Ballistol. I like it.

[Eb1]

I have had some Ballistol for a while now, and have used it pretty sparingly. I usually use the typical Hoppe or Rem. bore cleaner then Rem oil, and it works great.

After watching a video by Hickock45 with him cleaning his revolvers with Ballistol I decided to give it a go.
I cleaned my .44 Magnum, .44 Special, and .32 H&R Magnum just as he did, and it took less time, the guns came out beautiful, and the bores and cylinder are very clean.
I don't know that I'd use it for long guns in the same manner, but for cleaning my revolvers, which don't lead when shooting lead, I think it is going to be my go to revolver cleaner with the occasional aggressive bore cleaners when needed.

I searched for other Ballistol threads, but couldn't find much other than black powder threads.

Well. That's my experience that I'd thought I'd share. I know this isn't a secret to most, but it was a clear eye opener for me. It also cleans my knifes, garden tools, and other small mechanical parts very well.

 

[Leadhead]

And if you have a cut or stomach ache it works for that too!
It's nice working with gun products that are food safe.

 

[Tolkachi Robotnik]

I like it to.

I had a bottle and used it up over years. It has a smell and does pH adjustment compared to many oils. It is one of the few that is not damaging to wood stocks. It is very persistent and gives a good bearing surface lubrication. It seems to do about everything that a gun oil should and do it well.

Lately I have been using Automatic Transmission Fluid and believe it might be pretty close to the same chemistry or at least origin. It also has a smell which is not very dissimilar to Ballistol. I have heard that Ballistol at one time was the military standard, it is trademarked and pretty high cost compared to ATF.

I would still use Ballistol over most anything in aerosol cans. I do not see it in the stores very often and it is higher priced. I have enough ATF to last my lifetime and it is inexpensive in comparison. It does not take very much.

The lighter finer oils leave something to be desired when you get into rain and salty mud interactions. They leave through the air mostly methinks.

 

[Eb1]

I had the pour bottle, but the wife gave me a nice spray bottle, and I dumped it there. I actually sat on the bed with my gun cleaning felt with a rubber bottom and cleaned the firearms.
I didn't make a mess. I just didn't want to be in the garage or storage shed. It is hot. We are up late doing house chores and hanging out while the kids sleep.
I liked how I could go wash my hands with dial soap, and the Ballistol was gone. Zero traces of it on my hands by using soap and water. I might try it on long guns, but not while on the bed.. LOL.
I think it'd be good for my auto pistols also, but wanted to try the revolvers as they can be cumbersome at times to get clean, but like I mentioned. I just sprayed the cylinder, the forcing cone, down the barrel and ran some patches down them. Then I wiped up the excess, and that was enough to clean the outside of the firearm. I took an old sock to make sure there wasn't any thick spots on the firearm when finished. There was still a nice film, and they had not shined that good since new.
On the Taurus 731 UL you could actually tell the light alloy versus the metal barrel. Very nice. Another thing. It did not make the rubber grips gummy. It just cleaned the sweat off of them. The guns look practically new now. Very impressed. I think if used as stated as a bring home cleaner after each session, and then when needed once or twice a year give the bore a good Rem. Bore Cleaner or Hoppe #9 treatment the firearm should stay in good shape and shoot true each time out.

 

[beatledog7]

I like Ballistol also, and I use it in rotation with several others, including ATF, Gunzilla, and Hoppes products. So far I haven't found anything that works better than Ballistol for light cleaning and general rust protection, but that doesn't mean I won't.

 

[scaatylobo]

LOVE the stuff

I found it as I was looking for a substance to use to defuse the corrosive effects of old ammo.

I was told that you can use window spray [ ammonia ] but the Ballistol is amazing and I use it on knife blades as I don't have to worry about the food being safe afterwards.

I also use it on BP guns as well as ANY gun that might come in contact with corrosive ammo.

I have at least 2 bottles and they will last a lifetime.

btw - it is the only oil that mixes INSTANTLY with water.

 

[Torian]

I love Ballistol. Didn't find out about it until I had been breathing Hoppes fumes for about 10 years though. It has a strange smell, but I like the fact that is it easy on the skin, the lungs, and the gun, particularly wooden stocks.

 

[Phantom Captain]

The German Wehrmacht used it in WWII as their prime cleaning/gun oil. I think it was actually invented in Germany specifically as a military product.

I use it exclusively for all my black powder guns. There is nothing better for BP guns as it emulsifies with water and cleans up BP fouling perfectly. All my BP guns still look almost new after years and years and I put that down to using Ballistol and nothing else on them.

It's also great for cleaning up milsurp corrosive ammo residue. Just mix it with water at a 1/10 ratio, squirt everything down and you are good to go. I use it for all my misurp rifles regardless if I'm shooting corrosive ammo or not as well as using it on my pistols. I think it's absolutely great stuff.

Seriously though, for black powder it's really the ONLY thing you need for cleaning and maintenance.

 

[rhinoh]

Never tried it. One of its main ingredients is also a laxative, maybe that is why it removes "censored" so well

Ingredients according to the MSDS are-

"Ballistol contains medicinal grade mineral oil, alkaline salts of oleic acid, several alcohols, Benzyl Acetate and an oil from
vegetal (sic) seeds. The mineral oil is unchlorinated and conforms to the specifications of US Pharmacopeia XX."

 

[GBExpat]

It's also great for cleaning up milsurp corrosive ammo residue. Just mix it with water at a 1/10 ratio, squirt everything down and you are good to go.

... after you then remove the Ballistol/Water Mixture that has drawn the potassium chloride into solution.

Water is the key for this. The potassium chloride residue created when the chlorate (a.k.a., "corrosive) primers are fired is very hygroscopic. That affinity means that it will readily combine with water and the resulting solution can be easily removed with a dry patch. Afterwards you can follow your standard "non-corrosive" cleaning regimen.

 

[Phantom Captain]

Exactly, totally what I meant but didn't describe. It must be dried and dry patched after the Ballistol mixture squirt down and then cleaned and lubed as usual!

 

[amd6547]

I also started using it primarily due to corrosive ammo.
I shoot a Saiga 5.45 with 7n6 surplus ammo. While I have experience with other corrosive surplus calipers, for some reason, I find the 7n6 more corrosive than most.
The ballistol/water mixture does great, followed by straight ballistol.
I have since found it works great on all my firearms.
It even does a nice job on wood stocks, grips, and polymer frames. Leather too.
It has earned a permanent place in my cleaning supplies, even if I have to order it.

 

[scaatylobo]

fyi

My research into it showed that it was a German invention about 100 years old now.

It was called Ballistic Oil ,shortened to Ballistol.

 

[dak0ta]

Anybody try Froglube? Another biologically friendly cleaner?

 

[OilyPablo]

Ballistol doesn't clean very well at all and is a terrible rust preventative. It gums up and the stink makes me very sick. I've followed the recommendations to a T and frankly there are so many other products that work well as cleaners and there are such better oils, I really don't understand the love for the stuff. But to each his own.

 

[Phantom Captain]

Ballistol doesn't clean very well at all and is a terrible rust preventative. It gums up and the stink makes me very sick. I've followed the recommendations to a T and frankly there are so many other products that work well as cleaners and there are such better oils, I really don't understand the love for the stuff. But to each his own.

Honestly, that hasn't been my experience at all and I've been using it forever. I've never experienced any kind of gumming with it whatsoever. Also, it has performed great as a rust preventative for me and I even live in humid summer Indiana. Seriously, my BP rifles, muskets and cap and ball pistols have been cleaned, lubed and maintained with nothing but water and Ballistol and none of them have a speck of rust down through the years. I also use it exclusively on my old WWII milsurp rifles and they too are spotless. YMMV.

 

[scaatylobo]

I have NO issues with the stuff.

as you said "to each their own".

 

[Buzznrose]

Ballistol doesn't clean very well at all and is a terrible rust preventative. It gums up and the stink makes me very sick. I've followed the recommendations to a T and frankly there are so many other products that work well as cleaners and there are such better oils, I really don't understand the love for the stuff. But to each his own.

Sorry, but the only thing I can agree with in your post is that it stinks. Otherwise, I find that for stuff that is safe for my skin, Ballistol works great as a cleaner and preservative. You have to let it soak for a while (half hour or so), but it cleans carbon well.

And I've never seen it "gum up", and I use it on my safe queens, which set for long periods at a time.

 

[OilyPablo]

Absolutely when I tried it on rails and other fine gun parts it became gummy and sticky. I've soaked barrels in Ballistol then scrubbed until the stuff foamed, but it did not clean copper and certainly didn't touch lead. With scrubbing it marginally cleaned powder coating. All I'm saying is the one can I used didn't work for me and so I didn't buy a second.

And I'm sure it's fine for skin contact and it doesn't harm wood (which is a big plus!)

 

[HOOfan_1]

Absolutely when I tried it on rails and other fine gun parts it became gummy and sticky. I've soaked barrels in Ballistol then scrubbed until the stuff foamed, but it did not clean copper and certainly didn't touch lead. With scrubbing it marginally cleaned powder coating. All I'm saying is the one can I used didn't work for me and so I didn't buy a second.

And I'm sure it's fine for skin contact and it doesn't harm wood (which is a big plus!)

It forms a skin...but that skin breaks instantly when it is disturbed...no problem for moving parts.

It is a much better copper solvent than regular old Hoppes too....in fact I have left it in a barrel for a few days and it did as well getting out copper as Hoppes Benchrest....but you don't want to leave Hoppes Benchrest in your barrel.
I like it better for cleaning powder than Hoppes as well....and IMO it smells better than Hoppes or Breakfree CLP. Personally I use Ballistol as a cleaner and a bore preservative, but I lubricate with CLP.

 

[OilyPablo]

It forms a skin...but that skin breaks instantly when it is disturbed...no problem for moving parts.

That makes sense regarding what I observed, but the surface skin would not go back into solution and would ball into a sticky goo, eventually it would go from goo to harder crust. The top of the bottle threads had the same hardened gunk. No thanks. I am willing to concede I got some old product or a bad batch.

For the record I clean with Hoppe's #9 mixed 50/50 with Kroil. I lube mostly with Corrosion X, which protects super well in the temperate rain forest in which I live. I will use lighter oils for fine lubrication and synthetic #1 grease when grease is called for.

 

[OneWound]

I had a bottle and used it up over years. It has a smell and does pH adjustment compared to many oils. It is one of the few that is not damaging to wood stocks. It is very persistent and gives a good bearing surface lubrication. It seems to do about everything that a gun oil should and do it well.

Lately I have been using Automatic Transmission Fluid and believe it might be pretty close to the same chemistry or at least origin. It also has a smell which is not very dissimilar to Ballistol. I have heard that Ballistol at one time was the military standard, it is trademarked and pretty high cost compared to ATF.

I would still use Ballistol over most anything in aerosol cans. I do not see it in the stores very often and it is higher priced. I have enough ATF to last my lifetime and it is inexpensive in comparison. It does not take very much.

The lighter finer oils leave something to be desired when you get into rain and salty mud interactions. They leave through the air mostly methinks.

When you use ATF, how thick do you apply it?

 

[Eb1]

1) I don't have a problem with leading in my SBH .44 Magnum. Never have.
2) I don't have a problem with leading in my .44 Special
3) I don't have a problem with leading in my 32 H&R Magnum

4) I do have copper fouling at times in my long guns, but I use Rem. Bore cleaner when it gets to bad, and about 8 brushes with that and my barrel is clean.

I mentioned that I would do a deep clean with a more powerful solvent if needed once or twice a year, but for after the range shoots with my revolvers I have never had them clean up so easily and pretty. I also liked that I could just wash the stuff off with soap and water without any left over chemical smell. I am not worried about my son or daughter touching up the cleaning equipment or even helping because it isn't harmful to their skin.

A magic do it all? No. It is a nice cleaner to have around the house. It can resolve a lot of problems that come up.

I have always used hot water and bore butter to clean and store my T/C Omega, but I might try some Ballistol this year.

 

[IROCZ]

I use about 2 to three big bottles a year of Ballistol, I love the stuff for cleaning and protection. No issues at all. I love to shoot the old corrosive stuff and BP. If I need to clean something that is copper fouled I use sweets 762. But for the most part its just Ballistol and water. I used to work in an armory type situation, I had to clean and maintain several weapons a day. The modern cleaners always gave me a bit of a "chemical hangover". Oh, and Ballistol...I even like the smell

 

[Flashcube]

I bought a bottle of the stuff a bit ago simply due to the internet/you-tube hype. I have found that I like it better for milling and drilling than anything firearm related. Mixed with water it seems to work well on mild steels and aluminium lol. The milky colour reminds me of Mobil's Mobilmet series of water-soluble oils.

None too fond of the gone-bad Jägermeister smell though...