I met Dwight Settle, the managing director of Seal1 CLP while at SHOT Show 2014. Dwight’s personally owned P226 was fully submerged in a fish tank of water to show the protecting properties of Seal1 CLP. Dwight removed his Sig from the tank and whatever water didn’t sheet off, beaded on the surface; not a speck of rust on the entire gun, either.
I have to admit I was a little hesitant to hear about another all-in-one cleaning supply with claims of greatness. I reluctantly began a conversation with Dwight about his products, expecting to hear outrageous claims of grandeur and knocks on his competitor’s products. I was pleasantly surprised with how our conversation went and Dwight’s story. Dwight's business partner Scott Lee was the original developer of a competing product but due to various circumstances, left the business to begin his own venture with Dwight. Dwight has an extensive background working with firearms (to include military service as a S.E.A.L.) and has now dedicated his civilian career to developing quality firearms cleaning and lubrication products. Dwight made realistic claims regarding the performance of his product and backed it up with various firearms at the show to prove results.
Long story short, Dwight has succeeded. After returning from SHOT Show 2014, I used my samples of Seal1 to clean and lubricate my AR, M&P 9mm, and Sig P229. I’ve run all of them on several occasions since application without cleaning them and haven’t had a single hiccup. I’ve run the most rounds through my P229 (500 in one sitting, in addition to more rounds during other sittings) and the firearm performed flawlessly. All of that is great, but here is the better part: cleanup was quick and easy. I am fairly attentive to detail when I clean my firearms so I have been known to stay in the garage for 2+ hours cleaning just 1 handgun. When using Seal1, my cleaning time was cut by over half, because I just wiped on, wiped off, and the part was clean. Not having to clean then come back and lubricate was a huge timesaver. I used standard bore patches and square cotton rags to clean all of the parts with the Seal1 paste I used.
Seal1 comes in a paste, liquid, aerosol can, and pretreated patch forms. All perform the same so customers can pick whichever texture they prefer. The three variations all serve the same purpose and function, with the paste being the original base product. A carrying compound is added to the paste which makes the liquid version, which is also used in the aerosol sprayer. The manufacturer recommends applying the product to a warm gun so it can soak in faster, but it isn’t absolutely necessary. Once applied 2-3 times, full saturation will result and your gun will be properly “seasoned” for full strength lasting protection. Even better, the more times it is used, the easier your gun becomes to clean. Who can argue with that? In addition, my understanding is this stuff usually doesn’t play well with petroleum based cleaning or lubrication products. Once you make the decision to use Seal1, I’d recommend sticking with it and not rotating back and forth between Seal1 and a petroleum product. I am pretty confident Seal1 won’t disappoint you, so I don’t think you’ll have a desire to switch to your old products anyways.
My only complaint is that Seal1 is not readily available in local stores, at least as far as I can tell. Every trade show brings more and more retailers which is always good, so the best thing you can do is keep hounding your local gun shop to carry Seal1. It is available on a handful of websites including Amazon, but the more the merrier as far as I am concerned.
I highly recommend Seal1 products. After using Seal1, I rid my gun cleaning cabinet of all the horrible smelling cleaning products (Hoppes anyone?) because I simply don’t need them anymore. No more kicking the family out of the area when cleaning guns...now my kids can pitch in and help for a change!
Firearms Insider Reviews - 8 Key Points
Claim to Fame: A “green engineered” bio-based cleaner, lubricant, and protectant.
Target Market: Anyone who uses firearms and likes to keep them properly cleaned and maintained.
FNBs (Features and Benefits of this product):
- Non-toxic
- Cleans carbon and other fouling with relative ease
- A nice smelling gun cleaner you can use without having to hold your breath
What options are available?: Paste, liquid, aerosol and pre-soaked patches.
What others are saying?:
- Amazon customers give Seal1 all positive 5 star reviews.
Price Point:
- MSRP = 4oz paste: $9.95, 4oz liquid: $12.95, Complete Kit: $29.49
- Retail = 4oz paste: $9.95, 4oz liquid: $12.95, Complete Kit: $29.49 at Amazon.com
I need it now! Availability: Available at a handful of online locations.
Our Rating:
+ Fresh minty smell is a welcome change from caustic smelling alternatives. + Cleaning and lubing in one product saves at least 50% of your time. + Made 100% in the USA and Seal1 is a service-disabled veteran owned business.
- Availability is limited to only a small handful of websites, including Amazon.
Score: 9.0
Steve’s links: firearmsradio.tv
