Ballistol for storage/rust prevention?

[CarloMNL]

Has anyone used this for guns that are mostly kept in storage? How often does it have to be re-applied to keep rust at bay?

An uncle is in his mid-80s but still keeps a shotgun at home. He used to rely on his favorite combo of Hoppe's 9 and Break Free for cleaning stuff but is now more sensitive to chemicals and strong odors. I bought a can of Ballistol for him to try but I have no experience with the product so I'm not sure how well it works for rust protection. The only other stuff I have on hand that I can give him is Lucas CLP but am not sure if Lucas is as mild/non-toxic as Ballistol.

[blues]

From their site:

FIREARMSFirearm Cleaning Lubricant
Keeps firearms protected – lock, stock and barrel.
Ballistol cleans and removes all types of bore fouling. Cleaning with Ballistol will save you time, minimize the need for brushing, and also form a protective film on your firearm. Due to its slight alkalinity, Ballistol neutralizes and dissolves black powder and corrosive ammo residue. In addition, Ballistol will beautify gunstocks, and prevent them from drying out. As a lubricant, Ballistol will never gum up or harden. With Ballistol, your entire firearm will stay lubricated and protected.

The main ingredient is mineral oil. It should be fine protecting a firearm in storage...assuming it is stored with a modicum of care.


Better make sure the odor of Ballistol is not repulsive to him. I don't mind it, but many folks do.

[CarloMNL]

Better make sure the odor of Ballistol is not repulsive to him. I don't mind it, but many folks do.

Thanks Blues. The scent part, I did not account for. I'll test later in the day and figure out if the smell is something that might be a problem for him.

[LittleLebowski]

The best stuff I’ve ever seen is a coat of lanolin and isopropyl alcohol, otherwise known as Dillon Case Lube (you can make your own). The stuff leaves a light coat that stays put after the alcohol evaporates.

[CarloMNL]

The best stuff I’ve ever seen is a coat of lanolin and isopropyl alcohol, otherwise known as Dillon Case Lube (you can make your own). The stuff leaves a light coat that stays put after the alcohol evaporates.

I'll look into that if Ballistol's scent does not pass muster. The shop I got Ballistol from was also suggesting Frog Lube but none of my friends who've used the stuff had good things to say about it.

[blues]

I'll look into that if Ballistol's scent does not pass muster. The shop I got Ballistol from was also suggesting Frog Lube but none of my friends who've used the stuff had good things to say about it.

To be honest, even a light coating of light machine oil or USP pharmaceutical (laxative) mineral oil (available everywhere) should prevent oxidation. It would just have to be removed / cleaned before the firearms were put back in use. There's little to no smell with those.

A little attention to wiping down the surfaces and barrel goes a long way.

[beenalongtime]

To be honest, even a light coating of light machine oil or USP pharmaceutical (laxative) mineral oil (available everywhere) should prevent oxidation. It would just have to be removed / cleaned before the firearms were put back in use. There's little to no smell with those.

A little attention to wiping down the surfaces and barrel goes a long way.

Cheaper and doesn't smell like used gym socks.
I don't find the smell horrible, until someone jumps on the bench and knocks over a whole can, while your going to open their cat food. LOL

[MandoWookie]

From their site:



The main ingredient is mineral oil. It should be fine protecting a firearm in storage...assuming it is stored with a modicum of care.


Better make sure the odor of Ballistol is not repulsive to him. I don't mind it, but many folks do.

At least for me, Ballistol has not been good for storage or rust prevention , I started using it as it was highly recommended by several black powder shooters, and I started getting into cap-and-ball. But all my guns cleaned and stored with it developed rusting issues almost immediately. Admittedly, this last year had insane high humidity in this area that I have never seen before, and I have had issues even with my guns that weren't used with Ballistol, but not as severe.

[Spartan1980]

I ran my own corrosion test a few years ago on a bunch of different gun products and a few others. Photobucket ate my pics or I'd post them up here. Ballistol wasn't the worst but it was close. Breakfree CLP was the worst which I wasn't expecting at all. It rusted as fast as the untreated control patch. As far as Ballistol not holding up to rust, I knew it wouldn't. It mixes with water and that's one of it's virtues as it makes a fantastic blackpowder gun cleaner. It's better than nothing but it's definitely not for long term storage. Pretty good stuff when used routinely. I use it fairly extensively and have three large cans with the spray nozzle. It's my main cleaning product and I use it for lube on certain guns. I use Amsoil or Lucas Extreme for oil on my hard use guns that get oil and not grease. Ballistol on most everything else.

What won out in the corrosion test? Froglube paste applied with the heat method and wiping all of it off after cooldown. Followed extremely closely by Eezox. It was kind of hard to tell the winner of those two as both were shockingly good.

[1Rangemaster]

Folks, on a blues steel slide-think old Colt style bluing-is there such a thing as “waxing”? My search revealed the brand “Renaissance Wax” and also suggested carnabua wax.
Does anyone have any experience here please?