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what oil to use?
- Thread starter chuck-ia
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Very interesting.
Of course we had to issue the Old "Haz Mat" CLP and the newer "Non Haz Mat" CLP that came out in the late 80's/early 90's, but I never cared for either, except as a preservative. There is a story about how I got some revenge against the Officer who caused great problems in the Corps from CLP usage and Q Tips, but that really isn't the subject of this forum.
Gus
Have y'all noticed how much an Air Conditioned house seems to help. On the outside of the gun anyway!
RIG grease.
DUANE BUTT
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Ballistol is what we use on all our weapons and leather.
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A very old acquaintance of mine sells Ballistol and has given me a couple of samples to try over the years. The "vegetal seed oil" listed in the MDS seems to be the reason it works on leather, but I have other products I prefer for leather. What I keep asking about is has there been long term or at least extreme testing done on Ballistol vs Barricade or RIG Grease? There has been such tests done over the years on Barricade and RIG Grease that shows they were superior to other products, but I'm not sure if Ballistol was included?
Gus
There was a thread several months ago on this forum about Ballistol. It sounds like some pretty good stuff. And I do intend to give it a try in the near future. But it just dont seem to be a readily available product. It can be ordered easy enough but one doesn't just walk into any Walmart and pick up a bottle. At least not locally.
Walmart.com. ship to store. It will be waiting for you in 2 days. Probably easier than searching store for it.
All I've ever seen are amateur tests, which are pretty flawed. Ballistol has been around so long and is time proven. However remember Ballistol is the only cleaner of the three- and will continue to clean while it sits there- that's what freaks people out about it. Ballistol is also far more versatile than any other product I know of.
Rig is the best I have ever seen, but it's a pain for anything less than real long term storage.
Barricade is unique, and convenient and it is generally what I use, but I don't hesitate to use Ballistol either.
Here I a link to one of the better amateur tests.
But it's not. Extensive maybe, interesting maybe- but there is very little there that correlates to cleaning a gun and putting it away, hopefully free from rust. The water displacement "test" was kind of weird. One really can't draw conclusions from tests like these.
But it's not. Extensive maybe, interesting maybe- but there is very little there that correlates to cleaning a gun and putting it away, hopefully free from rust. The water displacement "test" was kind of weird. One really can't draw conclusions from tests like these.
Curious as to what you would suggest as either an amateur or professional test that is ‘better’ and that one could draw conclusions from? Don’t understand why you are holding back.
My post clearly states that I know of no such tests. I can't imagine there is any sort of scientific test. One doesn't have to go too far in that article to see it's a bit off. I mean RIG comes out amongst the worse. It's been around what- 100 years? I have never heard anyone having a bad experience with it for long term storage, and it is pretty much the gold standard for long term storage ( meaning years or decades). Likewise with Barricade (or it's previous name). You don't even have to wipe out barricade before shooting again.
Ultimately, and I think it is proven in this now 8 page thread that people use tests to prove their choices right, or they find a certain product and advocate for it, or against another, sometimes beyond reason, and nothing will change their mind. This entire forum is full of posts coming from such a mindset. It's human nature- neither good or bad and we all do it about something in our lives. But it sure Ain't Science!
Most of us use water to clean up after shooting, yet it is the ONE product I know of if done wrong Guarantees rust 100%. Yet no one is going to stop (or suggest) using water. So someone cleans with water, doesn't get the barrel perfectly dry, and then coats with one of the many products and then pulls out some mild rust later on. They'll scream from the rooftops how bad that particular product is, but never ever think about that maybe they used the product incorrectly, or that it was incorrect use of a simple thing as water that was the problem.
I don't think it is out of line to say, that most of the products put out by such old line gun care companies like B. Casey's or Hoppes all work, and someone could just pick one that is convenient for them and go with it.
Ballistol is probably the most over-rated product in our hobby. It’s often touted as being the product that “does it all”, and like most such products, it doesn’t do anything all that well.
Ballistol seems good when you first put it on, but it doesn’t last and it doesn’t protect well.
Remember, it is a water-soluble oil. As such, it will not displace water nor protect well from water or humidity, nor lubricate well long-term.
I have used many different oils and protectants over the years to wipe down guns for storage, and the only time I ever got any rust was when I put guns away with Ballistol on them.
The only good use I have found for it is as a cleaner for blackpowder fouling, when mixed with water, but even this wasn’t significantly better than plain old hot soapy water.
Ballistol seems good when you first put it on, but it doesn’t last and it doesn’t protect well.
Remember, it is a water-soluble oil. As such, it will not displace water nor protect well from water or humidity, nor lubricate well long-term.
I have used many different oils and protectants over the years to wipe down guns for storage, and the only time I ever got any rust was when I put guns away with Ballistol on them.
The only good use I have found for it is as a cleaner for blackpowder fouling, when mixed with water, but even this wasn’t significantly better than plain old hot soapy water.
While this "oil" post is still active, I've got a guestion on lithium grease. I've noticed that there are differant colors of this grease.Some white, black in my grease gun. Is any old grease like the stuff fresh out of the grease gun safe to use on a firearm? Such as putting a dab inside to coat the bore? Then what about the one with " Moly" in its contents? Remember no one is advocating gobbing the stuff on, just a small fingernail size dab (or smaller) of grease inside the bore. Would it be difficult to remove before the next shooting?
Gregory Mitchell
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I recently started using Ballistol extensively, primarily for its non-toxic/non-carinogenic properties. I like not having to worry about having the stuff all over my hands while cleaning my firearms, including my BP guns. I had been using Break-Free exclusively but felt the need to wear protective gloves when I cleaned with it -- which becomes a real hassle. I find it cleans smokeless powder residue very well and also BP residue, at least Triple 7 residue.
Ballistol does have a long history of working as a cleaner and rust protector, so I think it's not really accurate to say it doesn't work well. However I don't doubt your experience/opinion on it, and so it obviously doesn't work for you, for some reason it's a polarizing product.
In regards to the second sentence- I have a metal lathe that was built in the 50's. It wasn't built using any fancy rust resistant metals. I have owned that lathe for 25 years or so. One of the first things I did was to have a pan built and put in a misting setup, along with a flood coolant nozzle. I of course have the well filled with water soluble oil mixed with a lot of water. I don't do anything special, nor do I get rust- indeed every single machine shop in the world does the same. I would offer this as long standing evidence against your water soluble oil position.
Greenjoytj
54 Cal.
Grease is just oil with a thickener. The thickener gives the oil it’s extreme pressure capabilities. A small dab of grease likely won’t be enough to distribute its oil component throughout the whole bore.
For long term (years) weapon storage I believe Cosmoline is the right choice.
For short term one year or less just a good coat of any good quality gun oil. I prefer the newer modern synthetic petroleum or bio oils that don’t smell strongly same goes for the bore cleaners.
For long term (years) weapon storage I believe Cosmoline is the right choice.
For short term one year or less just a good coat of any good quality gun oil. I prefer the newer modern synthetic petroleum or bio oils that don’t smell strongly same goes for the bore cleaners.
WRustyLane
32 Cal.
This thread reminds me of something--when is a door not a door? When it's a jar.
Archer 756
40 Cal.
This subject is like what is going on in our government back and forth !!Similar threads
