cleaning a fullstock flinter

[Darkgael]

Mark: I'm going to give olive oil a try, just to see. It will surely smell better.
But...

You are paying good money for mineral oil & water.

I checked the MSDS document for Ballistol and water is not an ingredient.

balistol isn't for cleaning

Yes, it is. Cleaning was one of it's original design purposes.
Pete

 

[paulvallandigham]

Ballistol has additives originally designed to remove mercury from primer residue, because mercury is so corrosive. Now that we don't use mercury in priming compounds any more, there is nothing in Ballistol that cleans anything. So, you are both right, and wrong. Since the additives are to clean something that doesn't exist in our guns, there is no need for a product with those additives, and plain mineral oil will lube just as well. But, its not a cleaner, now. You can buy mineral oil at your grocery or drug store a lot cheaper than the cost of ballistol.

 

[Darkgael]

Paul: Thanks for that info. Makes sense, given the time period and the circumstances of Ballistol's inception. I'll have to take a look in the pharmacy at mineral oil.
Pete
PS - found this while looking for documentation. It is an interesting read if you have a few moments. This fellow would surely disagree with you. http://www.civilwarguns.com/9810b.html

P

 

[Swampman]

Ok so you add water to the mineral oil. It's still falls into one of those "magic stuff" categories like folks sell door to door.

Nothing works as well as the stuff in the kitchen.

 

[Bill/Ms.]

I have to agree with Mark on this. There ain't nothing in that barrel that can't be cleaned out with water. I use water with a little soap added because that's my patch lube when the rifle is going to be fired as soon as it's loaded- as at a shooting match. After cleaning and drying, I use "extra virgin" olive oil to protect the bore until the next shooting session, which usually isn't any longer than a week so I really can't comment on the olive oil for long term storage. I can say that I have never had any after rust with my cleaning and storage method. I also use the olive oil for a patch lube for hunting. Everyone can make their own choice- either buy all kind of "magic formula" cleaners & patch lubes or use what your wife already has in the kitchen.
Be Well,
Bill Ridout

 

[Darkgael]

Ok so you add water to the mineral oil. It's still falls into one of those "magic stuff" categories like folks sell door to door.

Nothing works as well as the stuff in the kitchen.

OK. Well said, though "nothing...." implies that you have tried everything else.
Don't get me wrong. I use warm water and soap to clean my BP firearms. I use Ballistol in the barrel after cleaning only because I have some. When it's gone, maybe before, I'll switch to something else. Olive oil? Mineral oil?
As you may have surmised, I react strongly to how things are phrased and the use of absolutes (like "nothing") raises my hackles so to speak. I always like to know the source of an opinion, be it experience or document.

Breakfree is excellent

Doesn't BreakFree fall into the "magic stuff" sold door to door category?

Pete

 

[Halftail]

I know better than to get involved in this, Lord help me for this...

If I keep adding folks to my ignore list, it's gonna get full.

At the rate your going, wont be long you'll be talking to yourself round here.

One get's the feeling that there are many voices going on inside Swampmans head that he Can't Ignore..... :shake:

 

[Swampman]

Nope, Break Free has Teflon in it. You can't fund that in the kitchen except on pans.

I'm thinking it's bad for you health to burn it, but I don't plan on getting old anyway.

 

[Darkgael]

Mark: Maybe that accounts for its price. I did not know that BF had teflon (PTFE) in it - never looked at the label. Looked just now and there it is. It is not listed on the MSDS for liquid CLP. They must consider it proprietary. Along with that it contains synthetic oils and liquid paraffins (as in Ballistol, btw).
Pete

 

[flintlockmdj]

Our forefathers didn't use mineral oil & water. They did use olive oil. :yakyak: :yakyak:

And they used bear oil, and sperm whale oil, and hog lard, and most any other natural oils.

Petroleum oil was not readily available in the 17th, 18th, and early 19th centuries, and I wonder how widely available olive oil was then also.

 

[Swampman]

I've used bear oil, sperm whale oil, hog lard, and deer tallow.

All are as good as olive oil. I like deer tallow too.

 

[deanscamaro]

I've used bear oil, sperm whale oil, hog lard, and deer tallow.

You should have seen him trying to hunt down all those critters! Which whaling ship did you go out on?
:rotf: :rotf:

 

[Swampman]

David Wright (You have heard of him?)gave me the whale oil about 25 years ago. It was in a very old corked bottle.

Aren't you a novice?

 

[deanscamaro]

Yes I am and proud of it. As quoted from an experienced member about some of your quotes, "As you may have surmised, I react strongly to how things are phrased and the use of absolutes (like "nothing") raises my hackles so to speak.", I have learned in the short time I have been on the forum, to listen to others who provide advice as such. A lot of what I have read in your posts is attuned to making others feel that you know all and are the center of the universe when it comes to information. Sorry, I just go by what I read here and most of the members are very reasonable individuals.

 

[Swampman]

"I just go by what I read here"

I see.....

 

[deanscamaro]

Let me propose something. I'll ignore your posts and you ignore mine. I like to learn different ideas, not be dictated by someone who thinks they have all the answers. I have heard a lot of good ideas from members here.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I don't pull pinned barrels and I don't remove vent liners. My prior flinter didn't even have a vent liner (Kit Ravenshear told me: "vent liners are repair items").

I pull the lock and lay the rifle on it's side with the muzzle lower than the breech and I put old towels under the vent as a cushion and to catch drips. I alternate wet soapy patched and dry patches until clean. Then an alcohol patch and a Sheath patch. Before shooting again I wipe again with alcohol to chase the oil out.

If it's rusty under the barrel so what? Who will see it if you never pull the barrel off? :wink: I drip Sheath on a 3x5 card and run it along the stock/barrel seam occasionally and have never found evidence of rust.

I clean around the frizzen with a toothbrush and soapy water and then drip a water displacing oil (Sheath) to chase moisture out. Then I wipe it up (never the frizzen face) and add a tiny drop of Rem Oil or other penetrating oil.

 

[Dave K]

Aw shucks, I don't even clean them at all anymore. Total waste of my time. My squaw knows how though. She watched me many times take the lock to the sink and scrub it, while the inside of the barrels is soaking up warm water. Then she watched me dry the bore until dry and put Ballistol in it. It took her a little while to learn, but someone has to clean the gun while I whip this dead horse! :rotf:

 

[MrMarine79]

I know better than to get involved in this, Lord help me for this...

If I keep adding folks to my ignore list, it's gonna get full.

At the rate your going, wont be long you'll be talking to yourself round here.

Well, at least then he will feel he is having
a good constructive discussion with an individual as equally intelligent as he.

But I really don't think he would enjoy it as much as he does stirring the pot. :bull:

Marc A

 

[paulvallandigham]

Deano, and Mark Lewis: If you want to use an oil like Sperm Whale oil, but is now legal, and a lot cheaper to buy, try Jojoba oil, which is a vegetable oil from a desert plant that growns in the American Southwest. The beans are processed just as we would soy beans, and the oil is extracted. I bought a bottle at friendship one year, and still have about have the bottle. It is as slick, and NON-sticky as any oil I have ever used.

The Slug Gun Shooters, some of whom have also hoarded their sperm whale oil supplies, have spoken highly of it as a replacement oil to use, so that they can hoard their whale oil a bit longer.