Ballistol Substitute

[Semisane]

Can a water soluble oil be found at any of the nation-wide retailers (Walmart/NAPA/Oreilles, etc.)? If so, does anyone have a brand name I should look for?

 

[eggwelder]

Lenox protool or prolube

 

[rafterob]

Keep in mind they are not substitutes in all manners for Ballistol. They are an economical substitute for Ballistol when you are using it for "dry patching".

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Yes, for patch use only, not as cleaner or oil or such ...

 

[SDSmlf]

Can a water soluble oil be found at any of the nation-wide retailers (Walmart/NAPA/Oreilles, etc.)? If so, does anyone have a brand name I should look for?

While not the Chinamart/Bigbox source you are looking for, tried a number of the water soluble cutting fluids used in the CNC machine industry with disappointing results. Found out one of the fluid reps we dealt with was a muzzleloader shooter. Asked what he used. Recommended Ballistols. Pretty anticlimactic. He commented that the older vintage water soluble fluids worked great, but the modern versions were re-engineered to be environmentally safe (almost to the point you could drink the stuff) and process specific to the metal being machined, and were just poor choices for muzzleloading, at least in his opinion, though there is nothing to stop anyone from trying anything that is out there. I purchased a case of Ballistols at the time. Down to my last half a dozen or so. Might be time to purchase another case in the near future. Hate to run out of stuff that works.

 

[Don Steele]

Mobilmet S122 works for me in all respects where I would otherwise use Ballistol. Last time I searched for it online, I was only able to find it in 5 gallon pails. All smaller units were "out of stock".
Joel and Lowell Gard ( aka: The Bevel Brothers) were offering it in both pint and quart sized Mason jars from their vendor booth in the Sheep Sheds at Friendship last time we had a big shoot there at a VERY attractive price vs Ballistol.

 

[eggwelder]

I only use it for dry patching as per Shoultz method

 

[Grenadier1758]

When I started using water soluble oils I had never heard of Ballistol. The WSO, 1 part of the NAPA cutting oil (early 1980's) and 7 parts of water, was the premier patch lubricant. This was never used as a cleaner although the water in the mix would have done a very good job. In fact Dutch Schoultz's Black Powder Accuracy pamphlet at the time recommended the NAPA Water Soluble cutting oil. A couple of years after that the formula of the oil changed to be more environmentally friendly, so don't go rushing to the NAPA store to stock up on cutting oil, and the WSO and oil no longer performed as well as before. About then Ballistol showed up on shelves and all was good again. I still have some of my pint of NAPA cutting oil. Obviously not shooting enough. A half ounce of oil and 3 1/2 ounces of water will last through a year's worth of shooting.

 

[user 36911]

Ballistol has never been off of shelves. I've used it for decades.

 

[OhioHawkeye]

I do know the importer said years ago he will not sell to big box stores you mention. You will only find Ballistol with the usual retail stores and suttlers related to the shooting hobby. That being said, I see on a google search it is offered through Walmart, but is "out of stock"

I sell Ballistol as do a few vendors I know. There is no real substitute due to the added items that make it Ballistol. Do know (from the MSDS sheet) the primary ingredient is Surgical Grade Mineral Oil. In Europe, it is actually approved for certain applications of would care on humans.

I (Muddy Flint Trades) sell it, Mike Eder of Flintlocks, Inc. in Indiana, or the Log Cabin Shop in Lodi, Ohio. There are more who carry it.
Flintlocks inc and the Log Cabin have liquid and aerosol spray. Note, I quit handling spray and only have a very few cans remaining. Flintlocks and the Cabin handle the aerosol spray. I'm not sure if both have the little 1/5 oz and the 6 oz though. I also don't know if they carry the 4oz liquid as well as the 16oz you'll have to call them. There are individually packaged wipes available also.

I do sell a glass bottle with a natural cork and a pump sprayer.
Flintlocks sells a spun aluminum spray bottle. (not all sprayers will handle the oil)

 

[user 36911]

The local gun shop here has carried it for as long back as I can remember. I've always bought the liquid.

It came out during WW1 and it's a testimony that it's still popular.

 

[necchi]

The NAPA girnding and cutting oil 765-1526,, works,, but my practical experience with the stuff showed that prepared patching fabric didn't have much "shelf life",, I could do a batch and it'd work fine for 2-3 months, then accuracy suffered.
Mix a new batch and the same,, a couple months,, then phew-ey.
Hunted down a source for Ballistal and things got golden,, been using it exclusively since, near 15yrs now.

 

[Grenadier1758]

My mix of the NAPA cutting oil is kept in a bottle and The patch is dampened just before being cut at the muzzle.

 

[SOLANCO]

The three gun shops closest to me do not sell Ballistol. It is rural here and closest does not mean "just up the road". I found it on Amazon and the big brown truck drops it at my door.
Had been using CLP but found I preferred Ballistol.

 

[Crow-Feather]

Can a water soluble oil be found at any of the nation-wide retailers (Walmart/NAPA/Oreilles, etc.)? If so, does anyone have a brand name I should look for?

Napa brand water soluable cutting oil. 7.45 a pint

 

[SOLANCO]

The local gun shop here has carried it for as long back as I can remember. I've always bought the liquid.

It came out during WW1 and it's a testimony that it's still popular.

It was developed in 1905 in response to a request from the German armed forces. They have used it to good effect ever since. The Germans are a pretty demanding bunch. Think Sauer, Merkel, Mercedes, Porsche etc etc. I am in no hurry to reinvent the wheel.
It's ok on wood and leather also.

 

[SOLANCO]

Napa brand water soluable cutting oil. 7.45 a pint

Amazon two 16 ounce non aerosol bottles of Ballistol with a sprayer $41.00 . More money? Yes. But a 100+ year track record on not just firearms, but military weapons in hard use.

 

[user 36911]

It was developed in 1905 in response to a request from the German armed forces. They have used it to good effect ever since. The Germans are a pretty demanding bunch. Think Sauer, Merkel, Mercedes, Porsche etc etc. I am in no hurry to reinvent the wheel.
It's ok on wood and leather also.

I use bear grease on leather but I like Ballistol on the stock.

 

[Alan O]

i too have gotten Ballistol from Amazon. I use it in combination with CLP, which I can get locally. I do the heavy cleaning first with CLP and then finish with Ballistol

 

[Orin]

I use Ballistol for cleaning my civil war era weapons all the time and it really works great and protects the weapon.
I looked up it's history and found it here:

The History of Ballistol

You can order it here from the USA seller that's in Kitty Hawk, NC :

Ballistol - The Original CLP - Cleans, Lubricates, Preserves