A question about long term storage.

[Winnerkd]

Hello,

On November 14th my grandfather passed away, and he had a significant collection of firearms. The vast majority of these are bolt guns and my grandmother has requested my father and I clean them and ''tend to them so they don't rust''. Now, having never had to ''tend'' to a firearm for very long term storage, I'm wondering what types of steps would you recommend?

They are kept in a plate glass display case, the house is always kept about seventy degrees but as far as what lubricates, grease or protective measures I should take I'm at a loss. Please feel free to request any more information that would help suggest a good method of going about preparing these firearms for possibly the last cleaning and lubing they will get for a long time.

Any produce or technique suggestions would be most welcome!

Thanks,

Kevin

[AJS]

Can you ring a firearms museum?
They would have a good idea.

[Heidevolk]

Grease?

[orkan]

Send them to me. I'll take good care of them. :)

[M4Fundi]

Sorry for your loss

You might explain to your Grand Mother that the best way to keep rust off of a gun is shooting it regularly;)

[ZRH]

Rubber parts will break down. Wood requires different treatments depending on the type of finish.

Oiled wood can be coated in cosmoline (this would be a flat oily finish like on military weapons). Cellulose lacquer and acrylic needs to be kept "dry," hydrocarbons will kill it and it's not particularly moisture resistant. Any sudden changes in humidity can kill a hunk of wood, they have to be slowly brought to their desired storage state and kept there.

If you find someone that will do it: Vacuum packing them in PET film after lightly oiling them and storing them in a dry location with some desiccant will work.

You can also coat the entire gun in cosmoline and stick a tube of VCI paper down the bore. Then wrap the entire thing in VCI paper. It works as long as they don't get wet.

This is just what has worked well for me. You should definitely do some research before committing to anything.

[jared91]

i have recently came across a product called "frog lube". it is an amazing little product. heat up metal areas of the firearm until it is warm, rub into the metal, then wipe off. it seals against the metal, locking out moisture. any moisture that forms will bead up and run off of the gun, and prevents rust. will also protect the wood, without warping or discoloring. i think it is starting to be handed out to our troops.

[maximus83]

For items in a display case, especially if they have a lot of wood, consider using Renaissance Wax. This stuff is one of the finest products out there for protecting items like this.

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=857663


For long-term storage, it's really hard to beat the following products. They all have their trade-offs:

CorrosionX: This is what I use. Incredible rust protection, bonds to metal, also usable as a regular CLP-like lube. You can get it from a number of online dealers or local hardware stores. I tend to buy it by the gallon from places like this:

http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/cspages/corrosionx.php

Boeshield T9: This stuff puts sort of a waxy coating on everything. Good for long-term storage, but you also have to clean it off when you want to use the item later.

Rig Universal grease: This stuff is awesome and will totally protect metal in long-term storage. However, again it's messy and will have to be cleaned off (similar to Cosmoline).

Here's an article at Brownells that comparatively reviews a couple of these products, the Boeshield and the RIG grease.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=12616/GunTechdetail/Gun_Cleaning_Clinic__Knowing_the_Limits_of_Rust_Preventatives


In short, if you want these things in sort of a display case and want them to look presentable, and might get them out from time to time, I'd suggest using a combo of Ren. wax on the wood, and CorrosionX on the metal parts. If you're going to keep them stored away and hidden from sight in long-term storage, again I'd use the Ren. wax on the wood, but use the Boeshield or the RIG grease on the metal.

[spdldr]

Be careful to use only a small amount of any liquid preservative. Excess will run down the metal and into the wood of the stock, damaging it. My favorite is a light coating of RIG grease over the metal parts.