Royco 308CA / Aeroshell Fluid 18

[bradh]

As a low cost, should-work-okay, low-tech gun oil/CLP, how does either Royco 308CA or Aeroshell Fluid 18 look? They can be found for around 35 bucks per gallon.

I understand these are old school mineral oils, but they seem to have a dash of additive (ca sulfonate) which I believe functions as a corrosion inhibitor and perhaps AW/EP?

Probably not the best "C" qualities in the CLP world, but on par in the LP area?

Just trying to contribute a bit here and at that price, figured someone might be interested.

With the understanding that you don't want to shower or bathe in any of the ingredients, they also don't look like they will melt your skin or brain (from a toxicologists perspective).

Brad

 

[bsmithwins]

I've been using AS 18 for a couple of years.

I'd rate it as 'very good'. I've used that oil after cleaning a AK that had 100+ rounds of corrosive ammo run thru it. Because I didn't really have a choice, I had to clean the rifle outside, in the rain (well, I DO live in Oregon) and stuff it back into its wet fabric rifle case.

After about 3 hours, I got home and pulled the rifle out. There was no rust anywhere.

The AS does dry out over time. This doesn't bother me too much as I almost always clean and lube before I shoot anyway. AS is very creepy. I've applied it inside the AK and found it making oil stains on around the rivet heads on the outside of the receiver. And yes, the rivets are tight.

I've been recommending AS 18 as a quality gun oil to my friends and it's what I use.

BSW

 

[AMC]

Hmmmm, After some basic research, I can't see why either of these couldn't be used as a basic CLP type product for guns. They certainly do have the specs as far as pour point and flash point go. If it were me, I would conduct some basic evaporation, corrosion and gum tests before I claimed it good to go but others have tried it don't seem to report any problems.
One of the big things to watch out for when considering any product that is not specifically for weapons is the gumming. So many products gum up and dry to a sticky gel after a few weeks or months in the open. The gummy, sticky, gel that some of these can dry to is absolute DEATH for weapons reliability. So say you clean and lubricate your gun with product X, after you get done cleaning and re-applying the oil to the wear areas, you finish by wiping down product X all over the outside of the gun. Now the gun goes back in the safe and isn't touched for 6 weeks. If product X gums up and dries out, You pull the gun out, notice that the outside surface is sticky, try to rack the slide or pull the bolt back and it is almost impossible because it practically glued together. If this was a defensive gun you needed at that very moment, you would be dead.
I am mentioning all this because I have seen several oils do this and I even learned it the hard way by lubing 2 of my guns with a product I deemed good to go before I did the gum test. Although there are plenty others, WD-40, Ultralube and outers gun oil (old formula) I have seen first hand gumming up and getting sticky.
Hope this helps, happy shooting!

 

[bsmithwins]

AS 18 does dry out after about 4-6 weeks in my area. The steel is left dry to the touch and I've never noticed any varnish or gummy deposits.

I typically punch the bore and re-lube before shooting so the drying isn't a problem for me. AS 18 does seem to be very protective of steel as I've never had a rust problem on even my infrequently shot guns that only go out 1-2 a year, like the SKS.

BSW