Ballistol be damned!

[Driftwood Johnson]

The original point was my disappointment in the BP cleaning capacity of the aerosol Ballistol.

Like I said earlier, I never clean with straight Ballistol. It is just too expensive. I clean with Murphy's Mix, then I follow up with Ballistol as a lube and rust preventive.

[Pony Racer]

I have left ballistol coated gun not cleaned for over 4 days...not on purpose mid you...

I have never had an issue with fouling be hard to get or rust.

I trust ballistol!

PR

[PJ Hardtack]

Ballistol is now a contraband, black market product for Canucks. Today TOTW told me that it can no longer be shipped to Kanuckistan as it is deemed "chemically offensive" by the chemical police.

[Pony Racer]

That is pretty goofy since Ballistol is a "green" product and is biodegradable.

But hey your government allows the full size orginal round reproduction STG 44's to be imported...

PR

[fourfingersofdeath]

Real BlackPowder, flushed with hot water, Ballistol watered down into Moose Milk to clean up using a Bore Snake, bristle brush, flannellette and pure Ballistol to lube afterwards. I sometimes use Lanolin on the base pin in my Pietta Colt clones, but mostly just pure Ballistol. Never a prob with rust, smells awful, but cleans up pretty quick.

I think you need the water to displace/dissolve the salts.

[PJ Hardtack]

Yeah, I think somehow TOTW got it wrong. I'm not sure which side of the line decided that it was a no-no.

I recall when a metal polish called "Flitz' was similarly banned for a while as one of it's components was deemed carcenogenic. Since most folks don't eat such things, it was cleared for sale eventually.

Addendum:

I just checked with my Canuck confreres on 'Canadian GunNutz' and TOTW did have it wrong ..... the problem has to do with labelling, not contents.

ALL consumer products sold in Canada have to have bilingual labels - French and Anglais, dontchaknow. In Canada, you can't eat Cornflakes, cure a headache or wipe your (_*_) without French/English labelling.
The Ballistol TOTW sells lacks this labelling, like the two cans of aerosol I bought from an American at a match recently. Ballistol/Canada will happily sell me gallons of the stuff with the appropriate labelling.

There was a time that we were cut off from Remington percussion caps as Remington refused to label each and every little tin with a bilingual label. They eventually relented and another linguistic crisis was averted.

[sail32]

Ballistol is sold in Canada at www.balastol.ca .
Reliable Soprting Goods in Vancouver BC carries it.

I have used straight Ballistol for cleaning, but a moose milk mixture of Ballistol and water, various ratios, is usually the start cleaning mixture.
No problems, good stuff !

[Fairshake]

I'm 65 and have been a gun person since the age of 10 so I've got a few years of doing things.
My first thing to say to PJ Hardtack is that my posting is meant to be a constructive one and not to belittle or make anyone look bad.
As a former LEO firearms instructor for many years, I have seen and trained a lot of people who have different mind sets.
First of all I have been shooting BP since 1970 with my first guns being C&B revolvers and a 50 caliber Hawken by T/C. The persons I shot with had several ways to approach the cleaning of their BP arms. Some were very adept at it and others kind of hit it fast and skipped some stages.
Some of those I would never buy a gun from because I knew how they took care of their guns at cleaning time.
The one thing I've learned over the years is that there are many falsehoods about using the real BP. First thing is you don't have to clean them at the range before coming home. You don't have to pour water all over them as soon as the last shot is fired. I always tell those persons who say otherwise to show me where in history a battle was lost on the second day because the guns were not cleaned after the first day.
Water will clean BP and it has been used since early times as it was the only thing they had.
Ballistol is one of the best and economical ways to clean your guns if done properly. The spray was never intended to be the main cleaning source but people want to use the drive thru on everything they encounter not wait for anything. They want it done now.
If you mix the liquid Ballistol which comes in 16 oz. cans it will last for over a year of shooting twice or more a month. Mix 2 ounces of Ballistol with 14 ounces of water for one pint of "MOOSEMILK". That's 8 pints of cleaning mix per can. Or if you want it's 128 ounces of cleaning product for about $10. Compare that with any other cleaner made and that shows that it's not so expensive after all. The spray in it's 8 ounce can will last a long time and do a good job if sprayed onto a micro cloth which maybe purchased at any automotive store or Wally World and then wiped on the gun instead of trying to hit a barrel with all the spray, only to see it treat the dirt or the floor.
A very thorough cleaning with a rag and toothbrush like in the M-16 kits will get into all the nooks and crannies and there should be no spot on that gun that has not been cleaned well.
It's not the fault of the gun or the cleaner because someone decided to hit it with a lick and a promise and then blame the product.
After I use the Ballistol, I put EEZOX on a microfiber cloth and wipe down all the parts I can get to. I use the drip spout for those I can't. If used properly not only is Ballistol one of the better cleaners but also one of the cheapest to use.
I have a pair of USFA revolvers, a Uberti Sheriff's model, Uberti 1873 all in 44-40 and a TTN shotgun that I have used on average twice a month for the past 6 years in SASS matches. They look the same as the day they was bought. They have only been cleaned with Ballistol and protected with EEZOX. Take Care Fairshake

[PJ Hardtack]

Well, Fairshake, despite your alias, I didn't get a fair shake, did I?

For a start, I didn't "hit my guns with a lick and a promise", I thoroughly cleaned them using the aerosol Ballistol as the cleaning agent, applied to 'Bore Snakes" and patches on jags. Just like I said in my original post. That was not the way to go, as you and others have pointed out. Nor do I have any qualms about the price.

I also did mention that I usually use hot, soapy water in cleaning my BP guns. Like you, I've been around the fort for a spell, shooting BP rifles and pistols since the early 1970s.

I apologize for slagging a product that many seem to hold in awe, when in fact, it was a self-admitted operator error and no fault of the product.

[Fairshake]

PJ, It seems that you are quick to put down on me but my name means what it implies.
You are the one who is not reading the content as it was posted.
You had to skip over the very first sentence or you would have seen that my posting was not about you directly but others that I have seen clean guns.  The entire posting was about how I use Ballistol and the way I think it was intended to be used.
The spraying of a boresnake with it and running it down the barrel is not in any manner the proper approach.
Again my posting was meant as a person who has used the product for many years and my method of doing it.
If one makes up a pint or quart bottle as I do of Moosemilk and spray the gun down the same way you use the water hose on your car or truck then you are off to a good start.
My guns are dripping wet with moosemilk before a single brush or patch goes in them. Ballistol was made to work on METAL, WOOD, LEATHER and even wounds. If you spray the entire gun down with it there is nothing there that will be harmed and that was my point.
If you think that I was attacking you as a person then you have other issues that I can't help you with. Take Care FAIRSHAKE

[PJ Hardtack]

Fairshake

Lower yer hackles ....

Since I was the one that raised the issue, it is logical to presume that I was in the group of 'lick & promise' gun cleaners you describe.
Seems we both made erroneous presumptions - me about your intentions and you about my "other issues".

Lets go to neutral corners of the corral and be friends .... ;>)

[Cliff Fendley]

Somebody lock this thread, good grief.

And anybody don't want to use Ballistol send it to me for disposal