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Thread: Homemade Gun Oil

  1. #21
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Freischütz View Post
    CF - any problems with the ATF/STP combination in cold weather?
    Most of my shooting is at an indoor range. I've used it when the storage temperatures have been down in the 50's (parked outdoors) with no problems. One shooter in a club I belonged to used straight STP. parked outside when it was in the 30's and couldn't operate the slide. I don't know what the temperatures are where you are at so I would suggest mixing up a half ounce or so, apply some, and if your domestic situation allows, store the gun in the refrigerator overnight. If it is still a little too stiff dilute the half ounce down with more ATF and try it again. If it still doesn't work use straight ATF or the thin oil recipe. Let us know what your experiences are.
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  2. #22
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    Quote Originally Posted by knifemaker View Post
    Ed's Red was made and used at the original Springfield Armory and used to clean and preserve military firearms.
    That was Hatcher's original Frankford Arsenal No. 18 formula. Ed's Red is a spin off of that. If I remember correctly Ed was work for Savage Arms at the time and wanted a better product than what they were using at the time. This was long after Springfield Armory closed.

    http://handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9

  3. #23
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by M-Tecs View Post
    That was Hatcher's original Frankford Arsenal No. 18 formula. Ed's Red is a spin off of that. If I remember correctly Ed was work for Savage Arms at the time and wanted a better product than what they were using at the time. This was long after Springfield Armory closed.

    http://handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9
    The Ed's Red recipe substitutes ATF for the sperm whale oil that was in the old FA18 formula in Hatcher's Notebook.

    The Ed's Red bore cleaner was popularized by him, but was probably first concocted in some form by John Miller of the Army National Guard rifle team, as they had a famous "red oil" mixture which is well known among those who shoot at Camp Perry. Ed met John when he was on the NRA Tech staff working at the National Matches in the early 1980s and was assisted by a VA Team shooter who was a chemical engineer at NavSea gun division, in making certain refinements in perfecting the recipe and instructions. Guys on the Virginia State team began using the stuff and when shooting at Quantico one of the Marine armorers was curious about the red stuff and asked what it was. The VA Team user, whose name I don't remember simply said, "Idunno, it's just red army bore cleaner," in reference to the National Guard rifle team.

    The funny part which got garbled in translation was that when a sample got back to the RTE (rifle team equipment shop), the "R" and the "A" had became capitalized, and the unknown product thus attained the barrack's legend that it was indeed purloined rare Red Army bore cleaner of a secret formula brought back from Afghanistan, where the Soviets were at that time.

    And so a sample was sent to the FBI lab...

    Ed tells me that he got a call from one of his FBI contacts, who was laughing uncontrollably... So the story goes, "What are you and John Miller doing messing with the Marines head's again?..."

    "Huh?" Ed was clueless. The story continues...

    "We got this lab request from MCDEC for analysis and one of our academy firearms instructors saw and read the tag on the evidence bag, sniffed the sample and then busted out laughing. I asked him what gives and he said, 'well, it sure ain't a Bartle's & James wine cooler, but I can tell you it IS Ed's Red' " and the name stuck. Ed told me later that he mixed the stuff in quantity at Ruger when he was QA manager for the Newport operation, and that they were still using it at the factory when he left in 1987.

    Some fellows who went through police armorer's school at Ruger in the 1980s called it "Ruger Red" from the stain it left on the VPI paper used to pack Police Service Six and Speed Six revolvers at the time.

    And now you know the rest of the story.
    Last edited by Outpost75; 03-03-2018 at 05:05 PM.
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  4. #24
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    one thing I can tell you is I have been dipping me casting molds in it for over 25 years now and they do not rust in fact this week I need to make a new batch my cat nocked over the gal jar that I had it in and the lid was not on tight I might have 1 inch left in the bottom of that jar from that batch GOOD STUFF D Crockett

  5. #25
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    Quote Originally Posted by Outpost75 View Post
    The Ed's Red recipe substitutes ATF for the sperm whale oil that was in the old FA18 formula in Hatcher's Notebook.

    The Ed's Red bore cleaner was popularized by him, but was probably first concocted in some form by John Miller of the Army National Guard rifle team, as they had a famous "red oil" mixture which is well known among those who shoot at Camp Perry. Ed met John when he was on the NRA Tech staff working at the National Matches in the early 1980s and was assisted by a VA Team shooter who was a chemical engineer at NavSea gun division, in making certain refinements in perfecting the recipe and instructions. Guys on the Virginia State team began using the stuff and when shooting at Quantico one of the Marine armorers was curious about the red stuff and asked what it was. The VA Team user, whose name I don't remember simply said, "Idunno, it's just red army bore cleaner," in reference to the National Guard rifle team.

    The funny part which got garbled in translation was that when a sample got back to the RTE (rifle team equipment shop), the "R" and the "A" had became capitalized, and the unknown product thus attained the barrack's legend that it was indeed purloined rare Red Army bore cleaner of a secret formula brought back from Afghanistan, where the Soviets were at that time.

    And so a sample was sent to the FBI lab...

    Ed tells me that he got a call from one of his FBI contacts, who was laughing uncontrollably... So the story goes, "What are you and John Miller doing messing with the Marines head's again?..."

    "Huh?" Ed was clueless. The story continues...

    "We got this lab request from MCDEC for analysis and one of our academy firearms instructors saw and read the tag on the evidence bag, sniffed the sample and then busted out laughing. I asked him what gives and he said, 'well, it sure ain't a Bartle's & James wine cooler, but I can tell you it IS Ed's Red' " and the name stuck. Ed told me later that he mixed the stuff in quantity at Ruger when he was QA manager for the Newport operation, and that they were still using it at the factory when he left in 1987.

    And now you know the rest of the story.
    Thanks I didn't know most of that.

  6. #26
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by M-Tecs View Post
    Thanks I didn't know most of that.
    Robert N. Sears, who was on the NRA Technical Staff at the same time as Ed had worked at Kollmorgen Optical, Savage and Ithaca, in addition to the Springfield Armory. Bob is now in his eighties, but still frequents the Fairfax Rod & Gun Club on weekends.
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  7. #27
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    I've used Ed's Red for so many different applications in addition to cleaning that I can't remember them all. I also mixed up a very close copy by Steve Hurst that he called Steve's Squeeze. Since I usually don't have extremely fouled bores, I can't tell much difference in effectiveness. Since Steve's Squeeze uses Marvel Mystery Oil it isn't as red as Ed's Red that uses ATF.

    BTW, I haven't used acetone in Ed's Red since my first batch. I've also kept these mixes(except for the one that included acetone) in plastic grape juice jugs. One lasted at least 5 years when I accumulated enough metal cans to store it in.
    John
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  8. #28
    Boolit Grand Master GhostHawk's Avatar
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    I'm a big believer in ATF. I no longer buy gun oil. Just go out to the garage and look for a part bottle of ATF. Current one is dextron III.

    I keep small vials of it anywhere it might be handy including my gun cleaning kit in the range bag.

    For removing lead I take half a shot glass of ATF, add 3-4 squirts of Goo-Gone into it.

    I had a well leaded up SKS barrel that when Hoppes #9 patches came back clean 3 times in a row I tried the ATF/GG mix. Came back with chunks, lots of chunks. I'd run a loose wet patch down. Go cast for half an hour. Pull a couple of tight dry patches, get lots of lead out and repeat.

    The positive side is i finally got it clean to the bottom of the grooves. Shiny all the way now. Was a bunch of copper fouling that came out green at the end.

    And the ATF seems to leave a lubricating layer that sticks around even if the metal appears to be wiped dry. Great for revolvers.

  9. #29
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    A couple of months ago I was being chased by a distributer of a new gun cleaning product system that is quite expensive. It had a cleaner and oil and grease. The products were very good but their big claim to fame was that they had very little oder. The cleaner was of course being accepted by police agencies and such as the new all amazing go to product. I purchased a gun smith size to try out of the three product system. The oil and grease are fine and work like oil and grease. However when doing a side by side comparison on some older fouled army rifles I found no better results from the space ge wonder cleaner than I obtained by my homemade Ed's Red. It did not have any perceivable oder and that might be important to some people but it didn't clean any better than Ed's Red.

  10. #30
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    For about 25 years I've been using 50% ATF, 25% STP and 25% Mobil 1 30wt. I have found nothing better. The ATF penetrates and has high heat resistance, the STP clings and doesn't run off, and the Mobil 1 is just a good lubricant with heat resistance as well. It's a very balanced formula that does everything I want and nothing I don't (except for staining white shirts red.)
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  11. #31
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    Quote Originally Posted by M-Tecs View Post
    That was Hatcher's original Frankford Arsenal No. 18 formula. Ed's Red is a spin off of that. If I remember correctly Ed was work for Savage Arms at the time and wanted a better product than what they were using at the time. This was long after Springfield Armory closed.

    http://handloads.com/articles/default.asp?id=9
    For those many who have used or are using or will use ATF, I have found that the new Synthetic ATF is remarkably better than the old stuff. I would encourage you to give it a try. It is considerably more expensive but still way cheaper than buying dedicated gun oil products. Also I recently did a bit of research on lanolin. WOW that stuff is like magic. So many uses and really the only stuff to use in many situations. I found it to be the best lube for swaging.

  12. #32
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Thundarstick View Post
    I understand the only reason for the acetone is plastic wad fouling in shotguns. Been wrong before though.
    Acetone makes the oil creep into small spaces better. Farmers have been using 50/50 acetone/ATF as penetrating oil for decades. Nothing rusts like farm machinery, especially around cows.
    Cognitive Dissident

  13. #33
    Boolit Grand Master Outpost75's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by uscra112 View Post
    Acetone makes the oil creep into small spaces better. Farmers have been using 50/50 acetone/ATF as penetrating oil for decades. Nothing rusts like farm machinery, especially around cows.
    Also cuts the heavy calcium carbonate Ball powder fouling from early Vietnam and Korean era military ammo.
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  14. #34
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    mobil 1 works as good right out of the bottle as anything ive tried.

  15. #35
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    The creep makes sense! I learn something new every other day!

  16. #36
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    John Miller, that's a name I remember from the past. Used to shoot at a gun club he hung around at sometime with his hometown friends. Quit a gunsmith as I recall.

  17. #37
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    I use 5W-30 Full Synthetic Motor Oil (Example: Mobile 1) for all oil uses. Never had a problem with it.
    Getting old is the best you can hope for.

  18. #38
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    My old man was a supervisor at a power house. He always saved our IMR cans, took them to
    work and dipped them in acetone to strip the paint from the cans and rinse out any powder left.
    For gun oil he would bring home 10w turbine oil, pure oil non detergent. For bore cleaner we had
    a product similar to Kroil, industrial stuff made by same company. We also had acetone and Carbontet. We never mixed anything and after using what was nessary to get cleaning done we
    ran #9 through the bore dried and oiled with the 10w. We also had graphite, moly coat and
    several types of synthetic grease like Lubraplate. Dad always carried a tin can that a roll of black
    tape came in. He had a small soft cloth and Lubraplate grease in it. When out hunting and we got
    caught in the rain he would wipe down the metal on the gun with it. It would be cleaned off when
    we got home and throughly cleaned. This stuff must work, OM had been gone for 30yrs and his
    guns and mine are still in top shape inside and out.

  19. #39
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    The OP's post is nothing new. Military bullseye shooter has or had been using that for years. I had heard of it in the early 90's and have used it before.

  20. #40
    Boolit Grand Master uscra112's Avatar
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    Using STP is guarondamteed to collect a film of grit in your gun where you really don't want it. Why not just use lapping compound?
    Cognitive Dissident

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check