OGRE Manufacturing Enviroclean FA is an effective, versatile, low-odor gun cleaning solvent.
It is made in the USA, and competitively priced at the time of this writing at $10 for a 4-ounce bottle from www.ogremfg.com (by way of comparison, a 4-ounce bottle of Break Free CLP was priced at $11.99 from safariland.com ). If you plan to use a lot of Enviroclean FA, you can get a whole gallon for $90.
The low level of odor that Enviroclean FA produces while it is being used to clean firearms at the kitchen table is valuable for helping to preserve the domestic tranquility. I highly recommend it.
Background
For many years of my married life, I used Hoppe’s No. 9 Gun Bore Cleaner as my firearm cleaning solvent of choice. The problem was that my wife, “Kari”, could not stand the smell. Even if I waited until she was away to clean my guns, Kari would sense the (to her) unpleasant lingering odor after she returned home.
I personally like the fragrance of Hoppe’s No. 9. In fact, if Kari did not object to it, I wouldn’t mind having a touch of it in my aftershave. But marriage is built on compromise, so some years ago I began looking for a less offensive alternative.
I next settled on kerosene as a gun-cleaning solvent. It was inexpensive, effective, and did not have quite the same powerful lingering aroma as Hoppe’s No. 9. Kerosene was better than Hoppe’s No. 9 in terms of odor, but still not good enough. If Kari happened to be in the same room while I was cleaning my guns, she might even go so far as to hint that I should think about cleaning them in the barn instead. The thought of hauling firearms and cleaning equipment to the barn to work in below freezing temperatures was not attractive. I preferred the comfort of sitting at the kitchen table.
So when I heard about an especially low-odor cleaner from OGRE Manufacturing, I was very interested. Enviroclean FA was advertised as less smelly, safe, and biodegradable. It is supposed to be suitable for cleaning black powder as well as smokeless powder firearms, and to remove powder residue, lead/copper/plastic fouling and rust.
I contacted OGRE Manufacturing and asked if they could provide me with a sample for testing and evaluation. They were kind enough to agree. A short time later, a 6 x 4.31 x 4.25 inch box plastered with 4 “FRAGILE” stickers arrived from OGRE Manufacturing, LLC, 231 South 79th St., Milwaukee, WI 53214 via USPS Ground Advantage.
Opening the Box
Inside the box, I found a quart-sized ziploc bag with a packing-tape-wrapped paper-towel-bundle inside. Inside of the paper-towel-bundle I found one 4-fluid-ounce bottle of Enviroclean FA and one 2-fluid-ounce bottle of OGRE HP Gun Oil. The box also contained a couple of business size cards stating, “Hey Ladies!!! Tired of the mess and smell of cleaning your gun? Then try Enviroclean FA! Great Cleaning. Less Smelling. Less Mess!” I guess Kari is not the only woman who does not like the smell of Hoppe’s No. 9.
As I visited the OGRE Manufacturing website, the “About Us” tab told an interesting story. Evidently, inventor John Thompson’s daughter developed asthma, and the condition was aggravated by the fumes from his gun cleaning solvent. Cleaning his guns in the garage during a Wisconsin winter motivated Mr. Thompson to begin the process that ultimately led to the development of Enviroclean FA.
Initial Testing
My first test of Enviroclean FA was on a Mossberg Patriot LR Tactical in 6.5 Creedmoor that I was testing for a review in SurvivalBlog.
My first observation was that I do not like the bottle in which EviroClean FA is shipped. I prefer to dispense gun-cleaning solvent from a squeeze bottle. I have knocked over too many bottles to want a regular, uncapped bottle sitting on the table while I am cleaning a firearm. Fortunately, Kari had a brand-new, 2-ounce, plastic squeeze bottle that she was willing to donate to the cause of important scientific research. I filled the squeeze bottle from the Enviroclean FA shipping bottle, and replaced the lids on each.
I then removed the bolt from the Patriot LR, and ran patches wetted with Enviroclean FA through the bore until the 7th patch came through clean. I then ran a dry patch through the bore to remove any solvent residue. This process did not create any discernible odor.
Next, I ran a patch wetted with kerosene through the bore, just to see if the Enviroclean FA had left any dirt behind. The kerosene patch came through clean, but did leave a definite odor. I then ran a dry patch through the bore to remove the residual kerosene.
I then used small bits of cotton rag wetted with Enviroclean FA to clean the bolt, magazine, bolt channel, chamber, and other accessible metal surfaces of the rifle. Residual solvent was then removed with a dry rag.
I finished the cleaning process by running a patch with Break Free CLP through the bore and by applying a thin film of CLP on the bolt, magazine, bolt channel, chamber, and other accessible metal surfaces of the rifle.
I found the entire process to be entirely satisfactory. Kari, who was sitting in the next room, did not remark at all about any odor created by the process. This matched one of the catchphrases of modern living: “Happy wife, happy life.”
During the course of the coming week, I had a couple of other occasions to clean the Patriot LR Tactical again after range sessions. And on these occasions the results were likewise wholly satisfactory.
Corrosion Testing
I took a rusty drawer rail from the recycling bin, cut the ends off with an angle grinder, and then nailed the rail to an oak board. Then, I sanded off the surface rust and marked off test areas with a permanent marker. I then applied Enviroclean FA to the entire test surface with a piece of paper toweling. I allowed the surface to dry briefly, and then applied Break Free CLP to one end of the test surface with a second piece of paper toweling, and OGRE HP Gun Oil to the other end of the test surface with a third piece of paper toweling. An area in the middle was left treated solely with the Enviroclean FA. This served as a buffer zone to prevent cross-contamination from the products at the 2 ends of the test surface.
After allowing the CLP and HP Gun Oil to dry for several minutes, I put some rock salt in a spray bottle, added some water, shook the bottle vigorously, and then sprayed the test surface liberally with salt water.
Already, 8 hours later, signs of rust began appearing on the Enviroclean FA only surface and on the HP Gun Oil surface. The CLP surface was still completely free of any signs of rust.
Two weeks later, rust was well established on the Enviroclean FA only surface and on the HP Gun Oil surface. In contrast, there were only slight isolated hints of beginning rust on the CLP treated surface.
I still have not found any lubricant and protectant that resists corrosion as well as Break Free CLP. So although I now plan to use Enviroclean FA as my new firearm cleaning solution, I plan to continue to use Break Free CLP following cleaning with any solvent to lubricate and protect the firearm.
Conclusions
OGRE Enviroclean FA is an excellent cleaner/solvent to use for firearms maintenance. It effectively removes carbon and other forms of fouling while creating no offensive odors. This helps to prevent the individual who is cleaning the firearms from getting exiled to another location like the basement, garage, or barn.
The only improvement to the product that I can suggest at this time is packaging it in a squeeze bottle rather than in an ordinary bottle. A squeeze bottle would allow the cleaner to be dispensed more conveniently, while an ordinary bottle is more prone to spillage.
If the smell of your current gun cleaning solvent does not bring joy to the heart of your spouse, you may want to give Enviroclean FA a try.
On the other hand, if your spouse does not mind the smell of kerosene, diesel fuel, or home heating oil, I recommend that you use one of those substances as your gun-cleaning solvent. They are inexpensive and highly effective for that task.
Disclaimer
OGRE Manufacturing was kind enough to provide me with samples of their Enviroclean FA Gun Cleaner and of their HP Gun Oil for testing and evaluation. Mossberg was likewise kind enough to loan me a sample of their Patriot LR Tactical in 6.5 Creedmoor for testing and evaluation. I tried not to allow the kindness of either of these vendors to interfere with the objectivity of my review, and feel that I have succeeded. I did not receive any other financial or other inducement to mention any vendor, product, or service in this article.