Ballistol Multi-Purpose Oil, Aerosol Spray, 6 Oz

I arrived quickly and was exactly what I was looking for!!

I have a confession to make: I did not expect a can of lubricant, cleaner, and protectant to become one of those products I genuinely get excited about having around the house. Yet here we are. Ballistol has somehow earned a permanent spot in my collection of things that I reach for whenever something starts squeaking, sticking, looking neglected, or generally behaving like it has decided to become a problem. This is the kind of product that makes you look around your house and start thinking, “I wonder what else needs Ballistol?” That is probably how it begins. I originally picked up the F.W. Klever GmbH Ballistol Multi-Purpose Aerosol because I wanted something useful for general maintenance. What I ended up with was a remarkably versatile product that has become one of those household essentials that I am always glad to have nearby. The first thing I like is that it is genuinely multipurpose. You do not need to have a very specific project in mind to find a use for it. It can help clean, lubricate, and protect various surfaces and mechanisms, which makes it particularly handy for general maintenance. And I appreciate products that do not require me to own a second product just to use the first product. There are entire aisles in stores dedicated to extremely specific versions of things. One bottle for this. Another bottle for that. A special spray for something else. Before you know it, you have spent an afternoon organizing maintenance products instead of actually maintaining anything. Ballistol simplifies things. The aerosol can is convenient, too. It makes application quick and easy, particularly when you are dealing with parts that are awkward to reach or do not exactly volunteer to cooperate. A short spray can go a long way, so I have found myself using it for all sorts of little maintenance jobs. And this is where Ballistol really shines for me. It is the product I reach for when something starts making a noise that I am absolutely certain it was not making last week. You know the sound. A squeak. A creak. A little “eeeek” every time something moves. At first you ignore it. Then you start noticing it. Eventually the sound becomes the only thing you can hear, and suddenly you are standing there staring at the offending mechanism like it has personally insulted your family. That is when Ballistol comes out. It is also useful when something feels like it needs a little help moving smoothly. I have found it particularly handy for general maintenance tasks where lubrication and protection are both desirable. Another thing I appreciate is that this is not one of those products that feels unnecessarily complicated. The can is straightforward, the application is simple, and the product does what you expect it to do. There is something deeply satisfying about that. Spray. Wipe. Move the part. Admire the result. Pretend you are now a professional maintenance technician. This is also a great product for people who enjoy fixing things themselves. I am not necessarily claiming that owning Ballistol will transform you into a master mechanic, but it can certainly encourage questionable levels of confidence. Suddenly you are walking around the house thinking, “I can probably fix that.” That drawer sticking? Ballistol. That mechanism that feels a little rough? Ballistol. That thing making a suspicious noise? You guessed it. Ballistol. At some point you may even find yourself looking at completely innocent household objects and wondering whether they could benefit from a little maintenance. This is how hobbies happen. I also like having a product around that can help protect things rather than simply dealing with problems after they appear. Maintenance is one of those things that is incredibly satisfying when you remember to do it and incredibly annoying when you realize you forgot. A little preventative attention can save a lot of frustration later. The 6-ounce aerosol size is another nice compromise. It is large enough to be useful without being some enormous industrial container that requires its own storage shed. It is easy to keep in a workshop, garage, toolbox, or wherever you keep your collection of items that you insist will someday be organized. Mine has definitely become one of those “grab it when you need it” products. I also appreciate the fact that it is a non-CFC aerosol. That is a detail I am glad to see, particularly in a product intended for regular maintenance use. Now, does Ballistol magically fix everything? No. If something is broken beyond repair, spraying lubricant on it and hoping for a miracle is probably not a maintenance strategy I would recommend. I have tried optimism as a repair technique before. Results were mixed. But for cleaning, lubricating, and protecting things that actually benefit from those functions, this has been an extremely useful product. One of the biggest compliments I can give Ballistol is that it has become boringly reliable. And I mean that in the best possible way. You know those products you buy and then completely forget about until you suddenly need them? That is Ballistol for me. It lives in the background, waiting patiently for the next squeak, sticky mechanism, maintenance project, or random object that has decided to require attention. Then, when the moment arrives, there it is. It is also one of those products that makes you feel slightly more prepared for adulthood. Do I know exactly what I am doing every time I use it? Absolutely not. Do I look like I know what I am doing? Almost certainly. That counts for something. The aerosol format makes it particularly convenient, and I have found the product useful for a variety of general maintenance jobs. The ability to clean, lubricate, and protect with one product means there is less clutter and less hunting around for the correct bottle. That alone makes it worth keeping around. I would recommend it to anyone who likes maintaining their own equipment, tools, household mechanisms, or other items that benefit from proper cleaning and lubrication. It is especially nice for people who would rather have one versatile maintenance product available than a shelf full of specialized sprays with labels that require a magnifying glass and a chemistry degree. Just remember that, like any maintenance product, it should be used appropriately for the specific material and application. Read the instructions, test it where appropriate, and do not assume that because something squeaks, it automatically wants whatever is in the can. Sometimes the squeak is trying to tell you something more important. Or maybe it just wants Ballistol. At this point, I am not ruling anything out. Overall, the F.W. Klever GmbH Ballistol Multi-Purpose Non-CFC Aerosol Can is one of those products that earns its place through usefulness rather than gimmicks. It is convenient, versatile, easy to apply, and incredibly handy to have around whenever something needs cleaning, lubrication, or protection. Five stars. It is the kind of product that starts out living in your toolbox and eventually becomes the household equivalent of a Swiss Army knife. You may not use it every day, but when you need it, you are very happy that it is there. And if you hear a mysterious squeak in your house tonight, I am not saying you should panic. I am just saying you should probably check where you put the Ballistol.

I like Ballistol because it is safe to use and has many uses. The makers suggest that it can be used even on plated metal chrome, gold leaf, and nickel if the plating is not damaged, scratched and the excess wiped off. It is a a creeping oil that can lift plated metals plated by electrolysis method if the plating is damaged and or scratched. See their website for instruction. I think the product is wonderful and has a pleasant licorice odor. It dries and the lubrication is still there. I use it on locks and many other things. It works good for firearms too. Hickok45 is the person I seen use it. I now use it. It is great safe product. Ballistol is fully compatible with all metals including aluminum; however, Ballistol will dissolve traces of copper, lead, zinc, tombac therefore it can be used to clean bronze, brass, and silver. Moreover, Ballistol will remove traces of some metals (copper, brass, etc) from the barrel of a firearm for example, but it doesn’t necessarily dissolve the metals so that’s why it is safe to clean solid metal with Ballistol. Ballistol removes metal fouling from the barrel of a firearm for example by loosening the adhesion to the surface. It is a creeping oil. Ballistol will not harm solid copper for example. Just make sure plated metals are sound with no damage and or scratches to the plating. Again, one must be careful not to use Ballistol with electrolysis plated metals that are damage and or scratched. You can learn more about Ballistol from their Ballistol Material Safety Data Sheet. Ballistol is a lubricant not a water blocker and should not be used on wet electrical installations from rain or condensation. A short circuit may result if used on wet electrical systems. However, Ballistol is also an electrical insulator so it is safe to use on electronics. It is a good corrosion inhibitor, can protect wet surfaces, used for leather, and many other uses. The Ballistol website has more information about their product. It seems to stay put and lubricate. Explanation of electrical use: Therefore, Ballistol, in its non emulsified form, will not interfere with the flow of electric current in electrical networks or devices. It will not normally build electrical bridges or cause creeping currents or short circuits to occur, even if applied directly on electrical equipment while energized. Ballistol should not be applied to electrical or electronic equipment while water or a high degree of moisture are present in the equipment. I think it is a great product.

This cleaner works well for cleaning all firearms. It works great on metal without worrying about harming the metal. What is great on rifles I can clean the outside of the barrel and don’t have to worry about harming the wooden stock and hand grip which you can also clean the Ballistol.

Like other people have stated in their reviews, I was first introduced to this product on Hickok45's YouTube Channel. I have been using Remington Oil, Hoppes No. 9, BreakFree CLP, and Hoppes Lubricating Oil for the decade of my firearms ownership and I have not felt a particularly strong need to deviate away from them. Seeing how great his faith in this Ballistol stuff is, though, I decided it might be worth a try: particularly given that it is environmentally friendly and apparently less hard on the skin than some the other cleaners I am used to. When I first got this rather spendy container of lubricant, I was impressed by the spectacle of all of the claimed functions of Ballistol labeled on this otherwise unassuming green can. Enthusiastic about getting started, I began by disassembling and beginning to clean my custom Ruger 10/22. Like other reviewers have said, this has a sort of slightly rotted licorice smell to it. It does not bother me too much, but I did find that I needed to use this with the garage door and window open as it does irritate my respiratory tract far more than any other cleaner I have used. Like a lot of the reviews and Hickok45 have recommended, I sprayed the more fouled portions of my rifle like the barrel, chamber throat and bolt face and let the Ballistol and let them sit and soak while I went to work spraying and wiping down some of the less fouled portions of the rifle. This is where I think the Ballistol falls short of my hopes: Ballistol is very slippery and definitely has a sort of filmy, slimy feeling to it. This quality is what I imagine makes it a great action lubricant for most firearms, but for the purpose of general cleaning and wiping down like I use Rem oil I was disappointed. I found that the slimy nature of the lubricant made the carbon and crud stick and pool wherever I didn't manage to wipe the Ballistol off where as the Rem oil typical just blasts stuff away and seemingly evaporates in short order, leaving nothing but smooth and reasonably slick surfaces behind that I can than lubricate with light coats of CLP or Hoppes lubricating oil depending on the firearm (I am kind of finicky about my choices). Coming back to the areas that I soaked with Ballistol, though, I was in for a happy surprise. Using my Scott's shop towels, I was able to wipe the surfaces I soaked clean with a few passes which would have taken a good couple of minutes of scraping and scrubbing with brushes and Rem oil otherwise. I shoot my 10/22 ALOT and I glad to have found something that expedites the cleaning process as I have to engage in doing so frequently. Additionally, I did a pass through my 10/22 barrel with a boresnake and was happy to see it come out with grit and grime in tow, leaving behind a shiny bore. The next place where I am super thrilled about Ballistol is why I will be keeping it in my firearm cleaning box: wiping down and protecting the wood, plastic, and metal exteriors of my firearms while in the safe. I took a soft cloth and sprayed a small amount of Ballistol onto it and proceeded to wipe down the wood stocks and metal of my heirloom firearms: Dad's Winchester model 37 shotgun he was given when he was 14, Grandpa's 1997 Marlin 60 that has killed innumerable critters and varmints, and Great Grandpa's Mossberg bolt action 20 gauge shotgun that has killed just about everything legal with wings on it. What the Ballistol did to those firearms just stunned me: it left the blued finishes brilliantly shiny with a trace of attractive-looking wetness to them that lasted (unlike Rem Oil) and left the stocks polished and shiny looking with just a bit of slipperiness to them. I put them back in the safe and a week later when I came back to inspect them, they all were still looking lovely and protected! I have a paranoia that goes to my core of letting these guns devolve into neglected piles of junk, no matter how low their monetary value, and as such I am proud to add Ballistol to my repertoire of cleaning agents for that purpose! Where I am not feeling okay about using the Ballistol is on my AR-15. CLP was specifically developed for the cleaning, lubricating, and preserving of military arms like the M4/M16 platform and I don't think Ballistol cuts it. The AR-15 action is a dirty, high heat, high movement action and needs lubricants that can handle the abuse. My opinion is entirely my own and not representative of what may be truth to someone else, but my anecdotal experience using AR-15's is that they like to run wet in optimal conditions and need lubricants that can leave behind a barrier of lubricant when wiped completely away in non-optimal conditions where excessively lubricated guns will jam up from the accumulation of particulates and fouling from the environment. Ballistol does leave behind somewhat of a film, but after running a few hundred rounds through my AR at the range, I found that the rifle was dry and crusted with carbon in all the places where Break Free CLP would have remained wet and kept fouling from cooking onto the bolt and BCG. This is unacceptable to me and thus CLP will remain the primary all-in-one oil that my AR-15 gets cleaned and lubricated with. All in all, Ballistol deserves 5 stars for its amazing versatility, easy-going nature on your body and the environment, and as a historical multi-purpose oil that has stood up to the test of time for most all applications. I hope this zany, slightly disorganized review has helped you some and I hope you have a great time getting to use this great legacy of a lubricant from our honored friends in Germany.