Idle musings on bore protectants

[dikman]

When I got started in MLing, I began to read as much as I could (and I still do) about the subject. I thought "ah, I can use natural products, this is good". Patch lube, wad lube, pills, stuff for wiping down the outside, no problems there. Cleaning the black gunk out of the barrel, can't beat good old water. Protecting the bore after cleaning, no worries, I thought, I'll mix up some oil/wax combo which should work fine.
Not so good.

A couple of problems became evident. Displacing all the moisture from the bore after cleaning isn't that easy, particularly getting into all the nooks and crannies of the land/groove area. That, coupled with the oil/wax mix not really being thin enough to get in and displace the moisture meant I was seeing signs of rust slowly appearing. Cold weather didn't help the mix flow either.

So, although I hadn't wanted to use WD-40, it began to look like I couldn't avoid it, at least for the initial swabbing out after cleaning. Being thin, it should flow onto all the surfaces of the bore and although I know that this stuff is ok for short-term rust protection, I wouldn't rely on it for anything else.

I decided to look up the MSDS for it, as well as other similar products, and looked at Barricade and Ballistol as well. Guess what? They're all pretty much the same, nothing magical about them at all. With the exception of Ballistol, they're all primarily petroleum distillate (solvent), mineral oil and a very small percentage of other stuff, probably there for smell and/or colour. Ballistol is slightly different, being "refined" mineral oil, probably baby oil and alcohol as the solvent/carrier. Performance-wise I doubt if it's any different.

The interesting thing with WD-40 is that its MSDS shows variations in content in different countries - some have a higher percentage of solvent (or in the case of Australia, a different solvent) and some have a different percentage of mineral oil. Most curious.

Anyhow, after wading through all this I ended up buying 5 litres of Penetrene, an Australian product that has been around for donkey's years and used to be found in every garage and workshop around the country. It has pretty much the same type of ingredients as the rest (petroleum distillates and mineral oil) with the addition of

 

[George T.]

It sounds as though you have a plan. Balistol is good for several things but it is not a good at stopping rust. Do you have PB- Blaster Down Under? The reason I ask is that It has proved to have additional benefits as well as stopping and removing rust.

I have been spending this Texas August heat wave by doing routine maintenance on my MLR's. A while ago I found that if after cleaning I wiped the barrel and exterior with PB it was not necessary to go back after a couple of days, I also put several drops down the barrel and put a folded cleaning patch under the hammer.

I was not looking forward to removing four clean out screws and nipples but it was a snap. The PB had gone all the way thru the threads and they came out very easy. The Lyman's with allen screws were easy but so were the slotted screws. Man over the years I have broken these screws and screw drivers more than once.

I guess that I should add that I spray break or carb cleaner down the barrel until it runs out of the nipple before drying it out and loading.

Good Luck! Geo. T.

 

[dikman]

If you look up the MSDS of PB Blaster (which is available here - somewhere - although I don't recall seeing it) it's basically more of the same - petroleum distillates, petroleum solvent and this stuff, Alkyloxypolyethyleneoxyethanol, which is a surfactant (soap) but at a max of 3% there's not much of it.

So basically you can use any of these and get the same results, although I wouldn't rely on any of them for long term rust protection.

You make a good point about running whatever you use out through the nipple, and this should obviously be done after cleaning with water too, otherwise the nipple/powder drum could both end up rusting from the inside out. Something I hadn't thought of.

What a fascinating hobby this MLing has turned out to be :grin: .

 

[roundball]

During my early years in ML, I used T/C's Natural Lube 1000 as a bore coating but I finally grew tired of it taking so long for me to keep plastering it into the bore after every cleaning/drying regimen to be sure I had every square inch of it insulated from the air.
I finally switched to WD40, it's worked perfectly for me for a number of years now and that includes bores of guns that have been unused/cased for a couple years.
I order the aerosol cans with the permanently attached spray nozzle by the case and find an additional excellent benefit is to power flush the internals of my Flintlock assemblies after every use / cleaning.

 

[Heelerau]

After rinsing the bore with hot water, I run patches through till no mark, the barrel is still hot, then a wool mop with extra virgin olive oil, bit like curing a cast iron skillet. I do run a patch back through a day or two later just to check for rust then re oil and check again if a few days to see if there is still any rust. I find olive oil does not produce a carbon ring near the breech, I also find I do not seem to need to cap off with my cap and balls when loaded after they have been oiled. I think the olive oil eventually gets into the pores in the bore and remains there.

Cheers

Heelerau
Ps I did use WD40 and RP7 for years but did find fouling problems, but no rusting.

 

[ohio ramrod]

While I don't know what all products are available down under, I do know that WD40 stands for " water displacement formula #40" It is intended to displace water! It is not formulated as a lubricant or rust preventive though it does have some properties for both. I have found the best all round gun oil is "three in one oil." readily available in the US. For many years I used the old stand by "G.I. gun oil". But a friend who retired from special forces started me on three in one oil. :hmm: This spring at the old North West the people camped across from me had problems with their rifles showing flash rust in the morning after they were cleaned and oiled the night before with WD 40. I gave them some three in one oil and they had no more flash rust problems! :hmm: :idunno: :hmm:

 

[AZbpBurner]

Rust preventatives work either by producing a film of material that either chemically inhibits rust, or mechanically covers metal to prevent oxygen and moisture from reaching the metal surface.

I've used Barricade from back when it was still called Sheath, and also RIG grease. Neither have let me down over the past several decades.

The old WW I GI bore cleaner works well, too, but I use it mostly for short time storage between trips to the range.

It rains about 3 times a year where I live, and the humidity is usually low enough that unsalted butter would likely provide adequate protection...

Everyone has their favorites, and you should use whatever works the best in your particular temperature and humidity environment.

 

[dikman]

It rains about 3 times a year where I live, and the humidity is usually low enough that unsalted butter would likely provide adequate protection...

Maybe you're onto something......low-salt bore protection (the healthy alternative) :rotf: .

I found an article by a chap who had an almost empty can of WD-40, so he cut the can open and left it to dry up. Eventually he was left with a thick white mass in the bottom. He was adamant that it smelt and felt like Palm oil. :idunno:

As you say, AZ, the main thing is to figure out a product/system that works and you're happy with. I guess the main thing I wanted to point out is that many of these products are basically the same thing. They can give it a fancy name, under a well-known brand (usually good for a bit of price-inflation) and a bit of advertising spin, but at the end of the day they're all WD-40 clones.

I deliberately haven't gone looking for any synthetic cleaners/lubes, for one reason. Using any of the others, they can easily be cleaned from the bore, prior to shooting, with alcohol or similar. With synthetics I'm not sure how you'd clean them out, or could be certain that there was nothing left behind. If I have to use something that isn't made from natural products then I'll stick with the WD-40 look-alikes. There's enough empirical evidence that, if used properly, they provide good short-term protection.

 

[Bob in iowa]

Has anyone used Froglube? I've used it for a few months and find that it works good in preventing rust. Long term use will prove it's merits.
I use warm water, WD-40, dry patches, then Froglube. So far so good.

 

[AZbpBurner]

The Frog Lube tub says something about running some down the bore on a patch for long-term storage. Didn't actually say anything about preventing rust, though.

I use it as a surface treatment, as well as nipple anti-seize, and grease for internals on my cap and ball revolvers.

Rub on gun exterior with a patch, then heat with a hairdryer. It leaves a non greasy film that repels fingerprints.

No problem with rust, but I don't live an any of those states where humidity is high enough for mildew to be the state flower.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I do know that WD40 stands for " water displacement formula #40" It is intended to displace water! It is not formulated as a lubricant

Wrong.
WD40 was developed to be a water displacing lubricant for high voltage switches in an environment of high humidity.
Norm Larson, the inventor, personally told me this. It is an essentially pure petroleum product.
However, those who prefer to believe it is a Martian fish oil are free to do so.
BTW, I find it an effective bore rust protectant for short time period (e.g. under six months).

 

[Billnpatti]

In my personal opinion, you will never find a better cleaning solution to cut black powder fouling than plain old soap and water. I prefer mine pretty warm but cold will work, too. After rinsing with clear water and drying with several dry patches, I spray WD-40 down the bore to remove all traces of moisture. That is what WD-40 does best. Then I thoroughly wipe out all traces of the WD-40 with several dry patches and follow up with a good gun oil. My preference is a Birchwood-Casey product called Barricade. If it is not available where you live, then just use the best gun oil you can find that has a rust preventive in it. Make sure to thoroughly wipe out all traces of the oil before you load your gun next time. A couple of solvent (something like lighter fluid) patches followed by a couple alcohol patches and finished up with a dry patch and you are ready to shoot again. Be sure to snap a cap on your gun before loading to make sure the flash channel is open. If yours is a flintlock, just put a light charge of powder down the bore (no ball) and a dab in your pan and fire it to make sure that the flash channel is open. Takes longer to tell than to do.

 

[eaglesnester]

WD-40 is no doubt a good bore protector. I do use it on occasion. I have found what I think is probably a better method. WipeOut after the hot water treatment. WipeOut removes left over carbon and powder fouling and leaves a anti rust shield in your bore after patching out.WipeOut also produces a black powder formula that removes lead as well. I live in Canada and I can not find the black powder WipeOut so I use the smokless powder formula, seems to work as well.

 

[Va.Manuf.06]

When the bore is dry, use 3-in-1 Oil, a good gun oil or sewing machine oil. All of them work.

 

[cynthialee]

When the bore is dry, use 3-in-1 Oil, a good gun oil or sewing machine oil. All of them work.

:thumbsup:

When I remember where it got left I use it as my first choice. Problem is the stuff is so useful it often gets left wherever the last thing that needed lubing is.

 

[Billnpatti]

Cynthialee, you have proven yourself to be sharp as a tack........and now, as a mear child of 45, you are loosing your oil. What's happening to you, girl? :idunno: :rotf: :rotf: :rotf:

 

[AZbpBurner]

WD-40 is no doubt a good bore protector. I do use it on occasion. I have found what I think is probably a better method. WipeOut after the hot water treatment. WipeOut removes left over carbon and powder fouling and leaves a anti rust shield in your bore after patching out.WipeOut also produces a black powder formula that removes lead as well. I live in Canada and I can not find the black powder WipeOut so I use the smokless powder formula, seems to work as well.

You get leading???
:idunno:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Cynthialee, you have proven yourself to be sharp as a tack...

And when you down to brass tacks, they're usually plastic! I think Uncle Wiggley needs some more 'medicine' boys and girls! :haha:

 

[Baxter]

"I find that olive oil does not produce a carbon ring near the breech." I had thought that the carbon ring was simply a combustion residue but are you stating that "extra virgin olive oil" eliminates the formation of the carbon ring for you? TIA. baxter

 

[bpd303]

The main reason I have 4 or 5 cans of 3in1 they are all over the place here.