Marvel Mystery Oil?

[Got_Lead?]

Has anyone used Marvels Mystery Oil as a bore cleaner or preservative?

As a rule of thumb, I dont run a rod down my 22 rimfires, or cast boolit launchers, but do put a drop or two of very thin oil in the bore to soak out deposits and guard against rust after a shooting session.

Marvel's is touted as being very high detergent, and I'm wondering how it might act for a bore preservitive and cleaner. Ya gotta love that wintergreen smell.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Good ole MMO....little more than teaberry scented ATF and kerosene, both of which are in Ed's Red home made cleaner...MMO should work fine.

 

[GooseGestapo]

MMO is a staple of small aircraft owners who by market/legal forces are forced to use 100ll gasoline with it's abundant lead additive (4x the lead of the "old" car 100octane premium gasoline). It works wonders for reducing the build up of lead deposits on exhaust valves and piston rings when used as both fuel and oil additive.

However, as a bore cleaner, the first poster is correct.

For lead deposit in your rifle bore, use the Hoppes "lead" remover solvent on a bore-snake. For copper deposits use something like "Sweets" or "ShootersChoice" copper remover solvent, and I like the Remington "BoreCleaner" on a patch wrapped around a bore brush for removal of copper fouling.

Be careful with the MMO as it if excessively applied can penetrate and deaden primers on ammunition left in the firearm. (such as police revolvers back in the day when we carried such....).
Otherwise, it's about like WD-40..... Not a bad general purpose "cleaner", but nothing "special"....

 

[Old Fuff]

The Old Fuff often uses MMO as a bath to soak antique relics that might suffer damage if disassembled, and more recent handguns that might have internal carbon deposits. It will work under lead deposits in the bore or chamber(s) but it takes time. It will also work under rust deposits without hurting whatever finish is left under them. It is a far better way to clean/lubricate a handgun then constantly taking it apart further then field stripping, or popping the sideplate off a hand-ejector revolver. Last but not least, it is much less expensive then some space-age stuff that doesn't do any better.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

I've used it in place of hydraulic oil in liftgates. It worked well there without any adverse effects on valves or controls.

 

[Dr T]

Not to mention its use as an additive to diesel engine fuel and windmill oil It has been around a long, long time and works well as a penetrating oil.

 

[Float Pilot]

As already mentioned Marvel Mystery Oil is used by us (we ?) aircraft pilots and mechanics as a fuel additive and as a oil flush agent.

It is basically Spearmint Oil and Stoddard Solvent.

A few years ago I posted a thread here about how I used it to soak an old 1892 rifle bore. After sitting in the bore for a couple days, ALL the lead from 110 years of use came out of the bore in long slivers. In fact it cleaned the bore so well that I found all sorts of pits were under the nice smooth lead.
It took 50 rounds of soft lead to get it shooting again...

Anyway, MMO will remove lead, and carbon if you let it sit overnight.
It also works well as a lubricant in extremely cold temps. (less than 25 below zero)

BUT, HOWEVER,, and guess what... It also creeps into all sorts of places like a penetrating oil and it can ruin primers. It is also not so swell on stock finishes.... Plus it is combustable.. SO it can be burned off of parts and it will run off parts that become hot.

So it works OK as a solvent, but it is not so great as a lube, or long term rust protector...

 

[HoosierQ]

I've got it mixed 50/50 with Mobil-1 5w30 and it makes for some very slippery stuff for running a "wet" AR-15.