Ballistol

[Molly]

I have often considered launching a line of products exclusively for men.  A deodorant, cologne and maybe shampoo using the fragrance of ballistol OR bore butter....but I cannot decide which would sell best

[Tony N]

Maybe a repellent??

~Tony

[Daryl]

Interesting about Balistol - friend Ron lubed his rifle with Balistol after cleaning it, one evening.  It was quite damp this year and the humidity was higher than normal, perhaps in the 80's.  The Balistol was newly purchased at that Rendezvous. 

In the morning he ran a patch down the bore and it came out with rust on it. This was the FIRST EVER time the barrel showed ANY rust after cleaning & drying, then using WD40 as a water displacer and preservative. A similar event happened to brother Taylor.

This will not happen to me as I will NEVER use Balistol.

[Dphariss]

Interesting about Balistol - friend Ron lubed his rifle with Balistol after cleaning it, one evening.  It was quite damp this year and the humidity was higher than normal, perhaps in the 80's.  The Balistol was newly purchased at that Rendezvous. 

In the morning he ran a patch down the bore and it came out with rust on it. This was the FIRST EVER time the barrel showed ANY rust after cleaning & drying, then using WD40 as a water displacer and preservative. A similar event happened to brother Taylor.

This will not happen to me as I will NEVER use Balistol.

People need to understand that there have been a lot or advances in corrosion protection since WW-I. Even more since synthetics have become more and more common.
I have never even had a container of the stuff and have never missed it.
WD 40 used to promote rust circa 1970. But they took the chlorinated solvents out of it and its better now.

Dan

[Tony N]

WD 40 is all that I've ever used and have never had a reason to change!

~Tony

[axelp]

wd40 works fine for me.

When I tried a can of Ballistol I liked it fine too and used it down to the last drop. Then I tried Lehigh Valley Lube and it worked great too so I used it down to the last drop....

I always have a can of wd 40 around... I just use what I have on hand.

California is not very humid and I do not have huge issues with rust after the guns are clean and dry. So almost anything would probably work.

K

[Dry Baller]

 ok...firstly, I am one of those left field nuts that can't abide pouring water down any firearm..BP or smokeless!
I'm just not man enough to do it....nuff said.

 After a good cleaning with Mr. Flintlocks (wonderful stuff) I give the bore a good swabbing with Ballistol.

 (Also use Mr. F's for a roundball patch lube. Works Great.) Mink oil for connicals, but that's another subject.

 I'll match bores with anyone/anytime for cleanliness and shininess (Is that a word?)

 Also use Ballistol spray on all my 3pt farm implements that hook up to a PTO. I have found that it stays on the PTO shaft
and the female receiver shaft much longer than WD 40.

Still use 40 for penetration oil, but Ballistol for about all lubrication applications.

And yes, It smells like 'possum scat!

[axelp]

I have cleaned my bp guns with solvent and it seems to take me four times as long for some reason. It seems like shooting my gun after all that solvent, also creates harder fouling to get outta there the next cleaning.

Plain tepid water cuts bp fouling so much faster for me without the hassle and cost. And since I dry it well and use wd-40 to displace any moisture... All I can say is it works fine for me. My guns do not seem to suffer much for it.

One other difference might be that I do not worry about keeping my guns in a mint finish. They are tools for me... I keep them clean and do not abuse them, but I do not concern myself with normal wear over time. I actually prefer the look and feel of a used but well cared for gun over a minty one.

I DO clean my smokeless powder guns with solvent. works fine for me.

[Clifton Hicks]

Ballistol is biodegradable, non-carcinogenic and good for wood/metal/leather/plastic/rubber. It cleans and lubes. I can think of no other store bought product which fulfills all of these criteria; hence, I use and love it.

All it is is mineral oil, vegetable oil and some acetate and alcohol. Plain and simple, great stuff. All the other solvents/lubes/"water displacers" pale in comparison.

If society ever collapses and I am no longer able to find Ballistol though, I'll just go back to hot water and random grease.

[axelp]

Lehigh Valley lube is all of the above as well. I like Ballistol and Lehigh Valley-- they worked equally well for me. For me its more about conveniance--whatever I have at hand... WD 40 is what I currently have on hand...  they all work just fine for me.

[Dphariss]

Cleaning any corrosive fouling with anything but water is asking for trouble. Both the Chlorates in some "replica" powders and the carbonates etc from BP are very water soluble. This is why ALL the commercial BP "solvents" are 80-90% water.
Other things can be used. Back in the day when wetting the gun might be fatal they used to use tallow, or so I have read. This would remove most of the fouling and allow the rifle to be loaded right after it was wiped with no wiping dry.
I live in a different time and water is pretty easy to get  out and it will remove all the fouling faster than anything else.

Dan