Bowl Ring Wax & Citronella Candles

[Gray Fox]

Does anyone know what kind of wax is in toilet bowl rings and citronella candles and can either be used as bullet lube or in lube recipes?

[Shiloh]

In the old days, Toilet wax rings were beeswax, possibly with a little parafin. One can only guess what they are now. Probably still beeswax with other sythetics in them.

The citronella would smell nice when boolits are fired.

Shiloh

[wiljen]

Toilet bowl rings were at one point made of beeswax that ceased years ago though and they are now made of petrolatum. The melting point of this is too low to be of much use in bullet lubes. Citronella Candles are probably mostly paraffin wax which is good in small portions to harden bullet lubes, but in and of itself is not a lubricant.

[stubshaft]

I'm pretty certain that citronella is a parrafin based candle and that toilet rings are made from beeswax with a petroleum additive to keep them pliable. You could probably use them as a base for lubes but I wouldn't want to be around if you're melting USED toilet rings LOL.

[dwtim]

Bowl rings are wax and petrolatum. Petrolatum is simply petroleum jelly that has not been refined for use in or on your body. The wax reminds me of beeswax, but it sure smokes like paraffin.

Both my home made bullets lubes are based on wax rings, (new, not used.) I buy the cheap refill rings. The bug candles are more expensive, no? I can't imagine the stink from Citronella lube, but you'd never get mosquito bites at the range.


EDIT: Apparently petrolatum and petroleum jelly are now used interchangeably.

[high standard 40]

I recently checked the MSDS on the "Radiator Specialties" brand of toilet wax rings.
It is now a petroleum based wax. Not even a trace of beeswax.

[jhalcott]

I have used citronella candles as a FLUXING agent ,but I never tried them in a lube mix. Might be good IF you were hunting in the swamps though. A shot every so often to chase the 'skeeters away!

[azrednek]

I remember seeing this question come up on another group. One poster claimed to have worked in a factory that made toilet rings. He claimed they would use what ever the cheapest source was for wax, could be paraffin, bee's wax, a combination of both and scrap from manufactures that used wax. He discouraged it's use as a bullet lube because the rings also contain what he called powdered styrofoam waste. If I remember correctly the styrofoam was needed thicken the solution in the manufacturing process and to help keep the ring's shape if the ring should be warmed in shipping.

Bear in mind I'm repeating something I read a few years ago and like anything else posted on the net it should not be taken as absolutely positive.

[yodar]

Does anyone know what kind of wax is in toilet bowl rings and citronella candles and can either be used as bullet lube or in lube recipes?

Ted Drott, a chemist at Gulf refinery tells me his firm made the terlet rings and they are petrolatum which is VASELINE a semi-solid paraffin-series hydrocarbon..

To make wax, you have to have a denser paraffin-series hydrocarbon with 20 or more carbons per molecule.

The lightest paraffin series hydrocarbon is Naphtha and the heaviest is Paraffin Wax and in between is kerosene and fuel oil

yodar

[Johnch]

I use a lube made from toilet ring wax ( Wolverine Brass brand ) and Alox from White Lable Lubes
With a Red wax we use at work for a stiffener , not exactly sure of exactly what it is made of ( looks to be a Carnuaba based wax )

About 45 % Toilet Wax , 50% Alox and 5% red wax


As the toilet wax is soft and sticky

My lube works well up to 1400 fps
Probely faster

But it is still a soft and slightly sticky lube

So for rifle use I use Larrs Carnuaba lube


I played around with stuff I had on hand and came up with my specail lube
But , probely no better than NRA 50/50

But for me , cheaper

John

[Tom W.]

I have used citronella candles as a FLUXING agent ,but I never tried them in a lube mix. Might be good IF you were hunting in the swamps though. A shot every so often to chase the 'skeeters away!

Durn skeeters down here NEED shooting.. Citronella is breakfast food for these monsters!

[357maximum]

The true-value brand of toilet bowl rings (cannot remember the company name) told me on the phone that their rings were mede of slack wax. Slack wax is the petrocrud that petrolatum/mineral oil/ other petro waxes are refined from...basically it is a crap shoot of what you are getting. That being said you can make some dandy pistol lube out of the rings iffin you are willing to play a bit.


My sources also tell me that alot of cheap citronella candles are "industry remnant/scraps and waxes" and murphy's oil soaplike substances.....also useful for non-demanding lubes.

For non-demanding lubes alot of things can be used effectively iffin a feller is willing to play with his ingredients. Repeatability is the hard thing to conquer if you choose these routes. For "REPAETABILITY" I prefer pure raw ingredients like soft microcrystalline wax/lanolin/carnauba and oils like jojoba/ meadowfoam when it will go into a rifle or HV long barrelled pistol.

Alot of synthetic oils start out as meadowfoam/flax/rape based oils......heat/time/pressure will alter what these oils are in the end...so record every step.



BUT

YOU CAN MAKE MOST ANY WAX OIL COMBINATION WORK IF YOU "REALLY WANT TO" AND HAVE SOME PATIENCE AND THE DESIRE TO MESS AROUND A BIT...it is just easier if you start with knowns instead of unknowns. Binary lubes are alot easier to get repeatability with and for pistol velocities it is hard to beat micro and/or beeswaxes a base and a softening agent like petrolatum or alox 350. Petrolatum is simply microcrystalline wax and mineral oil that has not been seperated...and it works for alot of lube duties.


I still make alot of my low to mid vlocity lubes out of microcrystalline based "trenton wax tape primer" that is used in the "pre" coating of underground steel gas pipes...but availability/cost to myself is the main reason I still use it.


For an all around rifle lube good ol light brown lithium all purpose grease in a beeswax/soft micro base will always be in one of my sizers. It does the job really well on all but the insane velocity cast loads I use.

[Gray Fox]

I'm a newbie to the forum, so all input is appreciated. I don't know what I'll do with the bowl ring I bought. Maybe a relative will need to reset a toilet. Anyway, anyone know a place to order bee's wax at a reasonable cost? Thanks, GF

[357maximum]

I'm a newbie to the forum, so all input is appreciated. I don't know what I'll do with the bowl ring I bought. Maybe a relative will need to reset a toilet. Anyway, anyone know a place to order bee's wax at a reasonable cost? Thanks, GF

Blammer sells beeswax as does Randyrat, both members of this forum and sell it reasonably. Not sure as to the availability of their services...you would have to send them a PM to see.

[HandgunHTR]

Grey Fox,

You have a PM.

[smokemjoe]

Thats ring wax is the worst thing you can ever use to flux with. Its a crapp.

[BABore]

Thats ring wax is the worst thing you can ever use to flux with. Its a crapp.

Quit using the used ones!

[dakotashooter2]

I got a deal on a case of Red Roster many years back. I really don't need a lube that hard so I mix 50/50 with those toilet rings. Kind of a messy lube but I get zero leading at medium velocities.

[StarMetal]

Toilet bowl rings were at one point made of beeswax that ceased years ago though and they are now made of petrolatum. The melting point of this is too low to be of much use in bullet lubes. Citronella Candles are probably mostly paraffin wax which is good in small portions to harden bullet lubes, but in and of itself is not a lubricant.

Paraffin is too a lubricant Wiljen. One an engineer told me at the Sunoco Oil refinery I worked at that the best lubricant for a car engine would be paraffin, but we know why that's not possible.

Joe