Steel Horse Rider
Member
WD-40 is great for cleaning because it is a solvent, not so great for lubrication purposes though.
Is vegetable oil alone an OK lube and rust-stopper on BP guns?
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Crawdad1
Member
I use WD 40 also. After the revolver comes out of the water for the last time I dry the parts then blast them with WD 40 to get all the moisture off of the metal parts. Does the job and smells good also unlike Ballistol that smells terrible.
Crawdad1
Member
Ballistol is effective stuff but I prefer the WD 40 as that is all we had to use back in the 70's and its available everywhere at almost every store. But you have to use something like it as water is used so much to clean these things that you have to make absolutely sure to get all of the water off the metal parts. Sometimes I just keep the WD 40 on it and sometimes I wipe it off and use another oil to lubricate and protect.
To each his own.
Ironhand54
Member
Mink oil is boiled down from the fat scraped from the mink hide during tanning. It is a good, natural, light weight lube.
Neetsfoot oil is made from the lower leg of a cow. It solidifies at a lower temperature than other natural oils so it is especially good for cold weather lubes.
Both can be mixed with beeswax if you want a stiffer product.
I think both can be found at Wallyworld.
Ironhand
Neetsfoot oil is made from the lower leg of a cow. It solidifies at a lower temperature than other natural oils so it is especially good for cold weather lubes.
Both can be mixed with beeswax if you want a stiffer product.
I think both can be found at Wallyworld.
Ironhand
I am unaware of any health issues involving WD-40 exposure. Just last night I immersed both hands in a bowl of it while cleaning thick gunk from the cap of a Farmall governor.
Most of my black powder arms get periodic soakings in WD 40. As someone indicated it really does loosen up fouling. Also it will eventually loosen corroded in place screws. Unlike Hoppes 9 it will not destroy V or flat springs which is why I gave up on soaking guns containing springs in a tank of Hoppes 9. Yes, WD 40 leaves a film. It is supposed to. A shield to keep moisture away from the metal.
Regarding the Remington safety... Remington (after concealing literally 100s of sudden unintentional discharges involving their bolt actions, many involving deaths) recently lost a law suit involving the safety on one of their bolt action designs (to save manufacturing costs they made it less safe). Other suits on other gun actions in which manufacturing cost short steps bu Remington ran contrary to the safety designers original design are in the pipeline. WD 40 is not a lubricant and the coating it leaves is in some cases only a few molecules thick.
Most of my black powder arms get periodic soakings in WD 40. As someone indicated it really does loosen up fouling. Also it will eventually loosen corroded in place screws. Unlike Hoppes 9 it will not destroy V or flat springs which is why I gave up on soaking guns containing springs in a tank of Hoppes 9. Yes, WD 40 leaves a film. It is supposed to. A shield to keep moisture away from the metal.
Regarding the Remington safety... Remington (after concealing literally 100s of sudden unintentional discharges involving their bolt actions, many involving deaths) recently lost a law suit involving the safety on one of their bolt action designs (to save manufacturing costs they made it less safe). Other suits on other gun actions in which manufacturing cost short steps bu Remington ran contrary to the safety designers original design are in the pipeline. WD 40 is not a lubricant and the coating it leaves is in some cases only a few molecules thick.
Vegetable oils will work. However, they are prone to polymerizing, which means you end up with plastic-like layer on the internals which you have to scrub clean with a bronze brush. The internals will get filled with BP & oil sludge. You'll need to clean that.
Otherwise they work.
I was out of Ballistol once and there wasn't any in the local shop, so I cleaned my gun with cheapest vegetable oil for about three months, shooting (almost) every weekend. It worked fine, but after three months the gunk in the action was such that it didn't work reliably anymore and I had to tear it down and clean it.
(Normally, I just clean the barrel and chambers and oil the rest)
Otherwise they work.
I was out of Ballistol once and there wasn't any in the local shop, so I cleaned my gun with cheapest vegetable oil for about three months, shooting (almost) every weekend. It worked fine, but after three months the gunk in the action was such that it didn't work reliably anymore and I had to tear it down and clean it.
(Normally, I just clean the barrel and chambers and oil the rest)
Exactly what I found to be true, use lard or lard/beeswax and you will never look back.
BCRider
Member
WD40 does contain a petrochemical solvent in it. It may be safe enough for casual use I sure would not want to dunk my hands right into it.
Two effects come to mind. First is that regular exposure to solvents can cause temporary cases of solvent related eczema. The cure is to stop the skin contact until it clears up. The other issue is that long term exposure to some solvents allows some amount of the solvent to soak in through the skin and enter the blood stream where it lodges in the liver or other cleanup organs in the body. The issue is that these organs either only dispose of the solvents minimally or in some cases not at all. So over the course of a lifetime of use we can arrive at old age with a case of solvent poisoning to those organs.
These days solvent resistant nitrile gloves are so easy to buy and use that there's just no excuse for soaking in any sort of solvent.
Two effects come to mind. First is that regular exposure to solvents can cause temporary cases of solvent related eczema. The cure is to stop the skin contact until it clears up. The other issue is that long term exposure to some solvents allows some amount of the solvent to soak in through the skin and enter the blood stream where it lodges in the liver or other cleanup organs in the body. The issue is that these organs either only dispose of the solvents minimally or in some cases not at all. So over the course of a lifetime of use we can arrive at old age with a case of solvent poisoning to those organs.
These days solvent resistant nitrile gloves are so easy to buy and use that there's just no excuse for soaking in any sort of solvent.
Oil is oil and I've used cooking oil when I had forgot some oil while in the field, but like all oils, don't just oil and leave it if that is what you're planning. I've recently discovered Rand CLP and so far is as good or better than the other "CLP"s I've tried in the past.
Appropriate care for your gun is what is needed, so check in on them once in a while if storing guns and if you inspect in two weeks and things are fine, check back in four and so forth. If you live in a dry climate, that may not be necessary like it is here where I live...
Gaucho Gringo
Member
"Just a side comment I probably shouldn't make, but I don't think any of us will probably die from getting WD-40, CLP, Hoppes #9, or any other solvent or lubricant on our skin. There are far too many other ways to die without worrying about something that is a non-event. From growing up on a farm to a 10 year stint as a Tool and Die Maker to the past 35 years of working in commercial refrigeration I believe I have probably been exposed to more "substances known by the State of California to cause cancer" than most, yet at 62 I am still complete and medicine free."
At 65 I have been exposed to stuff the EPA and other government agencies say I should have died years ago from. Used to practically bathe in Penta every night I worked for over a year. As a kid handled lead weights for fishing, no washing hands for lunch and even bit down on lead split shot for years to affix to my line. Cast lead weights also as as kid. Smoked cigarettes for 42 years until I was 55, 1 to 3 packs a day. Doctor say my lungs are clear today with no problems but I believe if I had not stopped I would have been dead by now. When working regularly exposed to wood dust, lead, asbestos and cancer causing chemicals. I truly believe that if you have the genetic makeup to resist things that seen to leave a minority amount of the population succumbing to these things it would seem foolish to legislate out natural selection as it leaves the human population less able to survive. JMO.
At 65 I have been exposed to stuff the EPA and other government agencies say I should have died years ago from. Used to practically bathe in Penta every night I worked for over a year. As a kid handled lead weights for fishing, no washing hands for lunch and even bit down on lead split shot for years to affix to my line. Cast lead weights also as as kid. Smoked cigarettes for 42 years until I was 55, 1 to 3 packs a day. Doctor say my lungs are clear today with no problems but I believe if I had not stopped I would have been dead by now. When working regularly exposed to wood dust, lead, asbestos and cancer causing chemicals. I truly believe that if you have the genetic makeup to resist things that seen to leave a minority amount of the population succumbing to these things it would seem foolish to legislate out natural selection as it leaves the human population less able to survive. JMO.
Gaucho Gringo
Member
"Just a side comment I probably shouldn't make, but I don't think any of us will probably die from getting WD-40, CLP, Hoppes #9, or any other solvent or lubricant on our skin. There are far too many other ways to die without worrying about something that is a non-event. From growing up on a farm to a 10 year stint as a Tool and Die Maker to the past 35 years of working in commercial refrigeration I believe I have probably been exposed to more "substances known by the State of California to cause cancer" than most, yet at 62 I am still complete and medicine free."
At 65 I have been exposed to stuff the EPA and other government agencies say I should have died years ago from. Used to practically bathe in Penta every night I worked for over a year. As a kid handled lead weights for fishing, no washing hands for lunch and even bit down on lead split shot for years to affix to my line. Cast lead weights also as as kid. Smoked cigarettes for 42 years until I was 55, 1 to 3 packs a day. Doctor say my lungs are clear today with no problems but I believe if I had not stopped I would have been dead by now. When working regularly exposed to wood dust, lead, asbestos and cancer causing chemicals. I truly believe that if you have the genetic makeup to resist things that seem to leave a minority amount of the population succumbing to these things it would seem foolish to legislate out natural selection as it leaves the human population less able to survive. JMO.
At 65 I have been exposed to stuff the EPA and other government agencies say I should have died years ago from. Used to practically bathe in Penta every night I worked for over a year. As a kid handled lead weights for fishing, no washing hands for lunch and even bit down on lead split shot for years to affix to my line. Cast lead weights also as as kid. Smoked cigarettes for 42 years until I was 55, 1 to 3 packs a day. Doctor say my lungs are clear today with no problems but I believe if I had not stopped I would have been dead by now. When working regularly exposed to wood dust, lead, asbestos and cancer causing chemicals. I truly believe that if you have the genetic makeup to resist things that seem to leave a minority amount of the population succumbing to these things it would seem foolish to legislate out natural selection as it leaves the human population less able to survive. JMO.
gwpercle
Member
Use pure , natural , rendered out hog Lard ! It may kill you city folks if you eat it , but it's chemical free , prevents rust , a decent lubricant and smells good.... if you like the smell of frying bacon at the range .
Bear grease is also good....but getting bears nowdays is problematic. In the last 40 years I have only seen one...and it was a young scrawny one , not fit for nothing.
Here in Louisiana we eat lots of cracklins, hog fat, fried in hot boiling hog fat and salted. So we got plenty of leftover lard. Strain it , cool it and you got hog lard .
It's sold in big cans at the little store I regularly get Boudin at , if you don't want to trouble yourself killing, and butchering a hog. Now me , I enjoy a good hog killing, we have a party while doing it and it's called a boucherie...lots of fun.
Gary
Bear grease is also good....but getting bears nowdays is problematic. In the last 40 years I have only seen one...and it was a young scrawny one , not fit for nothing.
Here in Louisiana we eat lots of cracklins, hog fat, fried in hot boiling hog fat and salted. So we got plenty of leftover lard. Strain it , cool it and you got hog lard .
It's sold in big cans at the little store I regularly get Boudin at , if you don't want to trouble yourself killing, and butchering a hog. Now me , I enjoy a good hog killing, we have a party while doing it and it's called a boucherie...lots of fun.
Gary
RPRNY
Member
Like belly-buttons, everyone has an opinion. The number of people suggesting use of petroleum based products is surprising and disappointing though. How olive oil would increase fouling is a mystery right up there with the location of the Malaysian airlines flight that went missing. Inexplicable.
Rendered lard is excellent as a lube and rust preventative. Beeswax/Crisco/Olive Oil in roughly 2/2/1 formula, varying quantities to adjust for seasonal temps, will serve all your BP lube needs. SPG is an excellent commercial lube.
Cleaning should be done with hot water and a bit of dish washing liquid. A little post cleaning rub down with Ballistol or WD-40 even, will keep the rust away.
Rendered lard is excellent as a lube and rust preventative. Beeswax/Crisco/Olive Oil in roughly 2/2/1 formula, varying quantities to adjust for seasonal temps, will serve all your BP lube needs. SPG is an excellent commercial lube.
Cleaning should be done with hot water and a bit of dish washing liquid. A little post cleaning rub down with Ballistol or WD-40 even, will keep the rust away.
i strip my bp revolvers down, and put the parts in my sonic cleaner with water and dish soap. then rinse and into a preheated 215f oven. the hot parts including the bore get a hot johnson paste wax treatment, i dab the moving parts/pins with mobil one during assembly.
Ironhand54
Member
Dr 1445
I also use a sonic cleaner for handguns but I use water and Murphys oil soap at about a 5 to 1 ratio. Seems to work better than dish soap.
Ironhand
I also use a sonic cleaner for handguns but I use water and Murphys oil soap at about a 5 to 1 ratio. Seems to work better than dish soap.
Ironhand
ironhand
i have tried murphys but did not see much difference one way or the other. only sub powders are available here. i used triple 7 but switched to pyrodex p for the low low cost, both clean up with ease. i have a few pounds of black, since it has a loooong self life it sits unopened.
i have tried murphys but did not see much difference one way or the other. only sub powders are available here. i used triple 7 but switched to pyrodex p for the low low cost, both clean up with ease. i have a few pounds of black, since it has a loooong self life it sits unopened.
Ironhand54
Member
Dr 1445
I use real BP so that may be the difference. Either way a sonic cleaner is the best way to clean a revolver. When I take a gun out of the cleaner I blow off the liquid with compressed air, run a patch thru it and spray it with RemOil. That's all it takes.
Ironhand
I use real BP so that may be the difference. Either way a sonic cleaner is the best way to clean a revolver. When I take a gun out of the cleaner I blow off the liquid with compressed air, run a patch thru it and spray it with RemOil. That's all it takes.
Ironhand
Rex B
Member
I use lanolin to protect tools. Absolutely prevents rust. I thin it with machine oil. It works and it's good for your skin
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