FWIW, I use ATF as a general lube/cleaner of a lot of mechanical stuff here ont he farm. It simply works. Anything greasy/rusty/dirty that is supposed to move will generally get hosed off with an air gun, hit with a wire wheel and dosed with ATF or ATF/diesel. Once it's moving properly we move on to grease and oil. Good stuff.
I don't have diesel handy, but use kerosene. Definitely a worthy GP penetrant. It's not just cheap (and saves trips to town), it works. I've never been able to compare it objectively to commercial concoctions but those spray cans can be handy.
That part wasn't lost on me the first time I read about Ed's Red and have wondered about the effectiveness/necessity of the other two ingredients - at least for what I need. Ed uses it for everything as far as I can tell, and I rarely shoot, let alone clean jacket-shooters any more. Can't attest to how it works on those.
I've used Kroil, cheap WM "Spray Lubricant" (which might just be odorless K1 with a propellant), Ed's Red, Hoppes, etc. in my cast bores and have not found any of them to not work - unless I'm missing something which may bite me on the butt later through some accumulated problem I've not noticed.
RB, please don't say that about Kroil. That's the one last bit of canned alchemy I still have faith in possessing some literal magical property. That stuff finds it's way through the rolled seems on the cans faster than I can actually use it up. Kroil - if nothing else works, dribble some Kroil on it and come back later. I gave up Santa and the Easter Bunny over fifty years ago - let me maintain my delusions about my little orange can of hope.
Side note: The cheap WM "Spray Lube" is all I use for sharpening edged tools. I never use it as a lube because it just sucks at that, and it's just OK as a penetrating oil, but it's cheap and floats swarf out of your stones and abrasive papers very effectively.
