What cleaner/lube to use for new AR

[gofastman]

I'm very new to ARs, but not to lubrication of mechanical components.
A general rule of thumb is if it doesn't have a dedicated system to provide oil to the components, grease is the answer for high wear areas.
Obviously slathering your BCG with thick grease might not be a good idea however.
I put NLGI #1 or #0 grease on the bolt lugs and cam pin. A thin, thin layer of it is all you need.
The other parts get CLP.
No malfunctions or significant wear marks on a brand new (cheap) BCA complete upper.

[olde sarge]

I presently use Mobil 1 synthetic with no complaints but never had any problems with Military CLP with the type and amount of shooting I do. Just hard to find the CLP now. Don't heat my weapons up with long drawn out firing sequences and they get cleaned every time I fire them (usually less than 25 shots). That may be why I have no problems.

[FLshooter]

Everyone has their own preference in gun oils.But,I think the most important part if that you keep them lubed w/something..My dad would use light machine oil,like 3 in 1.I inherited all his levers,pistols and bolts.All are well preserved.

[NugginFutz]

My thoughts are: If it doesn't see the light of day for long periods of time, then grease it lightly. Even then, I typically only use it on take-down pins, etc. Otherwise, EWL on any reciprocating or rotating components whenever I take them out to play. EWL stays where I put it and I have never had any issues with it drying or wicking away.

[Gusmeister]

Everyone has their own preference in gun oils.But,I think the most important part if that you keep them lubed w/something..My dad would use light machine oil,like 3 in 1.I inherited all his levers,pistols and bolts.All are well preserved.

I think FLshooter sums it up pretty well. I grew up in the 60's using "gun oil" which was light machine oil. Also known as 3 in 1 oil. While not perfect, it worked. So when we say what we use, it is more informative to say what does not work for us. And that has been mentioned a few times. But for most of us, anything thicker than spit works. Not that I don't have my favorites too.

[distopianpotluck]

I have been using Fireclean on all of my firearms since it cam out and it has performed exactly as advertised for me.

Same story as you. I've been using it for years and it's always worked great for me.

[Wethepeople]

Slip EWL is the only gun lube I use. Somewhere, probably youtube, someone did a corrosion test of somewhere around 50 different gun lubes including Mobile 1 and just about every other gun line available at the time. Applied to steel plates and left outside in varying elements. The EWL came out on top and Mobile 1 was right up there too. Keep in mind, this was just a corrosion, rust prevention test.

I've used so many different lubes over the last 4 decades I can't recall them all. If I had to recommend the top 2 it's those two.

I had ALG ship me a handguard recently along with the barrel nut wrench. The barrel nut was missing when it arrived, so I called sales. They wanted pics of the package contents and the initials on the order fulfillment form in the box. After accommodating that request, they sent me the barrel nut along with a ziploc bag stuffed with Go Juice, so I will use it when I next run out of EWL.

[FLshooter]

I remember a while back when my buddy who was new to AR15, got himself an Anderson predator complete rifle. I took him to the gun club to shoot it for the very first time. After maybe 20 rounds, he started having cycling and feeding problems.
I asked him ,did you lube that thing?Because,Andersons are notorious for coming from the factory dry. He was telling me about the supersonic $25 miracle oil he was going to buy. I laughed and took him to the back of my truck where I had a quart of generator oil, probably straight 30.
I took his Bolt Carrier Assy,put it in a rag w/oil and lubed it up. We slapped it back in his rifle.Low and behold ,no more cycling problems .It fed and ejected perfectly. I’m not recommending motor oil.My only point is that any lube is better than no lube.

[A5BLASTER]

Im on a CLP kick the last few months.

Bout all I use now.

[FLshooter]

Im on a CLP kick the last few months.

Bout all I use now.

I recently started carrying Break Free CLP wipes in my range bag.

[Mesa1978]

Bore Tech cleaners and FP-10 lube.

[Harpoon1]

[Old Bob]

Many years ago all I used was GI issue oil or CLP in the OD green cans or plastic bottles along with the little plastic jars with yellow lids that had a reddish-brown grease -- what was it, Plastilube or Lubriplate? It all worked great in my M1, M1A1, M1A & 1903A3.

When I got my first AR15 I kept using the GI CLP but not the grease (I ran out & never looked for more). When I started 3 gun I noticed most of the old timers were using Rem-oil or Mobil 1 on their ARs. Some had their own secret lube recipes. So, when my GI CLP ran out, I got Rem-oil & I'm still using it, mostly. I have used other lubes like Nano Lube, Breakfree CLP & Mil-Comm MC2500 & TW25B. I like the Nano Lube 85 weight on my BCG (you don't have to use much) but it's pricey -- $18 for an 8cc tube. I'll probably keep using the Rem-oil cause it works for me. Has anyone used Grizzly lube or grease CLP? I saw a review that gave the grease top marks.

https://thegunzone.com/best-gun-grease/

[borderman]

Bought some NLGI #0 to try. It is wonderful stuff, easy to apply and seems to work beautifully.

[Mad Charlie]

For places on a firearm that grease is recommended, Plastilube is about as good as it gets, in my opinion. Plain old Hoppe's #9 or Shooters Choice are fine general purpose cleaners and good old 3n1 oil for lube and wipe down works fine too.

The latest and greatest sooper dooper stuff has its uses sometimes, but the "old fashioned " cleaners and lubes still work fine.

For folks that live in salty/humid environments, CorrosionX and Fluid Film are great for protecting bores and blued finishes, but you do need to clean bores and chambers with denatured alcohol or naphtha before shooting if either is used, (I do that anyway).