Synthetic motor oil is made from the same base stock as all other motor oils. They just manipulate it somehow to make the hydrocarbon chains longer and evenly saturated with hydrogen. Oil degrades by 'shearing' which is knocking the hydrogens off and by shortening the chains, whereupon it loses lubricity. Synthetic oils do not have any higher a lubricity rating then normal oils, they just keep their original rating for longer because of the longer chains so will take abuse for longer before degrading. The last gasp in refining petroleum, after everything of real use is taken off, is mineral oil. It consists of alkanes and paraffins. And I'm pretty sure that's what Ballistol is based on.
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