What is it Mark, about Ballistol that would make you change back to vaseline?





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Dean, that is a good question. And after ruminating on the subject without the assistance of a little Kentucky Aiming Fluid, I recant!

I have come to enjoy that strange licorice smell of Ballistol as much as Hoppe’s.

I do however continue to use Vaseline sparingly as “Gun grease”.

Kathy despises the smell of Ballistol...

I use Rig for all articulating surfaces and friction surfaces.





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For what it is worth:

The late Jim Sargent, author of the AMERICAN PREMIUM GUIDE[S] TO KNIVES AND RAZORS -- Identification and Value Guide[s]) --, and one of the king-pins of vintage knife dealing and collecting for several decades said the following:

” CLEANING.....

.....Vaseline should never be used because it allows moisture to seep beneath its coat and cause rust.” –Jim Sargent, PREMIUM GUIDE 5th Edition, page 10.

That said, applying grease on metal-to-metal contact working surfaces is not the same as applying it onto exposed surfaces for protection. (And that appears to be agreed upon while we maintain our Aiming Fluid-free discussion mode.)

All this high tech grease is way overkill. Any kind of grease, even Vasaline works. The trick is to use it lightly and clean the surfaces routinely to keep grit out. Heck, Perazzi recommends oil on the hinge.

Ballistol seems to take a bit of a 'set' when left for a long time. It varnishes a bit. I make sure to brush it out of my chambers before shooting a S/S as it seems to really set up from the heat of shooting and the shells will get a bit stuck and not extract/eject properly. Don't get me wrong, I love it and use it especially to coat the inside of the action; it never seems to run off and I wipe every gun exterior with it. Mostly I just make sure to get it out of the chambers before shooting. I've had it do the same thing in a pump gun. Shoot a few clays quickly and the gun seems a bit stuck; brush out the chamber and it's fine. Anyone else find this? For the locking lug and the main hinge pin surfaces I use Chevron "Ultra Grease". It's a thickish and sticky wheel-bearing-like grease that really sticks to the surfaces and doesn't run off.... at all. It's intended use is in extreme impact and/or wet conditions such as the boom and bucket pins on an excavator and the rollers and bogies on a Cat that often runs in water. They give it away in small 2oz? bottles at trade shows and one of these will last decades for S/S use. I use it for everything on the suspensions and drive trains of all my vehicles and I've never used anything but this on heavy equipment.

3 in 1 oil use to be my gun oil till w d - 40 came along....I use it for every thing.....used engine oil is a great rust prevention but is messy....charlie

WD-40 can glue a gun up like super glue if left long enough.

I use Quantum Hot Sauce reel grease. I don't know if it is better than other types of grease, but it works for me and the small tube that it comes makes it easy to put a dab where its needed and it fits into the gun case nicely. Balistol for the metal surfaces and grease on the friction points.

In regard the the areas requiring grease, I have always stored them dry. I put grease on the hinge pin etc. when I put the gun together to shoot and wipe it back off when I break it down to go back into the case. Minimizes grit in the grease.