Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

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JD Spydo
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Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#1

Post by JD Spydo »

Well I've had a couple of threads similar to this one but I'm constantly wanting to learn about possible new products. When it comes to cleaners I'm really impressed with "Bar Keeper's Friend" which is marketed as a combination cleaner/polish. The stuff works miracles on stainless and cleans many surfaces that really are tough to clean otherwise. But if there is something better than BKF I sure want to know about it.

In the sector of lubricants I guess I'm a bit stuck in the old days because my constant favorite is still MILITEC>> but I would drop it in a nanosecond if I found something much better. With all the "nanotech" research and development I'm sure it won't be too long before something on the horizon makes it obsolete. I would really like to know what you all are currently using for folding knife lubricant as well as lubricants for firearms and all other important tools?

I know we just had a FLITZ thread and I've had pretty good luck with Flitz's products over the years but if there is a better polish out there I would like to know about it. OK let's talk about knife and firearms maintenance stuff in general or any other related product. I would also like to talk about any products used as preventative maintenance similar to the products made by "Sentry Solutions". OK tell me what you all like best?
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#2

Post by RocketJ »

I agree that Flitz is a fine product; I have also used Mother's polish with success on stainless pistols. For heavy cleaning/degreasing I use either Break Free CLP or Dawn dishwashing soap and hot water with a soft scrub brush.....or sometimes both. I have found very little that can't be cleaned up that way.
I use Otis Technology Dry Lube for lubrication and to lightly coat blades, frames, slides, etc. A tiny bit on blade pivots, locks, rotating pieces and so on makes for very smooth movement and stays on for a good while. Have never had a rust or corrosion problem using it. I've tried several different lubes but always seem to come back to the Otis.
Having said that, I think many of the other products available work at least as well....this is just what I've found I prefer over the years.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#3

Post by JD Spydo »

RocketJ wrote:I agree that Flitz is a fine product; I have also used Mother's polish with success on stainless pistols. For heavy cleaning/degreasing I use either Break Free CLP or Dawn dishwashing soap and hot water with a soft scrub brush.....or sometimes both. I have found very little that can't be cleaned up that way.
I use Otis Technology Dry Lube for lubrication and to lightly coat blades, frames, slides, etc. A tiny bit on blade p
Say I'm really glad you bring up the subject of "Dry Lubes". Because I've been doing a lot with two different Dry Lubes in the past few months. I've not yet tried this "Otis Technology" product you speak of but I have heard another person talk about it favorably. The one dry lube I really like is the one that Sentry Solutions puts out known as "BP-2000". I do believe that a lot of research and development is going into dry lubes and I think we are going to be seeing more of them in the future. I sure wish MILITEC would do a version of dry lube as good as their stuff is.

Speaking of Dawn Dishwashing soap the one Dawn I like is the "Platinum Dawn" or better known as their overnight formula. It's the best in my humble opinion. Also you are not the only person I've heard say good stuff about that "Mothers" polish>> I'm definitely going to be checking it out.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#4

Post by RocketJ »

I like the Dry Lube because after applying it, letting it work in a while, and wiping off any obvious excess you have a lubed and protected knife. Lint, dirt, and other corruption doesn't want to stick to it.....not sticky or tacky at all.

Regarding the Dawn, it's good stuff. We like the Platinum too. Used some earlier today to clean up a bright blue Delica 4 before dyeing the FRN scales a darker slate blue. It looks great, and I think making sure there's absolutely no dirt or grease on the scales is a huge part of a successful dye job. We've even used Dawn at work to clean up instrumentation and equipment in areas where environmental issues are a concern. It works about as well as the nasty high dollar stuff.

Good luck in your quest for a better product! It's rewarding to find something that really does work better.
John
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#5

Post by JD Spydo »

I'm finding dry lube interesting for a few reasons but mainly because of a locksmith I've known for years who told me some time ago that dry lube is far superior for locks and other similar mechanisms. I do believe that we are going to see more dry lube products on the market and I believe they are going to gain a much bigger market share over time.

Dry lubes do have many advantages and some you've already pointed out. Albeit we are also seeing improvements in many wet lubes particularly firearms related products. Lubrication products that contain PTFE are also gaining more market share in the past 5 years or so.

As far as most cleaners go I'm doubtful that we'll see anything superior to"Bar Keeper's Friend" anytime soon. I find BKF so useful on so many cleaning jobs. I've yet to find any cleaning product that can even compete against BKF particularly on sharpening tools i.e. ceramic stones, Arkansas Stones and many other sharpening tools that load up with metal filings.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#6

Post by Midnightrider »

I like mothers, been using their products since the 1970s. I like 3-in-1 oil generally but often use breakfree clp on moving parts on guns and knives. my buddy turned me on to Nevr-Dull in the '80s back before they sold to eagle. It's really handy, it's impregnated cotton that comes in a can and polishes metal. You tear off whatever size piece of cotton candy you need for the particular job.

I had some silicone impregnated gun rag I used to use to clean up and put them away. I can't remember which company it was from. Maybe hoppes or birchwood Casey. Mostly simple stuff and not very high tech bit I've used the same stuff for decades and don't have to go looking for new products. All the old faves continue getting it done.

For flashlights I bought a 4 ounce jar of nyogel and it's only supposed to last for 2 years but this amount will not be used up in another 20 years probably.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#7

Post by JD Spydo »

Midnightrider wrote:I like mothers, been using their products since the 1970s. I like 3-in-1 oil generally but often use breakfree clp on moving parts on guns and knives. my buddy turned me on to Nevr-Dull

I had some silicone impregnated gun rag I used to use to clean up and put them away. Maybe hoppes or birchwood Casey. Mostly simple stuff and not very high tech bit I've used the same stuff for decades and don't have to go looking for new products. All the old faves continue getting it done.
There is a lot to be said about some of those older companies like Hoppes and Birchwood Casey and don't forget the G-96 line of products as well. The TUF-CLOTH ( especially the Marine Grade) put out by Sentry Solutions is a cloth that is impregnated with some type of compound that is great for preventing corrosion. Every product I've ever used by Sentry Solutions has worked well for me over the years.

Like I've said before that if someone shows me a better line of lubrication products that can beatl the great stuff made by MILITEC I will start using them immediately. I'm going to try the polish made by that company "MOTHERS" because I've heard several people speak well of them. There is a Swiss made polish called "Knorristol" that's actually a better cleaner than it is a polish.

When it comes to firearms stuff the REMINGTON line of products have been good over the years. I've never had a bad product made by Sentry Solutions.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#8

Post by SkullBouncer »

Hi all, Good thread.

Personally on my high end Spydies I just use WD-40 for lube.


























...KIDDING!!!!!!!!!!!!



WD-40 was invented in WWII. Developed originally for the military, it is very close to CUTTING OIL.
Still know folks today whom use WD-40 to lubricate their knives and firearms. :eek:
WD-40 was originally WATER DISPLACEMENT FORMULA 40. Worked very well back in the day on wet firearms and car/ truck distributors with moisture inside the caps, rotors and points to regain operationality.

It gets the insides of closed architectures to PURGE H20 residue hard to flush out. I have my Spyderco backlocks mostly with my collection of Chinook Test pieces and the later production line Chinook 1s (CPM 440V) and the 2s (CPM-S30V); Some of you all already are aware.

NEVER EVER use WD-40 for lube as long term damage can forthrightly limit the proper lifespans and functionality in excess.
I have real lube products here I use, AFTER a cleaning inside and out with soapy water and rinse. THEN you get in there with the WD-40 to handle the water residual, and then again hit 'em with compressed air, THEN I use TRI-FLOW mostly to take care of lubrication. I go way back with the product.

The PTFE dry-lubes I have used were of minimal benefit, those and another type or two left me wanting, and these I have are off- name and of very low performance. I'm not averse to truly good dry lubes on my closed back-locked Spydies; just haven't broached that pursuit for higher quality dry lubes yet but y'all mentioning dry lubes inspires me to get brand name higher end products of this vein.

My gun lubes; all wet and I've never even considered dry lubes on my firearms.
...OK, clean with Hoppe's 9, Break Free CLP to treat and lube, but I have gravitated toward M-Pro 7 military grade products for cleaning and lubrication. Mostly gas-op weapons. ;) If you can locate the line, I HIGHLY recommend them. Almost out so I use it sparingly -- got a near full can left of Tri-Flo and was almost exclusive with it very early on.

I use the M-Pro 7 gun oil LPX for final stage. Never had one problem with the products and I'll resume just revisiting the aforementioned in place of Tri- Flow on my knives if I have enough surplus from the guns after they are cleaned, lubed and maintained.

BOY got long winded a bit here. :)

There be me 0.02. Always interested in higher end 'new- to- me' cutting edge products for the guns and then carry over to the lockback Spydies, but this thread is valuable to new insight that is possibly higher performance apart from these I have on hand.
====================================================================================================

I have a recently procured a can of BKF; haven't opened it yet but the testimonials concerning such has convinced me.


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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#9

Post by OakTree »

SkullBouncer wrote: NEVER EVER use WD-40 for lube as long term damage can forthrightly limit the proper lifespans and functionality in excess.
Can you elaborate on this?
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#10

Post by Evil D »

OakTree wrote: Can you elaborate on this?

Put it this way... It's a common method in the bicycle/BMX world for installing handlebar grips. People who don't know always freak out when I say that because all they know of WD40 is that it's a lube, which just isn't true. You spray the inside of a grip with WD40 and slip it on and yeah it slips all over the place but leave it sit overnight and the next day that grip is practically glued on. WD40 eventually dries out and leaves a residue that is definitely not a lubricant. This is something you can try out for yourself if you or your kids have a bike at home. If you're lubing your pivots with WD40 you may as well not use any lube at all. After all it's not like a pivot sees any significant friction or heat that necessitate seriously lubrication. All they really need is a little mineral oil, we just over complicate things with these crazy high tech lubes. Heck even Glock only use copper anti-seize on their pistols, nothing fancy.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#11

Post by OldHoosier62 »

Simple....

Cleaning -
Water
Dawn soap
BKF
Simichrome
If truly nasty then a trip through the sonic cleaner full of warmed Simple Green cleaner.

Lube -
Automatic Transmission Fluid

No fuss, not fancy but works like a charm.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#12

Post by anagarika »

WD-40 has been discussed many times over BF. Some adamantly claim it isn't lubricant, some say it is.

To my understanding it contains light viscosity mineral oil as the rest evaporates.
Have been using it for longest time & it helps penetrating and improved some of my lockbacks (and even liner locks).
Please share the negative effects as I haven't found any.

From Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

Quoted:
The long-term active ingredient is a non-volatile viscous oil which remains on the surface to which it is applied, giving lubrication and protection from moisture.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#13

Post by toxophilus »

For cleaning scales I use Mr Clean magic eraser :spyder:
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#14

Post by JD Spydo »

toxophilus wrote:For cleaning scales I use Mr Clean magic eraser :spyder:
When those Mr. Clean Magic Erasers first came out it seemed like everyone was raving about them. I got some of them and I've had mixed results. The stuff that I find that they work well on>> well they work really well. But I have found a few cleaning jobs that I find my Flitz Polishing Cloth works even better.

I'm been meaning to try to use Mr. Clean Magic Erasers by using polish with them. In other words to use them as a polishing cloth just like I do my Flitz polishing cloth. I've used those Magic Erasers with Bar Keeper's Friend and they sure work well using those two together.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#15

Post by Evil D »

Magic Eraser and some dish liquid will clean G10 back to like new condition. The down side is they wear away really fast when scrubbed something abrasive. I stopped using them on my Sharpmaker rods because they just disintegrate, so I use a Scotchbrite pad and Barkeeper's Friend.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#16

Post by JD Spydo »

Evil D wrote:Magic Eraser and some dish liquid will clean G10 back to like new condition. The down side is they wear away really fast when scrubbed something abrasive. I stopped using them on my Sharpmaker rods because they just disintegrate, so I use a Scotchbrite pad and Barkeeper's Friend.
Again I find myself in agreement with EVIL D on both points. The Mr. Clean Magic Erasers are great for certain cleaning jobs but like EVIL D said if you use them on some item that is not smooth they wear out fast unfortunately. Also if you use them with harsh cleaning compounds like Ajax, Comet, BKF or any strong liquid cleaners they just don't hold up. I also have had great luck using high grade Scotch Brite (preferably 3M brand) and they hold up much better over the long haul.

A custodian where I've been working at gave me a piece of a Scotch Brite type pad made from commercial floor scrubbing pads that you put on a commercial machine. These are much more coarse than the normal, run of the mill Scotch Brite pads like the ones you buy at the hardware store. These commercial grade pads are really aggressive and when I get the brand name on them I'll let you guys know who makes them. But these floor scrubbing pads from a big commercial machine are nothing like I've ever used in the past and they clean up Spyderco ceramic stones far better than anything I've ever previously used. I would even be careful on which items I would use them on.

Also Bar Keeper's Friend has a line up of liquid products that work really good too. They also have a metal polish that I've only got to use one time but that stuff works great. But for some reason their metal polish is really hard to find here where I live. All of the Bar Keeper Friend products that I've used really work great on sharpening tools.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#17

Post by Evil D »

Scotchbrite comes in different "grits" sort of like sandpaper does, some is so soft it can polish brass and others so course you can shape brass. It's kind of like a non metal version of steel wool.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#18

Post by Donut »

Evil D wrote:Heck even Glock only use copper anti-seize on their pistols, nothing fancy.
I just did a little reading on this, I guess Glock says only to use copper anti-seize if you are going to store it for a long time.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#19

Post by Evil D »

Donut wrote:
Evil D wrote:Heck even Glock only use copper anti-seize on their pistols, nothing fancy.
I just did a little reading on this, I guess Glock says only to use copper anti-seize if you are going to store it for a long time.
Makes sense why they would suggest that. Have you ever read anything suggesting to remove it and use a proper lube in place of it before firing a new one? Seems like it has to be decent enough as a lube since most people go straight to shooting their new Glocks without first stripping off the anti seize. I use CLP myself.
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Re: Cleaners. Lubricants, Polishes & Maintenance stuff?

#20

Post by Donut »

Evil D wrote:
Donut wrote:
Evil D wrote:Heck even Glock only use copper anti-seize on their pistols, nothing fancy.
I just did a little reading on this, I guess Glock says only to use copper anti-seize if you are going to store it for a long time.
Makes sense why they would suggest that. Have you ever read anything suggesting to remove it and use a proper lube in place of it before firing a new one? Seems like it has to be decent enough as a lube since most people go straight to shooting their new Glocks without first stripping off the anti seize. I use CLP myself.
Yeah, some people say they remove it, some people say they shoot it until it comes off...
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