I was at the sports shop earlier today and picked up some Ballistol. Touted as a wonder lubricant, preservative for wood, leather and steel. Sounds good a bit expensive in my opinion. Probably better than my bear grease and bee's wax concoction. Any thoughts on ballistol?
It's mostly rubbing alcohol mixed with mineral oil. Here's a better solution: CONTENTS: Ed's Red Bore Cleaner 1 part Dexron ATF, GM Spec. D-20265 or later. 1 part Kerosene - deodorized, K1 1 part Aliphatic Mineral Spirits CAS #64741-49-9, or substitute "Stoddard Solvent", CAS #8052-41-3, or equivalent. 1 part Acetone, CAS #67-64-1. (Optional 1 lb. of Lanolin, Anhydrous, USP per gallon, or OK to substitute Lanolin, Modified, Topical Lubricant, from the drug store)
It was developed by the Germans. They used it with their military from roughly 1900 to 1945. Ed's red is great, I make it up by the gallon but I don't use Ed's red on leather. Might be fine, I don't know.
A couple interesting back ground on Ed's red. Ed's red is similar to a Frankforts Armory recipe but also in a book called Sporting Firearms by Horace Kephart there is a recipe for a similar mix. Don't mean much but I found it interesting.
A friend turned me on to Ballistol around 2006 and it's all I've used since to clean, protect and lube my weapons. They also make individual wipes that are nice to keep in any of your kits. I do keep it in a small ziploc bag for 2 fold. It adds another layer to ensure it doesn't dry out and then once opened I can put it back in the bag to save for additional use.
I'd do a commercial for Birchwood Casey "Barricade". Sold as a rust preventative. It does. Had a crude steel automatic made in the Basque region of Spain. Rustorama! Magazine well in grip actually enjoyed rusting. Tried this'n'that. Tried "Barricade". No rust problems for over 20 years.
I was looking around and about and came across some info on fluid film. It's another multi purpose XYZ. I have a spray can of it. It's touted for just about everything. Gun lube and protectant but I used my can to treat a leather sling. Fluid Film has lanolin as a primary ingredient. Seems like good stuff, a bit cheaper than ballistol.
