Ballistol

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Ballistol liquid and as a spray

Ballistol is a care oil that was developed by Friedrich Wilhelm Klever as a weapon oil for the German army at the beginning of the 20th century . Since then it has been produced largely unchanged. Ballistol is a brand of FW Klever GmbH. The brand is made up of the words ballistics and oleum ( Latin for oil). In addition to the universal oil, the company also produces various other products for body care, animal care, repelling mosquitoes and much more.

application

The main area of ​​application of Ballistol is the care of firearms for the purpose of cleaning, lubrication and corrosion protection . It is also recommended by the manufacturer as a care product for wood (rifle stocks), leather (rifle sling) and for a number of other areas of application. It was originally designed as a disinfectant for soldiers' wounds in the field. Even today it can be used to treat wounds or to care for dry parts of the body.

Features and Limitations

The essential ingredient of Ballistol is medical grade white oil . This component serves as a lubricant and corrosion protection. The alcohol components have a disinfecting and preserving effect. So that both can be mixed, alkali salts of oleic acid are available as detergents . Together with the alcohols, they also enable a water-displacing and dirt-dissolving effect, but also make the oil film washable. Ballistol forms a milky emulsion with water and, according to the manufacturer, has a pH value of 8 to 8.5 (alkaline).

As a weapon care product, the oil can be washed off the weapon parts by water and then loses its protective effect. The alkaline reaction of the oil has a good cleaning effect: metallic smearings in the gun barrel ( tombac , lead ) can be removed relatively easily. This also applies to the combustion residues of propellant powder . The reaction with brass , copper and their alloys leads to the deterioration of weapon parts and ammunition made from these materials.

Applied as a metal care product to brass and copper, it has a slightly oxidizing effect, which is why it is suitable for cleaning, but not for preserving these metals.

As a wood care product, Ballistol must be questioned: The component white oil cannot polymerize and / or oxidize under normal conditions of use and remains unchanged in the wood. This means that the wood is more difficult to access for specific wood care products ( linseed oil , tung oil , turpentine and mixtures of these and similar substances, as well as waxes and varnishes) and becomes greasy if it is applied in excess. Since turpentine can dissolve the paraffin compounds it contains , treatment will probably at least be more difficult.

For leather care Ballistol is suitable due to the low viscosity of only limited because excessive coating may cause the saturated long leather emits oil to in contact materials. Ballistol is also embedded in the pores, but does not seal permanently, unlike impregnating emulsions and suspensions. Regular maintenance is therefore necessary.

Ballistol is biodegradable, not hazardous to water and harmless within the meaning of the Food Act . The characteristic smell comes from the essential oils that are used for perfuming.

composition

See also

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Trademark register
  2. Ballistol product overview , accessed on October 21, 2018.
  3. Ballistol universal oil. Retrieved March 11, 2020 .
  4. ^ Washington Trading Company: Ballistol Material Safety Data Sheet , July 2011.