Interesting Observation Ballistol/Hoppes 9

[WyrTwister]

I normally use Shooters Choice Copper Cleaner , for rifles and hand guns . It smells of ammonia , which really does well cleaning copper . It also cleans carbon . I can use hoppies #9 to clean a barrel , then switch to Shooters Choice & it will remove more " stuff " . After I am through , I go back to hoppies to : kill " the ammonia , then oil . In cold weather , automatic transmission fluid seems to make a good lube . In hot weather , 5W-30 synthetic motor oil seems to work well .

 

[littleant]

I like ballistol. I never let my firearms get dirty to the point that I would need anything stronger then ballistol.

 

[samven]

Ballistol is a good cleaner but remember it is water soluble so dont count on it for protection from rust long term. Many of the guys including me mix it with water as a lube/cleaner for running patches to keep black powder fouling soft at the range. I can mix 50/50 water/Ballistol in a bottle and it stays mixed for weeks or longer.

 

[Triple_Se7en]

Originally Posted by samven

Ballistol is a good cleaner but remember it is water soluble so dont count on it for protection from rust long term. Many of the guys including me mix it with water as a lube/cleaner for running patches to keep black powder fouling soft at the range. I can mix 50/50 water/Ballistol in a bottle and it stays mixed for weeks or longer.

I remember you from a few blackpowder messageboards. Besides regular patches for cleaning barrels, I used a Ballistol mix for my pillow-ticking, roundball patches. TripleSe7en.

 

[Gebo]

Originally Posted by samven

Ballistol is a good cleaner but remember it is water soluble so dont count on it for protection from rust long term. Many of the guys including me mix it with water as a lube/cleaner for running patches to keep black powder fouling soft at the range. I can mix 50/50 water/Ballistol in a bottle and it stays mixed for weeks or longer.

Your "water soluble" point is interesting. I'm thinking mineral oil or silicone rag wipe down for rust protection???

 

[AlaskaMike]

"Long term" rust protection means different things to different people. For most of us, wiping down a weapon with Ballistol once a month or so is perfectly fine for most environments. For others though, maybe "long term" rust protection means slathering the weapon in cosmoline.

 

[JHZR2]

Originally Posted by AlaskaMike

"Long term" rust protection means different things to different people. For most of us, wiping down a weapon with Ballistol once a month or so is perfectly fine for most environments. For others though, maybe "long term" rust protection means slathering the weapon in cosmoline.

Agree. I forget the exact makeup of ballistol, but it includes some alcohol, fatty acids (which perhaps react with the alcohol in the presence of metal and air to make esters?) and some oil. Of course the alcohol element will be water soluble, and support that claim. It also IME flashes off. I take no more credence in the claim that ballistol is water soluble and this not good for protection, then I do that motor oil has additives designed to disperse and suspend moisture, this it compromises rust protection. Both may have a sliver of truth, and it is contingent upon the user to select the right tool for the job at hand. Maybe that's ballistol, maybe that's cosmoline...

 

[novcz]

Originally Posted by samven

Ballistol is a good cleaner but remember it is water soluble so dont count on it for protection from rust long term. Many of the guys including me mix it with water as a lube/cleaner for running patches to keep black powder fouling soft at the range. I can mix 50/50 water/Ballistol in a bottle and it stays mixed for weeks or longer.

This is a common misconception. Ballistol isn't water soluble. Instead Ballistol can form an emulsion with water (using oleic acid as the emulsifying agent). It's base is the same mineral oil that is the base for other countless gun care products. It'll function very well for rust prevention unless you're storing firearms in a poor environment.

 

[Cropduster172]

It's a matter of what you're trying to do. Ballistol is good for what it is. Nobody comes and claims it is the end all be all solution. But others come to bash ballistol for not being the end all be all solution. I like ballistol because I can use it without much thought, and be assured that I have a completely non-toxic, wood safe solution that I can get by with. Like the smell or not? Irrelevant. Every last bit of powder/lead/copper? Not the goal. Get some on wood? Hands? Bag? Meh. Don't care. I don't need to scrub my firearms every time I go through a 50 round box. But to solve some of the powder and residue, protect metal, etc., it serves a job good enough. It's simple to spray down the barrel and wait for another day. It offers convenience, simplicity and peace of mind. There are better solvent and better oils. Ballistol fills a niche of carefree convenience. For the trivial sum of money to buy a spray can, to me it's a no brainer.

Agree. When I was a cop it was Hoppes #9 and Hoppes oil. Years later I found out about spray cans of Ballistol and never looked back.

 

[wpod]

I use what ever oil is in my oil can or spray can with in reach. I like Wipeout type cleaners. We wear out the gun by cleaning them more that shooting them. Gear oil works great when a lube is needed on to run slide of a new 1911 type, if we want to get lube specific.

 

[Pablo]

I use what ever oil is in my oil can or spray can with in reach. I like Wipeout type cleaners. We wear out the gun by cleaning them more that shooting them. Gear oil works great when a lube is needed on to run slide of a new 1911 type, if we want to get lube specific.

Gear oil? On a gun? Your safe must smell really nice. Not disagreeing on the lube aspects. For break in and not carry, makes sense.

Ballistol sucks. Not the first time I have written that here. Not a very good cleaner and not a good lube.

I clean and lube with a variety of separate products. Beholden to none as certain products work better in different applications.

 

[ZedzAmg]

So have any of you seen the basic training infantry rifles lol? We run the piss out of them and clean them with CLP. They will run forever.
I use amsoil, gun wipes clean and runs perfect.

 

[pbm]

What are thoughts on Rem oil? I ask because I bought a bottle to use to quiet a noisy intermediate (steering) shaft on a family members Rav4 as recommended on a Youtube video. I'll have most of the bottle left over and plan on using it on my Ruger 9mm when I finally get to shoot it. The Rem oil claims to clean and lubricate but it does seem thin for doing the latter.

 

[jstert]

So have any of you seen the basic training infantry rifles lol? We run the piss out of them and clean them with CLP. They will run forever.
I use amsoil, gun wipes clean and runs perfect.

as i recall, if coming in from the field really muddy, our fieldstripped m14 and m16 rifles got hosed off with water, air-dryed with an industrial blower, cleaned with gasoline and lubed with a bit of motor oil.

 

[CleanSump]

If you read the MSDS for Ballistol, you'll see the magic ingredient is Anise Oil. That's what makes it taste good.

Adopted by the German Army in 1905 as a Jack of All Trades, not just a CLP, including treating cuts and scrapes, softening leather, and polishing wood stocks.
It's sold in pharmacies beside the Neosporin and iodine.

Run down to page 8 for the ingredients:
Ballistol MSDS/Ingredients

Be aware the company makes a "Ballistol Impregnator" that you may not want in the house.