Ballistol Effectiveness on Handgun Finish Long-Term

I was using Ballistol exclusively for about a year, but I found a few things that made me consider alternatives:

Ballistol tends to gel.
Ballistol is very slow to dissolve copper residue and fouling. Even Hoppes #9 is considerably faster and ammonia solvents (Barnes) are much faster.
Ballistol tends to leave more oily film on the gun than what I prefer.

I switched to Breakfree CLP.

I believe it is a better cleaner. It cleans fouling faster and with less mechanical effort. I will still use a copper solvent (Barnes) every 10th or 15th cleaning or so.
I believe it is a better lubricant. It does not gel and I think a film of it has greater shear strength.

I live in a very arid climate and there is not much challenge presented to the protective qualities of these products. My primary handgun is also stainless steel. I use WD-40 Specialist Long-Term for some outdoor items or items stored for a period of years, but most of the few firearms are used and cleaned weekly or at least monthly so I don't use it on anything but a single safe queen (which is mostly relegated to that status because of the enormous cost of shooting it for no practical purpose I have).

Both Ballistol and Breakfree CLP would leave too much oily film on the outside surface of a handgun even after wiping it off with a cloth. So after I've cleaned the gun inside and out with Breakfree CLP, I spray off the outside with Hornady One Shot Cleaner and Lube and wipe it dry. I don't use the One Shot in the bore, chambers or lock work or on my long guns or on any wood -- just on the outside metal surfaces of the gun because Ballistol and other oils are too oily.

Nature Boy said:

Ever visit the primate center at the zoo?

It’s that, inside a sweaty rubber boot

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Odd, I just think it smells like black licorice.

Which I hate

For what it is worth, I use Ballistol on my guns finish (use CLP on the barrels and FP10 on the rails) and my basement flooded this summer... Twice.

No rust, though I was fairly quick to move them from the humidity and give them all a once over

LaneP said:

Gillette Adjustable

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Great idea. I've got about 50 vintage Gillette DE razors (a few Schick's too). I usually use mineral oil as a lubricant, but never tried Ballistol.

JeagerMiester! when I first used Ballistol I wondered where the metallic crackling sound of unscrewing a baby bottle of JM was.

I am not wild about licorice, but was once quite fond of JM especially sitting in the snow outside a missile site just waiting to see what came along.

-kBob

I put Ballistol into much the same category as Marvel Mystery Oil, 3 In One Oil, and STP. It's a product that's been around forever. It has established a faithful following of customers in that time. While it doesn't hurt anything it's used in or on, it does work for it's intended use to at least some degree. That said, there are no doubt more modern products available that are better for the same purpose.

Bill460 said:

I put Ballistol into much the same category as Marvel Mystery Oil, 3 In One Oil, and STP. It's a product that's been around forever. It has established a faithful following of customers in that time. While it doesn't hurt anything it's used in or on, it does work for it's intended use to at least some degree. That said, there are no doubt more modern products available that are better for the same purpose.

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I would say it is hard to decipher what is better when all you firearms, many decades old and new ones, have no rust, run great and stocks that still look like New. I would say, I am in the category of not needing better or more expensive. And not to say, I have tried out many others. Not to mention it is non-toxic. One of my last ventures was "SlickStream". Was suppose to be the slickest ever. Turned out to gum up everything. Had to completely tear don every thing in some guns. Let a burnt on residue that was nearly impossible to get off. Just another lesson learned and for now on will use what has worked for decades.

I have been using Ballistol for years works just fine for me