Best remedies for drowned handguns?

R

rauke

New member
Finally happened…

…got caught out in the open in a torrential downpour for a couple of hours with both carry pieces --- primary and back-up. Both completely soaked and dripping wet. Leather holsters, too.

A shooting buddy suggested field-stripping the guns and spraying every thing (except the cartridges) with WD-40 to displace all the moisture, patting every thing dry, and then re-applying lubricant. He also recommended that I junk all the wet cartridges, for good measure.

Would you consider this a valid way of restoring the normal functionality of handguns?

With all due respect, what would you consider the best way to arrest rust and restore a gun’s reliable operation after a good water logging?
 
When mine get soaked........

I give them a good cleaning. If I decide to not completely disassemble them, I take my air compressor and blow the water out of the insides of the piece. Most of the time I do a completely disassembly, dry all the parts, check for any forming rust, get rid of that, and then lubricate, and re-assemble.
In the case of the leather holster, I will dry it with a cloth, and then blow them off with a hair dryer, which dries the leather, and then use Neats Foot Oil or something like that on them.
As for the cartridges, most of them will stand a soaking to some degree. I would dry them off, and use them, but not in my carry piece.
 
Whatever you do, ACT FAST. It sounds like WD40 is a decent answer - pop the grips off if they're wood or some other natural material.

Before putting 'em back in service, you may want to get the WD40 off with...hmmm...rubbing alcohol? Whatever...re-oil then with a real gun oil.

But again: don't delay here!!!
 
Wet guns

For an all steel gun, take the grips off, and put it in the oven at set the temp just enough to evaporate the water.
 
Commercial ammunition isn't as thoroughly waterproofed as military stuff, but hunters, cops, and other people spend plenty of time out in the rain. Unless the cartridges have been fully underwater for a while I wouldn't worry about them.

If you're concerned anyway, rotate those cartridges to your plinking supply and put fresh ones in. If you insist on throwing them away, just mail them to me...
 
Negative on WD-40

It was a novelty in the 70s but there are much better options today. As said earlier, remove the grips. If it's a revolver, take the side plate off. Putting in a 200 oven is good.
 
I canoe frequently and am never without my handgun. I go into buggery places that require me to get out of the boat to pull it over an obstruction or clear it with a handsaw or chainsaw. The guns get wet, they go for a swim several times a year. Not only that but sweat and rain. Both of my canoe guns are corrosion resistant. I strip them, blow them out with canned air, give them a normal cleaning and lube and replace the cartridges. The cartridges are not fit for self defense use after taking a bath, I take them to the range and shoot them for practice. I have never had one fail to fire. I don't regard a gun going for a swim as a big deal. I would worry more if they were carbon steel or museum pieces.
 
Thank you gun44, Jim March, hhb, TRX, GauxTide, Suwannee Tim, Mike Irwin, and Fremmer

Except for the minor disruptions caused in our household routine, I think these two pieces will survive. The holsters are still 50-50.

Dried out both handguns out thoroughly, sprayed with WD-40 for good measure, removed WD-40, re-lubricated with genuine gun oil, and moved soggy hollow-points to practice batch.

May have to consider buying my own hair dryer and a small oven toaster (or an air compressor), though, if this happens again.

Do your partners give you funny looks when you try to borrow their hair dryers? Our cook almost fainted when she found the Ruger Security-Six (without grips) slowly roasting in oven when it was time to prepare dinner.

Wisely remembered not to put similarly-affected affected Ruger LCP and cartridges in oven together with Security-Six. (Still feeling a little disoriented---may have suffered multiple lightening strikes or head trauma from the big raindrops without knowing it…)

Also need to buy some proper leather conditioner to save IWB and pocket holsters.

Good one, TRX! I’d oblige you in a wink, except that it’d probably cost more to send you the cartridges from where I am now than the cost of the cartridges themselves (!)

Mike! I thought you were my friend! (But I forgive you --- I bet I wouldn’t have been able to resist making that remark, either!)

By the way, is it true that you can waterproof cartridges by painting them with clear nail polish around the primer area and around the point where the bullet meets the shell casing? (Just wondering if the nail polish can cause feeding or fouling issues in semi-autos like the LCP, for example.)

It’s the rainy season over here; we’re looking forward to a couple of more months of this unholy weather…

Best regards to you all!
 
The cartridges are not fit for self defense use after taking a bath, I take them to the range and shoot them for practice. I have never had one fail to fire.
Click to expand...

If that is true, then why wouldn't they be fit to use?
 
Compressed air

Compressed air has moisture in it. Go to a camera store and buy a can of the compressed air that's used to clean cameras and computers.
 
Yeah, compressed air has moisture in it, but not to such a degree that it's going to make the situation worse. By removing water by blowing it out, even with moist air, you're making things a LOT better.

One thing I do when I have a gun that gets wet, especially in the summer, is shake out all the standing water and then put it in front of my dehumidifier so that the blast of dehumidified air is blowing directly on it.

That's worked well for me in the past with a lot of wet things, including leather boots.

Sealing the gun in a box with a bunch of silica gel packs will also work, but it may not be quick enough to pull water out of nooks and crannies before it does damage.

I'm NOT a big fan of using WD-40 on firearms. But, if I had to, I would, but would follow it up a few hours later with a good sluicing with brake cleaner.

Brake cleaner by itself actually isn't a bad solution, either. Its evaporation rate is far higher than water, but as it evaporates it will take a lot of water with it.
 
With steel guns you can unload the guns, remove any plastic or wood grips, and dunk 'em in boiling water for about a minute.

the heat dries 'em back off FAST when you pull them back out. Then re-lube RIGHT AWAY to keep 'em in good shape.
 
Oven caution . . .

When using an oven to dry a firearm, let the oven get to the temperature set, then turn it off, then put the gun inside; to avoid over heating the gun. Many ovens' temperatures fluctuate by many degrees going several degrees over the set temperature and dropping several degrees under the set temperature.
 
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