Last month Andrew Tuohy published a blog post comparing FrogLube with two other lubricants TrackLube+ (a rollercoaster lubricant) and Seal1, another gun lube. He commissioned a infrared spectroscopy analysis of the three lubes and found they were virtually identical chemically, despite being different in color and smell.

Meanwhile Schnips at North Eastern Shooters was also investigating Floglube. He asked his brother, a Chemistry PhD student at UConn, to run at IR Spectrometer over Froglube and compare it to other oils. They discovered that Froglube is coconut oil plus a small amount of additives. Aside from the obvious Froglube smell, forum users speculate it also contains additives to prevent the oil from solidifying in cooler weather. Coconut oil has a relatively high melting point of 76 degrees (24 celcius).

Frugube have always been upfront that their product is 100% bio-based with no synthetic components. If you are happy with Froglube keep using it. This analysis changes nothing. Straight coconut oil (no additives) is probably not a good alternative to Froglube if you (unless you live in the tropics).

If you want a cheaper alternative, you can’t beat synthetic motor oil for price. Many people claim it performs just as well as any expensive gun oil. I can’t help but wonder if we are hitting “peak gun oil”. The market is saturated with gun oil brands. They all work well, as do non gun specific oils.

Thanks to Andrew (another Andrew) for the tip.