ANOTHER question about safe storage... Sorry. Surface Rust?

Well... Not quite sure on how to proceed. There are only two things I am sure about.

First I am going to take a toothbrush and see if I can remove the brown of my blued guns with a little scrubbing. :confused: Hopefully that works. Not sure about what chemical to use. Don't wanna remove it all. Would love further suggestions on this matter. I might just have them re-blue them on a later date.

Second I want to find the make and model of my Sentry Safe along with the warranty. I am trying to figure out how to best explain the problem to them. I don't want it to sound like I'm trying to pass of the neglect of my firearms on them.

If it is a problem with the safe, not exactly sure where and how to store my stuff. Or I should just suck it up leave them in there and try get a better safe in a few months... Perhaps the Eezox I ordered will cure the situation. But I'd prefer not to leave them in there.

Thanks all I am positive I'll have further questions and info for you guys in the coming week. Hopefully I can get this all worked out.:(
 
See if you can find the manual for the safe while you're at it. If you do have one of their fire-resistant models that uses impregnated material, you're likely out of luck for a warranty claim - somewhere in the manual it will say not to use the safe to store firearms (at least my Sentry manual did - I just didn't notice it the first time I read it.)
 
If you put a good coat of protectant on your guns, you could store them in a swimming pool without rust. You are doing something wrong.
The surface rust should come off by gently rubbing with 0000 steel wool. Flush the steel wool from the gun with WD40, then oil the guns.
 
I've never found these silicone clothes to be of much use. I always wipe down my guns using a cloth soak with a little bit of CLP/Breakfree. Haven't had a problem yet even though my safe is stored in the basement where it's relatively damp.
 
I have 3 safes full of guns here in Central Texas. My dad's house where they are stored is on the lake front. I use the same stuff grampa used I have not had a bit of rust. I use a light coat of mineral oil. It is the stuff they make baby oil with. They just thin it out, and add scent. You can buy it at most any pharmacy, ir harware store. In the pharmacy it will be in the section with the stool softeners and laxatives. It is non toxic, back in the days of old it was used as a laxative. Odorless, colorless, and tasteless. I once spiked my cousin's Big red with it. Grampa tore my butt up for that one.:p Ok back to the topic put some on a cleaning patch and wipethe gun down with a film of it. O the same inside of the bore. Every couple of months or so just wide down with a clean cloth, and swab the bore. Put on another fresh clean coat when done. Clean the gun real good before going shooting. between me and my cousin all of the guns get this treatment 3 times a year. It also works well as a honing oil when shapening knives.
 
ANYTHING that puts a solid protective film will work - whether oil, wax, or similar-based. The humidity where I live has been at 80%+ for the last five days - outside, garage, etc. are like saunas...safe is inside, golden rod, THREE dessicant boxes and I need to renew them every 3-4 weeks. When I lived out West, safe was in the garage and I never used any form of moisture absorbent.

Add more stuff, wipe your guns down now and again
 
Odd that you have such problems with humidity only generally getting into the 50's. In MI it gets like the rain forest where you can have a drink of water by simply breathing. Generally in the 80% range in the summer while often hitting 90% I think. I have not had any issues with my small arsanel. I do keep them oiled every few months and check on them but just really supprised to hear of your problems.

Other then whats already been suggested, maybe try a dehumidifier in your gun room? Also goto radio shack and buy a cheep little temp/humidity sensor and throw it into the safe. Let it sit for a while and check it. :confused:

GL Man.
 
Sentry safes that are not specified by Sentry for gun storage use a very wet gypsum clay type compound to get the fire ratings they have. I have seen this stuff and it does contain a LOT of water. The plastic interior used in the safe will have seams and holes which should be plugged at the factory but sometimes they're not sealed up good. I have one of these safes and when I drilled holes for bolting it to the floor I saw this clay fire lining. I carefully caulked every seam and hole in the liner and have had no rust for over 6 years now. I do not use a Goldenrod, only keep the guns wiped down with Breakfree CLP or Collector. Mine is mounted in a one story house on a concrete slab and I keep the humidity controlled at 35 to 40% year round. If you are going to use a non-firearm Sentry safe take a look at the interior and see if you have any exposed holes or seams. Leaving the door open for very long with the safe in the basement is probably not helping either. If the air in the basement is damp it is being trapped in the safe when you lock it up. Buy a humidity gauge (don't go cheap on this) and see what the humidity in that basement is. Your moisture has to be either from the fire lining or the basement. As others have said keep the guns well oiled and check them frequently. A small room dehumidifier will not be able to compete with a basement that is damp.
 
I have several bottles of Oil that need to be used up I don't use Rem Oil exclusively.
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I would absorb the loss and toss it.

rubbing with 0000 steel wool.
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No. You will leave bits of steel in the gun metal and that will rust really bad. Use brass wool.

I carefully caulked every seam and hole in the liner and have had no rust for over 6 years now.
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Pure silicone caulk? Just wondering. I may go to town on my safe een though it doesn't have this problem.

I believe the goldenrod functions a little differently then previously described. It keeps the inside of the safe hotter than the outside. As such any exterior air, which should be colder, will not condense on objects inside the relatively warm safe. Same as your cars defroster.
 
I haven't had any rust problems for the past year or so since I switched to transmission fluid as my all-purpose cleaner/protectant/lubricant. I leave a generous (but not dripping) film on each of my guns when I put them away and do a quick wipe-down before heading out and shooting them again. I wipe down my CCW/bedside gun every couple of days with a light coating of transmission fluid and I haven't had any problems out of any of them.
 
My thought was also that the problem may be the safe itself. I would definitely contact the manufacturer, it may in fact be defective, or perhaps not intended for gun storage.
 
Yes, I used a silicone caulk designed for caulking tubs/shower enclosures. I even caulked the heads of the bolts securing the safe to the floor. I think if the inside of the safe is sealed from the moisture in the fire liner compound and the air in the room that will be sealed in the safe when it is open is reasonably dry that I won't have any problems. But as I said earlier, Sentry specifically warns against using their document safes for storing firearms. The firearm safes must use a different fire lining material. Most locksmiths will tell you that Sentry's safes are not really that hard to breach but if mine will protect my handguns from fire and smash and grab punks it will serve the purpose I bought it for. Just be sure to inspect the guns frequently and monitor the relative humidity in the room. I have had very good luck using the Breakfree Collector oil on tools and machinery in my shop. It seems to work very well. Breakfree CLP and Eezox(?) are also very good.
 
If you use steel wool, you are supposed to clean/flush the gun after. You won't have rusting problems. Bronze/brass wool is safer to use.
 
Try Gunzilla, it's easy to spray on and it works pretty darn well against my "rust promoting" body chemistry so it might help you out.

I wrote a review here and I'm still using the stuff.

The down side is your guns smell like salad oil after :rolleyes:
 
Someone should correct me if I'm wrong, but my understanding of the golden rod is that it maintains a constant temp which prevents condensation from forming on the gun surfaces when it gets cold, such as at night or during the winter. In your case, I wonder if the golden rod is just heating the safe interior and letting the moisture wick out of the fireproofing material. I had a golden rod in my safe for about 24 hours and then decided that I do not like electric hot things in contact with surfaces such as carpeting, important papers, ammo, etc, and I threw out the golden rod. Have not had any problems with rust, but that may or may not be due to the golden rod.
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Another thing the golden rod is suppose to do is creat a draft in your safe if it is not air tight. By creating warm air rising it is suppose to draw cool air in.
 
I don't know about the lining in the safe / but anything that holds moisture - that will release it when the air cools is bad.

The idea is to heat the air in the safe - so it will hold more moisture. If you let it cool / then the moisture condenses on items that are the coolest ( steel ) ...and that's your culprit.

Using other protectant products might work / but de-humidifying - and increasing the air temp in the safe is part of the trick. Consider a 15 watt bulb rather than the "golden rod" ....the bulb will give off a lot more heat.

Get rid of any foam or anything that will hold moisture / if you use dessicant and it saturates - then it will release moist air to equalize itself. If you use dessicant / then you have to get it out of there before it saturates / or it'll be like leaving a damp sponge in there - and if you're not around to change it often / its part of the problem too.

I'd be cautious with things like transmission fluid / or you'll strip the finish right off of your guns. You need to clean them and get all the rust off (inside and out ) / oil them with an oil that has some preservative in it - and that will stay on the guns. Its not easy - in a very humid environment when temps vary and the air holds moisture during the day / and then it cools off at nite. Just stay after it the best you can ......
 
Other then whats already been suggested, maybe try a dehumidifier in your gun room?
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I have to agree here, I have a safe full of dessicant bags but without a doubt the dehumidifier is the best thing I have to keep my firearms dry.
 
Any other chemicals in the area? Chlorine tablets used in pools or aerobic OSSF's promote rust, had to move them out of my tool shed.
 
Wow whole BUNCH of new replies! Sorry I've been burnt out haven't checked in recently. I planted my large dehumidifier right in front of the safe its forcing the hot dry air in to the seems of the door and it seems to be working quite well keeping the humidity down. :D easily another 20% that makes me happy.

Haven't really done anything further will probably check into it further this weekend when I have more free time...

Any ideas where to look for the Model number on my safe? I could only find the Serial...
 
Seems like you're on your way. Put me down as another firm believer in Eezox and Breakfree CLP. I coat everything internal with a thin layer of CLP, even if I'm going to oil over top of it; e.g., the rails on a semi-auto. On the exterior, everything gets a coat of Eezox.
 
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