Switching from CLP to Ballistol safe on finish?

[jonnyl]

The smell. Licorice and feet. Eww.

Ordering now!

 

[hunter3705]

Ballistol

I started using Ballistol around 2001 or so. I tried Cowboy action shooting, and it seemed like that's what everybody at the shoots used, so I tried it. I wouldn't go back to Hoppes on a bet, Ballistol is phenomenal. It was developed for the German Army prior to WWI, and they used it for everything from small arms, to cleaning leather equipment and horse tack. The stuff is amazing, it'll clean and lubricate just about anything.

 

[Karl/PA]

I clean with a 50:50 mix of Ballistol & water (moose milk), wipe and swab dry then overall lube with 100% Ballistol. Works every time.

If you use it for the first time, expect to see a lot of crud come out of the barrel. Just keep swabbing until the patches are clean.

The stuff is food grade and is packaged in a green labeled can as a plant fertilizer. Same stuff different can.

 

[NickZac]

Ballistol is more than just safe for finishes, it is unusually safe in that it protects not only metals, but plastics and wood as well. There aren't many products like that given most products do one but not the other. It's been around for ages, and most people think it smells awful (I personally don't mind it), but it's great stuff. It's commonly used at gun shows because it can be used on everything, which is a huge advantage when you need to wipe down 500 guns as fast as you can, all with different finish types.

I wouldn't see why that would hurt anything, but I don't know enough about either. From what I have read, breakfree CLP sucks but I bought a bottle to try out.

CLP is a pretty good all-around for guns that aren't finicky/require very specific products. Most people who use it really like it, and I have no complaints. H&K uses it and and for a short time included samples with some of their guns. I personally prefer cleaning in 2 steps (1-slightly more aggressive [and non-toxic] cleaner like M Pro 7 or Blue Wonder, 2-lube that protects finishes from rust) to avoid the potential for excessive lube build-up (which seems to be rare). With that said, there are quite a few good all-in-one cleaners on the market and most modern firearms aren't very picky about what is being used to clean them.