Gatofeo

The above, lengthy thread -- taken from elsewhere and posted on here without my permission or knowledge -- emphasizes the use of wads in cap and ball revolvers. But much of the information is also applicable to wads used in rifles and shotguns.

Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant (named for me after I had been posting it for a few years) is useful for a variety of black powder applications: bullets, shotgun wads, patches for round balls, etc.

I wrote the above thread about 10 years ago, with an emphasis on cap and ball revolvers. If you shoot cap and ball revolvers, you'll use far more wads than a single-shot rifle.
The information still rings true.

As applied to cap and ball revolvers:
1. A lubricated felt wad between the ball and powder eliminates the need to put grease over the ball.

2. A lubricated, felt wad apparently has a "scrubbing" effect, keeping the revolver's bore clean from forcing cone to muzzle. Not so with loose grease over the ball. I've proved this to myself many times.

3. Making your own wads allows you room for experimentation. You can use different lubricants, and cut wads from different materials. I also make wads from the waxed cardboard of milk containers, for my cartridge rifles and to place between the powder and lubricated felt wad as a barrier to discourage powder contamination.
I only use this thin, waxed paper wad between powder and lubricated felt wad when it's warm outdoors, and I plan to carry the cap and ball revolver or rifle for hours or days at a time.

4. Having a proper wad cutter also allows me to cut hard, wool felt of different thicknesses for different purposes. Most often, I cut wads of 1/8" thickness, but I'll also cut 1/4" wads if I want to take up space in the revolver's chamber with a light load, or feel I need the extra lubricant that the 1/4" wad holds.

5. Toilet seals haven't been made of beeswax for 10 or 15 years. They're a petroleum product now and should be avoided. Use real beeswax. It's worth the search to find it.

I'll allow my old posting to continue here, because I've always tried to help other shooters. I haven't gained ONE CENT from my postings.
If not helpful, you may at least find it interesting.