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December 9, 2002
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I thought that I’d post this interesting video that I saw here, on the forum in the Restoration, Repairs and Maintenance section, as some very interesting points we’re made here.
All comments and insight is appreciated.
Tony
August 8, 2024
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Thank you Tony. Very interesting. Hope to see you in September at the OGCA/ WACA show.
November 7, 2015
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Interesting. I dislike the unrelated video content and the teaser format but agree with the description of Ballistol. Never occurred to me that the mineral oil in gun oil is the same as the mineral oil sold in the pharmacy section. I think gun oil protects much longer than is represented in the video but maybe I’ve just been lucky.
Mike
July 8, 2012
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Tony,
Thanks for posting the video, very interesting.
Al
December 9, 2002
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Bo Rich said
Thank you Tony. Very interesting. Hope to see you in September at the OGCA/ WACA show.
Absolutely Bo, I will certainly Try!
TXGunNut said
Interesting. I dislike the unrelated video content and the teaser format but agree with the description of Ballistol. Never occurred to me that the mineral oil in gun oil is the same as the mineral oil sold in the pharmacy section. I think gun oil protects much longer than is represented in the video but maybe I’ve just been lucky.
Mike
Mike,
I also dislike the all the hoopla content in between the facts, that was being presented, and trying to sort out, the distractions.
A fellow member here on the WACA Forum put me wise to the Ballistol, a little while ago, and he’s certainly spot on with that recommendation. The Mineral oil part threw me also.
Tony
January 20, 2023
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I do have to ask whether smokeless powder and modern primers leave an “acid” residue that requires neutralizing with an alkaline product, as this video’s narrator alleges.
That allegation contradicts everything else I’ve ever read.
I use Ballistol because it won’t damage wood or wood finishes.
A product I’ve used regularly on all unplated steels is BreakFree CLP. It seems to ease friction particularly well in automatic pistols. It isn’t cheap but I’ve not heard anybody knock it. It definitely will get underneath and loosen nickel plating if it finds a chip or bare spot.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
April 15, 2005
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Bill,
The U.S. Navy buys BreakFree CLP in 55-gal drums. It is what we used to clean all of the weapons in our Small Arms lockers for decades.
I have known for a very long time that WD-40 is not a good gun care product, but there are a lot of people who still foolishly buy and use it for that purpose.
My recipe for cleaning old guns (or modern guns that are real dirty) is quite simple… Kroil and acetone. For oiling (protecting), there are two products that my grandfather, father, and I have used for the past 90+ years… Marvel Mystery Oil and/or plain 3-in-1 machine oil. I do use Old West Snake oil to wipe down my guns before putting them on the rack at gun shows, and because I have a lifetime supply of it, I probably will not buy any Ballistol for future use, but it is good to know that it is a good product.
Bert
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
August 27, 2014
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Break Free CLP or Mobil 1 depending on which one is closest and how ambitious I’m feeling at the moment
A touch of TW25B Extreme Performance Synthetic Grease on bearing surfaces.
“If you can’t convince them, confuse them”
President Harry S. Truman
January 20, 2023
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Couldn’t get by without Kroil. I ought to.man up and by a good sized jug of it but there’s always somebody tired of a gun I need…
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
December 9, 2002
Online
tionesta1 said
Tony,
Thanks for posting the video, very interesting.
Al
Absolutely Al,
It’s something that many of us have thought about, and are guilty of old habits, and in many cases just use what’s handy, or close by, at hand. It’s nice to see the group participation, and the many interesting, and very understanding comments also.
Zebulon said
Couldn’t get by without Kroil. I ought to.man up and by a good sized jug of it but there’s always somebody tired of a gun I need…
Bill,
I will always lean on my Kroil, when needed and especially for those tough jobs, I seem to tackle!
You know that you’ve got me thinking again! LOL! 
Tony
December 9, 2002
Online
Bert H. said
Bill,
The U.S. Navy buys BreakFree CLP in 55-gal drums. It is what we used to clean all of the weapons in our Small Arms lockers for decades.
I have known for a very long time that WD-40 is not a good gun care product, but there are a lot of people who still foolishly buy and use it for that purpose.
My recipe for cleaning old guns (or modern guns that are real dirty) is quite simple… Kroil and acetone. For oiling (protecting), there are two products that my grandfather, father, and I have used for the past 90+ years… Marvel Mystery Oil and/or plain 3-in-1 machine oil. I do use Old West Snake oil to wipe down my guns before putting them on the rack at gun shows, and because I have a lifetime supply of it, I probably will not buy any Ballistol for future use, but it is good to know that it is a good product.
Bert
Bert,
I can certainly understand you’re position, and with you’re experience, I can appreciate you’re stance, as I’ve done and still do frequently.
You can’t beat the Renaissance Wax, on a very clean and highly finished Arm. IMO!
One more thing that I learned from The member here who educated me on the Balistol, is it can be used on wood and metal, with doing no harm, to either.
Tony
April 15, 2005
Online
Anthony said
Bert,
One more thing that I learned from The member here who educated me on the Balistol, is it can be used on wood and metal, with doing no harm, to either.
Tony
That is the same for the Old West Snake Oil. I wipe down the entire gun with it and it has no ill effects on either. My dear departed friend Dr. Larry Shennum used it for many years. He would put on an old heavy cotton glove, squirt some of the Snake Oil into palm of the glove, and then spend 30 – 40 minutes fondling all of the old Winchester going on to the tables and racks at all of the guns shows he attended. For many years, he would bring 2-cases of it to the shows for resale. A little of it goes a long way, and I still have several bottles of it, with one I keep in my gun show box.
WACA Historian & Board of Director Member #6571L
March 31, 2009
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I’ve found that in a pinch, any oil works. I like Break Free CLP but I do have Kroil, WD 40, Balistol, BP Blaster, Iosso and a handful of others. Then there are the solvents. I have a handful of these. You also need some extreme pressure moly grease for the bolt lugs. SLP 2000 for the black guns.
The only product I have had problems with is Rem Oil. It gums up in freezing weather.
November 7, 2015
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I was amused several years ago when the gun rags sold some WD-40 ads and the gun writers had to say nice things about the product. I remember several years ago I got rained on for most of a day hunt. That night I took my waterlogged firearm out of its synthetic stock and hosed it down with WD-40 before setting it near the space heater in the bunk house for the night.
I want to know how the Navy shakes 55-gallon drums of Break Free to get those PTFE solids suspended. Break Free CLP is my go-to gun lube but I know it needs to be shaken before use. Never had any problem with Rem Oil because I’ve never used it. I’ve always heard good things about it. I like the way Hoppes #9 and Kroil make my gun room smell and they work!
Mike
March 31, 2009
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TXGunNut said
I was amused several years ago when the gun rags sold some WD-40 ads and the gun writers had to say nice things about the product. I remember several years ago I got rained on for most of a day hunt. That night I took my waterlogged firearm out of its synthetic stock and hosed it down with WD-40 before setting it near the space heater in the bunk house for the night.
I want to know how the Navy shakes 55-gallon drums of Break Free to get those PTFE solids suspended. Break Free CLP is my go-to gun lube but I know it needs to be shaken before use. Never had any problem with Rem Oil because I’ve never used it. I’ve always heard good things about it. I like the way Hoppes #9 and Kroil make my gun room smell and they work!
Mike
One of my old pickups used to get water into the distributor if I hit a deep puddle. I would take the distributor cap off and spray some WD 40 and down the road I went. I have never used Rem oil but my Dad did. I got tired of cleaning his shotgun and finally bought some Break free for him. Problem solved.
Well in Bert’s case I guess they just turned the sub upside down a few times.
January 20, 2023
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Hoppe’s #9 smells to me like Christmas and has ever since 1955. BreakFree CLP works better to lift up Copper fouling but doesn’t bring back memories.
I’ve taken to wiping down anything I handle with Ballistol – although it stinks -because I don’t have to be carefully about the wood. I’m still inclined to protect bores I don’t expect to shoot for a while with R.I.G.
I don’t keep WD-40 anywhere but my garage shop. Fine Woodworking ran a controlled study of the best stuff to protect cast iron saw tables, some products being apparently made of powdered Unicorn horn. They also tested their contaminating effects on raw wood – whether it interfered with subsequent finishes. The authors of the study were mechanical and chemical engineers who worked wood as a hobby. Guess who won?
Good old WD-40. I use it on my tablesaw, jointer, and band saw religiously and it works if you apply it after running stock. The stuff doesn’t have the chance to gum and build up. Compared to Woodworkers’ Unicorn Paste it is very cheap, too.
- Bill
WACA # 65205; life member, NRA; member, TGCA; member, TSRA; amateur preservationist
"I have seen wicked men and fools, a great many of both, and I believe they both get paid in the end, but the fools first." -- David Balfour, narrator and protagonist of the novel, Kidnapped, by Robert Louis Stevenson.
March 31, 2009
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Zebulon said
I don’t keep WD-40 anywhere but my garage shop. Fine Woodworking ran a controlled study of the best stuff to protect cast iron saw tables, some products being apparently made of powdered Unicorn horn. They also tested their contaminating effects on raw wood – whether it interfered with subsequent finishes. The authors of the study were mechanical and chemical engineers who worked wood as a hobby. Guess who won?
Good old WD-40. I use it on my tablesaw, jointer, and band saw religiously and it works if you apply it after running stock. The stuff doesn’t have the chance to gum and build up. Compared to Woodworkers’ Unicorn Paste it is very cheap, too.
I periodically take steel wool and WD 40 and polish the cast iron tables on all of my equipment. Protects the tables and makes the wood much easier to move around. As far as oil on the wood, I have never had a problem with any of the oils. I have seen the effects of excessive oil left on wood. Whichever oil I have used I always wipe off the excess.
April 30, 2023
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I’ve found the Ballistol works well as wife repellant too, she doesn’t visit the gun room much when I have that stuff sprayin’!
December 9, 2002
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Jeremy P said
I’ve found the Ballistol works well as wife repellant too, she doesn’t visit the gun room much when I have that stuff sprayin’!
LOL!
Mine hates any chemical smell or petroleum based lubricants, along with many of the associated smells that can go along with the repairs we sometimes make along the way to our firearms and similar repairs involving the many hobbies we seem to stay busy with. Hence the exhaust fan, and oh yeah, 44 years of marriage! 
Tony
November 7, 2015
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One of my old pickups used to get water into the distributor if I hit a deep puddle. I would take the distributor cap off and spray some WD 40 and down the road I went. I have never used Rem oil but my Dad did. I got tired of cleaning his shotgun and finally bought some Break free for him. Problem solved.
Well in Bert’s case I guess they just turned the sub upside down a few times. -World Traveler
I taught my brother that trick when his deer lease had a bumper crop of puddles and some canals formerly known as roads. His old Jeep did fine until it didn’t. WD-40 got it going again. They got really good and un-sticking hunting vehicles that year, even got to use my bucket full of transport chain a time or two. WD-40 is great stuff, just not for guns.
Mike
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