Good info here indeed! Been a sucker to try new cleaning products especially for the bores but all sound pretty good or at least they claim to be. Mostly using Hoppes for cleaning bores on my 1100 after a couple rounds of Trap. Will give Balistol a try if you guys agree.
Ballistol good for blued guns??
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All great info and advice I was looking for.
Thank you all
Thank you all
I've used Ballistol. It seemed work fine. I think there's probably better stuff for specific uses. As Outdoor Life wrote about it, "it's a jack of all trades, but master of none". I'd use it again if I stubbled into some at the right price.
smoothshooter
Member
EXCEPT Hoppes #9.
The odor is from medicinal oils.... you can use the stuff as an antiseptic for wounds, as it was also designed for.
Balistol was designed to be a "one-stop-shopping" solution for WWI soldiers in the field, to take care of their equipment as well as themselves.
It's even mentioned in the product history that sportsmen used to drink the stuff for digestion problems or heartburn!
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mckenney99
Member
Ode' de Cesspool with a hint of black liquorice.
I'll stick with Hoppes and Remoil ,used the last of the sample bottle to clean my work boots
I've never used this stuff, looked it up on their website. Does Balistol work as a penetrating oil as well? I've seen many an occasion when guys disassemble old guns that have not been cleaned internally for decades & encounter side plate screws that won't break loose. Will this stuff work in this capacity? Again I've had no prior experience using Balistol and it's use as a penetrating oil is Not mentioned on the home web site. I'd like to know for general work shop & automotive applications beside gun use. Thanks
It penetrates very well. It wicks like crazy. Here's a first hand example. I was shooting a semi auto pistol at the range. It had some minor feeding issues so I spritzed a little Ballistol on the rounds that I had in a small plastic container. Worked like a dream on the feeding issue. Two weeks later at the range none of the ammo would fire. I pulled the bullets and the powder was all clumped and sticky. The Ballistol had wicked into the rounds and ruined them. Luckily only about 15 rounds left in the container.
Hoppes #9 is a legendary solvent that is an outstanding treatment for any bore. Nevertheless, it is a petroleum-based solvent that may or may not take care of corrosive salts left in the bore by corrosive-priming. The only sure way is to first clean with a water-based cleaning solution and then follow up with Hoppes #9 and light oil or CLP.
It's Mineral Oil which is Petro Oil,
It's the most highly refined level ofPetro Oil. Mineral Oil is in the edible catagory and is also sold as Baby Oil.
The odor in Ballistol is from the spice Anise.
Sometimes called a Licorise smell/taste. The oil is very commonly used in medicines , baking, soap, etc.
Some other common stuff in there too IIRC. Nothing earth shattering, nothing that can hurt much of anything on or in a firearm or you.
Won't do much to leather or fabric either.
It's only Mineral Oil/Baby Oil afterall.
It's the most highly refined level ofPetro Oil. Mineral Oil is in the edible catagory and is also sold as Baby Oil.
The odor in Ballistol is from the spice Anise.
Sometimes called a Licorise smell/taste. The oil is very commonly used in medicines , baking, soap, etc.
Some other common stuff in there too IIRC. Nothing earth shattering, nothing that can hurt much of anything on or in a firearm or you.
Won't do much to leather or fabric either.
It's only Mineral Oil/Baby Oil afterall.
daddio202
Member
I felt the need to pile on. Ballistol is my go to cleaner. If I need something to penetrate then I use a Kroil and Ballistol mixture.
I am a trap shooter and nothing is dirtier than a shotgun bore after a day with the clays. Been using it to run patches with Ballistol for years now, over 30 thousand registered targets and the inside of my barrels look like brand new. Also use it on all my S&W + Colt revolvers. Ballistol has been around over 100 years and is great to use.
I am a trap shooter and nothing is dirtier than a shotgun bore after a day with the clays. Been using it to run patches with Ballistol for years now, over 30 thousand registered targets and the inside of my barrels look like brand new. Also use it on all my S&W + Colt revolvers. Ballistol has been around over 100 years and is great to use.
You're right, water is needed for those corrosive salts. Guy mix it with Windex, and various other goodies, but just tap water alone will take care of the salts. Obviously dry the bore and oil it afterwards.
I'd give Hoppes the edge on cleaning copper out of bores, at least the old formula.
I've used Ballistol almost exclusively since 2011. I keep Hoppes around for the nostalgic smell.
Makes me sneeze!!!!
Good stuff here:
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_srXYjGhJk[/ame]
[ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_srXYjGhJk[/ame]
doubletapp357
Member
can this also be used on Nickel?
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Ballistol is a great product and very safe. The only problem I have with Ballistol and that keeps me from using it is the horrible stench! I ordered 3 bottles of it about a year ago. I used it for 5 minutes and couldn't help gaging on it with every breath! Gave it all away later that afternoon.
Some don't mind the smell but I can't handle it.
Some don't mind the smell but I can't handle it.
hkcavalier
US Veteran
Never cared for it, but it does work. I mainly use MPro7 these days for cleaning, then synthetic 5W-20 for basic lube/protection. Also small dabs of either moly grease (in chamber/action) or boron nitride grease (not in chamber/action) on sliding surfaces. I've also tried teflon dry lube here and there.
The only one of these marketed to guns is MPro7. I gave up on tiny, overpriced tubes and bottles a long time ago. The boron nitride grease does come in a small tube, but that's just so it fits in my big cleaning kit.
The only one of these marketed to guns is MPro7. I gave up on tiny, overpriced tubes and bottles a long time ago. The boron nitride grease does come in a small tube, but that's just so it fits in my big cleaning kit.
DWalt
Member
Yep, plain old water alone is all that is needed to dissolve corrosive primer residue. No need for Windex, Ballistol or anything else. Same is true for black powder residue. There are copper removal solvents available that remove copper fouling from the bore more effectively than Hoppe's.
The GI bore cleaner used by the U.S. military back when GI corrosive ammo was used was just an emulsion of oil in water. It worked to keep bores shiny.
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