Ballistol and Kroil

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Carry_Up

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
376
Location
Dallas, TX
I have used Ballistol and have found it to be an acceptable cleaner, and non toxic as far as I can tell. The Kroil on the other hand may be an excellent cleaner/penetrant. but I'm afraid to use it without ventilation fans and a haz-mat suit.

CU
 

kywoodwrkr

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 28, 2010
Messages
39
Location
Central KY
Ballistol is with out a doubt the very best for cleaning up fire residue on firearms and barrels.
I have a large quantity of rifles, pistols, barrels, dies and molds to clean.
Spent Saturday and yesterday cleaning Contender/Encore barrels(13) which had been in a fire and then in the mud and muck outside.
Ballistol(very small quantity) cleaned all items and got them servicable again.
I bought 5 gallon can and paid $185 delivered, so it isn't cheap.
They do have the various 'packages' as well.
But when you are saving $100+ barrels, it soon pays for itself.
Cleans the molds up like nothing I have ever experienced.
It would maybe dissolve the lead but I usually am too impatient and use a metal scrapper and then clean with the Ballistol.
Found the distributor by searching through google.
Will update with link later.
FWIW
 

Ed Hill

Bearcat
Joined
Mar 7, 2008
Messages
7
Location
SC
I bought my order of Ballistol in 2006 and still have about a pt. left.
This product is very good. I have tried different ones, but this still
comes out on top.
I will be ordering more when the time comes.
Below is link to online ordering.

Ballistol USA

www.ballistol.com

(800) 253-2460

[/b]
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
Yep, I'm liking it. At first I thought it might be a little thin for a lube, but the more I read up on the subject I learned that most of us use oils that are too thick in the first place. It does clean really well.

I want to do my own test for protection ability. I have several CLP type products including Ballistol, as well as things like B-C Sheath, T/C Bore Butter, Weapons Shield, Mobil 1, ATF, and carnuba wax and want to see with my own eyes how they protect against rust. I've seen various similar comparisons over the years, but they never use exactly the products I'm interested in.

-- Sam
 

Acorn

Buckeye
Joined
Sep 10, 2006
Messages
1,637
Location
North Huntingdon Pa.
I suggested doing the rust test for my daughters school science project but the teacher vetoed it.
I've heard Boeshield is supposed to be a top notch preservative but not a lube.
 

EdgeSR9

Bearcat
Joined
Apr 25, 2010
Messages
87
Wyandot Jim":hroi5u80 said:
Cracker-American":hroi5u80 said:
Where do you buy this new miricle product?

Since 1904 is new :lol: What do you call old ?
Some gun stores have it. i buy mine from the CAS guys at the range. Try a search on that NEW invention called the internet. :wink:
Jim
LOL :D
 

Carry_Up

Single-Sixer
Joined
Dec 22, 2007
Messages
376
Location
Dallas, TX
Funny. The best stuff I've found for cleaning on the cheap is Simple Green to remove crud ...
-- Sam
Simple Green works fine for cleaning, but it is a water product like MD7. All the oil in the metal washes away and you get wet parts with no oil on them. Unless you have a really terrible mess to clean, there is no reason to completely degrease your gun parts. Wiping down with some Breakfree or other gun oil will get the part clean and keep it from rusting. As they say about barrels, more of them are worn out by cleaning than by shooting.

Carry_Up
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
LEAD POISON":3tskydnt said:
I rather enjoy the smell of Kroil,and have never been disapointed in it's
performence.
Can you describe it? I've heard it's strong, some say bad, but those things are very subjective. Can you compare it to say, Liquid Wrench, another penetrating oil? (Though Marvel Mystery Oil is another penetrant, and it smells like nothing else. Wintergreen.)

I looked up the MSDS for Ballistol, and it's mainly mineral oil and isobutyl alcohol, though it makes some interesting claims about corrosion protection through alkalinity.

Also, I finally figured out what the smell reminded me of: Amyl Nitrate. I knew a guy years ago that had these little "smelling salts" things to use in the event of an angina attack, and it had they same "smelly feet" odor as Ballistol. I wonder if that comes from the previously-mentioned connection with tear gas experiments.

-- Sam
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
Well, I did a little test over the weekend with Ballistol, Weapons Shield, and Gunzilla, three very different CLPs I have on hand. While I can't quantify long term protection, nor do I have the chemistry background to really understand which would technically make the better lube, I have to say that Ballistol is the least effective cleaner of the three. I found myself doing the old song and dance of using patch after patch to clean out simple carbon fouling. 3-4 soaked patches, a dry one, a couple more wet, another dry, finally starting to come out clean. Then I run one wet patch of Weapon Shield through the barrel and I get out more stuff that the Ballistol wouldn't touch. Similar results with another gun and Ballistol vs. Gunzilla. Felt like I was back to using Hoppes #9... :D

Gunzilla cleans like nothing else. It's a very thin liquid and penetrates under the gunk, lifting it out. It leaves a dry lubricating residue, which then wets then next time you use it, and it cleans even easier then. It's biodegradable, and has very little smell. It leaves metal surfaces slicker than <whatever>, but dry to the touch.

Weapon Shield seems like an excellent CLP for those who want a more traditional oil-based product. It smells like 3-in-One household oil, not unpleasant at all, cleans very well, and seems to lube and protect well, based on what I've read. For those that may have used FP-10 in the past, WS is a new product by the guy that invented FP-10.

Time will tell how these do as lubes and protectants. I do plan to do that corrosion test I mentioned. Maybe soon.

-- Sam
 
Joined
Sep 1, 2003
Messages
7,095
Location
Richmond Texas USA
Well,
This post started out about what your wife could or could not smell.
All I can tell ya after shooting REAL BLACK POWDER for the last 5 years is that Ballistol does the job it was made to do. So if ya want to compare patches one on one GO FOR IT. To me that really doesn't mean a whole lot. If ya want to use a BORE CLEANER that is a different story.
I will stick with the 100 year old stuff. I really don't care what it smells like as long as I don't get rust. Which I don't.
Jim
 

Yosemite Sam

Hunter
Joined
Mar 18, 2002
Messages
2,113
Location
Cape Cod, MA, USA
Wyandot Jim":236zythv said:
Well,
This post started out about what your wife could or could not smell.
All I can tell ya after shooting REAL BLACK POWDER for the last 5 years is that Ballistol does the job it was made to do. So if ya want to compare patches one on one GO FOR IT. To me that really doesn't mean a whole lot. If ya want to use a BORE CLEANER that is a different story.
I will stick with the 100 year old stuff. I really don't care what it smells like as long as I don't get rust. Which I don't.
Jim
That's good to know. Protection is one area that's hard to quantify.

I'm not saying the stuff isn't any good, just what I found in a comparison.

FWIW, Gunzilla says that it works real well on Blackpowder too, and it doesn't have the dreaded petroleum products that goop up the smokepoles, either.

Agree that using a separate cleaner, lube, and protectant might give better results than a CLP that tries to do all three. Problem is, many of the best protectants are CLPs (according to their manufacturers...), so you might as well use one that works for you.

The other thing is, the way most of us use and maintain our firearms we probably don't need a lube and protectant that'll last for years; We're going to use and re-clean the firearm before any real damage can be done.

And if you are going to put one up that long, there's always wax, silicone socks, and Cosmoline.

-- Sam
 
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