Ballistol or BreakFree CLP

[Stumper]

Funny how we assess the odor of various products. I find ballistol almost pleasant smelling, Breakfree tolerable and Ed's Red, while superb in effectiveness, intolerable to my nose. I hate the smell of ATF just on the gun. Add Alox lube on a cast bullet with 800X powder going down an Ed's Red treated bore and I find that it is hard to concentrate on shooting due to the awful stench.

Triflow and Superlube have both been mentioned. In combination those products carefully applied are a prepackaged trigger job.

 

[J-Bar]

Funny how we assess the odor of various products.

Basic neurophysiology. Our olfactory sense receptors (smells) go directly into the limbic system of our brain. The limbic system is associated with emotional responses. So, because of the way our brains are wired, we tend to react emotionally to odors more than other kinds of neurological stimuli.

In other words, our first reaction to any odor is to like it, dislike it, or ignore it.

And now back to our regularly scheduled programming...



edit: I use both Ballistol and BreakFree. What’s not to like??

 

[lsudave]

am I the only one that ballistol makes there Stomach turn, I can take bad smelling stuff no problem but it really messes with me.

Funny how we assess the odor of various products.

Basic neurophysiology. Our olfactory sense receptors (smells) go directly into the limbic system of our brain. The limbic system is associated with emotional responses. So, because of the way our brains are wired, we tend to react emotionally to odors more than other kinds of neurological stimuli.

In other words, our first reaction to any odor is to like it, dislike it, or ignore it.

Like I said, a lot of the opinions on Ballistol's smell depends on what you associate it with. You can remember smells distinctly, and react when you catch that scent again.

Ballistol smells like 2 things TO ME. First, is Anise, a spice. I've sniffed some Anise essential oil, and it's 100% got the same tart, pungent smell. Because it's supposed to be good, it doesn't bother me.

But, I once read someone say it smells like dirty gym clothes, and I flashed back to my middle school years, with my gym shorts and shirt sometimes staying in that locker all week. In that case, yeah- I could also link it to sour, ripe gym shirt after a week of basketball, fermenting in the locker. Funny thing, it DOES trigger that memory, and I remember wanting to bury that shirt. And then, I don't want to smell Ballistol for awhile.

 

[DoubleMag]

!!New Member Has a ? Alert!!

Are Cleaning Agents a Narrower Field?

Sorry, I JUST looked at the thread or would have offered U an OPINION a bit quicker.

I would answer, YES and would additionally (I will presume U R a new shooter ) suggest separating your CLEANER and your LUBE.

IMHO a ''CLP'' product is best used as a temporary or in-between serious cleanings style product

Cleaners I would suggest are Shooters Choice M7 , BoreTech, or about ANY type of bore foam (although I use Wipe Out).

As U can tell there are a garden variety of lubricating products and double that on opinions of same.

Speaking of opinions, IMHO a VAST majority of gun problems [edit: excluding a busted part like a spring] is improper cleaning and improper lubrication. Traditionally what I've seen in lubrication is...TOO MUCH lube. My 6th decade of this firestick bang boom thing hehe

Hope that helps steer U in right direction, SAVE SOME $$ (the other ''beginner'' MONEY PIT is holsters LoL)

 

[Pat Riot]

Can’t stand the barf smell of Ballistol.

I only use Break Free CLP as a soaking cleaner for crudded up parts / cylinders.

I use Hornady One Shot as a CLP on revolver innards.
I use Hoppe’s no. 9 as a cleaner.
For lubes I use Mobil 1 oil (5W20) and Mobil 1 grease.

 

[lsudave]

Does anyone use moose milk to clean just regular guns

I use moose milk when shooting black powder on my Sharps rifle. I recycle it by collecting it in my Hornady sonic cleaner and throw in my AR bcg, and 1911 parts after a round of shooting. Moose milk works well with my sonic cleaner and gun parts.

I don't have an ultrasonic cleaner, but I think I may try this out, just use moose milk as a regular cleaner, on a couple guns.

I've got some corrosive surplus ammo. With bolt-action rifles I just use a boiling water enema on the barrels, then run some patches with ballistol (this pattern works so well my son and I find ourselves doing it with non-corrosive ammo too). But with pistols, the routine gets a lot more complex. With a tokarev I've taken to completely stripping the pistol and scrubbing it with hot water, then pouring boiling water to rinse (and facilitate the drying), and then liberally hitting it with Ballistol (I take the disassembled parts, put them in a large ziploc, fire a few sprays of ballistol into the bag, and let it sit on my stove directly over the pilot light so it warms and spreads over everything). I do almost the same thing with a Star Super, other than I can't/don't take it down quite as far. It seems that the heat causes the ballistol to spread and coat everything.
After awhile (an hour or so), I take the parts out, wipe off the excess in places I don't want dripping, and assemble.

I have found this to be maybe the easiest way to clean the bolt and carrier groups for both my AR, and my roller-delayed Cetme. When I take the parts out of the bag, I just rub with a paper towel, and everything feels super-slick even after the wipe.

 

[lsudave]

I suppose, a little clarification is in order, since we're talking CLP. I find the CLPs are best used for the LP part (lube and protect). If I want a thorough C(lean), I will hit with a heavy solvent like brake cleaner, or do the boiling hot water, and scrub.
Both results in excellent cleaning, but also degreases the parts, which leave them in danger.

I personally prefer to do the L(ube) and P(rotect) with the same stuff. Coating them down to condition the metal prevents rust and lowers friction on parts; that's the P part. Using the same stuff to Lube (rails, links, barrel bushing etc) with a little more quantity- I just think the oil (whatever it is) will diffuse some, spreading to the other surfaces. If you start mixing, I'd be worried that some oils don't diffuse and blend together. As long as I have something I trust, I mostly use that exclusively on each firearm individually.

 

[hemiram]

I've used BreakFree (and TriFlow I don't know when it came out) for like, 43 years. Never a lube issue

 

[Swing]

Ballistol. Use it for everything. It works. No need to overthink this.

 

[Stumper]

I've used BreakFree (and TriFlow I don't know when it came out) for like, 43 years. Never a lube isstue

TriFlon was introduced in the late 1970s I am not certain when the name was changed to Tri Flow but I used the Triflon and later the TriFlow and label was almost the same except for spelling. Seems to be the same product.

 

[Mark1964]

I've got Ballistol, G96 and Kroil. Also Hoppe's solvent. Usually have all four those, plus some MPro7, around.
They all work.
Gotta admit, though, when I just want a drop of lube, I fairly often grab the Mobil 1.
For a grease, I'm partial to Lubriplate SFL-0 the majority of the time, but if I want something tackier I go with Shooter's Choice.
Also, Ballistol is lovely to have around for wood and leather.

 

[Jrrrrr]

Did anyone hear of Slip2000?

 

[MEHavey]

This stuff simply dissolves gas shotgun Carbon
evaporates/Leaves dry film as Lube.
https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/hornady-one-shot-gun-cleaner-and-lube-with-dyna-glide-plus?rrec=true

Ain't bad at 'P' either

 

[BigBL87]

I went the neither route and use Mpro7 for cleaning, Lucas gun oil for lubrication, and RemOil (which I guess is technically a CLP-style product) to put a light protective coat on external metal surfaces that need it for protection.

When it comes to CLP, I've never been a big fan. When it comes to All-in-one products, IMO they almost always end up falling into the category of "jack of all trades, master of none". It surely does all 3 things it claims to do, but a dedicated product probably does each better and I don't mind grabbing a separate bottle for better performance when it comes to what are probably my most expensive investment after my house and car.

 

[Jimbo80]

I use Ballistol.

 

[Slater]

I've used Breakfree over the years. No real issues. There's Breakfree LP if you want a thicker consistency.