Cheap BP cleaning solution

[Bob J]

Ballistol is, from what I have read, mainly simple mineral oil (you can find it in the grocery, food safe--people drink the stuff as a laxative)with petrochemical 'carriers'in the spray version. Nothing cheaper than water.

:hmm: Are you saying that store bought mineral oil would work as well as Ballistol? I personally like Ballistol, but if straight mineral oil would work as well on metal and wood... :hmm:

 

Yes. I wish I could remember the post on ballistol to reference it for you. The poster put up info from the patent on ballistol showing that basically it was just mineral oil. Anyone else see that post? May have been on a different board.

 

[tzvia]

Curly James,

I don't know if it makes anything easier to clean over time, but my experience with it is it does clean well. I've got an SAA that leads real quick around the forcing cone so i just let it soak a while and the gunk just comes off real quick. For heavily leaded barrels, I mix it with JB bore paste and the combo is like magic. Does nothing for copper, so i use Sweets or Hoppies copper remover for that. If the issue is rust or pitting, I wet the barrel real good with Blue Wonder and let that soak. I'm lazy, I don't want to sit there and scrub something that is resisting my efforts, I want the cleaner to do that.

The best part of Ballistol is that when I am done, I leave a thin coat in the barrel and on the exposed metal and store it. Haven't had a problem with rust yet-over 60 guns, lots of corrosive ammo or bp and no rust. And those big cans are cheap and go along way. (I never get over the prices some of those 'wonder' lubes and cleaners in the tiny bottles-what is that stuff made out of, gold?)

Lois

 

[Thamaz]

Did

 

[noahmercy]

I, too use Ballistol/water (1:8) for cleaning my BP firearms. And while the "active" ingredient is mineral oil, the other ingredients apparently make it fully soluble in water and keep it from hardening even when mixed with BP fouling. I've tried straight Ballistol on black fouling and it doesn't work nearly as well as the mixture (more proof that water works great as a cleaner). The thing is, the lubricant qualities of Ballistol makes the patches glide more easily than straight water. Also, if you leave any of the mixture in or on the gun the water evaporate and leaves a film of oil on the metal. It's also safe on wood and leather so a ham-fisted ogre like me doesn't have to worry about keeping it off the stock or acoutrements. ::

I also follow up with straight Ballistol. I don't believe it's possible to "season" steel (Iron? Yes...steel? No.), but there is no denying that after using Ballistol regularly, the guns clean and load more easily. This is not imagination...several folks I've "turned on" to Ballistol have reported the same phenomenon.

The fact that I can use the same product for cleaning (when mixed with water which we all agree is the nes plus ultra solvent) and lubricating/preserving endears the product to me. The fact that it's not expensive is a definite mark in its favor, as well.

As an aside, a buddy of mine who uses water and soap on his guns went to Ivory liquid. He said there is less residue than Dawn. (I know one of the replies above mentioned using shaved Ivory soap...probably the same result.)

:thumbsup:

 

[jrdavis]

been using for a number of years now...works real good!

 

[VAshooter]

I have used Balistol to clean BP firearms for years. I also have some mineral oil around the house. When I compare the two I can say they sure don't look or smell anything alike. They don't react the same way to black powder fouling or clean the same. If Balistol has mineral oil in it the stuff is well hidden. Not that I care, it has to be made from something and I'm just concerned with the results.
Cleaning with Balistol and water and protecting with straight Balistol works well and since I can't get Sperm Oil anymore I'll continue to use it. You absolutely will not get rust in your barrel. Even if you don't have time to clean as well as you should, the Balistol protects the bore.

 

[Headhunter]

I have been using the HOT Water since 1979. When Bore Butter came out I started using water next to boiling. After the barrel was swabbed out good and the barrel is still very hot, I would run 3 dry patches down the bore and let it set for a couple minutes. The water will evaporate on and in the hot barrel.

After that I run a GENEROUS amount of Bore butter through the barrel. The hot barrel melts the Bore Butter and covers nicely. I then use the same bore patch on the outside of the barrel.

Since Bore Butter, I never use any other ML Lube or oil.

Headhunter

 

[Frank Flintstone]

Thee most frequently talked about cleaner seems to be hot water and dish detergent. What ratio of detergent to water do you recommend. A gallon of hot water and a few dropps or oz. , dab, smidgen, squirt, pinch, of detergent? Also does the brand of detergent mater, Dawn gets mentioned a lot.

 

[Slamfire]

A few drops is all it takes in a teakettle full of hot water. :winking:

 

[Frank Flintstone]

Thanks Slamfire. I appreciate all the advice I get from this great forum. :hatsoff:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I scrape the edge of a cake of Ivory Soap into the water with a knife. Maybe a pea sized amount of soap for a quart of water (boiled in a 1# coffee can).

 

[Richard Allen]

Cold water, with or without soap, cleans just as good as hot water, and I avoid the flash-rusting associated with hot water.

Richard/Ga.

 

[roundball]

Thee most frequently talked about cleaner seems to be hot water and dish detergent. What ratio of detergent to water do you recommend. A gallon of hot water and a few dropps or oz. , dab, smidgen, squirt, pinch, of detergent? Also does the brand of detergent mater, Dawn gets mentioned a lot.

I use a very large 5-6 gallon bucket...a couple squirts (possibly a teaspoon?) from a bottle of dishwashing detergent, and fill the bucket with about 4 gallons of steaming hot water.

My barrels are hooked breech types so it's easy for me to simply plunge the breech end/half of the barrel into the bucket and let it sit for 15 minutes while cleaning the lock, tang, etc.

Then a few pump flushes, a few brush strokes, then a few more pump flushes in a separate pail with a few inches of clean hot water in it.

Dry patch it immediately to avoid the flash rust, then let it lay on the bench for 5 minutes to let the hot barrel to get itself bone dry from the heat...then I very heavily lube it with Natural Lube 1000.

(PS: I also use aerosol cans of WD40 to blast the seams along the under-rib, sight bases/dovetails, wedge pin tenon, etc, to push all water out of those areas that drained down into them.)

 

[jimeckersley]

Do a Google search on "Ballistol" and you'll come up with more information than you can read in one sitting. Also Google on Ballistol MSDS to get a Material Safety data Sheet. There doesn't seem to be anything in it that will cause a lot of harm.

It smells like something that you forgot to take out of the washing machine for several days. Actually, I'm kinda getting used to the smell. It's one of those unique and manly smells like pipe tobacco, or Hoppes No 9.