Oils and or other items for long storage of firearms?

K

Kimio

New member
I recently found out that I'll be going overseas where I will be unable to bring my firearms for several years.

I'm looking into preparations of what I would need to do to ensure that my guns don't rust over or what have you. I'm not quite as concerned with my more modern firearms, but I know my Mosin Nagant, the last time I left it, had some really nasty rust build up both on the action and the bore when I finally picked it back up after 3 years of sitting.

Does anyone have some suggestions on what I can do to ensure that this doesn't happen again?
 
When I was working for a gunshop I had to pack and store several hundred guns while an estate was being settled. I wiped the exteriors and bores with Breakfree COLLECTOR. There are many good rust preventatives out there, I chose Collector because it's easy to apply and doesn't have to be removed.

I then packed the guns in Vapor Corrosion Inhibitor (VCI) bags from Polygun bags. I got a discount on volume, ask if you need a lot of them.

The bags will help prevent rust and are thick enough to offer some physical protection as well. I have removed some of the guns after 6 years in storage without a speck of rust.
 
They'll likely be stored in a cool dry environment, namely my mothers house most likely, considering she lives in the Free state of Arizona.
 
In that case, Breakfree CLP or Eexox liberally on all metal surfaces (remove the grips/stocks to get at the metal underneath). Don't put them in a soft case that will trap moisture.
 
There are several modern methods that will work, and one old time method I know absolutely works.

Paraffin wax. Its a pain in the butt, but encasing your gun in a solid block of paraffin wax will prevent rust, for as long as it stays there.

in the 1970s a couple bought an old home in upstate NY. During renovations they found an old trunk with some civil war era letters, scraps of uniforms, and an oddly heavy block of wax. Inside the wax was a perfectly pristine 1860 Colt revolver. Stored over 100 years, and still exactly the way it left the Colt factory.

I'm pretty sure a lot of things will work. I am certain wax will. Long term, and VERY long term.
 
My guns went untouched for as long as 2 1/2 years while i worked overseas. Not one gun ever had a speck of rust.

At the time i owned over over 150 guns. The bores were swabbed with Militec1. Exterior metal parts were protected by gun grease, Militec1 or carnauba wax.

There are presently guns in my safes that have not been touched in over two years. i'm not worried about rust.

Get a Goldenrod too.
 
The reason I asked "where" is because the physical location is actually just as important as whatever coating you apply. Not just geographic location (AZ is about as good as you can get for lack of humidity) but also where within the structure. It needs to be away from heating/cooling ducts, damp basements, etc.
 
First, I'd but a small amount of oil in the bore and cylinder bores if its a revolver.
Next, I'd use Johnson's paste wax on the finished parts.
Then, I'd crank up my dehumidifier in a fairly small space and get the humidity down to about 40% or less.
I would use sturdy plastic zip-lock type bags to place each gun in, while in the dehumidified room. Lock 'em up and that should do it.

Since the average humidity in my home is 75% without running the dehumidifier, I feel that is too high to where it could possibly condense inside of the bags. Now, if you live in Arizona, you might be able to skip that step.
 
You can oil them up all you want and still ruin them, if they are placed near the water heater, venting of any type, or against a concrete surface.

There is water in concrete, less in brick, but it wicks out to the surface and will rust and pit anything touching it.
 
The rifles an handguns would be placed in a safe in the bedroom closet, away from the vent or what have you. The house is air conditioned to roughly 75 degrees year round give or take.
 
Then just coat them good and you'll be fine. There is a test results floating around somewhere on the internet that compared the rust resisting properties of various gun oils. The tester used salt water to rust quickly so the test would take days instead of years. The two that came out as protecting the best were Eexox and Breakfree CLP.
 
Get a three pack of the Poly Gun bags. The standard size bag is 58" long so unless all your rifles are muzzle loaders with super long barrels you should be able to make two pistol bags out of extra material. If you need to they have an extra long 70 inch version.

Ease of application and removal was a major consideration when I had to do hundreds of guns. Not such a big deal with five. Use RIG grease, LPS3 or Collector with the bags and you'll be fine.
 
sorry, I didn't read all the posts. but if I was doing long term storage, I would clean and dry completely and vacuum bag it with a silica packet.
 
Rust will occur when oxygen reaches the metal. I have used RIG (rust inhibiting grease) https://www.birchwoodcasey.com/Cleaning-and-Maintenance/RIG/RIG®-Universal-Gun-Grease.aspx on a number of guns and swords and the stuff provides excellent protection. Cosmoline was a military rust preventative grease. I would not recommend anything light, or light oils. Light oils will evaporate and leave the surface unprotected.

Rust inhibiting greases have additives that block the migration of oxygen. If the grease dries out, it will lose its rust inhibiting abilities. I would not trust vacuum packs alone, nature abhors a vacuum you know.

I have coated the surface of sword blades with RIG and then wrapped the blade with wax paper. The wax paper keeps the grease from drying out. I remember French military rifles which were wrapped in greased mummy wrap. That protected the rifles from rust for over 50 years.
 
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