly (and sparingly) I have found CLP to be an excellent all around cleaner and lubricator. I use nothing else.

 

[JohnKSa]

Have used and continue to use CLP on every gun I've ever owned with absolutely no ill effects...

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I've been using Break Free CLP for over 10 years, with excellent results. Of course, it doesn't remove copper fouling- Hoppe's Benchrest 9 is a solution to that.

Last winter, I put a small container of Break Free out on my back porch on a night when the temp went to about -10'F. Next morning, the stuff was very nearly as fluid as at room temp.

 

[JohnKSa]

Ok, I was in a hurry earlier...

CLP will not solidify when the "C" evaporates. For proof, you can actually buy BreakFree without the cleaner component. It is only slightly thicker than the regular stuff.

It will not solidify or thicken appreciably with cold. It was specifically designed to be usable down to ridiculously low temperatures.

My suspicion is that you didn't read the instructions on the bottle.

1. Apply to mechanisms and metal surfaces.
2. Allow a few minutes or more (even overnight) for penetration and cleaning action to occur.
3. With movement or brushing of the parts foreign matter will break loose and can be wiped away.

It IS a cleaner, after all, and if you had crud or old lube buildup in your guns, it is SUPPOSED to dissolve it so you can remove it.

You neglected to do your part and so the dissolved crud re-solidified.

Yup, that Breakfree is nasty stuff--it actually works just the way it's supposed to.

 

[bokchoi]

It seems that most people here haven't had a problem...

Trust me, I really WANT to believe that BreakFree CLP works fine, but I've actually heard a lot of criticism about the product from virtually every gun shop I've been to in the region. I didn't believe them at first, but now I'm quite sure it's either a climate issue, some bad stock that hasn't been sold, or the phase of the moon, given the success of the product elsewhere around the world.

I'm pretty sure I didn't overdo it, as I'm pretty stingy with oil as is... there wasn't anything on my can that suggested leaving the oil overnight, though I always give the oil time to set before scrubbing and wiping off. Yes, I do scrub, soak, wipe, and "rinse" my guns, not just drench them and leave them... If the gun can leave any carbon or lead stains on a clean, white cloth, it's not clean enough for me.

I don't mean anything bad about the product; I have no doubt that BreakFree is probably one of the best CLPs in existence, but it doesn't work well for my uses, and apparently other people around the area as well.

Hell, if BF CLP works well for you, I encourage you to buy more.

 

[WESHOOT2]

SOMETHING WRONG, SOMETHING TERRIBLY TERRIBLY WRONG

IME BF CLP works correctly in extreme temps, both high ("hot hot hot") and low ('friggin' cold', or as we call it here, "stupid cold").

Something bad about what's in YOUR bottle?
(Bad or mis-labeled batch/lot?)

 

[Nero Steptoe]

Clean with a real cleaner; lube with a real lubricant...like Mobil 1! Flows to -50*F+.

 

[Master Blaster]

there was no more fear in having soap or water or MPro7 left in all the nooks and crannies of the action,

My guess is that you had a mixture of this other stuff you mentioned in the gunalready, and as it sat in your safe breakfree liberated it from the nooks and crannies resulting in the goo running onto your trigger.

 

[billcameron]

I have never had a problem with breakfree, but then I only use it as a lube. I clean with a commercial solvent or home brew of "Ed's Red" and sometimes use brake cleaner. I understand non chlorinated brake cleaner is essentially gun scrubber. I also sometimes run a patch with shooters choice thru bore and let sit overnight, with muzzle in plastic cap to keep crud out of action.

 

[DontShootMe]

Pistol, revolver, shotty, rifle

All Breakfree CLP cleaned - never any problems!