[stoble]

I was looking at another gun site and read where a guy said his old favorite gun cleaning fluid was automotive stating fluid. I never even knew this was listed in the applications section of the directions. I bet this guy also smokes when he cleans his guns.

 

[gunman42782]

Never used starting fluid, but I do use generic Gum-Out carb cleaner. Same as the gun degreaser's. I mostly use it to clean off my bore brush's.

 

[thunderjohn]

The starting fluid dries everything so much that any part that didn't get oiled well would rust in no time.

 

[deputy125]

Hate to use it indoors! here is the spec sheet on some of it http://www.gunk.com/msds/M3515.pdf

i did a little reading on it as i have never heard of using starting fluid on guns. Safety seems to be very important as ethane likes to be an explosive and likes to hang low and travel....... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethane

Health and safety
At room temperature, ethane is a flammable gas. When mixed with air at 3.0% – 12.5% by volume, it forms an explosive mixture.
Some additional precautions are necessary where ethane is stored as a cryogenic liquid. Direct contact with liquid ethane can result in severe frostbite. In addition, the vapors evaporating from liquid ethane are, until they warm to room temperature, heavier than air and can creep along the ground or gather in low places, and if they encounter an ignition source, can flash back to the body of ethane from which they evaporated.
Containers recently emptied of ethane may contain insufficient oxygen to support life. Beyond this asphyxiation hazard, ethane poses no known acute or chronic toxicological risk. It is not known or suspected to be a carcinogen

Hope the hot water heater ain't close by either........

 

[stoble]

Deputy, you know we don't have time to read that tech. stuff. I use it, my dad used it, my grandpappy used it, and it cleans to beat the band. Of course we did have a neat bird for a while that dropped dead one day after I cleaned a few guns and smoked a few cigs. Grandpappy also educated us on using WD-40 for rubbing into old arther when it acts up. Good enough for these guys, good enough for..........................
Falls over from the fumes.

 

[chowder]

The starting fluid dries everything so much that any part that didn't get oiled well would rust in no time.

+1

 

[Song Dawg]

I've used carb cleaner since BC Gun Blaster changed formulas years ago.
Yep, it's got acetone in it so it's a no no around gunstocks and sensitive materials. But as an effective cleaner it's very good. $1.00 a can! For those who don't want to go that direction try aerosol brake cleaner. Either product and for that matter gun specific products all need a proper oil protection afterwards. I like to utilize the air compressor for positive coverage.

SD

 

[Daan Wessels]

A good chemical degreaser with hot water works just as well and is a lot safer. Also you have to oil liberally afterwards. I soak mine in a "metal treatment" oil additive afterwards. PS23, Slick 50, Prolong or similar, let it drip and then wipe off with Ballistol.

When it was still available in South Africa, I used EEZOX. I see you still have it in USA.

 

[Smaug]

I use brake cleaner. It is cheaper than carb cleaner and does the same thing.

Daan - What the hell is Ballistol?

 

[Xringshooter]

Brake cleaner works good at getting the crud out. I buy the cheap stuff at Wal-Mart and take the gun outside before using. I do pay attention to not get any on the stock or grips just in case. Great for cleaning an AR, especially around the locking lugs.

 

[Iowegan]

It scares me when I see posts like this. First ... some of those chemicals are deadly if used indoors with poor ventilation and are very volatile (explosive). Carb cleaner will eat your skin. Second, these products are not made for guns so you may end up doing major damage to them. Stocks and grips can easily get ruined. Painted / coated surfaces such as sights, scopes, and the receivers on some rifles such as a 10/22 can get stripped. Color Case finishes on Ruger SA revolvers will rust in a matter of hours if the clear coat is stripped off. Pistols with polymer frames will turn white. Lots of other examples too.

Brake cleaner is a great degreaser. Use it outdoors and only on the single part you are cleaning. Other than that, I highly recommend you avoid automotive or household products all together and stay with products designed for guns. If you can afford to buy and shoot guns, shurley you can afford to buy decent cleaning and lubrication products.

 

[wbeard]

It scares me when I see posts like this. First ... some of those chemicals are deadly if used indoors with poor ventilation and are very volatile (explosive). Carb cleaner will eat your skin. Second, these products are not made for guns so you may end up doing major damage to them. Stocks and grips can easily get ruined. Painted / coated surfaces such as sights, scopes, and the receivers on some rifles such as a 10/22 can get stripped. Color Case finishes on Ruger SA revolvers will rust in a matter of hours if the clear coat is stripped off. Pistols with polymer frames will turn white. Lots of other examples too.

Brake cleaner is a great degreaser. Use it outdoors and only on the single part you are cleaning. Other than that, I highly recommend you avoid automotive or household products all together and stay with products designed for guns. If you can afford to buy and shoot guns, shurley you can afford to buy decent cleaning and lubrication products.

+1

 

[rugerguy]

+1

wow, I too hate to even see or hear, folks "think" of using anything like that ,gasoline and starting fluid are two of the worst, dangerous things out there.....
"instant disaster........."

as for the rest mentioned above, yeah, over the years we too have tried and used them all, most of the stuff is on the 'haz mat ' list, and even hard to find anymore...........

 

[Andyd]

Daan - What the hell is Ballistol?

It is an old German gun oil, safe to use around food processing equipment. Rust protection is okay but it gums up easily.

 

[bub]

Hi, all. Great forum you have here. This post in specific is why I joined here.

Be VERY CAREFUL using carb/brake cleaner for guns! At the Police Department I work for in NE OH, our clueless, anti-gun former Chief approved some cheap brake/carb cleaner for cleaning guns, reasoning that if we just locked the slides open on our duty weapons and hosed them down instead of giving them a thorough, traditional cleaning, it would save time/money.

Not long after, one of our Officers hosed down his 1st Gen Glock 17 at qualifications instead of taking the time to clean it right. He still hadn't cleaned it from the last qualification date 6+ months ago and did not want to get nailed for not cleaning it since it was Dept issue. Imagine his surprise when, stepping to the line about 30 minutes later, he couldn't pull the trigger AT ALL! Examination revealed that the poly frame had melted to the poly trigger because of the brake/carb cleaner. The gun went back to Glock, who was able to get the trigger removed and the frame cleaned up enough so that the frame didn't have to be replaced, but it still cost time and money. Because of this, I won't use any non-firearm products on my firearms. They might cost a little more but they are designed to work with guns and won't hurt them like some automotive cleaners can. If you decide that you want to use automotive cleaners, go right ahead, but be aware that you might be harming your gun instead of helping it.

Bub

 

[Daan Wessels]

I use brake cleaner. It is cheaper than carb cleaner and does the same thing.

Daan - What the hell is Ballistol?

Hi Smaug, it is a good old German gun oil, issued first in WW 1 and also in WW 2, still available and fairly expensive. In my days in the South African Defence Force it was the main lubricant and rust preventer used on aircraft armaments. I still swear by it.

Some people drink the stuff for rheumatism and arthritis. Fact is it contains no mineral oils and consists solely of animal and vegetable fat in a secret(?) mixture, and is also supposed to help for an upset stomach, septic wounds and fungal infections of the skin. I don't know, I only use it on my guns.

 

[Daan Wessels]

Daan - What the hell is Ballistol?

It is an old German gun oil, safe to use around food processing equipment. Rust protection is okay but it gums up easily.

Hi Andyd,

Sure it was genuine Ballistol that gummed up? I've never experienced that and have been using it for more than 30 years. Maybe I've just not let it alone long enough to gum up. Ordinary automotive lubricant gums up seriously! And PLEASE do not try cooking oil, rather use pork lard!

As far as rust protection is concerned, I'm using a local (South African) oil additive called PS 23. It has never harmed any plastic or metal surface in my experience, and even the plastic bags in which I soak my airgun pellets in the stuff does not seem to mind it.

PS 23 also makes my pistol actions extremely smooth and malfunction free. (I'm also in charge of the armoury at our security training setup which processes about 70 to a 100 trainees a week, with 12 CZ 75's and 15 Norinco Tokarev copies.)

I know of a couple of guys who use "Copper Compound" and they are not complaining either. I'll stick to using that on nuts and bolts, especially exhaust manifold studs and wheel nuts.

 

[SmuvBoGa]

Ballistol is a good oil / lubricant. I have it in an open soak tray now approx 2 yrs & it is just beginning to show gum development at the edges. You can make a cleaning solution by adding water to thin it (H2o) - a 50 - 50 mix ("moose milk" - named due to the white color) is good for cleaning Black Powder weapons. The water evap's off & the film of oil is left. Does a good job preventing rust. Used by many in the Cowboy Action for basic cleaner for smokeless & B.P. Also good on leather & wood.
It has a bit of a "tang" to its smell - the wife notices.

 

[Blackdog]

It has a bit of a "tang" to its smell - the wife notices.

That's putting it mildly. It has a very odd aroma.

Hadn't thought of using it for moose milk. My recipe called for water soluble oil (got it from a machine shop supply).

 

[diyguy]

Homemade Firearm Cleaners & Lubricants

http://www.frfrogspad.com/homemade.htm

Lots of how to make yor own gun cleaner and lube info.