Ballistol in the rain?
- Thread starter Savage99
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Certaindeaf
member
I'm no chemical engineer but I think all oils emulsify with water.
Wil Terry
Member
THE ONLY THING I've ever found that keeps water OFF the steel off my firearms is a hard wax, and it works beautifully.
Engine oil would certainly be a lot better at keeping water off, Ballistol is so much more water soluble than most mechanical oils. You can judge how good an oil is going to keep water off something by how hard it is to wash off your hands, it's not rocket science.
W.E.G.
Member
Does Ballistol smell even worse when you get it wet than when it it comes out of the bottle?
r1derbike
Member
Yes, just wetter. I've used it for years, but rainy weather? Don't trust it.
Seriously, my wife says it smells like my clothes after I do a 6 hour stint mowing, clothes completely soaked. After 6 hours, I'm used to the smell, but would prefer not to have to experience it. I use it to clean all my air rifles, lube my powder-burners, and on my wood stocks and metal components of all my firearms, as a protectant. I love the stuff. My wife, not so much.
I guess if you shook the mixture up enough they would emulsify for a while, like with vinaigrette, but the thing about Ballistol is that in addition to various oils and alcohols it contains oleic acid, which acts as an emulsifier (promotes and stabilizes emulsions) when Ballistol comes into contact with water (by the way, that's how the "moose milk" that some folks use to clean their black powder guns is formed). The product does a passable-to-fair job of protecting against corrosion despite this, but I wouldn't expect it to keep water completely off one's guns while in the rain.
VA27
Member
You use Ballistol AFTER the gun gets wet to prevent rust. For protection before it rains, spray on Boeshield.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
When I knew I was hunting in the wet over the last 40 years?
I used Johnson's Paste Floor Wax on my Browning A-5 & Ithaca SKB double, as well as all my rifles.
Wipe it on, and don't wipe it off, until you got enough common sense to come in out of the rain, snow, & ice!!
All my guns look almost as good today as they did when I bought them new.
Miracle oils are truly miracles. For storage perhaps.
But they are still oil, and oil wipes off in gun cases, and runs off at the most inopportune times.
Paste wax stays right where you put it, and repels water until you don't need it too any longer.
Thats why you should wax your Lamborghini instead of putting "Ballistol" on the paint.
rc
I used Johnson's Paste Floor Wax on my Browning A-5 & Ithaca SKB double, as well as all my rifles.
Wipe it on, and don't wipe it off, until you got enough common sense to come in out of the rain, snow, & ice!!
All my guns look almost as good today as they did when I bought them new.
Miracle oils are truly miracles. For storage perhaps.
But they are still oil, and oil wipes off in gun cases, and runs off at the most inopportune times.
Paste wax stays right where you put it, and repels water until you don't need it too any longer.
Thats why you should wax your Lamborghini instead of putting "Ballistol" on the paint.
rc
It also works great as a release agent for glass bedding. Rub it on, polish it smooth on the bottom of the action and coat everything else (stock, action screws, etc) liberally.
I believe Paste wax has ceresin wax which is a very durable wax.
r1derbike
Member
I was amazed at how well Ballistol removes rust on barrels and such. It works!
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