10/22 rusting issues

[FrankenMauser]

It's a high probability event, not an iron clad guarantee. Maybe the blanket in this particular case doesn't attract moisture. Maybe the SKS is finished in some rust resistant blue / parkerization / paint. Who knows?

Early Russians were blued. Later Russians were painted (high quality, high temp paint).
Chinese SKSs, depending on when and where they came from, were blued, painted, or coated with something like parkerizing.
Most others were painted.

The painted SKSs have essentially zero problems with rust, unless the finish gets chipped off. But once it does, if the storage conditions don't improve... the rust spreads like cancer.

 

[dakiwi13]

tried the fitz polish, didn't work

 

[Brotherbadger]

Cases are for transporting, not storing. They act like sponges and soak up moisture in the air.

Dead on. While it's not a 100% guarantee, it certainly raises the probability of rust forming at some point.

 

[double bogey]

Fontier Big 45 pad. Remove the rust and not the bluing. Don't store in a pelican case.

 

[Picher]

After removing the light rust with 0000 steel or bronze wool and gun oil, degrease the outside with alcohol and apply two coats of automobile wax. I find auto wax or polymer to be superior protection for guns.

Guns should never be placed in gun cases for long-term storage unless the gun is at room temperature and the air never gets more moist than about 70% and temperature doesn't get colder than, say 55*.

If you have a foam-lined hard, gun case, the gun may be better off if you removed the foam and put the gun back in the unlined case, being careful to not jar it. The case will keep dust off it and moisture shouldn't collect. Just replace the foam when you want to take the gun someplace.

 

[RaySendero]

dakiwi13 wrote:

Oh OK, I always thought it was good to store in a gun case.

dakiwi13,

I also, ran into this same rusting issue with padded rifle hard cases. Solved the problem by putting a "gun sock" on the rifle then putting it in the padded case.

 

[Picher]

The biggest problems come when people put guns in cases that were stored in moist areas of the home, then, put them in the trunk of the car or back of an SUV with sun on them. The resulting "steam bath" often causes surface rust in a few hours.

People who live near the coast are the most likely to have these problems, since air in basements and sheds tend to have very high moisture levels.

Hunters who put wet guns away in cases of any kind can experience the same situation. It's especially bad if they forget to take them out of the case at home. Those have been some of the worst "case" rust situations I've encountered in my gunsmithing business.