Ballistol

[Killerangel]

I'm afraid you are complete wrong about Ballistol. It contains NO petroleum products & even contains some plant extracts. The medical grade mineral oil in Ballistol is rendered from paraffin not petroleum. The misinformation continues from those that get it "half right" once again. Read the MSDS sheet on Ballistol & take a few minutes to find out the facts before posted BS. I don't care if someone uses Ballistol or doesn't use Ballistol, I'm just tired of all the stupid arguing about it & what it contains. It's just not that hard to get the actual ingredients & what they are derived from, so why are you posting falsehoods? You can actually drink Ballistol with no ill affects. Try that with a petroleum based product.

So the Paraffin used to get the oil in Ballistol come from the Paraffin tree instead of being the petroleum distillate listed on its MSDS? No doubt the original oil was a refined coal oil when it was invented.......but now it is petroleum based. No difference chemically by the way.

 

[Ironoxide]

Ballistol has petroleum in it.

It is not water nor natural based.

Petroleum + burnt black powder = sludge

I heard this statement repeated in many places. Not specifically about ballistol, but other less-natural products. Personally I use mostly neatsfoot, jojoba, coconut oils and lard, ballistol being the only "artificial" oil. However, I use a lot of it. I use ballistol water (20:1) for cleaning and 7:1 as patch lubricant (I let the water evaporate mostly). One thing I can say for sure is there is no detriment whatsoever to using ballistol (mixed with water) around burnt black powder. I noticed no difference in the sludge resulting from using artificial or natural oil.

I also encountered people who added motor oil to their black powder lube and claimed it worked perfectly fine for them.

So I would be very interested in finding out where did this "petroleum+black powder =sludge" came from and if there is any actual experience backing it up.

 

[Terry Lightle]

I am on the Hanshi wagon with water and Dawn,do not worry about what other people put in their barrel as my barrel is the only one that is any of my business.

 

[Okie Hog]

Ballistol 10:1 with water for cleaning? Yea or nay? How about Murphy's?

i won't use ballistol or home made concoctions. Windex with vinegar works well for me. Tap water works well to.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Ballistol has petroleum in it.

It is not water nor natural based.

Petroleum + burnt black powder = sludge

Any lubricant + burnt black powder + humidity = sludge + crust ring

@Okie Hog, A mix of Windex and vinegar isn't a home made concoction? By the way Windex (with ammonia) and water is a very good cleaner along with many other home made concoctions.

 

[Omahkapi'si]

I gave up cleaning. Don’t have to buy lead anymore just shoot big chunks of crud.

 

[Scota@4570]

"A mix of Windex and vinegar isn't a home made concoction?"

Windex makes a product that uses vinegar instead of ammonia. The label on the bottle points this out. A gun writer said it was the best about 30 years ago. He warned against the ammonia type. I don't think it matters.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Windex-with-Vinegar-Glass-Cleaner-Spray-Bottle-32-fl-oz/400486496

 

[Ironoxide]

"A mix of Windex and vinegar isn't a home made concoction?"

Windex makes a product that uses vinegar instead of ammonia. The label on the bottle points this out. A gun writer said it was the best about 30 years ago. He warned against the ammonia type. I don't think it matters.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Windex-with-Vinegar-Glass-Cleaner-Spray-Bottle-32-fl-oz/400486496

Be careful using vinegar around bluing unless you want to clean it to shiny steel!

Vinegar is an acid. Although heavily diluted at home it still has potential to remove bluing.

Possibly the next comment down will be "I've been using ammonia+vinegar on all my guns for 40 years and bluing looks like new"

Which I pre-empt by saying ammonia is a base. Mixing a base with an acid you get water plus (in this instance a tiny bit of) ammonia gas. No doubt in mixture of the two there is possibility of neutralising the acidity of vinegar before it hits the bluing, but it depends on how much of each you used. The strength you got. How quickly it is used after mixing etc. It is perfectly possible to make a mixture of the two that is safe as well as make another one that will take bluing off.

 

[Frontier's]

Y'all are supposed to be period correct....

 

[wb78963]

I heard this statement repeated in many places. Not specifically about ballistol, but other less-natural products. Personally I use mostly neatsfoot, jojoba, coconut oils and lard, ballistol being the only "artificial" oil. However, I use a lot of it. I use ballistol water (20:1) for cleaning and 7:1 as patch lubricant (I let the water evaporate mostly). One thing I can say for sure is there is no detriment whatsoever to using ballistol (mixed with water) around burnt black powder. I noticed no difference in the sludge resulting from using artificial or natural oil.

I also encountered people who added motor oil to their black powder lube and claimed it worked perfectly fine for them.

So I would be very interested in finding out where did this "petroleum+black powder =sludge" came from and if there is any actual experience backing it up.

First petroleum based lubricants react with Gunpowder to form a tar that is a "female dog" to scrub out of a rifle barrel. The synthetic oils and greases perhaps I are alright do not know and an not interested in experimenting.
As far as Ballistol is concerned have been cleaning and preserving my armament with Ballistol for years. Yes I believe it does contain mineral oil but the organic chemical make up of mineral oil and paraffin wax is completely compatible with real Gunpowder.
As a side note the lube I am using is a 50:50 mix of either beef tallow or common lard and either beeswax or regular canning wax.
I have had no problems with that mix with a lot of rounds run through my percussion Sharps. That same mix is used in the felt wads for my C&B revolvers and cast bullets used in an unmentionable devise made by a designer from Utah whose name I shall not mention.
At least that is my experience
Hold center
Hit Center
Don't look surprised
Bunk

 

[smoothshooter]

Is there such a thing as homemade Ballistol? Like mineral oil mixed with something maybe?

Why?

 

[smoothshooter]

Is there such a thing as homemade Ballistol? Like mineral oil mixed with something maybe?

 

[wb78963]

Make your own Ballistol, what a capitol idea! Assemble an expensive collection of ingredients and mix up a batch that will not work because ,I am sure ,there there are proprietary ingredients you don't know and you wind up with an expensive mess.
OR you can go to Brownell's or other suppliers, and get a pint or two and save time and money.
Moose Milk made with Ballistol and distilled water is my cleaning and preserving solvent,and oil protectant.
I have used this product for many years, and guns, so protected, were in storeage for a year still clean and slick to touch.
Respectfully
Bunk

 

[dynabase]

Ballistol is the best thing I have ever used on a sunburn. It also helps heal minor cuts and abrasions. Works great on guns too.

 

[beardedhorse]

Was using a 3:1 water to ballistol mix and dried it on pillow ticking. Every patch shot out at the range began smoldering. Only when I licked them as a spit patch did they not smolder. I am near Loveland, Colorado. The ballistol doesn't taste good. For target work I can use the mix wet and cut wetted patches with patch knife. Won't use it during hunting season as I don't want to barbecue the elk before I get a chance to shoot them. Anybody else have smoldering problems with ballistol/water mix dried on patching?

 

[Omahkapi'si]

Used Ballistol on a cut finger at the range cuz it’s all I had and that thing healed almost overnight. No rust either.

 

[wb78963]

Was using a 3:1 water to ballistol mix and dried it on pillow ticking. Every patch shot out at the range began smoldering. Only when I licked them as a spit patch did they not smolder. I am near Loveland, Colorado. The ballistol doesn't taste good. For target work I can use the mix wet and cut wetted patches with patch knife. Won't use it during hunting season as I don't want to barbecue the elk before I get a chance to shoot them. Anybody else have smoldering problems with ballistol/water mix dried on patching?

Mostly I shoot hand guns and breech loading percussion rifles Sharps, and Smith but I do have a percussion Green River half stock and for patch lube I use hard beef tallow rubbed into the patch.
In the handguns over the powder goes a felt Beliveau style lubed wad.
The Ballistol (Moose Milk) is used in cleaning and preserving, Can't say I have veer tasted Ballistol, but if it tastes like it smells Saint's preserve me!
And I read the ingredients on purpose they put that fragrance in it!
Bunk

 

[smoothshooter]

Ballistol 10:1 with water for cleaning? Yea or nay? How about Murphy's?

Ballistol mixed 10:1 up to about 7:1 works fine.
Swab the breech area well with a 70% isopropyl alcohol patch twisted around an undersized copper bore brush every 100 rounds or so to loosen up any old grease accumulation in front of the breech plug before a final swabbing with Ballistol.
Don’t overthink it.

 

[wb78963]

Listen Guys,
I did not say Ballistol is the be-all end-all for cleaning. Water is the key ingredient to dissolve and remove fouling. A combination of soap, alcohol, or even oil extracted from the rind of the kumquat harvested by a blond, blue eyed, 40 year old virgin ,wearing a red D cup bikini, during the dark of the moon it makes no difference.
The mix must contain water to dissolve the corrosive salts. Especially if you shoot Pyrodex.
I clean my way, you clean yours, and we all have fun shooting.
That is the most important part.
Respectfully
Bunk

 

[French Colonial]

Was using a 3:1 water to ballistol mix and dried it on pillow ticking. Every patch shot out at the range began smoldering. Only when I licked them as a spit patch did they not smolder. I am near Loveland, Colorado. The ballistol doesn't taste good. For target work I can use the mix wet and cut wetted patches with patch knife. Won't use it during hunting season as I don't want to barbecue the elk before I get a chance to shoot them. Anybody else have smoldering problems with ballistol/water mix dried on patching?

I do not use Ballistol for a patch lube but I wonder why you let the patches dry? if your going to use it as a lube would it not be wise to use it while it is wet? And if you are going to lick them anyway, why not use an unlubed spit patch anyway. Just wondering.