Mineral Spirits as a cleaner

And just for the record, mineral oil isn't remotely the same thing as mineral spirits... They're both petroleum products, but...

Mineral spirits is a lot safer than many other hydrocarbon-based solvents, but it's still toxic.

People rub mineral oil on their babies, take it as a laxative, use it to remove makeup... it's sort of like Vaseline, only less viscous. Same thing as paraffin oil, pretty much. I've never used it on a gun, but I do use paraffin oil as a rust-preventive on hand tools. Works fine... it's a non-drying oil, so it doesn't tend to gum things up.
 
Paint thinner and mineral spirits are so ill defined that they can be the same thing, Stoddard solvent.

Oder-less mineral spirits (or paint thinner) is made by removing the aromatic compounds.

Both are made from a relatively wide boiling point distillation, meaning there is a lot of different compounds mixed in them.
 
I clean all my firearms (no polymer) with odorless mineral spirits after firing. Good ventilation is necessary, but it's cheap and extremely effective. I think it even protects the finish for a little while. I also wipe the gun down with it before waxing.

If Ballistol floats your boat, enjoy.

I got tired of surface rust appearing on my handguns, so it's no longer used in this house. If it is mineral oil based, that might be the reason.
 
I don't know whether mineral spirits would be safe to use on a nickel-plated gun, (Hoppe's No. 9 isn't, for example, because it contains ammonia,) but it's never harmed blued finishes.
__________________


Seems like I read recently that Hoppes #9 had the ammonia removed from the formula?? I could be wrong and I have a bottle in the box but have not used it in years.

Everytime I used it when I lived at home, Dad would walk by and say "banana oil."
 
It's safe on nickel.
Hoppes is too-as long as it's factory applied nickel without a copper underplate. Most gun factories don't use an underplate. Most bumper chrome shops do.
 
I was just reading that there is a newer version of Mineral Spirits out there that is considered "green". It has an emulsifier that allows it to be mixed with water. Make sure you are using the old type before you go looking to dunk your gun for several hours/days in the new green stuff.

For the record, the guys over at www.thecmp.org love mineral spirits to remove the caked on cosmoline/grease from their surplus rifles. I am picking up a Springfield 1903A3 today that is absolutely covered in the stuff. I plan on picking up two quarts of the old type to clean it off. I used mineral spirits to remove the grease that was soaked into the wood of my Greek-returned M1 Garand. It works quite well, doesn't raise the grain and also strips the metal nicely.
 
Thanks Montel; Ricky Bobby....

Thanks for the deets about Ballistol Montel... ;) .
It's top shelf kit in my book. Plus it has a light pine scent.

If I had a NASCAR race car like Ricky Bobby, I'd want it red & green with Ballistol as the main sponsor. :)

ClydeFrog
 
Mineral spirits for cleaning?

I mixequal parts of:
K-1 Kerosene
Varsol [Oil based paint thinner]
#2 or 3 Dextron
I think today they call it ED'S RED.
 
I was rather surprised to find odorless Mineral Spirits a thick, white liquid! I remember a thin, clear "paint thinner" from my youth. Kerosene is not always easy to find, so I made my own "red" cleaner - Rick's Red, if you will - from odorless Mineral Spirits, ATF, and Marvel Mystery Oil. It looks like a strawberry milkshake, and it's thick enough that I could brush it on the dirty parts and it would not run off, so it doesn't have to be submerged to soak.
 
I use mineral spirits for all sorts of metal cleaning. It is a good, all purpose solvent for many kinds of problems.

Personally, I don't use it for gun cleaning....

It will dissolve varnish, polyurethane and similar solvent-based wood finishes, so you might be careful with it around stocks and grips depending on their finish. It won't affect simple finishes like boiled linseed oil very much.
 
Like wogpotter says, mineral spirits is a degreaser. It won't clean carbon, lead or copper deposits.
"...Varsol..." Is a Canadian brand name. It is mineral spirits.
 
Apres moi, le deluge

I clean my guns after firing with a spray can of auto brake cleaner (after which I lube 'em with regular gun oil/light machine oil). I've been doing that for quite some time, and it seems to work just fine, whether on blued steel, satin nickel or stainless. But I don't have any plastic guns.

Now I'll brace myself for the flood of folks telling me it's wrong.
 
just by coincidence&balistol

picture 2 bail agents/skip-tracers sitting in a hotel/motel coffee shop we're going over a $80K skip's booking info as i look over my partner's shoulder i see 3 guys looking at the same info behind him in their booth,pointing this out he asks what's their interest in our skip.it turns out the DEA is looking also,both teams have tracked the bugger to this hotel in north ca.wine country,problem is nobody knows what room he's in(you can't kick 100+doors in and make friends)if we know he's there we can go in,but rolling the dice is bad hoo-doo.now we all discover there's 3 county-sheriffs felony warrant officers [we can tell because 2 of them have followed us in before]in the coffee shop too,this just keeps getting better & better,any way bail team 1 is waiting for my wife's niece who is the manager of the h/m,she's been showing a photo to the maids with a $50 bill torn in half[other half for right room]my niece in-law knows with bail no bad publicity.she gives me the room# and a key card.the feds & leos follow us to the the room (no dust,rust,or moss on these boys)we go in(bail needs no search warrant) hook him up.get a receipt from the leos.i ask a fed why he smells like licorice,while the leos leave with the skip, he tells me balistol,he just treated his holster with it he then explains all its virtues lube,cleaner,medicinal,and opens his trunk and gives me a can[he's got a case].i've been using it since 1999 with great results on everything(except the wife she prefers astro-lube)long way around but that's my balistol intro.
 
For general gun cleaning I use a version of Ed's Red. Equal Parts:
K1 or Diesel Fuel
Mineral Spirits
Dextron III or IV

For a Lite Lubricating Oil Equal Parts:
Dextron III or IV
Mobil 1 5W30

Makes 1/2 Gallon to the batch for something like $10 or $12, so you do not need to use it sparingly. Pick up a Lucas Gun Oil in a plastic bottle. When empty refil with the mix above, you will not notice any difference.

The clear Plastic bottles from Wal-Mart for Ketchup etc work fine for on the bench for the Cleaner and Lube. I put the original 1/2 or 3/4 Gallon Batch in 1 Gallon Gasoline Cans labeled with a Majic Marker.

General Purpose Grease for slides, bolts, etc
Lubraplate Assembly Lube (The Original White Grease)
Around $10 a Tube at the Auto Parts Store.

See You at the Range

Bob
 
Like standing wolf, I've been using it for decades, too. It has no effect on blue, polymer, nickel, Parkerising or any other finish unless someone painted the gun with cheap Walmart spray paint.

The only time I ever had a mishap with mineral spirits was when it melted the grips on a customers pot metal .25. (It was a Raven or Davis or something of that ilk.) This was back in the 80s and they were using the cheapest crap plastic they could find.:D
 
+1 on Ed's Red....Ed Harris was a contributor to the American Rifleman magazine for years and was also employed at one point by Ruger in their technical dept. He got with an organic chemist and duplicated the old Frankfort Arsenal formula used to clean and condition military arms for storage and shipment. I've used Ed's Red for over ten years with complete satisfaction. Do a Google search on it for all of his remarks. He used kerosene instead if diesel and said you could substitute mineral spirits for turpentine in the original formula. Lanolin was also added to improve its adhesion characteristics. He noted that it had no copper removal properties however. It's cheap and completely effective...Rod
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top