View Full Version : Anyone experienced rusting from storing handguns in their factory case?
It's usually not a good idea to store guns in Pelican and Hardigg cases, due to the open cell foam and the airtight nature of the cases, as they can rust.
What about storing handguns in their factory clamshell cases? I'd assume that the cases close loosely enough and that the foam is open enough that moisture wouldn't be trapped. Anyone have any first hand experience with long-term storage of handguns in their cases?
I had an M&P 45 take down lever rust while in its factory case. This was an early M&P so that could have been the issue. I keep all my guns in a cabinet with an electric dehumidifier in it.
Business_Casual
02-15-11, 22:26
I've always wondered why they don't rust in gun store display cases. Seriously.
B_C
They dont rust because a majority of the guns that are new from factory are lubed with grease. Thats why they always tell you to clean the firearm before you shoot it...
Crow Hunter
02-16-11, 21:34
I've always wondered why they don't rust in gun store display cases. Seriously.
B_C
Most of them are open so the air can circulate around them I think. Assuming of course it is a climate controlled environment.
I think you get in trouble when you close up wet air with salty fingerprints on exposed metal in an air tight case.
Also alot of companies pack with VCI paper or bags too. That stuff works wonders, we used to pack moist cast iron rotors it and no rust.
You can actually watch gray cast iron rust, especially if you setup a grinder and forget to add rust inhibitor to the coolant and you grind a part.:fie:
Gray cast iron swarf will also spontaneously combust when combined with filtration media and left to sit over a weekend exposed to oxygen.:help:
Crow Hunter
02-16-11, 21:40
Umm......
not that I have developed and set up new processess without fully reading all the instructions with new equipment.....
Because real engineers don't need no stinking instructions...
:ph34r:
Gray cast iron swarf will also spontaneously combust when combined with filtration media and left to sit over a weekend exposed to oxygen.:help:
intersting...
i used to run an abrasive waterjet, and i built a system for it to collect the abrasive and crap from teh bottom of the catch tank. Basically pumped a sandy/slurry stuff out of the bottom of the tank into 55 gallon drums where it would settle out, then the water would run back into the tank. I noticed a few times that the barrels would get very warm. Maybe some iron particles from the steel i was cutting was oxidizing rapidly. Being wet of course it never actually caught fire, but man it got hot. :eek:
davebee456
02-17-11, 00:55
DAMN! I stored my Hk45C In a Pelican Case Locked For a Year.
I open it up every couple of months and check it for rust but I didnt see any last time.
I hope I did not F This One Up!
DAMN! I stored my Hk45C In a Pelican Case Locked For a Year.
I open it up every couple of months and check it for rust but I didnt see any last time.
I hope I did not F This One Up!
If you clean the gun, oil it down, and then allow the gun and case to reach the same temperature as the ambient air of where you'll be storing your firearm (i.e. leave the case open for a day or so), and as long as you keep the container in temperature-controlled climate, you should be fine.
However.... what usually happens is someone takes their gun and simply throws it in an airtight case. If the case is closed in a humid environment or the air in the case (at the time it is shut) is warmer than the temperature of the air where the case is kept, then condensation can form when the temperature in the case drops. Condensation will eventually come out of the air (and out of the foam, since it can absorb it) and collect on the first medium it comes into contact with, usually the firearm.
Some people try to combat rust by adding desiccant packs to their cases or by smothering their guns in oil, but it's a lot easier if you simply don't store them in airtight cases.
That said, HKs use nitrocarburized steel, which is about as rust resistant as you can get. Your pistol should be fine. If anything, your springs are the most susceptible to rust, and they can easily be replaced. Just do a detail clean and call it good.
If you are going to keep a gun in such a container, just throw in a handful of silica packs. That's why I do in essence with my safe, except I have one of those huge two pound industrial bags tucked away in the corner.
Beat Trash
02-17-11, 15:42
I kept a Sig 228 and a Sig 226 stored in the factory cases for about three years. The cases were in my safe which has one of those electric de-humidifier rods in it.
I would put a light coating of oil in the guns prior to putting them up in their cases. The oil slightly stained the foam, but who cares. I never had any issues with rust.
Cesiumsponge
02-17-11, 19:55
I've gotten rust before on factory cases. Anything using porous foam can store moisture, even if there is a lot of air circulation.
A lot of tools and inspection equipment used in precision machining or measuring come with VCI paper, or Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor. It's basically a yellowish brown paper with chemicals on it that constantly release a chemical that prevents corrosion. The paper is good enough to protect precision measuring equipment worth much more than standard firearms and a lot of specialty precision levels and other tooling are made from cast iron, which will rust if you so much as eyeball it. It's good stuff, but generally not available in quantities smaller than a roll.
I'm actually not sure how long it takes a dehumidifier rod in a gun safe to actually "bake out" the moisture of it's contents to safe levels since it's very low levels of heat and moisture removal must be slow.
Make sure if you soak the firearm in oil, it is not a hygroscopic oil. Hygroscopic oils will absorb water by sucking it out of the air and you end up with an oil/water mixture on the firearm which can actually accelerate rust. I think most gun oils aren't hygroscopic in nature. However, stuff like WD-40 are but you shouldn't be hosing down firearms with that junk anyhow as the last step.
Crow Hunter
02-17-11, 20:20
intersting...
i used to run an abrasive waterjet, and i built a system for it to collect the abrasive and crap from teh bottom of the catch tank. Basically pumped a sandy/slurry stuff out of the bottom of the tank into 55 gallon drums where it would settle out, then the water would run back into the tank. I noticed a few times that the barrels would get very warm. Maybe some iron particles from the steel i was cutting was oxidizing rapidly. Being wet of course it never actually caught fire, but man it got hot. :eek:
They can get really hot. We used Henry filtration systems and the filter media rolled up on the end as it built up a cake of material. Once the roll got to a certain size it would trip an alarm and let the operators know they needed to take off the old roll and put a 2x4 in and start a new roll. It only took one time to find out that you couldn't wear our usual latex gloves to switch rolls. Rather disconcerting when your gloves start melting on your hands.:D
We would put them in big VCI bags and seal them. Once the iron ran out of oxygen the exothermic reaction would stop and they would cool down. As long as they were pretty wet you didn't have to worry about the paper combusting, but if you let the ouside layers of the media roll dry out it would start to smolder.
Its all fun and games until someone trips the fire alarm.:rolleyes:
My sporting clays shotgun started to rust a little after I stored it in a closed Americase (pretty much air tight). I have since moved it into an airtight safe with a dehumidifier. I have not had a problem since.
As for handguns, I think you would probably be ok if you store it in a factory clamshell case (like the Glock or Sig cases) because they are not airtight.
They can get really hot. We used Henry filtration systems and the filter media rolled up on the end as it built up a cake of material. Once the roll got to a certain size it would trip an alarm and let the operators know they needed to take off the old roll and put a 2x4 in and start a new roll. It only took one time to find out that you couldn't wear our usual latex gloves to switch rolls. Rather disconcerting when your gloves start melting on your hands.:D
We would put them in big VCI bags and seal them. Once the iron ran out of oxygen the exothermic reaction would stop and they would cool down. As long as they were pretty wet you didn't have to worry about the paper combusting, but if you let the ouside layers of the media roll dry out it would start to smolder.
Its all fun and games until someone trips the fire alarm.:rolleyes:
metal is fun
the water in this machine was aerated pretty well, both from shooting a stream of water into the tank at mach 3 (seriously, 55,000 psi) and from teh bubbler i set up in the bottom of the tank to keep abrasive in suspension.
so i guess there was enough oxygen to generate some heat.
Cesiumsponge
02-19-11, 00:16
How interesting! We manufacture a lot of the high pressure components for Flow, KMT, H2O Jet, Omax, etc including the 60ksi intensifier assembly components. Its amusing to think that these competitors are getting their parts made by one company :dirol:
MRE heaters have some iron and magnesium in them and does exciting things when it redoxes.
How interesting! We manufacture a lot of the high pressure components for Flow, KMT, H2O Jet, Omax, etc including the 60ksi intensifier assembly components. Its amusing to think that these competitors are getting their parts made by one company :dirol:
MRE heaters have some iron and magnesium in them and does exciting things when it redoxes.
ah cool.
I ran a flow dynamic waterjet. 50 hp. it used the older 3 piston pump, i guess the hydraulic 2 piston intensifier thing is better, but the 3 piston worked good as long as you rebuilt it on schedule.
I loved that machine. You could cut out anything with it. imagination to part in your hand in like 10 minutes.
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