Olive oil vs Mineral oil

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

I posted this same post on another form.But I would like to hear what you guy's have to say!

We hear so much now days about how good Olive Oil is as a lube. Yes I have
tried it & think it is great. Olive Oil mixed in Bee wax works or by it's self on
a patch.

But here of late I started trying baby oil (Mineral) same thing. It is much
cheaper & I really can't tell any difference. What are your thoughts on the two?



Fly :v

 

[Bill Hall]

I have used olive oil mixed with beeswax and bear oil, and it does work great. But lately I've been trying the mineral oil in a more "sloppy" lube, and I really love it. It's a mixture of mineral oil, murphy's oil soap, and a little bit of water. Together, these components become more water soluble, and I doubt if olive oil in place of mineral oil would work as well. I don't think it would mix as well.

However, I have never tried mixing mineral oil with beeswax or bear oil, so can't say how that would work.

Perhaps it's just a case of one oil working better than the other in certain conditions and mixtures. And Yes, I do love the price of mineral oil. :thumbsup: Bill

 

[William O.]

Olive oil alone can turn rancid. I don't know if mixing it with beeswax stops that from happening but if mineral oil doesn't turn rancid and works as well as olive oil then it would be a much cheaper patch lube. What is the flash point of mineral oil as compared to olive oil? Would that affect it's performance as a patch lube?

 

[54mountain]

I've never used it as a patch lube, but I have used it for years as a rust preventer when I'm done cleaning. I use murphies and alcohol for lube. I will have to try it with some mineral oil mixed in and see what happens

Galen

 

[arcticap]

Mineral oil is one of the primary ingredients that's contained in Bore Butter, Wonder Lube and Ballistol.
I'm not sure how important the flash point of the various oils are.
But I suspect that one of the reasons that mineral oil is used is because it is highly stable and will never go rancid or dry into a varnish.
It's basically a liquid form of Vaseline which some folks apply as a small bead of lube around their loaded revolver balls.
http://www.clovegarden.com/ingred/oils.html

White Mineral Oils (8042-47-5)

White mineral oils are practically odorless. They are saturated hydrocarbons having carbon numbers mostly from C15 to C50 and come in heavy medicinal grade, light medicinal grade and technical grade. White mineral oils range from non-irritating to mildly irritating to eyes and skin. Medicinal grade oils have a flash point of 185 to 122 degrees Celsius (365 to 430 degrees Fahrenheit), and technical grade oils have a flash point of 171 to 185 degrees C (340 to 365 degrees F). They can accumulate a static charge by agitation or when poured and can float on water. The boiling-point range for white mineral oil is 218 to 643 degrees C (424 to 1,189 degrees F).
http://www.ehow.com/about_5445558_properties-mineral-oil.html[/quote]

 

[Rifleman1776]

Even though I have been Italian most of my life, I don't understand the attraction to Olive Oil as a patch lubricant. No objection, but am puzzled why so many like it. Mineral oil would be just fine. I use peanut oil mixed with beeswax made just hard enough to form a semi-hard bar. I use peanut oil because it seems slickery enough for the job and it has a very high temperature resistance to burning. OO, on the other hand, can burn at much lower temps. I use both for cooking and know from experience. As to which is best is a question that can only be answered with testing off the bench rest. For offhand shooting, I doubt there is any real advantage to using one over the other.

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Well like the post above said, I also hear mineral
is used in Bore Butter, Wonder Lube and Ballistol.

Thats why I tryed it.It won't go bad over time &
seems to work as good.
Fly

 

[Dphar]

I posted this same post on another form.But I would like to hear what you guy's have to say!

We hear so much now days about how good Olive Oil is as a lube. Yes I have
tried it & think it is great. Olive Oil mixed in Bee wax works or by it's self on
a patch.

But here of late I started trying baby oil (Mineral) same thing. It is much
cheaper & I really can't tell any difference. What are your thoughts on the two?



Fly :v

The problems may never show themselves but petroleum and BP fouling is not a good mix. It tends to form asphalt or something very similar.
Better to use something organic.
Neatsfoot OIL the pure stuff is better.
Bear oil is better.
Tallow made from fat you might get for free, from deer you shoot if you hunt or from a butcher (kidney fat is best) or oil rendered from the fat, like bear oil, will work very well too.

Dan

 

[Dphar]

If you make tallow boil in clean water 3 times to "clean" it. DO NOT ADD SALT.
There are soap making tutorials that explain tallow making but ADD NOTHING TO THE FAT.

Ballistol is not meant to be a bullet lube.

I sometimes use water soluble oil mixed 7:1 applied to the patch then allowed to dry. This leaves a very small amount of oil in the patch. They are basically dry.
But I only use these in wipe between shots matches. It shoots good but its not a general use lube.
The store bought lubes are made to sell. Make the cheapest thing possible that will work and charge all the market will bear.
I have never used a store bought lube since buying some "Old Zip" from DGW back in the 1960s.
But I started ML shooting before Wal Mart started selling cheap MLs and accessories.
Dan

 

[David W.]

Ballistol is not meant to be a bullet lube.

????? :bull:

 

[Claude Mathis]

Ballistol Lube = Ballistol Sportsman's Oil
Same Great Product, Different Labels

[youtube]kvCd5Sf5AJk[/youtube]

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ok, I am curious. You say you have been Italian most of your life. What part of your life haven't you been Italian???

And, what does being Italian have to do with Olive Oil? If olive trees only grew in Italy, I might understand, but Olives are grown all over the Mediterranean Sea, NO?

Mineral oil is a very highly refined oil taken from petroleum by-products. That is why it burns at a lower temperature than petroleum based oils. That is also why it can be used as a patch lube, where using petroleum oils in the barrel "gums up the works". :shocked2: :nono:

Ballistol is Mineral oil with some additives to remove Mercury, and other residue products from the old Mercury fulminate primers used in WWI firearms. Some countries continued to use this compound in their primers up through the 60s, when better, more stable, and cheaper compounds were discovered. Some of the "surplus" ammo still being sold uses corrosive( ie. Mercury fulminate) primers. :hmm: :thumbsup:

 

[David W.]

Coca-Cola did, or still does use Ballistol on all their machinery.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I would prefer they used Mineral oil, as MO is non-toxic to humans.

 

[David W.]

I would prefer they used Mineral oil, as MO is non-toxic to humans.

So is Ballistol, it is FDA approved. :haha:

 

[Stumpkiller]

We're not sure about Coca-Cola, however.

 

[David W.]

We're not sure about Coca-Cola, however.

:rotf: :hmm:

 

[Jim Fitzgibbon]

Wellif you look on a can of Ballistol Lube, it says can be used as a patch lube for black powder fire arm.

And yes I have used it with no problem.Let's get back to mineral oil, & your veiw points please.

Fly :surrender:

 

[David W.]

Wellif you look on a can of Ballistol Lube, it says can be used as a patch lube for black powder fire arm.

And yes I have used it with no problem.Let's get back to mineral oil, & your veiw points please.

Fly :surrender:

It's easy to stray from the subject on this forum. I am not the only one who is guilty of that!

Okay, there is nothing wrong with straight mineral oil, and olive oil is a good choice too, but I wouldn't leave olive oil pre lubed for an extended time, especially if they are store in a warm, humid place. :v

 

[Zonie]

When it comes right down to it I don't know why one could not use the cheapest vegetable oil they can buy at a supermarket in place of olive oil.

I haven't tried straight mineral oil but because it is a petroleum derivative it might create the same fouling that motor oils will create with black powder.
I really don't know.