SEAL 1 CLP

SEAL 1 is a firearm lubricant company making toxic-free cleaners and lubricants. The market is already flush with products, each making bold claims. SEAL 1 takes aim to separate themselves from the competition by claiming their non-toxic products will actually make cleaning easier and more effective, and their lubricants will outperform common oil and chemical based products currently on the market.

As someone who handles, fires, and cleans firearms on a regular basis I’m frequently evaluating the benefits, and drawbacks of the products I use. I am particularly interested in products that do not use toxic substances. Working around lead is dangerous enough. Adding toxic chemical solvents and cleaners is not a good idea. Until recently, that was the only option. SEAL 1 is one of only a few products on the market that provides non-toxic cleaners, lubricants, and protectants.

SEAL 1 Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant (CLP)

SEAL 1 started and is based in Coronado, California, home of the West Coast U.S. Navy SEAL’s, and BUDS training facility. As you can imagine, SEAL 1 didn’t just randomly pick its name, and is a Disabled American Veteran Owned business. In the few short years of business the company has made impressive advancements and upward movement in a very difficult and highly competitive market.

The company currently manufacturers their products in Brownville, Maine. One of the best features of SEAL 1™ Paste and Liquid products are their USDA Certified Biobased Products designation, having undergone biobased content testing by Beta Analytics, a laboratory approved by ASTM International to perform ASTM D6866.

The latest offering is SEAL 1 CLP Plus (SL-4), an all American-made Cleaning, Lubricating and Protecting firearm product that is safe for both people and guns. SEAL 1 CLP is non-toxic and safe because it has no petroleum products, ammonia, vegetable oils or vegetable esters. This design will not attack metal, or dry out and gum up firearm parts. In addition, SEAL 1 does not adversely affect barrel life because it does not use abrasives or other ingredients that may pit your bore over time.

SEAL 1 CLP comes in liquid form making it easy to apply to a firearm with a patch, brush, or directly from the bottle. It is designed for harsh conditions and will still work at temperatures as low as -50 degrees F. The SEAL 1 CLP also smells like oranges, making the cleaning and maintenance experience more pleasing.

SEAL 1 Plus Applications

Applying SEAL 1 to a firearm’s barrel will result in a clean and protected bore that requires much less follow-up maintenance and cleaning. This is because “SEAL 1 CLP penetrates into the micro-fissures of a barrel and helps to condition the metal for more ballistic efficiency, lowered fouling and easier future cleaning.”

SEAL 1 Plus is also designed to clean the internal parts of a firearm that can be fouled up by carbon, and brass. In addition to cleaning the debris from firearm parts, SEAL 1 is designed to leave behind a lubricant and protectant on the metal parts as well. This combination provides the all the needs for firearms maintenance, and has been a preferred method by many law enforcement and shooting professionals.

SEAL 1 CLP has been recently adopted for lubrication in the aviation industry, and is the exclusive CLP for the Pennsylvania State Police and its 5,000 state troopers for all duty-firearm maintenance.

A 4-ounce bottle of SEAL 1 CLP Plus has a suggested retail of $12.95; the 8-ounce bottle runs $24.95. The 4-ounce bottle will clean and prep an estimated 100 barrels.

Additional SEAL 1 Products

SEAL 1 has already branched out in product offering to expand into a greater market of sports enthusiasts. They have produced the following products to provide a more versatile offering to a larger market:

• SEAL 1 Paste (SP-4) – CLP in paste form
• SEAL Skinz EZ Cloths (SS-6×6) – pre-soaked cleaning cloths
• SEAL Skinz Patches (SS-09, SS-10, SS-12, SS-14) – pre-soaked patches for .22 cal. to 16 ga. shotgun
• SEAL 1 2012 Aerosol – liquid CLP spray
• SEAL 1 2012 Complete Gun Care Kit
  • (4) oz. CLP liquid
  • (4) oz. CLP paste
  • (1) SEAL 1 EZ Cloths package
  • (1) Soft bristled brush
  • (1) 12″ x 12″ microfiber cloth.
• SEAL 1 Bow Pro – Archery cleaner and string wax.

SEAL 1 Testimonial

Shults Media Relations is the media consultant for SEAL 1 products, however their staff are avid shooter and hunters as well. Several staff members compete in shooting matches. Shults Media Relations has provided the following testimonial of their experiences with SEAL 1 CLP (edited for length):

It is our mission to get useful information about products and services to you, the media. But we are a choosy bunch and take care in evaluating potential clients to make sure what we are telling you about actually “works as advertised.”

Our management and associates are all shooters. We shoot a lot in competition and practice, and we hunt. Some of us conduct specialized training, and one of our guys holds the Distinguished Rifleman distinction. Our crew has won many various championships individually, to include some national records. We shoot!

We bumped into the SEAL 1 folks at the 2014 SHOT Show. They showed us their product, gave us some samples and we went on our way, highly skeptical of their claims because, really, how can you have an orange-smelling, bio-based product without harmful chemicals or abrasives that can clean, lubricate and prep a gun barrel? And not only that, they said it would remove copper plating from high-power rifle bores – without traditional ammonia. Oh sure! Really?

We saw them again at the 2015 SHOT Show and, this time, we wanted SEAL 1 for a client because their stuff works. During the previous year, we had used it to clean some rifle barrels, recondition some much-used .22 barrels, and prep a new high-power barrel. We even put some of the stuff on lead bullets as a sort of wet lube (old-time shooters call that dipping when referring to .22 LRs in competition). It works! Actually, it really works and now we know why much of the formula is a closely held secret.

Having shot high-power rifles (M1-As, ARs and bolt guns) over the National Match Course and the NRA’s unforgiving high-power rifle silhouette courses and cleaning every ten shots without fouling or sighting shots in between we are reluctant experts on removing carbon and copper plating from barrels and semi-auto gas systems-and like most of you, we hate the job! We pour a ton of 5.56 and .308 (7.62×51 NATO) ammo out every year killing dirt, steel, and paper so we know a bit about copper and hard carbon fouling; gas systems get dirty!

We first used SEAL 1 CLP to clean up the gas assembly on an AR and then seriously shot the hell out of the gun. After all that, the carbon just wiped off with a rag – no need to scrape or wire brush it. After reassembly and more shooting, nothing changed, so we figure the part will stay clean like that pretty much through a couple of thousand rounds unless removed with a solvent (which would make no sense, of course!)

We did some 100 meter testing with an incredibly accurate .22 LR rifle and this product actually improved the accuracy a bit over 50 percent – all by itself. We credit that to its barrel conditioning with the pure lead bullets that get generally abraded (even if lubricated) as they pass through the barrel – and less abrasion on the bullet means more accuracy. Last, shooting handguns, especially revolvers, can be a mess. SEAL 1 CLP cleaned up the guns easily and made it real easy to wipe down the dirty cylinders of revolvers, including .44s with lead bullets, after applying it just one time.

Bottom line, we found SEAL 1 CLP to be a rather amazing and efficient product that is safe to use and smells good too. A win-win.