the only thing ive been using for years is breakfree clp. seems to do a good job for me. sure i get normal carbon deposits on my AR bolt but that NORMAL. ive got 1300 rounds through the gun and it has never malfunctioned and ive cleaned it exactly once after 100 rounds. ive taken the bolt out and wiped it down a few times just to check it for abnormal wear, but to me that is not cleaning. the quality of the parts is probably the most important variable, not which lube you choose.

I use FIREclean. Nothing else. If you think being lubed after 800rds is good, try checking after a few thousand. It not only holds its lubricity for what seems like forever, it also inhibits carbon from adhering to the metals. It only take a few drops to completely lube an AR and you can literally clean your firearm with a Q-Tip.

I don't care about carbon and I don't clean ARs. But I would like a longer lasting lube.

 

I would stay away from motor oils as they cause cancer in lab animals.

I'm not shooting lab animals.

the only thing ive been using for years is breakfree clp. seems to do a good job for me. sure i get normal carbon deposits on my AR bolt but that NORMAL. ive got 1300 rounds through the gun and it has never malfunctioned and ive cleaned it exactly once after 100 rounds. ive taken the bolt out and wiped it down a few times just to check it for abnormal wear, but to me that is not cleaning. the quality of the parts is probably the most important variable, not which lube you choose.

I have one beater .308 with over 5k rounds never cleaned but have done a wipe down from time to time.  I want to see how many rounds over the life I can go without having to do anything.  Had 4 failure to feed issue due to bad mags my first week but since then, nada.....dpms too which according to arfcom is impossible...lol  I've used wolf, handloads, etc and she's dirty but keeps going.  the only lube I have used after about 500 rounds is the mobil 1 and I rarely lube it other than drop some drops on occasion.

 

on the rifle I started this discussion on, she's at 1800ish rounds and the mobil is still freaking there.  I've not seen this with any other lubricant I've used prior to beginning to use mobil 1. 

 

the lube is absolutely important as there are some lubes that will breakdown much faster than others.  Some lubes will push dirt and carbon away to edges of it's application and others will be more helpful in longer term storage.  This also depends on the kind of shooting you are doing.  Grease on the other hand, half one dozen or the other but I like superlube

 

but I do agree, the quality of parts is generally the most important thing.

wow after reading this thread I never knew my frogs needed to be lubricated..... just shows ya learn something every day.  I use 100% mobil 1 synthetic, its great stuff for guns. Dont buy into marketing and gimmicks...... if you do I got a bridge to sell if ya are interested.

It isn't all marketing, some of it is Been There, Done That:

 

just cleaned my p226 with fire clean.  seems to be much easier to clean than normal for me.  i like it so far. 

just cleaned my p226 with fire clean. seems to be much easier to clean than normal for me. i like it so far.

If you really want to test it, shoot a ton of ammo through, then check the bearing surfaces. You'll find them to be completely clean and still very easy to cycle.

it just weird using so little oil on the rails. i've been using tw-25 grease until now.