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Chemistry Question

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The good lord equipped me all the lube I’ll ever need. Just spit on it!! If I have the cotton mouth I keep a squirt bottle full of -0° windshield washer fluid. Cheap and effective.
Mucus (a.k.a. spit) is more of a marital aid than a standardized precision shooting component…with the windshield fluid, does one spray the cotton mouth or the patches?

Personally I add some GOJO hand cleaner (w/o pumice) to my ”moose milk” …lanolin is the slickity slick (I’m told) and it leaves a slippery feel to patches after air drying…just something that has worked for me and worth a try…(swab the barrel with windshield fluid like TreeMan meant).
 
The OP’s lube formula shown in post #14.
What I see wrong is 2 soaps or detergents (Murphy’s & Windex) neutralizing the Ballistol oil. The oil is being rendered useless because the soaps have surrounded all the oil molecules holding the oil in suspension.
I don’t think it’s a wise to try to incorporate a cleaner (degreaser) with an oil.
Use one or the other, straight Murphy’s (it not really an oil it just feels oily) or straight oil or a grease.
Also an over powder felt wad would help with contamination of the powder.
I dip my felt wads in trappers melted mink oil grease from TOW. And Jojoba oil on the patch.
When it time to clean Dawn dish detergent or the new Dawn power wash spray foam detergent looks to be working even better. Sluice in some 99% alcohol to collect water from the steel micro pours, dry well, then oil the barrel well, store muzzle down on paper towel to catch run out oil. In 2 days wipe in a light coat of fresh oil Inspect for any rusting.
 
Or just go back to what our ancestors would have done. Animal fat of what ever variety is on hand. Warmed to liquid, patch material soaked in it, then allowed to solidify. Goes rancid quickly, the firearm doesn't know the difference.
Or perhaps the hunter on the frontier kept his mouth full of precut patches, most likely thin leather. 😀
 
Much of what little I actually learned in high-school chemistry has been lost to time. So was wondering if their where some here who could help me find an answer.

Murphy's moose milk being a surfactant stabilized oil in water emultion, how can I increase it's viscosity making it more effective as a patch lube?
A lot to unpack here from a chemical point of view. Viscosity doesn't correlate with lube effectiveness: think of the 0W20 (low viscosity) oil we now typically use in our engines instead of 10W40 (higher viscosity). Spit is fairly low viscosity yet it seals a patch well and lubes it adequately. If your moose milk recipe is not adequately sealing your patches, that could be a patch thickness problem. I think spit or emulsions (such as moose milk) work well for patches because they also help dissolve/loosen black powder residue. I wouldn't use spit or emulsion lubed patches for hunting, though: spit dries out and can cause a ring of rust and I worry (probably needlessly) the same about moose milk. So for hunting all day or multiple days I go with tallow and if necessary (for a second or third shot) spit-then-dry swab between shots.
 
Or just go back to what our ancestors would have done. Animal fat of what ever variety is on hand. Warmed to liquid, patch material soaked in it, then allowed to solidify. Goes rancid quickly, the firearm doesn't know the difference.
Or perhaps the hunter on the frontier kept his mouth full of precut patches, most likely thin leather. 😀
Yes: keeps it simple..
 
Ballistol has its own emulsifier and will mix with water, so the Windex and Murphys Soap isn't neutralizing it, it is already emulsified.
If you want thicker just use Murphy's Soap and Ballistol with no water.
Try it and let us know if it dissolved your barrel or gave you lots of 10Xs!
 
From one of our own, works great, if I'm not using spit. Always have a small bottle of it in the shooter box at the range.

Stumpy's Moose Juice

A general purpose blackpowder solvent and liquid patch lube. Shake well before using

Castor Oil 3 oz.
Murphy's Oil Soap 1 oz.
Witch Hazel 4 oz.
Isopropyl Alcohol (91%) 8 oz.
Water (non-chlorinated if available) 16 oz.

I dip my patching in this twice and let it dry laid flat on wax paper in between. Makes a semi-dry patch material that's easy to carry & use. If you don't mind carrying a little bottle it's a GREAT liquid lube as is.
 
A lot to unpack here from a chemical point of view. Viscosity doesn't correlate with lube effectiveness: think of the 0W20 (low viscosity) oil we now typically use in our engines instead of 10W40 (higher viscosity). Spit is fairly low viscosity yet it seals a patch well and lubes it adequately. If your moose milk recipe is not adequately sealing your patches, that could be a patch thickness problem. I think spit or emulsions (such as moose milk) work well for patches because they also help dissolve/loosen black powder residue. I wouldn't use spit or emulsion lubed patches for hunting, though: spit dries out and can cause a ring of rust and I worry (probably needlessly) the same about moose milk. So for hunting all day or multiple days I go with tallow and if necessary (for a second or third shot) spit-then-dry swab between shots.
I’ve never heard of “ sealing the patches” is that literal statement as in making the fibers swell. ?
 
Maybe I'll try putting some in a blend jet and see what happens.
Ok, put 8oz by volume in the blend jet, got about 64oz by volume, somewhere between the consistency of egg custard and Cool-whip topping. Going to leave it overnight and see if it goes down, just have to make sure my wife doesn't come by and put a dollop of it on a warm slice of pie.
 
I’ve never heard of “ sealing the patches” is that literal statement as in making the fibers swell. ?
When gunpowder burns, it produces large volumes of hot gasses, increasing pressures in a confined space, this is what propelles the projectile down the barrel, if there isn't a good "seal" between the projectile and the barrel, gasses flow past the projectile resulting in decreased power and inconsistent velocity.

This seal is created by the fibers of the patch, crushed between the projectile and the barrel, that is why patch thickness matters.

These fibers in the woven cloth have tiny spaces between them, the oils or fats in your lube squeeze into and fill these spaces, improving the seal they create, and lubricating to minimize friction against the patch as it slides down the surface of the barrel.

At least that's how I understood it.
 
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I just use Dawn soap and water mixed 50/50 on my patch. Shoots all day without a cleaning.
How do you apply it? Do you sqweeze it directly on the patch from a flip up spout, or use a spray bottle, or put pre-cut patches in a ziplock and squeeze in some lube?

Do you pre-lube strips and cut at the muzzle? Or pre-lube and let them dry leaving the soap in the fibers of the patch materials?
 
How do you apply it? Do you sqweeze it directly on the patch from a flip up spout, or use a spray bottle, or put pre-cut patches in a ziplock and squeeze in some lube?

Do you pre-lube strips and cut at the muzzle? Or pre-lube and let them dry leaving the soap in the fibers of the patch materials?
Yes, I have a couple of squeezed bottles, put a little on the dry patch smear it with my thumb. I don’t do prelude strips or patches. I don’t think it would work if it dried out. Though I haven’t tried it that way either….
 
Stuck balls. Bullet lubes. Minimum killer (aka harvesting) calibers and loads. Patch lube formulas. Patch material. Pure lead vs alloys. Patched roundball vs conical. Blackpowder vs synthetics. 1F vs 2F vs 3F vs 4F. Petroleum vs non petroleum (aka natural) vs synthetic lubricants. Petroleum vs non petroleum (aka natural) vs synthetic rust preventatives. Just to name a few sometimes controversial topics that get ‘discussed’ around here and other parts.

Back to OP and it’s question.
Much of what little I actually learned in high-school chemistry has been lost to time. So was wondering if their where some here who could help me find an answer.

Murphy's moose milk being a surfactant stabilized oil in water emultion, how can I increase it's viscosity making it more effective as a patch lube?
Plenty of ways to increase viscosity, but why? Experts have or will weigh in the how to, but how will a patch lube with more viscosity make it a more effective patch lube? What does your data on viscosity show? How are you measuring viscosity and what units are you using?

Realistically, how is what you are doing today working? Maybe you already have things figured out and are there?

Following is just my opinion. Take with a grain of salt, just like all the other opinions. For range or target shooting look for something with plenty of dihydrogen monoxide in the formula that will dissolve most if not all of your powder residue. Any powder stuck to your patch because of lube and not igniting will have little impact on performance unless you are shooting a smaller caliber (think 32 cal) with lighter loads. Consider some patch material or a wad between the powder and patched roundball. For a hunting, I tend to avoid the dihydrogen monoxide heavy lubes in favor of something like mink oil that will not foul the powder or corrode the bore if you let it sit for an extended period of time.

And if anyone has read this far into this post, an observation about petroleum based products use for lubricants. I remember being taught that petroleum was formed from the remains of ancient marine organisms, such as plants, algae, and bacteria. Doesn’t that make it a natural lubricant?
 
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Realistically, how is what you are doing today working? Maybe you already have things figured out and are there?

Following is just my opinion. Take with a grain of salt, just like all the other opinions. For range or target shooting look for something with plenty of dihydrogen monoxide in the formula that will dissolve most if not all of your powder residue. Any powder stuck to your patch because of lube and not igniting will have little impact on performance unless you are shooting a smaller caliber (think 32 cal) with lighter loads. Consider some patch material or a wad between the powder and patched roundball. For a hunting, I tend to avoid the dihydrogen monoxide heavy lubes in favor of something like mink oil that will not foul the powder or corrode the bore if you let it sit for an extended period of time.
Honestly, I don't have a baseline for comparison yet. So far, I have put a total of about 400 rounds through the rifle, most of it just trying to test out various ball sizes, patch materials, lubes and cleaners, so don't have a huge experience base, and haven't decided what I will ultimately use yet.

Of the stuff I've tried, most seems to work fine, haven't found anything with clearly superior performance. Just attributes I like or dislike. Which is why I haven't been able to ultimately decide what to use.

One thing mentioned was using a wad between powder and patch. Haven't tried that yet.

I don't really hunt, just target shoot at the range, and in a local club match once a month. At least as far as black powder goes.

I also shoot centerfire and rimfire benchrest, and occasionally F-class matches.

Black powder is new to me, so have been trying everything I can.
 

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