Ballistol

[Seeker]

Just got done wiping down a few guns with this stuff. Must admit, this is my first experience with the stuff, but I think I like it. Odd smell that my wife doesn't like, but ohh well. Up on reading all of it's uses, it has a mix ratio chart that says 10% Ballistol/90% water for boring and cutting oil...has anyone used it for this purpose and how did it work?

[tdoyka]

i tried ballistol this year and i do like it. i have a little bit left of rem oil aero spray but i don't like it. i was about to oil my guns with kroil but i decided on ballistol spray. it does work, even if you put it on the stock. i like the smell too!

i don't know about boring and cutting oil, sorry.

[Sam Casey]

Also works great to keep your shredder running smoothly.

[smokeywolf]

Ballistol is a mineral oil based concoction that works very well for swabbing out black powder barrels at the range. It can also buy you an extra day if you can't do a thorough cleaning when you get home from the range. Being that butcher block oil is nothing more than food grade mineral oil, Ballistol is safe for your wood.
Don't much like the smell of the Ballistol, but it seems to go away in 20 minutes or so.

As a rust protectant I can think of other things that do a better job of shielding your metal from oxidation. I favor "G96" for a rust protectant. Also use "gun socks".

[skeettx]

I find Ballistol an effective cleaner. I use it and then clean it off and use RIG for most applications
Mike

[725]

I can use Ballistol for cleaning but it has left rust on several of my BP guns. Don't mind it for cleaning but always use something else if the gun is to be racked for more than a day.

[JSH]

I have been using moose milk for cleaning my BP for several years, Balistol water 50/50. Cleans better than anything I have ever used other than hot soap and water.
I then wipe down a swab the bore with 100% Balistol. Zero rust issues.
Long term storage, as in longggggg I have other stuff.
But year to year, Balistol.
When I see guys wipe down $30,000 double rifles and shotguns with it, that is good enough for me.
Different climates may be an issue. I watch my humidity pretty close year round.

[catmandu]

I like it for leather. I was given a few slings and holsters because they were too dried out. I hung them in my shop and wiped them down every other day or so. Apply till it no longer soaks in and hang till next time. A really dried out Freeland match sling took many coats but did come back to life. I treat both sides.

Works for me.

[Texas by God]

I like it except as a breath freshener. Best, Thomas.

[jonp]

I've used it for BP cleaning mixed with water and it works great for that. In fact, when I picked up a bulk can at the gunshow the guy behind the counter asked me if I shot BP.

I use it for lubing guns I will be shooting in the not so distant future (I switched to synthetic 5w20 for storage longer term) and on locks, hinges etc. I've also tried it on leather and I guess it works ok for that. For cleaning I still use Hoppes #9 but for use in guns that are used for j-words it seems to get the powder residue out fine. I do love the smell of Ballistol. I think it's a good, all around product and if it was what I had to clean guns I could make it work.

[JWFilips]

I have found a good use for it: Normally after rust browning a barrel I give it an Ammonia wash / clear water rinse and apply a grease or oil to prevent further rusting. I recently had a ML barrel I had just finished browning. Washed with ammonia & water rinse ad applied first Break Free CLP The next day it was still leaving rust. I then applied RIG and the next day picking up rust.
Wiped all the oils & grease off with Naphtha then applied Ballistol full strength Next day no rust 10 days later no rust.
The next barrel I rust browned When finished I washed with Ammonia and water rinse the full strength Ballistol and the next day no rust. Now I would not clean a CF firearm with it but it does neutralize acids. That is why it works on Real Black powder residue so well.
In my opinion

[sparky45]

Good to know Jim; I've started using Ballistol in routine cleaning and like it a lot. I use the old 3 in 1 type oils for rust prevention and they seem to work well for that purpose.

[jmort]

I have a gallon of it. Use spray bottle to dispense. It does not gum up. Non-toxic. Original CLP.

[curator]

Universally disliked by the "gentle sex" which is an attribute in my world. Great stuff. I use it as a tapping/drilling/milling lube mixed 7 to 1 with H2O. Good on wood, leather, rubber, brass cartridge resizing, and black powder/Pyro-**** rust preventative. Nothing works better for pulling electrical wires through many feet of conduit. It is "food grade" and you can lube your kitchen appliances with it. Absolutely restored my meat slicing machine. Kind's smells like old Gym socks. It even works as a leaf polish on my indoor plants and kills mealy-bugs. Now if on only it was an antidote to Democrat/progressive kool-aid, it would be perfect! Heck, it would probably make a good substitute for K.Y. "personal lubricant" if you were desperate.

[Bent Ramrod]

My .32 muzzleloader used to be a problem to clean, as there was only one outlet on the barrel, so air could not circulate and even tiny amounts of residual moisture would stay in there. Swabbing with various water preparations, drying with solvents and dry patches and swabbing with RIG would take the better part of an hour, and three days later I would get red stains on a patch run down the bore. Using 10% Ballistol/water until the patches are a dull gray and a final patch with pure Ballistol leaves the bore good indefinitely.

After cleaning and wiping the surfaces, chambers and bores of cap and ball revolvers with Ballistol/water and Ballistol, I spray the stuff into the interior works, without taking them apart. Every year or so, I'll disassemble the whole thing to find a black mud all over the inside, which wipes off leaving no evidence of rust or stain. Even when the fouling isn't removed, Ballistol seems to stabilize it so it does not attack metal. Marvelous stuff.

[Maven]

"Heck, it would probably make a good substitute for K.Y. "personal lubricant" if you were desperate."

Eww, too gross to contemplate, curator!

[dragon813gt]

"Heck, it would probably make a good substitute for K.Y. "personal lubricant" if you were desperate."

Eww, too gross to contemplate, curator!

What, you don't like the smell of dirty socks and fish?

[Hardcast416taylor]

Good to know Jim; I've started using Ballistol in routine cleaning and like it a lot. I use the old 3 in 1 type oils for rust prevention and they seem to work well for that purpose.

This was what we did every night at closing at our little general store on all firearms out for showing. We found out that the aroma of 3 in 1 oil on a firearm often helped seal a sale. Besides the oiling kept the guns rust free from handling.Robert

[John Boy]

Ballistol IS NOT A GOOD RUST PREVENTATIVE. If anyone has a comparative test to prove Ballistol's quality or something else that is better than Eezox- post it up WITH PICTURES ... Click to see test

Eezox Rust Prevention Test ... click to see test
9 Months sitting on the bulkhead - 100' from the Atlantic Ocean!

[rfd]

with all my black powder guns - muzzle and breech loaders - "moose milk", which is a 1:10 mix of ballistol:water, is good for a quick clean at the range or afield in that it will both dilute bp residue while leaving a film of protective oil. this is good for the ride back to the ranch when a proper cleaning can be administered, followed by some oil or clp as a preservative until the next shooting session.