Use Ballistol on plain gun wood? Seeking Pros and Cons --

Ballistol is oil. Main ingredient "mineral oil." Additives to make it emulsifiable in water for cleaning corrosive primer residue. Not the same as linseed oil.

Ignition Override said:

I'm mostly curious whether Ballistol, lightly rubbed on the wood protects it as well as BLO?

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No.
Better than nothing I guess. Mineral oil doesn’t have any driers or hardeners like today’s “boiled linseed oil.”
Soaking wood in mineral oil or any other gun oil is not a good idea IMO.

Ballistoil (mineral oil/baby oil) is not the oil you seek. If the wood is indeed walnut, stained It would need more of a vanish like Tru Oil
It will depend on the actual finish. BLO and Tung Oil work better when the can penetrate the wood fibers, If it already sealed with something who knows??

Ballistol works great on wood . It seals out against moisture and gives a nice patina . It will not hurt wood, although there are plenty of myths out there . Use it with confidence , if you choose to go that route .

I believe if you put mineral oil on unfinished wood you will have trouble applying a topcoat like varnish later.

Ballistol on wood? Ick. No. From a wood-working hobbyist.

My Zastava ZPAP furniture already had a finish, but didn't seem to be a "sealing" type finish like poly, shellac or laquer, and the gun is in storage so I can't look at it again right now. I'd suggest the safest route would be paste wax, which will clean, protect and nourish without permanently sealing and most important not acting as a solvent to the existing finish, and then buff up to a nice soft, deep lustre. As I recall, I probably did use paste wax on my Zastava, as that's usually my final finishing step for gun stocks.

For what it's worth I find ballistol give a finish similar to boiled linseed oil but simply put it doesn't work because it does not last long at all. I used it on my nunchaku and the finish would be all but gone in a day or two. Boiled linseed oil is much better. The old boiled linseed oil formulas used in the 1800s contained driers that were much more toxic and illegal to use these days. Maybe they worked better because of that.

Using raw linseed oil without driers takes a VERY LONG TIME because it takes forever for each coat to dry and you can only apply very thin coats at a time with any linseed oil.

wiscoaster said:

Ballistol on wood? Ick. No. From a wood-working hobbyist.

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From a woodworking Professional , Ballistol works great on wood ,if you know what you are doing .

grter said:

For what it's worth I find ballistol give a finish similar to boiled linseed oil but simply put it doesn't work because it does not last long at all. I used it on my nunchaku and the finish would be all but gone in a day or two. Boiled linseed oil is much better. The old boiled linseed oil formulas used in the 1800s contained driers that were much more toxic and illegal to use these days. Maybe they worked better because of that.

Using raw linseed oil without driers takes a VERY LONG TIME because it takes forever for each coat to dry and you can only apply very thin coats at a time with any linseed oil.

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How do you know the Ballistol does not last long ? It's not a finish that sits on the surface it PENETRATES .

JMHO- if I were going to put anything
on it at all, it'd be Johnson's Paste Wax
All of my wooden stocks get that
regardless of what kind of wood they are

The discussion seems to swing between two entirely different ways of protecting wood. Oils, any form of oil, pore filling, and surface finishes, any form of surface finish, Waxes, Urethane Shellac or Varnish or paint. Any will protect, some better than others so IMO it comes down to personal choice.
Wax, short term no wear resistance.
Oil in the wood protection durable easy to maintain, easy to refinish. But low light reflection so some what dull.
Surface finish. Very durable very low maintenance but not easily refinished. Sheen low to high gloss.
My personal choice for all my wood projects, Danish oil followed by several thin coats of wipe on polyurethane in a satin finish.
I use Ballistol exclusively on guns. Yes the wood too but basically it’s just a dirt or finger print remover on an already finished surface.

I'll throw a wrench in the works. Try Truoil. Rub a coat in, let it dry and buff it with 4/0 sw, Do 3 or more coats. You want it to soak in and fill the pours. Buff anything off the surface with SW si the finish is in the wood and not built up.. The stock will be sealed, it will look like a hand rubbed oil and won't get sticky.. I used to use BLO but it can darken the wood, take long to dry and get sticky. They say you can use Balistol on wood but why when there are so many better finishes. You have a new gun and wood. Not a old beat up milsurp from the trenches. I think you would love the look. Good luck.

I tried Tru-Oil about 45 years ago on a Savage 24C stock. Spent hours hand rubbing, with bare hands, coat after coat in. Looked good and held up well but man what a chore.

For a glossy finish* I think Tru-Oil is a first-class option. It's used for all kinds of woodwork projects, not just gun stocks. It is a chore, though, as mentioned above, and a time-consuming one. If you don't have a week to finish the project, don't use it.

*note: Tru-Oil gloss can be moderated using Birchwood Casey's Stock Sheen Conditioner product after the final coat.

You can knock the gloss completely down with using it the way I described. If you let it build up on the surface you will get gloss. But even that can be knocked down to a nice rubbed satin. It's pretty versatile and a tough finish. Heres a old Mossberg .22 with about 10 coats of TO rubbed on and buffed down. You wouldnt need as many just to seal up the AK. One of many pics F'bucket stole when I wouldn't subscribe when they stopped being free.

Con from me. I am not going to rub mineral oil on wood. Too many good products available that will actually protect the wood.

I have finished/re-finished a few pieces of AK furniture before. Tru-Oil is what you want here. Its very forgiving, can be applied to about any sheen you want, and its easy to make touch-up repairs with. I like Ballistol, but I would compare it more to Pledge furniture polish, without the pleasant lemon scent when it comes to wood. Sure, it will clean up an old milsurp stock and protect it, but its not a finish.

I searched for opinions on using mineral oil in wood, and was surprised to find it was very common

What Type of Oils are Safe to Use on Your Cutting Board

however, the minerals discussed in the article are food grade mineral oils, that is, safe to eat, and no harmful additives.

Unless Ballistol is edible, I would not put it on rifle stocks, because I don't know what additives it has, and whether they will harm wood. Linseed oil has been used for centuries. Linseed oil dries out and darkens the wood, and gives it some water protection.

I have used a lot of linseed oil, let it soak in various wood projects, and then coated the surface with tru oil. Works great.

wiscoaster said:

For a glossy finish* I think Tru-Oil is a first-class option. It's used for all kinds of woodwork projects, not just gun stocks. It is a chore, though, as mentioned above, and a time-consuming one. If you don't have a week to finish the project, don't use it.

*note: Tru-Oil gloss can be moderated using Birchwood Casey's Stock Sheen Conditioner product after the final coat.

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Min-Wax wipe on poly is now my choice for all my wood working projects including gun stocks or pistol grips. True finish control with just a little effort. Start with high gloss for true grain visibility and the finial coats of satin or semi gloss.

Slamfire said:

Unless Ballistol is edible,

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I can't find the old advertising for Ballistol, but there was a similar product sold by Stoegers, 'Stogerol.'
So similar I wonder if it were a relabeled import or a knockoff, the claims were the same.

"Stogerol kills pus-germs in wounds in man and beast, and sterilizes them until medical assistance can be procured. Effective in running sores, chafing, and soreness after horseback riding, perspiring and sore feet, burns, frostbite, prickle heat, eczema, rheumatism, gout, colds in the head, coughs (rub nose, throat, chest or other affected parts with Stogerol.) If used before hiking, hunting, tramps, prevents soreness and chafing. Stogerol relieves piles, eczema, dry and moist, destroys fleas, body lice, mange, crabs, scabies, and all other vermin on man or beast."

And of course, comparable claims for cleaning and lubrication of firearms and other machinery.

Jim Watson said:

I can't find the old advertising for Ballistol, but there was a similar product sold by Stoegers, 'Stogerol.'
So similar I wonder if it were a relabeled import or a knockoff, the claims were the same.

"Stogerol kills pus-germs in wounds in man and beast, and sterilizes them until medical assistance can be procured. Effective in running sores, chafing, and soreness after horseback riding, perspiring and sore feet, burns, frostbite, prickle heat, eczema, rheumatism, gout, colds in the head, coughs (rub nose, throat, chest or other affected parts with Stogerol.) If used before hiking, hunting, tramps, prevents soreness and chafing. Stogerol relieves piles, eczema, dry and moist, destroys fleas, body lice, mange, crabs, scabies, and all other vermin on man or beast."

And of course, comparable claims for cleaning and lubrication of firearms and other machinery.

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I am sure this would have worked equally well on preserving rifle stocks.

Stoeger said of wood:

Two to five percent dissolved in water, Stogerol is the best cleanser and polisher for stocks and fine furniture.

Slamfire said:

Unless Ballistol is edible, ...

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My introduction to Ballistol was at a hardware store in the mid-1990's. I saw the product on the shelf and I asked the counter guy if it was any good, he told me the virtues of Ballistol and then he sprayed it on his hand and licked it off. I bought some, and have used it for a variety of uses since, but I haven't consumed it myself. I'll take his word for it.

I use mineral oil on my cutting boards and wooden handled kitchen knives, though I haven't used Ballistol on them.