Grease Those AR's

[Jeremy2171]

That article is interesting but it doesn't reflect the results I'm living in. When you can come off a daylong convoy and go to the range and fire several hundred rounds out of a weapon that has minimal CLP in it with no issues you can't convince me to heavily lube the same weapon because a "test" says too. I've seen weapons that come to the range "heavily" lubed and I've seen them have more issues than the "dry" weapons.

My Marines will keep thier weapons dry (2-3 drops) for now.

 

[USMC Tanker]

Jeremy, where are you operating from in Iraq?

I was out of Camp Fallujah in 05. Going back in a few months...

 

[briansmithwins]

If you grease your ARs, don't use plastilube (brownish red GI rifle grease) grease!

Just for a lark, I switched my carbine to plastilube from my normal lube. This rifle normally functions 100%. With plastilube, I had several failures to go into battery out of about 200 rounds.

When cleaning the rifle after shooting, I observed that the plastilube has baked onto the bolt and locking lug area. It was hard, carbonized, and difficult to remove.

My normal lube is LSA. LSA stays wet longer than CLP and I've found it easier to clean, as I can wipe off the old, wet, and dirty LSA and just apply more clean LSA. BSW

 

[Slugless]

Mineral Oil

A mineral oil is any lubricating oil made from crude oil - not sure why but crude oil is considered a mineral under the law. 3-in-one oil, Hoppes oil, regular car motor oils, etc.

A synthetic oil is an oil who's components are made artificially. There are many different types from polyalphaolefins to polyglycols. Say "polyalphaoelfins" 3 x fast! For practical purposes, Teflon falls into this category. Mobil one, Tetra, etc.

You see a lot of mixes on the market, from Aeroshell for piston driven planes to Rem-Oil.

Use something, don't run your weapon dry unless you time warp back to the 1950s and are infantry fighting in the depths of winter. We have better lubes today.

___________________________________________________________
"Smash 'em up, smash 'em up!" - Phil Sheridan

 

[Frog48]

I use Rem-Oil to lube all my guns, and have never had a problem.

 

[Slugless]

Whaddya mean, heavy lube or light lube?

How much lube should you use on an AR-15?

This question has been a puzzle to me ever since I got my Bushmaster and a Bushmistress for my girlfriend.

I've not had any lube problems to date & am running Tetra. So far my only failures to feed have been a) magazine related and b) using hollowpoint .223 in a milspec 5.56 weapon. But my endurance tests have only been about 400 rounds.

So what do you guys mean when you say "heavy lube" or "light lube?" I figure light lube is like what most firearms manuals suggest, rub a little oil in and then wipe it dry.

Heavy lube? I know a guy with a full auto M16A1 and he keeps his bolt dripping wet. That's heavy lube for sure and he has failures.

But is a nice sheen of oil, not dripping, considered heavy lube?

I had the fortune to sit next to a Marine on the last flight I took. After I found out that he had been on a weapons "Super Squad" and fought in Fallujah, I had to ask him how much to lube the weapon.

He told me that the AR bolt has the right amount of CLP on it when, if you run your index finger along the bolt and then rub your index finger against your thumb, it feels like after you've rubbed a little baby oil into your skin. Kinda slick but not slippery.

This marine also said that the only time you have the bolt dripping wet is when you've been firing so much w/out cleaning that you start experiencing failures. Then you put a bunch of CLP on it to get it working again & clean it as soon as you get a break. This is consistent with Armalite's technical notes where they describe "emergency" lubrication.

One man's definition of heavy lube might be another man's of light lube. The Aberdeen proving grounds likes heavy lube? What does that mean?

Jeremy, USMC Tanker - could you describe what you mean by light / heavy lube?

Jeremy, this may be off topic, but what do you mean by "milking" the trigger? I know you can make any semiauto handgun malfunction by how you hold your hand (don't laugh, I know a dude who can do it), but how do you do it with your trigger finger on a long gun?

Thank you.
________________________________________________________
"Smash 'em up, smash 'em up" - Phil Sheridan

 

[Alaskapopo]

A recently done study shows more lube is better than less even in the desert and in sand. Which surprised me. The only time more lube can be bad is in the extreme cold.
Check this out.
http://www.10-8forums.com/ubbthreads/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=50931&an=0&page=1#50931

 

[TX35]

This FAL is hard to beat, they call her "Ol dirty". 13,500 rounds without cleaning!!
http://www.falfiles.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=68486

 

[gb0399]

I only use cheap old GI issue CLP. I've shot out two barrels on the same m-4 and never had a problem. 55 grain FMJ, 62 grain green tip, and 77 grain black hills, semi, or full auto, a little bit of CLP is the right answer.

 

[ndolson]

I used synthetic 5w30 oil in my AR-15's....never a problem.

 

[PcMakr]

I've also heard of people using 30w synthetic oils (Mobil 1, Amsoil, etc.) for lubricating firearms, primarily pistols. Anyone with experience doing this on any firearms?

 

[BAT1]

Greased AR's

I've used gun grease, on break in, and Wilson Combat oil from then on. I sold a boat awile back and do have alot of that lithium stuff left over, uhhm?

 

[gb0399]

As I browse through the pages of replies I see two types of suggestions. The first is from the gun bunnies, who like always, suggest a variety of exotic oils. The second is from the true tactical shooters (I'm not talking about tactical trained, but first hand tactical use of the weapons), who all seem to agree, put on a light coat of any CLP type oil and shoot.

lets save the exotic oils for tdy to Thialand

 

[Slugless]

CLP, lubes

Although apparently now I'm a "gun bunny", I agree with gb that one should stick to a CLP. Bushmaster suggests CLPs like Break-Free, Tetra and FP-10. My 2 bits is to stick to the manufacturer's recommendations.

It pains me a bit to see people suggesting using non-firearms lubes. A motor oil, esp a good one, is a good second choice but it is designed for motors, not firearms. Armalite recommends motor oils for emergency lubrication.

I work in a company that manufacturers lubricants - think Pennzoil - and we have 2 buildings full of people who work on motor fuels & lubes. Lubrication is a science called tribology and we have enough research and development reports to bury a full platoon. Motor oil is for motors, ATF is for transmissions, and CLP is for firearms. Years ago, I played around with an ATF-based lube (Ed's red) and it pains me now to look at the slide on my Taurus 92 (even though ATF has great anti-gall/anti-sieze additives.)

Would you fill your crankcase with CLP?

Why don't firearms manufacturers state "use a high quality polyalphaolefin synthetic motor oil such as Mobil-one?"

Also, rule of thumb is don't mix 2 different types of lubrication systems, e.g. synthetic and mineral oil. I.e. don't mix rem-oil with Tetra. (Those of you using synthetic motor oil won't have a problem if some regular gun oil gets mixed in.). Don't lube your gun with a mineral oil and your slides with a synthetic grease. Don't mix bore cleaning compounds, e.g. start with hoppes, then run breakfree, then MPro-7. If you must do this, thoroughly degrease & clean the bore in between.

If you want to use grease, use grease from a CLP manufacturer - a major reason why I use Tetra. Follow the instructions on the label, it's not the lithium stuff. Write or call the manufacturer if you have any questions - one of our lube buildings has 20 people who's job is to answer your questions. Some of them are top people in the industry.

If you're already using motor oil with good results, keep on. You are, however, in unknown territory from a lubrication standpoint. Flame me if you like but first I suggest calling the phone number on the back of your can of Mobil-one and asking their tech support whether they recommend using it on a firearm. The first guy to call will probably end up talking to one of Exxon's lubrication scientists. He's probably in Texas, ask him if he knows anything about firearms. Let us know what he says. If he says it's "probably" okay, ask him if he'd use it on a $4,000 rifle.

 

[waterhouse]

Motor oil is for motors, ATF is for transmissions, and CLP is for firearms.

Since you are in the industry, can you please explain what purpose motor oil serves in an engine, in terms of metal to metal contact, heat, etc. and then explain how these attributes do not apply to a firearm? I'm one of those that uses mobil-1, but if I can hear a good reason not to I'll certainly listen.

I usually run my ARs for a couple hundred rounds and then squirt some lube into the holes on th carrier. It seems to keep them running.

 

[Geno]

I use the NECO Moly and the M-Pro 7 Lubricant on all of my AR-style rifles. I have found, as others, that the M-Pro 7 CLP evaporates.

JMHO.

Doc2005

 

[benEzra]

Since we're talking about maintenance, is mineral oil good for guns?

Yesterday night, I was just cocking the bolt on my WASR AK just to get a feel for it since I always fired it dry since I got it. Then I found mineral oil and put some on the rails, bolt carrier portion where it rides on the rails, on the under side of the bolt, and on the hammer's face. I put the rifle back together and cocked the bolt.....HUGE difference!

It was alot smoother and far less rough. Some times when it was dry, the bolt would hang up on the hammer but now that doesn't happen unless you purposely ease the bolt forward to hang up. Even then, now with the oil the bolt slams forward, so that's a very good thing.

I'm just wondering if mineral oil is good enough or whether it's not the best thing to use on guns?

The only problem is, straight mineral oil (like you buy at the pharmacy) has ZERO wear preventing additives. It lubricates, but doesn't protect from wear and galling as well as a lubricating oil designed for metal lubrication would.

This will explain it better than I could. He is speaking of engines, but it applies just as much, if not more so, to guns:

From bbobynski on www.bobistheoilguy.com

ZDP stands for zinc dialkyldithiophosphate which , as it sounds, is an anti-wear compound comprised of zinc and phosphorus.

ZDP is dispersed in the oil so as to be at a potential wear site if a surface asperity happens to break thru the oil film thickness causing the dreaded metal-to-metal contact. A molecule of ZDP must be present at that moment to prevent microwelding at the contact site which will cause material transfer, scuffing, scoring, wear and catostrophic failure. The concentration of ZDP in the oil will determine if there is ZDP present to work it's magic. The greater the concentration...the more likely a molecule of ZDP will be there...and vice versa.

By nature, ZDP is sacrifical. As ZDP is "used up" at a wear site to prevent micorwelding the concentration of ZDP decreases.... So...if you measure the ZDP concentration in engine oil in a running engine it will decrease at linear rate based on engine revolutions. Any given engine has a certain number of high potential wear areas where metal-to-metal contact could occur due to reduced film thickness and/or surface asperities....areas such as rubbing element cam followers, distributor gears, rocker arm pivots, push rod tips, etc...... The more of these areas the more ZDP depletion. The more often these features come in contact the greater the ZDP depletion. That is why, generally speaking, ZDP concentration in the oil, for any given engine, will decrease at a fairly linear rate when plotted versus cummulative engine revolutions. The more times it turns the more contact the more chance for wear the greater the depletion. This is as much of a fact as I could quote ever and is really not speculation or anything. It is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in many studies. That is why it is ONE of the basis for determining oil life remaining and why it is THE basic premis of the GM oil life algorithm. It is only ONE of the things that determines oil life...but it is the one thing that can be tied to engine operation in a linear fashion and estimated very accurately by accumulating engine revolutions via a counter.

 

[benEzra]

From bbobynski on www.bobistheoilguy.com

One thing I can touch on and clear up.....the GM oil life monitor operation and my statement that ZDP (or ZDDP as you tend to call it here...most of the API literature just sticks to ZDP so I tend to use that) depletion is the basis for oil deterioration.

My spelling is poor but ZDP stands for zinc dialkyldithiophosphate which , as it sounds, is an anti-wear compound comprised of zinc and phosphorus.

ZDP is dispersed in the oil so as to be at a potential wear site if a surface asperity happens to break thru the oil film thickness causing the dreaded metal-to-metal contact. A molecule of ZDP must be present at that moment to prevent microwelding at the contact site which will cause material transfer, scuffing, scoring, wear and catostrophic failure. The concentration of ZDP in the oil will determine if there is ZDP present to work it's magic. The greater the concentration...the more likely a molecule of ZDP will be there...and vice versa.

By nature, ZDP is sacrifical. As ZDP is "used up" at a wear site to prevent micorwelding the concentration of ZDP decreases.... So...if you measure the ZDP concentration in engine oil in a running engine it will decrease at linear rate based on engine revolutions. Any given engine has a certain number of high potential wear areas where metal-to-metal contact could occur due to reduced film thickness and/or surface asperities....areas such as rubbing element cam followers, distributor gears, rocker arm pivots, push rod tips, etc...... The more of these areas the more ZDP depletion. The more often these features come in contact the greater the ZDP depletion. That is why, generally speaking, ZDP concentration in the oil, for any given engine, will decrease at a fairly linear rate when plotted versus cummulative engine revolutions. The more times it turns the more contact the more chance for wear the greater the depletion. This is as much of a fact as I could quote ever and is really not speculation or anything. It is proven beyond a shadow of a doubt in many studies. That is why it is ONE of the basis for determining oil life remaining and why it is THE basic premis of the GM oil life algorithm. It is only ONE of the things that determines oil life...but it is the one thing that can be tied to engine operation in a linear fashion and estimated very accurately by accumulating engine revolutions via a counter.

The reason I don't like CLP is that it is a compromise product, designed to simplify logistics by combining the cleaning solvent and the oil/protectant; unfortunately, this results in the lubricating qualities being diluted by the solvent, a la WD-40, though not as badly. I'm not tied to a military logistics supply train, so I would rather separate the cleaner and the lubricant. And, CLP stinks to high heaven, due to the volatility of the solvent.

I used to use Rem Oil on my guns, but have switched to Mobil 1, with better results.

As Gun Slinger posted in this thread,

(Mobil 1 10W30) is thicker than RemOil by a good margin as the RemOil usually hovers around the 25 cSt (give or take) level at 100 F and really thins quickly as it is subjected to heating. The 10W30 starts at 62.0 cSt at 100 F and thins to 10.0 cSt at 212 F and if memory serves it also has a higher VI than RemOil and that is why it seems to stick around longer than the RemOil. The 20W50 and the 10W30 also have anti-oxidation inhibitors present in their formulations.

Data for various grades of oils, again from Gun Slinger's thread:

The criteria that these lubricants were evaluated by are:

1. Pour Point (P/P): The lowest temperature (in degrees F) at which the lubricant will flow within a specified timeframe.
Minimum requirement: -50 F

2. Flash Point (F/P): The lowest temperature (in degrees F) at which the lubricant will produce vapors that, if subjected to an ignition source, will ignite and combust.
Minimum requirement: +450 F

3. Viscosity at 100 F (V/100): The viscosity (in centistokes) of the lubricant at 100 F.
Minimum requirement: 40.00 cSt

4. Viscosity at 212 F (V/212): The viscosity of the lubricant (in centistokes) at 212 F.
Minimum requirement: 8.00 cSt

As a point of reference, the kinematic viscosity of pure water at:
68 F (room temperature) is 1.004 cSt
100 F is 0.658 cSt
212 F is 0.294 cSt

5. Transient Operating Range (TOR): The sum of the absolute values of the Pour Point (P/P) and the Flash Point (F/P).
Minimum requirement: 500 F

6. Viscosity Index (VI): An arbitrary numerical value assigned to a lubricant indicating its ability to retain its viscosity across a specified temperature range.
Minimum requirement: 110 (Very High)

Low VI: 35 or lower
Medium VI: 35-80
High VI: 80-110
Very High VI: 110 or higher

Data for Mobil 1 Synthetic Lubricants:

0W20
P/P: -70.6 F
F/P: +449.6 F
V/100: 43.0 cSt
V/212: 8.4 cSt
TOR: 520.2 F
VI: 176

0W30
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +456.8 F
V/100: 63.1 cSt
V/212: 11.0 cSt
TOR: 522.0 F
VI: 169

0W40
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +456.8 F
V/100: 80.0 cSt
V/212: 14.3 cSt
TOR: 522.0 F
VI:188

5W20
P/P: -52.6 F
F/P: +442.4 F
V/100: 48.3 cSt
V/212: 8.8 cSt
TOR: 495.0 F
VI: 164

5W30
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +446.0 F
V/100: 64.8 cSt
V/212: 11.3 cSt
TOR: 511.2 F
VI: 171

5W40
P/P: -49.0 F
F/P: +438.8 F
V/100: 102.0 cSt
V/212: 14.8 cSt
TOR: 487.8 F
VI: 152

5W50
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +456.8 F
V/100: 104.9 cSt
V/212: 17.5 cSt
TOR: 522.0 F
VI: 184

10W30
P/P: -49.0 F
F/P: +453.2 F
V/100: 62.0 cSt
V/212: 10.0 cSt
TOR: 484.2 F
VI: 148

10W40 (MX4T)
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +487.4 F
V/100: 86.0 cSt
V/212: 13.8 cSt
TOR: 552.6 F
VI: 166

15W50
P/P: -49.0 F
F/P: +446.0 F
V/100: 125.0 cSt
V/212: 17.4 cSt
TOR: 495.0 F
VI: 153

20W50 (VTWIN)
P/P: -59.8 F
F/P: +518.0 F
V/100: 130.0 cSt
V/212: 17.7 cSt
TOR: 577.8 F
VI: 151

75W90
P/P: -50.8 F
F/P: +347.0 F
V/100: 106.0 cSt
V/212: 15.2 cSt
TOR: 397.8 F
VI: 151

75W140
P/P: -59.8 F
F/P: +429.8 F
V/100: 179.0 cSt
V/212: 25.3 cSt
TOR: 489.6 F
VI: 175

SYNTHETIC ATF
P/P: -65.2 F
F/P: +456.8 F
V/100: 34.0 cSt
V/212: 7.6 cSt
TOR: 522.0 F
VI: 203

JET OIL II
P/P: -74.2 F
F/P: +518.0 F
V/100: 27.6 cSt
V/212: 5.1 cSt
TOR: 592.2 F
VI: 113

JET OIL 254
P/P: -79.6 F
F/P: +489.0 F
V/100: 26.4 cSt
V/212: 5.3 cSt
TOR: 568.6 F
VI: 137

JET OIL 284
P/P: -70.6 F
F/P: +442.4 F
V/100: 17.6 cSt
V/212: 4.0 cSt
TOR: 513.0 F
VI: 128

MILITEC-1 (for comparison purposes only)
P/P: -45.0 F
F/P: +455.0 F
V/100: 43.41 cSt
V/212: 5.63 cSt
TOR: 500.0 F
VI: 63


Top 5 Criteria Compliant Grades:

1. 20W50 (VTWIN)
2. 10W40 (MX4T)
3. 5W50
4. 0W40
5. 0w30

 

[taliv]

I usually run my ARs for a couple hundred rounds and then squirt some lube into the holes on th carrier. It seems to keep them running.

haven't tried it myself, but I have it on good authority that one can shake a bit of dew off their lily to keep their AR running fine.


you know, what this thread needs is some more opinions

 

[Slugless]

Motor oil vs. firearms lube

Mr. Waterhouse,

Excellent question. First off, I realized it's not fair of me to say that Mobil 1 is second best. I changed my post to say that it's unknown territory. This is a more accurate statement. I'm open to feedback on Mobil 1's performance even if I won't use it myself. Like I said, if you have good results, keep on. BenEzra finds that Mobil 1 outperforms RemOil in an AR. Frankly I'm not surprised - RemOil isn't viscous enough for the AR.

I am not a lubrication engineer but an engineer who uses lubricants - from 360 rpm to 12,000 rpm machines, 1 hp to 10,000 hp, fired engines, gearboxes, etc. Lubrication related failures are not acceptable and we spend tremendous energy in preventing them. (I'm talking about preventing the machines from wearing out or flying into pieces, not FtF or FtE).

W.r.t to motors vs. firearms they both have flame and a bunch of stuff moving around. This similarity is why there's crossover between the lubricants. In an emergency I'd put Hoppes oil in my car, for instance, but not RemOil.

My gunsmith tells me that a firearm should wear in, that the metal parts contact each other, the action smooths and the gun becomes more accurate. The lubricants should be designed for this.

There shouldn't be metal to metal contact in a running engine (there may be a tiny bit on startup). One of the tests we do is to run the heck out of an engine without changing the oil, strip the engine down & measure the wear. If there is more than a tiny bit of wear from cold starts, that engine oil formulation is not acceptable.

An engine doesn't have sliding metal to metal friction like a firearm - the main friction area is on the journal bearings, which are babbit, not steel. Journal bearing design is very different from sliding bearings. The piston rings have sliding friction but the piston material is very different and designed to be partially self lubricating, i.e. to function on startup before you get a nice oil film on the cylinder walls.

Since the lubrication service is different the lubes themselves are different.

(I'm curious - if you apply Mobil 1 to a new firearm, what do you observe w.r.t. wear patterns?)

W.r.t. the lubes themselves, there's a lot more about film thicknesses, viscosity modifiers, extreme pressure additives, foam inhibitors, anti-wear additives, sulfur and phosphorous additives, ash content, etc. that I don't want to get into over lunch. Some of these additives are corrosive (e.g. not for use when water is around) and some of them are frankly weird (viscosity modifiers).

The thing that I like least about motor oils is that they are detergents. That is, they pick up and hold water. Most gun oils advertise their water repellancy & penetrating ability. A modern motor oil isn't any good unless it has a high capacity to absorb water.

If you do want to use a motor oil, my recommendations are:
1. Use a single weight motor oil (e.g. 30W or 40W), not a multiviscosity oil
2. Use a synthetic. Mobil 1 is one of the best synthetics. Synthetics have far fewer of these weird additives than mineral motor oils
3. After firing, I would clean any parts of the rifle that come into contact with exhaust gases because exhaust gases contain lots of water. A lot of people don't clean their rifles after shooting & with a detergent oil I wouldn't do that. (why do you change motor oil more frequently if you drive short distances? It's because when the engine runs for shorter periods of time you boil less of the water out of the oil. The oil degrades very quickly when water is present)

Since in industry lubrication related failures are unacceptable, what do we do about it?
1. Follow the manufacturers recommendation on type of lubricating oil
2. Find the best value lubricant for that service
3. Change the oil either on a schedule (e.g. every 6 months) or according to its condition (it's dirty)

My main point is not to flame the Mobil 1 users but to point out that modern lubricants are purpose built and that it is always a good idea to follow the manufacturer's recommendation.

 

[Obiwan]

I hate quoting Pat twice in the same thread...but this seems appropriate

"I pretty much despise cleaning an AR. Always did, always will.
I have several BCM uppers (the best service grade upper you can buy), and decided that as i am going to take one to a class next week, and not wanting to be "That Guy", i figured that i maybe oughta' should ****** this one out a bit.

I took a look at the gun book-8070 rds. I field cleaned it once- at the 3600 and change round count.
I replaced the bolt rings at about 6000 rds, so i probably wiped the bolt off a little then (BCM bolt and carrier as well).

I lube generously with Slip Enhanced Weapon Lube. I've been using the EWL since it came out two years ago. I haven't seen anything to change my mind.

No malfunctions. None. Nada.

I actually cleaned the gun this time. Put a wet patch down the barrel for the first time. Scrubbed the chamber (did that at 3600 rds). The gun was dirty, but not as much as you would expect. Most of the gunk wiped off with a paper towel,. The interior of the bolt carrier was a tad grungy, but some 725 and Q tips solved that.

Total cleaning time was about 10 minutes. I say about as UPS and FedEx (2x) visited me withing a 15 minute period, so i am not exactly sure how long it took.
But it wasn't too long.

Understand that i don't recommend that you do this, and if i were taking this gun to war, i might see some more regular cleaning as being a good thing.
However- good gun (the result of good parts and good assembly), good ammo, good magazines and sufficient lube applied often is a whole lot better then a hobby gun with Acme parts kit, offshore ammo in "beater" magazines and using the Secret Lube Of the Universe #27K, 2 drops at a time, in alternate months ending in vowels.

Your mileage may of course vary. But i'm looking at my four other primary carbines gun books, and they are all at about the same round count/ cleaning cycle.... "

 

[Tin Gizel]

ok ok ok, i get it, my RRA is junk and shouldn't need grease.

however, i was impressed with the way it ran greased and cleanup was a snap so guess what? I'm going to continue greasing my piece of junk poorly built rifle. I already spent the $2.69 on the grease and have enough to last me a lifetime, so until the grease fails me, that's the route I'm going to go.

 

[Onmilo]

Yeah, hold on.
Some of you guys won't use M-Pro 7 CLP because it evaporates???
The base is designed to evaporate!

This stuff works as a cleaner by attacking and breaking up carbon deposits at the molecular level.
The lubricating ability of the product also imparts itself at the molecular level.

In other words this stuff gets into the teenie tiny, itsy bitsy pores of the steel and stays there.
The more times you use the product the more of the product imparts itself to the steel.
In time enough accumulates evenly on the steel that it is very difficult for carbon deposits to adhere to the steel.
This makes cleaning much easier and the lubricating quality continues to work even when the steel appears dry.

Dry is good, especially in hot arid regions and subarctic temperatures.

I have heard this complaint before.
What I haven't heard is sombody saying they used M-Pro-7 lubricants for a period of time and the weapon continually jammed or malfunctioned unless they were using the product as a lubricant and immediately cleaning the weapon with a harsh cleaner which removed the lubricating qualities before they had a chance to adhere to the steel.

I use M-Pro 7 CLP almost exclusively now.
I also use the product in conjunction with Tetra Gun Grease on high friction surfaces such as bolt lugs and railways.
The weapons I have treated with these products are amazingly easy to clean.
I do not have to resort to a carbon scraper to clean my bolt carriers anymore and a couple passes with a BoreSnake and a wipedown with a cloth does the job for handguns.

Every so often I use a copper remover on the barrel bores and this happens to be an M-Pro 7 product also.

When I get sold on a product, I get sold on that product, and this product line impresses the heck out of me.

 

[waterhouse]

My gunsmith tells me that a firearm should wear in, that the metal parts contact each other, the action smooths and the gun becomes more accurate. The lubricants should be designed for this.

There shouldn't be metal to metal contact in a running engine

When I bought a car they said the same thing . . . take it easy for 1500 miles to let contacting engine parts get to know each other. I don't know if this actually matters, but they certainly said it.

(I'm curious - if you apply Mobil 1 to a new firearm, what do you observe w.r.t. wear patterns?)

Sorry, I don't know. I think I've only owned one new gun in my life, and it is a .22 that doesn't show much wear at all.

I'm not arguing that Mobil 1 is the best lube for guns (it works for me, and it's dirt cheap compared to most gun specific products), but as others have mentioned, I don't think CLP is the best lube either. I think CLP probably does what it is supposed to, but even the makers of CLP (Breakfree is an example) offer products that are just lubes (not cleaners) which they claim work better as lubes (Breakfree offers an LP, no C, for use on "especially heavy volume shooters of rapid fire automatic handguns and rifles").

 

[Bartholomew Roberts]

For more fun, here is the earlier Crane Dust Environment Test that emphasizes the same thing as the Aberdeen Test - a wet rifle may attract more grit; but it also allows the grit to migrate out of critical areas better. A dry rifle attracts less grit; but when it gets into critical areas - it stays there.

At some point, if you get enough grit into critical areas, the rifle will cease to function reliably. Stopping grit from getting into critical areas depends on two things: Not getting it in there in the first place as much as possible and allowing it to migrate out when that does happen.