CLP Inconsistencies and the Solution

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CLP Inconsistencies and the Solution
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CLP Inconsistencies
May 2003 TB 9-1000-262-DT Operation Desert
Thunder Page 2-2 Sand and dust cause persistent
problems with small caliber systems, clean and
lube twice as often, and to avoid attracting
grit and sand, wipe off all excess lubricants
with a clean, dry cloth Page 3-9, 3-5 general,
a. Perform routine weapon maintenance (cleaning
and lubricating) at twice the recommended
frequency. Problems of sand and dust
contamination will be minimized. Clean in
enclosed areas when possible, away from blowing
sand. Page 3-10 a., 3. Limit lubrication with
Cleaner, Lubricant and Preservative (CLP) and
other lubricants to internal parts to avoid sand
and grit. Wipe the outside of your weapon
dry. b. Store weapons in a covered, wind
protected area when you are not using them, with
a blanket or a poncho. Page 3-11 f.
Organizational Cleaning, WARNING Cleaning solvent
is FLAMMABLE and TOXIC, and must be kept away
from open flames and used in a well-ventilated
area. Use of rubber gloves is necessary to
protect the skin
Clean your weapon 4x a Day- At least 2 hrs taken
from other tasks to perform this requirement.
Still does not solve the problem of sand and dust
sticking to a wet lubricant
Clean in enclosed area? Isnt CLP toxic? Yes,
see Page 3-11
Limit CLP on internal parts too? Does that mean
the weapon should be almost dry?
Why does a weapon need to be covered when not in
use? Doesnt cleaning it 4x a day minimize dust
and sand contamination?
Clean in well ventilated area? Does that mean I
have to put on wet lubricant in an area where
sand and dust will be attracted to the wet
lubricant?
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CLP Inconsistencies

• TB 9-1000-262-DT Operation Desert Thunder
• Page 3-21, 3-7 M16 Series Rifle and M4 Series
  Carbine
• NOTE, For proper functioning of your M16 Series
  Rifle magazine in a hot, dry climate, keep the
  magazine and ammunition clean and free from
  lubricant. Sand and dust will stick to the
  lubricant and may cause feeding problems.
• To remove sand, grit, and lubricant from the
  magazine, disassemble it and wipe the parts and
  the inside/outside of the magazine body with a
  clean, dry rag
• Use a liberal coating of CLP on internal working
  (moving) surfaces only to prevent jamming due to
  fine sand.

Dont lubricate the springs/slide of a magazine
even though there is metal to metal contact-
wont that cause feeding problems?
In the note above, is said not to lubricate the
magazine, now it talks about removing lubricant.

Use a liberal coating of CLP on internal parts,
but back on page 3-10 it said to Limit CLP on
internal parts to prevent sand and grit. Which
one is it?
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CLP Inconsistencies
TB 9-1000-262-DT Operation Desert Thunder
Page 3-23, 3-8 M240B Machine Gun b. HOT, DUTY,
AND SANDY AREAS. Clean often. Wipe oil from
exposed surfaces with clean wiping rag. Cover
weapon as much as possible to keep dust and sand
out of parts.
Keep the weapon dry and covered as much as
possible? If the weapon is dry, it should not
attract the sand and grit.
Page 3-37, 3-22, General (Artillery) d. When
beginning an action in sandy or duty areas,
remove lubricants from recoil rails and any other
exposed lubricated parts, situation permitting.
Lubricants will pick up sand and dirt, forming an
abrasive which will cause rapid wear. Dry
surfaces wear less than lubricated surfaces
contaminated with sand or dirt. Page 3-38,
3-22 General (Artillery) j. In sandy or dusty
areas, inspect and lubricate materiel frequently,
except exposed lubricated parts.
So, it is better to fire a weapon dry (metal to
metal contact) and wear surfaces than to fire the
wet lubricated weapon and have rapid wear due to
the sand and dirt abrasives.
Doesnt lubricating frequently contradict page
3-10 where it said to Limit CLP on internal parts
to prevent sand and grit. Which one is it?
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Oct 2005 Issue GTA 43-01-029 SMALL CALIBER
(5.56MM TO Cal .50) WEAPONS-GENERAL LUBRICATION
HOT WEATHER/ DESERT OPERATION (Basically repeats
TB 9-1000-262-DT Operation Desert Thunder) 1.
Perform routine weapon maintenance (cleaning and
lubricating) at twice the recommended frequency.
Problems of sand and dust contamination will be
minimized. Clean in enclosed areas when
possible, away from blowing sand. 4. Limit
lubrication with Cleaner, Lubricant and
Preservative (CLP) and other lubricants to
internal parts to avoid sand and grit. Wipe the
outside of your weapon dry. 5. Store weapons in a
covered, wind protected area when you are not
using them, with a blanket or a
poncho. Organizational Cleaning,
WARNING Cleaning solvent is FLAMMABLE and TOXIC,
and must be kept away from open flames and used
in a well-ventilated area. Use of rubber gloves
is necessary to protect the skin
CLP Inconsistencies
Still cleaning your weapon 4x a Day with a wet
lubricant and the GTA still wants you to clean
your weapon in an enclosed area with a TOXIC
cleaner. If the enemy wont kill you, the
cleaner will.
Still have to limit CLP on internal parts too
since it is a wet lubricant and attracts sand
and grit
Contradicts point 1 to clean in an enclosed area
as if you clean in well ventilated area that
means you have to put on wet lubricant in an
area where sand and dust will be attracted to the
wet lubricant?
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Oct 2005 Issue GTA 43-01-030 SMALL CALIBER
(5.56MM TO Cal .50) HOT WEATHER/ DESERT
OPERATION (Basically repeats TB 9-1000-262-DT
Operation Desert Thunder) MACHINE GUNS (5.56MM
TO CAL .50) 1. Inspect twice as often as normal.
Keep weapon covered when possible. 2. Lightly
lube internal working parts. Wipe lubricants
from exposed surfaces. M16 SERIES RIFLE AND M4
SERIES CARBINE NOTE- For proper functioning of
your M16 Series Rifle magazine in a hot, dry
climate, keep the magazine and ammunition clean
and free from lubricant. Sand and dust will
stick to the lubricant and may cause feeding
problems. Page 2 1. To remove sand, grit, and
lubricant from the magazine, disassemble it and
wipe the parts and the inside/outside of the
magazine body with a clean, dry rag Use a light
coating of CLP on internal working (moving)
surfaces only to prevent jamming due to fine
sand. Page 4 M2 MACHINE GUN 1. If the machine
gun has been fired, the bore must be immediately
swabbed out with several patches saturated with
RBC (MIL-PRF-372). Use dry patches to remove all
solvent film.
CLP Inconsistencies
Inspect twice as much and keep the weapon covered
as much as possible? What about a firefight?
Have to limit CLP on internal parts too since it
is a wet lubricant and attracts sand and grit
Dont lubricate the springs/slide of a magazine
even though there is metal to metal contact-
wont that cause feeding problems?
In the note above, is said not to lubricate the
magazine, now it talks about removing lubricant.

Use a light coating of CLP on internal parts,
versus liberal coat in TB 9-1000-262-DT. CLP is
still a wet lubricant, so immaterial change.
Clean and lubricate the bore after firing, then
make dry again. Isnt that a little after the
fact when the lubrication is needed?
Change to TB 9-1000-262-DT
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CLP Inconsistencies
May 2006 Even if the manual says you should
clean your weapon twice a day, if youve got
time, clean it four times a day, if youve got
more time, clean it eight times a day because the
one time you didnt clean it may be the time it
jams. MG Nadeau, RDECOM Cdr, ARNEWS May 19, 2006
article, Army Stands by official CLP products

• Three years later, CLP still does not work, and
  the solution to the problem is to clean more!
• It doesnt make sense. For example, if you
  vacuum with a vacuum cleaner that doesnt clean,
  whether you vacuum 1 time or 1,000 times, it
  still wont clean. If a cookie jar is empty, it
  doesnt matter how many times you put your hand
  in the cookie jar, you still wont get a cookie.
  
• Likewise, if you clean a weapon with a lubricant
  that attracts dirt, the weapon will continue to
  attract dirt.
• It doesnt matter how many times you apply CLP to
  a weapon, CLP will ALWAYS attract dirt and sand.
  It is a wet lubricant.
• It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out
  that if you put wet lubricant onto a weapon and
  put the weapon in a sandy environment, the weapon
  will attract sand and dust. If you apply more
  wet lubricant to the weapon, the weapon will
  attract more dirt.
• Therefore, it doesnt matter how many times you
  apply CLP to a weapon, it will always attract
  sand and dirt!
• To advise to clean a weapon 4-8 times a day is
  bad logic! There is also an easier answer

and the solution is
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CLP Inconsistencies and the Solution
How does MILITEC-1 compare to CLP? See next page
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CLP Oct 2005 Still have issues with sand and
dust Issue GTA 43-01-029 and GTA 43-01-030
restating TB 9-1000-262-DT with minor change
CLP May 2003 Major problems with sand and dust
on weapons Issue TB 9-1000-262-DT Operation
Desert Thunder
CLP Dec 2006 Still have issues with sand and
dust CLP is still the standard
CLP May 2006 Still have issues with sand and
dust Issue press release supporting CLP
MILITEC-1 Dec 2006 (1x cleaning daily with
MILITEC-1 vs. the now 8x cleaning daily with
CLP) AUSA profile traditional weapons
lubricantsquickly turn weapons into dust
magnets As sand sticks to the wet surface, the
weapons start to slow down, then jam.
MILITEC-1 completely eliminates the dust magnet
problem.
1LT xxx, Dec 2006 email
Army Magazine, Dec 2006 p. 75
1LT xxx, Dec 2006 email