Ballistol first experience

[Bruce Bogart]

My son refers to it as dirty feet oil. :rotf:

 

[Mark Swanson]

Here is a muzzleloading experiment using various lubes and such to see which is best at preventing rust.
http://www.ctmuzzleloaders.com/ctml_experiments/corrosion/corrosion2.html

Ballistol comes through the experiment doing very well at rust prevention.
I use Ballistol myself as a patch lube and for field cleaning or if I can't get to the gun right away, I'll shove a large cleaning patch soaked with Ballistol down to the breech to keep things soft and retrieve the patch from the breech with a worm.
I generally just use water for cleaning but will run a patch with Ballistol down the bore after things are dry to lube the bore. Never have a problem with rusting, but it's Arizona, so humidity is in short supply a lot of times !
I find it to be a very good lube for shooting and will allow shooting all day without having to clean between a string of shots.

Mark

 

[Zonie]

I wonder why the second bar (P) looks rusted from day 0?
It is supposed to be polished and it looks dark brown from the get go. :hmm:

 

[Rifleman1776]

Very interesting test. I thank you for going to all that trouble.
I am surprised at the Johnson's wax (apparent) failure to protect. My workshop is in a very humid enviroment. I use Johnson's to protect the cast iron surfaces of my tools. e.g. lathe bed, table saw, etc.
For that use I have found it very effective. My lathe is right next to my well pressure tank and lots of piping that sweats in the summer. Super humid.

 

[izzyjoe]

i know the feeling!

 

[Rifleman1776]

I now have a little experience with Ballistol. Thus far it has proven itself an excellent lubricant and good cleaner.
However, in the rust prevention department, I'm not happy with it.
The patch shown was put through the barrel of my Jaeger. I had cleaned the rifle well and used Ballistol soaked patches to protect the clean bore. The rifle was in my gun safe (which uses a dessicant) for two months. At our shoot yesterday I put this dry patch down the bore to remove excess lube before shooting. This is what came up. The bore was still smooth and slick so I'm sure this is just light surface rust. But still not good. And not something I experience using my other protectant lubes. (WD-40, RIG, CLP)
IMHO, it failed.
I will now go through my other guns and re-lube the bores to protect them.

[/img]

 

[Zonie]

Your rusty patch looks a lot like the rusty patches I got from my guns when I used Ballistol to protect the bores of a couple of my rifles.

I've mentioned this before on the forum but my comments served only as targets for the Ballistol lovers to shoot at.

Because of this, although I read the many praises of Ballistol here on the forum, I usually keep my thoughts to myself.

After having these problems with Ballistol I returned to my Birchwood Casey Sheath (now called Barricade) and I've never had a repeat of this problem.

 

[Stumpkiller]

. . . Birchwood Casey Sheath (now called Barricade) and I've never had a repeat of this problem.

Sheath/Barricade is what I use since the 1990's and have been very happy with the results

 

[fyrfyter43]

Personally, I use Ballistol and water to clean. Since I shoot bare balls from my smoothbore, it seems to help remove any leading. But for storage and rust prevention, I use Barricade.

 

[rem700]

I have never had any luck useing Ballistol as a rust preventative.

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Same here, LOVE Ballistol for cleaning and shooting - don't even mind the smell (smell, wot smell ?) - but for storage I too use Birchwood Casey's Sheath product.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I've mentioned this before on the forum but my comments served only as targets for the Ballistol lovers to shoot at.

Because of this, although I read the many praises of Ballistol here on the forum, I usually keep my thoughts to myself.

Not meaning to ignore your comments previously. But, these forums bring out so many conflicting/confusing opinions it is sometimes hard to accept anything anyone says.
That is why, in this case, I had to try and discover for myself. Different climates and conditions can result in different results as well.
FWIW, you were right. :grin:

 

[stormcrow]

One possibility- when I first tried Ballistol I did so after patches where I used conventional products (such as Hoppe's and RemOil) came out perfectly clean, follow-up patches with Ballistol would show significant gunk removed. If you have other guns where you have yet to use Ballistol that appear clean, run a few patches of Ballistol down them and then look at the results. Not saying that in your particular case the rust was already started, only that I have never had this experience with the product. Agree too that for long term storage BC Sheath is the way to go.

 

[gunsports]

That coloring you see on the patches is NOT rust; it is a chemical reaction happening in the Ballistol when it meets steel. As you said, there was no evidence of rust.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Storm, last time I used this rifle I cleaned normally then used Ballistol. As you stated, it got more gunk out and I was pleased with that. Then I liberally soaked patches and ran those down the bore to coat it with Ballistol. That was intended to be my protectant. Didn't protect.

 

[Clovis]

Hope I am not dragging this too far off topic, but those of you who use ballistol to clean and then sheath for protection, do you try to get all of the ballistol out first or just apply the sheath? I've heard in the past some preservatives can conunter react with each other and cause a problem. Don"t have any experience with this but just what I have heard.
For what it's worth, I've seen the same brown remains after using ballistol and it is "troubling". Thanks

 

[fyrfyter43]

I can't speak for everybody else, but I just use a small amount of Ballistol in hot water to clean. When I'm done cleaning, I run dry patches until it's completely dry. Then use Barricade to protect the bore.

 

[Clovis]

Thanks. Didn't think there would be a problem, but thought I might be missing a small detail and wanted to be sure. Take care.

 

[MosinRob]

I had a similar problem, but it wound up being i was not drying the bore well enough before oiling. I use balistol but i use seafoam deep creep after. Haven't had a problem since.

 

[Snydly]

Been using Ballistol for many years and really like it as a cleaner but as a preservative it only works for me if I use it sparingly and not cut back with water or anything else. My biggest problen is my wife makes me clean everything outside because of the smell.