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!:holysheep

[dragon813gt]

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

Eww, too gross to contemplate, curator!:holysheep

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
(http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=9308.msg63018#msg63018)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.

[dragon813gt]

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
(http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index.php?topic=9308.msg63018#msg63018)9 Months sitting on the bulkhead - 100' from the Atlantic Ocean!

If you maintain your firearms on a routine maintenance and keep them in a controlled environment it's perfectly adequate. No one is saying it's the best for long term storage. There are far better products for that.

[commando223]

It has really made cleaning my BP guns a lot faster.

[jonas302]

I like ballistol, I like that its not the latest and greatest, I like the smell, I like that its not at all harmfull to my skin or health I get enough of that at work, I like the slicked up rust free feeling it gives my guns
Its what I wipe down with and patch out the bore with unless there is major copper buildup

[deadeye ruck]

Many guys here say that God put lead on the earth for bullets.

Many blackpowder shooters say that God provided vegetal seeds on the earth for making ballistol.

It is a diverse oil that does a lot of things well.

[jmort]

"No one is saying it's the best for long term storage."
True

"It is a diverse oil that does a lot of things well."
True


"Many blackpowder shooters say that God provided vegetal seeds on the earth for making ballistol."
True and funny

[John Allen]

I just became a dealer for it in the scuba shop. I keep buying it myself and I figured this is stupid. It has marine uses too I might as well carry it.

[Bazoo]

I couldnt get past the smell long enough to see how well it works. It stinks so bad to me.

[lefty o]

I couldnt get past the smell long enough to see how well it works. It stinks so bad to me.

ill second that. putrid smelling.

[dragon813gt]

ill second that. putrid smelling.

The more you use it the more you get used to it. I absolutely have black licorice and that's what the smell is along the lines of. I suspect others that don't like it feel the same way. I agree that it's smell is a big detractor. But it becomes a nonissue over time.

[jmort]

Like many things, like it, hate it or neutral. I hate black licorice anything. The smell does not remind me of that. I am OK with the smell. Can't say I love it. But I can more than tolerate it. In a perfect world it would be on the order of a citrus flower, my favorite scent. A great all around lubricant and the original CLP. It is the only wet product I will use on pad-locks. It do not gum up. That it is non-toxic is a huge bonus.

[lefty o]

i like black licorice, but ballistol doesnt smell like that. well maybe black licorice soaked in manure for a week then left to rot in the sun for another week. there is no getting used to it.

[dragon813gt]

Yes, there is getting used to it. You may not be able to but I did so that's proof that you can. Many refer to it as a cross between black licorice and sweaty gym socks. Regardless, use what works for you. I'm not a fan of the smell of Hoppes #9 but many almost want to bathe in it.

[jmort]

^^^ exactly states my feelings

[sparky45]

I started using Ballistol last year and couldn't stand the smell. I love Licorice (BTW, the only Licorice I know of is black) and it definitely doesn't smell like Licorice. As of today, I'm addicted to the smell and use nothing else but Ballistol. I also love the smell of #9.

[Bazoo]

For me, guns are more than mere tools. They are something real, and a connection to times past. Part of the enjoyment for me, is the smell. I like the smell of old books, new boots, old tools, honing oil, hoppes9, but not ballistol. Smells like a cross between a couple days dead animal and a pair of mildewed, rotting leather boots.

[jmort]

So why not state it a third time???
You don't like the smell of Ballistol.
Use something you like.

[Hickok]

I really like Ballistol. Started using it on my cap and ball revolvers. Like duct tape, JB Weld, and a Leatherman tool, it is good to have at hand. Literature about Ballistol says it can be used on cuts and scraps also.

Originally made for the German military.

[Smoke4320]

I keep a soaked patch of it hung around the rear view mirror .. Keeps away the freeloaders :) :)

its like skunk scent to me .. I started hunting using it during muzzleloader season as a cover scent
a cotton ball in the shoe laces.. got used to it ..
now every time I smell it I think of the good times in the woods hunting :) :)

[dragon813gt]

I've been using it for the past two days while I do yearly maintenance on all the guns. My garage is going to smell like it for weeks :laugh:

[Rooster59]

Never found the smell objectionable. I actually like it better than most other gun oils. Call me odd. My wife does.

Sent from my Moto G (4) using Tapatalk

[Bent Ramrod]

The smell of Ballistol is to the smell of black powder smoke as the smell of Hoppe's No. 9 is to that of smokeless. It means your gun is clean, put away, and now you can catch up on your philosophical loafing.

I met somebody once who didn't like the smell of Kroil. This after I'd just used it to unfreeze her stuck padlock. I told her she was unAmerican. :mrgreen:

[slohunter]

Ballistol, makes old bodies new!

[lotech]

If it didn't smell like dirty feet, I'd like it even better...

[KenT7021]

I have always used Ballistol straight to clean bores after firing corrosive primed ammunition.I've also used water.I never saw any reason to mix them.

[leadhead]

I don't mind the smell of skunk, but Ballistol makes me want to puke.
Denny