I've never tried mineral oil but, when I'm out & about in the outdoors, a firesteel & PJ cotton balls are my primary fire starting method. I do also have some Tinder-Quik, but they are tucked away in a kit as a back-up item.

As mentioned, the PJ & cotton balls are inexpensive and as so are my go-to item for regular use.

I don't find them too messy, but I don't tend to go too heavy on the PJ. I tried making saturated ones once but wasn't able to come up with a combination that used a lot of PJ that I was still able to light easily.
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Victory awaits him who has everything in order — luck, people call it. Defeat is certain for him who has neglected to take the necessary precautions in time; this is called bad luck. Roald Amundsen