Dumping Ballistol and Gun Oil

[jackpine54]

I clean with water or if I am feely fancy maybe water and a drop of dawn dish soap. I lube with tallow, bear, deer, mink, hog whatever I have on hand. I use ballistol, bought by the gallon, on small stuff where I require liquid lube. The only other oil I use is type f transmission fluid for long term protection on wood and metal.

 

[user 48702]

Ed's Red and MM Oil sound good, but if I keep to my quest they don't sound like options - no mixing just buying a bulk replacement, and MM Oil cost by the ounce is >= Ballistol.

Cheapest I can buy Ballistol in a pump spray 16 oz. (pint) is $18 - $20 per can. According to which auto parts store I go to, I can buy Marvel Mystery Oil for $8 - $10 per 32 oz. (quart). I can buy a gallon container of Marvel Mystery Oil for about $30, and if you want to buy bulk, it is also

 

[waksupi]

Ed's Red and MM Oil sound good, but if I keep to my quest they don't sound like options - no mixing just buying a bulk replacement, and MM Oil cost by the ounce is >= Ballistol.

You can buy 8 oz. of Ed's Red from Brownell's for about what you can make a gallon at home.

 

[TDM]

I’m going to make some, have all the ingredients already except lanolin.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I used the old stand by GI gun oil for over forty years, then a friend who was in special forces told me all they used was "three in one oil". So that is what I used for the last 12 years.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I’m going to make some, have all the ingredients already except lanolin.

The lanolin is an optional ingredient to help neutralize fingerprints.

 

[COTNTOP]

I find that the cost saver is the applicator. I apply Ballistol from a bottle with a dropper while the cleaning patch is sitting in an old CCI tin, nothing is wasted. I have in the past used Ballistol spray and that is a waste big time. Found out after the barrel is cleaned there is no use washing barrel out again with oil.

 

[NorthFork]

1. I use cool water with a touch of dishwashing detergent. Real cheap, almost free.

2. I buy WD-40 by the gallon can. Use the WD-40 squirt sprayer. I use this liberally to flood the lock and barrel to displace water. Still cheap.

3. I save all the drippings from everything. 0W-16 to liquid 00 grease. It gets mixed all together in a slurry. This is my lubricating oil. Free.

4. Protect bore with Brownell's Rust Preventative #2. Expensive but works. I will say that Borebutter/Wonderlube or peanut/olive oil works too.

 

[DuncNZ]

I'm usually well stocked, but at the point where my cleaning supplies are running low. I shoot multiple long and short BP arms quite often and therefore clean a lot of guns and go through a fair amount of cleaning and lubricating products. I've been buying Balllitol (love it) and various brands of designated gun oil for years, but like all things gun-related, even cleaning supplies are now overpriced. I'm on a quest to maximize the money spent on the enjoyable part of the hobby - shooting, as opposed to the unenjoyable parts - like cleaning.

I don't have time to mix my own concoctions, currently clean with hot water, abandoned the need for bore butter and other excessively priced solutions years ago, and use a coating of oil to protect bores and chambers from rust. So, I'm no purist and not in need of ideas on that end. However, I'm looking to replace Ballistol and gun oil with bulk products to advance my quest - like 0W synthetic motor at $8 a quart as an example.

What bulk and readily available products do you use for cleaning and lubricating?

I buy Ballistol by the liter , it lasts for years

 

[Kansas Jake]

I bought my first Ballistol a couple of years ago to use with Dutch’s accuracy method. For the previous 40 years I’ve used mostly water with a drop or two of liquid Dawn or something similar to clean and whatever gun oil I happen to have or mostly 3 in 1 oil because I always have some on the work bench or in the garage. I do now have some Barricade that I use to.

 

[ernbar]

Folks have different opinions and methods that work for them, so here is my take on what works for me.
Some things are not worth cutting corners to save a few centavos here and there specially when the product being replaced works like a charm. I never heard of Ballistol till I read about here on this site and I’m mighty glad I did. It mixes with water and easily melts off BP residue as you wipe away and leaves a protective oil coat that is not tacky, slimy or greasy.
For the first time I used it to clean 6 modern firearms two nights ago after watching Hickok 45 on YouTube showing cleaning his modern guns with it. It was a lot better than messing with the harsh chemicals of other cleaners.
What I like about Ballistol is that it won’t soak into the wood stocks but rather condition and protect them and can be used on leather slings and holsters to protect and clean them.
I honestly believe that the water/Ballistol mix (moose milk) is a sure winner for cleaning specially BP residue.

 

[Rich44]

What I like about Ballistol is that it won’t soak into the wood stocks but rather condition and protect them and can be used on leather slings and holsters to protect and clean them.
I honestly believe that the water/Ballistol mix (moose milk) is a sure winner for cleaning specially BP residue.

Amen

 

[RonRC]

I put some Ballistol in a plastic dispenser bottle to make it easier to apply. It didn't take long for components of Ballistol to separate out. There was a large amount of solid material suspended in the liquid Ballistol. I would never had noticed if I had left the Ballistol in the original bottle. Anyone know what that solid material might be? Does the separation effect the way Ballistol is supposed to work?
Since that experience, I have gone back to cold water and dish detergent to clean followed by Barricade or EezOx to prevent rust.

 

[stronics]

Gentlemen,
It cost $350 to go to my primary care Dr. for fifteen minutes just to renew my medications. If I go to any type of specialist it cost $750. $50 a year to clean my guns, so, think about it. A year of taxes on the house $1700, insurance on same $1600.
I am as cheap as anyone else, I hate spending more than necessary. But look around, it don't seem so bad.
David

 

[ernbar]

I put some Ballistol in a plastic dispenser bottle to make it easier to apply. It didn't take long for components of Ballistol to separate out. There was a large amount of solid material suspended in the liquid Ballistol. I would never had noticed if I had left the Ballistol in the original bottle. Anyone know what that solid material might be? Does the separation effect the way Ballistol is supposed to work?
Since that experience, I have gone back to cold water and dish detergent to clean followed by Barricade or EezOx to prevent rust.

I’m gonna guess maybe the plastic container used was contaminated by something that reacted with the Ballistol?

 

[RonRC]

I’m gonna guess maybe the plastic container used was contaminated by something that reacted with the Ballistol?

That's possible - maybe some plasticizer residual as it was a new container.
Thanks.

 

[nchawkeye]

I clean with water (not hot), then rubbing alcohol, then WD-40...After that, a light coat of your favorite oil, done...

 

[user 48702]

I put some Ballistol in a plastic dispenser bottle to make it easier to apply. It didn't take long for components of Ballistol to separate out. There was a large amount of solid material suspended in the liquid Ballistol. I would never had noticed if I had left the Ballistol in the original bottle. Anyone know what that solid material might be? Does the separation effect the way Ballistol is supposed to work?
Since that experience, I have gone back to cold water and dish detergent to clean followed by Barricade or EezOx to prevent rust.

I've never noticed Ballistol separating or breaking down. I put some in a milk clear plastic oiler with the needle tip and didn't notice any settling and that was a year or so ago.

From Ballistol's MSDS: Ballistol contains medicinal grade mineral oil, alkaline salts of oleic acid, several alcohols, Benzyl Acetate and an oil from vegetal seeds. The mineral oil is unchlorinated and conforms to the specifications of US Pharmacopeia XX.

 

[1BadDart]

I try to stay with the KISS principal, find what works and stick with it. On the recommendation of a friend, for cleaning I use a mix of 1 part isopropyl alcohol, 1 part hydrogen peroxide and 1/2 part Murphy's oil soap. It works well and everything was already in the cabinet.

For rust protection I like synthetics, they don't seem to gum after a time up like oils do. I'm not beyond wiping a gun down with 3-1 oil or Rem oil if it's on the rag though.

I have Ballistol, but the (my) jury is still out. Having tried several different mixes for a dry patch lube, I'm not really satisfied. Accuracy is okay but the fouling is hard, and the gun gets hard to load after a few shots. Moist patches work seem to keep the fouling soft, coconut oil is working well and accuracy is good.

What I've noticed when mixing water and Ballistol is there is always a little oil floating on top of the emulsion, no matter how much it's mixed. That oil shows up on the patch material too, which means that the mix isn't consistent throughout the material.

All of this and $1.75 will buy you a cup of coffee in some places.

 

[Jimbob]

I put some Ballistol in a plastic dispenser bottle to make it easier to apply. It didn't take long for components of Ballistol to separate out. There was a large amount of solid material suspended in the liquid Ballistol. I would never had noticed if I had left the Ballistol in the original bottle. Anyone know what that solid material might be? Does the separation effect the way Ballistol is supposed to work?
Since that experience, I have gone back to cold water and dish detergent to clean followed by Barricade or EezOx to prevent rust.

It has to be a reaction from the plastc. I have a can of Ballistol that’s been sitting on my shelf for over a year and there is absolutely no solid material suspended in the liquid. If you are going to transfer the stuff to a smaller container use a small glass bottle. That’s what I do with no such “suspended solids” issue.