Protecting the finish on steel guns

R

radioflyer

New member
For those of you that have (non-stainless) steel guns, what do you use to maintain the guns finish? I live in Houston where the humidity will bring surface rust to ANY bare steel surface in a matter of hours.
 
Wipe it down every night with a silicon cloth. Maybe even keep it wrapped in the cloth overnight. That works for me in a southern Florida humidity.
 
I have used Break Free clp for better than 35 years and never had rust show itself. Some guns spend season to season in the safe and i coat them and put away after the season and don't even both to check any more . I hunt in the rain and till 11 years ago lived in sw florida . Also use it for the baic cleaner along with kroil oil . Thats it. Don't think them SS guns won't rust ,,put a magnet on yours and see if it sticks, if it does there is carbon in it . They do rust , just take more abuse.
 
Is the CLP a hardware store product or could I get it at wally world? Do you apply directly to the steel or on a cloth ande wipe it in?
 
Don't think them SS guns won't rust ,,put a magnet on yours and see if it sticks, if it does there is carbon in it .
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All steel has carbon in it. That's what makes it steel, an alloy of carbon and iron. What attracts the magnet is the iron, aka magnetite. ;)
 
I use a silicone cloth, and then store in a silicone gun sack/sock and keep it in the gun locker. In the gun locker I have a dessicant pack and a goldenrod. You have to be dilligent about backing the dessicant packs.
 
Breakfree CLP, LP or Collector. Eezox is very good. Birchwood Casey Sheath is good. Probably will not find any of these in Wally Mart. Order online or hit some gun shows. I have used Breakfree CLP for twenty years plus because it is a good cleaning solvent, a good lube and it does prevent corrosion with a light layer wiped on and one bottle of CLP is on all you need on your bench. Best way to oil a gun's finish to prevent corrosion is to apply with a small brush. It will get into the nooks and crannies better than a rag. Wipe off excess. Be sure to put a thin layer under the grips once in awhile. Sweat will creep in under them. Have shot 800 to 1,000 rounds a day in a .45 and when torn down there is still CLP on the barrel bushing and rails. Have carried a Bulldog Pug (blued) for many many years and never had any rust. Also works great on door locks, hinges, etc. Remember to shake it up when using it. The Teflon will settle out on the bottom.
 
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Boeshield T9, a wax based bicycle chain lube has done extremely well in corosion
Resistance tests. I have used it for several years now.
 
For those of you that have (non-stainless) steel guns, what do you use to maintain the guns finish? I live in Houston where the humidity will bring surface rust to ANY bare steel surface in a matter of hours.
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That's some humidity!

I live in Boston. And while we have humidity that's not as bad as yours, it gets some humid here

I second the silicon cloth. I have 6 handguns and a riffle, the newest one is 7 years old, and next newest one is 21 years old and my oldest is a Colt made in 1920:

m1903.jpg


I keep them all locked up, but no heating element, nothing special except every other week I wipe down with a silicone cloth. the Colt above had surface rust that would wipe off with a cloth. I made a slurry of gun oil and just a touch of soft scrub, took all that orange surface corrosion off and that pic above is the result. It doesn't rust at all now that I use the silicon cloth even though 60% of the blue is gone, and we see a wide range of temps here in Boston, resulting is some pretty hot humid summers. I don't sweat it; the silicon cloth works like a charm for me
 
My whole life after cleaning a gun and lubing I wipe all the metal down with the left over oil and my fingers, never had rust issues with a thin film and it is good therapy to rub your gun :D
 
Quote: "For those of you that have (non-stainless) steel guns, what do you use to maintain the guns finish? I live in Houston where the humidity will bring surface rust to ANY bare steel surface in a matter of hours. "

RF,
I have lived in Houston for 35 years and 12 years in Corpus Christi before that. After switching to RustePrufe in 1970 for rust prevention, I have had NO RUST on any of my guns. RustePrufe is available locally at Carters Country gunshops.
 
Treated vapor paper for long-term storage

If you don't want to wipe anything on the gun you can use industrial anti-corrosion wrap paper for indefinite long-term storage. I bought some @ Brownells (gunsmith / gun parts online and catalog) and wrapped up some guns for a decade in the damp basement and they came out like new. you could also wipe oil AND use that paper (I think it is "Inox" paper). The paper works by vapor, it is chemically treated to completely stop the rust process. If you are going to bury or store your guns for a long time, they simply will not rust at all -- even internally.
 
craigc Guess i should have said carbon steel in it OR some other mix of magnetic components that will allow it to rust. You should have known what i meant but its good to have some one bring it to my attention. The point was most any SS worth a darn will also rust given the right conditions.
 
I have been using Eezox for the past few years. About once a month, I spray the my speed-six down and wipe it good with a silicon/eezox rag. I was previously using rem oil, but here in SC the humidity gets pretty bad, and I was getting a little surface rust on occasion. When I switched to Eezox, proble solved.
 
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