Mineral oil

Noz · January 10, 2012, 12:07:09 PM

Is light mineral oil label description) water miscible?

If not is there anything that can be added to the solution to make it so?

hellgate · January 10, 2012, 12:22:15 PM

It's probably one of the chemicals listed in the MSDS sheet on Ballistol which, I believe has mineral oil in it.

Noz · January 10, 2012, 02:23:30 PM

Been talking off line to Mako. Trying to come up with my own version of Ballistol. Mineral oil is a part of Ballistol and is extremely cheap. Read $3.50 a gallon.

cpt dan blodgett · January 10, 2012, 04:12:12 PM

Ballistol has a whole lot of mineral oil and not much of all the other stuff

john boy · January 10, 2012, 10:02:02 PM

QuoteBallistol has a whole lot of mineral oil and not much of all the other stuff

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,35337.msg453354/topicseen.html#msg453354

Cal Fornia · January 10, 2012, 11:29:05 PM

Quote from: Noz on January 10, 2012, 02:23:30 PM
Been talking off line to Mako. Trying to come up with my own version of Ballistol. Mineral oil is a part of Ballistol and is extremely cheap. Read $3.50 a gallon.

Where can you get it at that price? I think I paid that much for 16 oz, though the bottle was labeled/sold as a "Laxative".

Fairshake · January 11, 2012, 07:51:57 AM

If you go to Amazon and do a search they have plenty of business in pharmaceuticals and the scent business .

Dick Dastardly · January 11, 2012, 08:03:14 AM

I'll be watching this thread closely. Wisemen now lists Ballistol at $65/gallon. That's a lot of money for mineral oil.

DD-MDA

rickk · January 11, 2012, 09:27:32 AM

To answer the original question, mineral oil is not water soluble.

Benzyl Alcohol is added to it to make Ballistol, as mineral oil is soluble in benzyl alcohol, and benzyl alcohol is "sort of" soluble in water.

Mineral oil is cheap but Benzyl Alcohol isn't so cheap.

If you mix Ballistol in water and let it sit a while, it will separate and float to the top (especially at cooler temperatures). It isn't the most water soluble substance ever created, but it does the job when needed. Just shake Ballistol/water mixtures up before use and it is good to go.

Mineral oil on the other hand will separate from water almost immediately.

Rick

Noz · January 11, 2012, 10:02:06 AM

Quote from: Cal Fornia on January 10, 2012, 11:29:05 PM
Where can you get it at that price? I think I paid that much for 16 oz, though the bottle was labeled/sold as a "Laxative".

You are correct and I am not. I went to buy a gallon and they charged me $14. Seems the gallons had gotten shoved over into the quart space. Still bunches cheaper than the commercial product. Now to see if my witches brew will do what I hope.

hellgate · January 11, 2012, 11:04:31 AM

Mineral oil used to be gotten from veterinary suppiers by the gallon for treatment of horse colic. You probably still can and it would most likely be a lot cheaper than the stuff in a drug store. Check out the local farm/ranch supply. Don't know squat about getting benzoyl alcohol. I prefer ethanol in it's various formulations that make it palatable.

rickk · January 11, 2012, 11:50:00 AM

It's $15 a gallon at Tractor suppy

Noz · January 11, 2012, 11:59:00 AM

Experiment tracks as follows.
"Horse Colic" food grade light mineral oil.
Mixed with Isopropyl Alcohol.
Mixed with water. Separates within 10 minutes
Discarded
Mineral oil
Mixed with above alcohol and soap. (Homemade lye soap and alcohol allowed to stand overnight. Soap dissolved and formed a thick mixture)
Separates within 10 minutes.
Added DAWN to mix
Separates within 15 minutes
Discarded.

I am a printer and my press wash solution is a water mixable material.

1 oz of press wash + 4 oz of oil

2 oz of above mixed with 14 ozs of water giving a 1-7 mixture that most of us use.
Still in solution after 45 minutes.

hellgate · January 11, 2012, 12:00:49 PM

I've noticed that Ballistol will form a sludge when it is exposed to the air for a prolonged period. I.E. the spillage onto my small squeeze bottle gets mushy rather than staying as a fluid oil like the Marvel Mystery Oil or mil spec small arms iol I use as a lube. I use the Ballistol to make a spray bottle of moose milk for cleaning patches. I suspect that something evaporates from the Ballistol and changes its consistancy.

rickk · January 11, 2012, 03:08:51 PM

For what it's worth, mineral oil can either be made from petroleum or it can be made from coal.

I have always been under the belief that Ballistol has origins in coal oil.

Heck if I know if the properties of mineral oil differ substantially if the source is coal rather than crude. I'm just throwing this out to add fuel to the discussion.

john boy · January 11, 2012, 09:59:20 PM

pharmaceutical white oil: CAS RN 8042-47-5; Mineral oil

http://www.chemicalbook.com/ChemicalProductProperty_EN_CB4111739.htm

craiso · January 12, 2012, 12:41:52 PM

Hello all,
I have not been at this for a long time, but I have found a solution that works for me. Warm water, splash of Murphy's Oil Soap, and a splash of mineral oil... no more rust in my cylinders

. Cleaning would go a bit better if the mineral oil was somewhat "thinner".

Warmest regards,

Christopher

Noz · January 12, 2012, 01:24:59 PM

I have a solution that seems to be working but I'll hold off on it for a bit to make sure it doesn't eat the lands out of the barrel or something.

It did do a real good job on the plastic snot.

I really do not understand the plastic from the shot shells. I think humidity has something to do with it.
Same charges of the same powder-same wads-same amount of the same shot-same gun and one weekend shoot I'll have enough to roof a small house and the next shoot there won't be any.

craiso · January 12, 2012, 01:40:23 PM

Did some research and found a few interesting things. The "vet" grade mineral oil is found to be thinner than the "laxative" grade you find in the pharmacy. Mineral spirits is often used to "thin" mineral oil. Race car pit crews use a 60/40 mix of baby oil/mineral spirits solution to improve the life of the car tires. I think I may need to dirty up a revolver and try the 60/40 mix with the Murphy's Oil Soap

.

Warmest regards,

Christopher

Dick Dastardly · January 12, 2012, 02:33:12 PM

Ballistol does NOT dissolve in water. It makes a colloidal suspension, white in color, thus the name Moose Milk. There's a limit of how much will mix with water and stay in suspension. I used to mix Moose Milk one part Ballistol to seven parts water. Some of the Ballistol would separate out and float on top. Now, I use a 1:10 ratio. It seems that much stronger than 1:10 will not stay in solution.

DD-MDA