Safe Queens

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  • Last Post 28 April 2016
Wineman posted this 29 December 2015

I always seem to have my favorite flavor of the month (year etc.) so the rest of the litter kind of sits in the safe for extended periods of time, maybe a few years until they get out to stretch their legs. I know Ed Harris said that his Red is good for two years (mine has lanolin too) while I have also read about different greases, Lee liquid Alox, various factory protection products as long term bore coatings. With my spare M1 barrel, I cleaned it and used LPS#3 a heavy anti rust coating, and put it in a PVC tube with moisture adsorbing pellets. There are even plastic bags with vapor generating compounds that are supposed to do the same thing.

Like most things, I will bet there are as many ways to skin a cat as there are colors of cats. I guess I was looking for something easy to use and easy to get off when the time came. My climate is pretty dry and I keep a Goldenrod in the safe. Maybe Ed's Red every two years is all I need?

Just thought I would start a nice winter discussion and see how far we get.

Have a Happy New Year!

Dave

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 29 December 2015

my current favorite is * fluid film * in a spray can, from a napa store . it is a combo of wax and lanolin . it stays slightly wet .

ballistol is good for light duty and wiping off a gun right after use.....one advantage is that it doesn't attack stock finish . it is not good enough for medium risk conditions.

RIG grease is the most effective for long term high risk storage...but more work . and clean with ballistol first to remove acids .

this is my OPINION from shop steel tooling and gun metal.

ken

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RicinYakima posted this 29 December 2015

Wineman,

FWIW, as you know I live in Yakima, so it may not apply down in the south where you live! RIG grease applied with a wool pad will last at least 5 years in an unheated shop. I am presently at 3 years in the shop with Ed's Red minus the lanolin, but it is getting thin and may not make it through this winter.

Vapor papers in sealed tubes are good for at least 10 years. One of the things I did in Viet Nam was build caches for the “people that don't exist". Metal ammo cans with 1/8th inch of cosmoline, wrapped in plastic sand bags and buried in wet soil was supposed to last for at least 20 years. We were suppose to bury a can of naphtha with every cache, so I think that was for cleaning what ever was in the cans.

The engineering studies show that a 50/50 mix of ATF and acetone is as good as solvent for ferrous metal that is available. A patch through the bore before shooting and then a patch of bullet lube you are using for matches, and you are good to go.

HTH, Ric

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onondaga posted this 29 December 2015

http://castbulletassoc.org/view_user.php?id=893>Wineman

My long term barrel storage is small, I have 2 in for the count. My preparation is simple:

  1. Thoroughly clean barrel
  2. Swab bore with a fluffy bore mop loaded with Johnson's Paste Wax
  3. Do not buff
  4. Coat full barrel with JPW, don't buff
  5. roll up in wax paper, then bubble wrap
  6. box (postal tube) and put in dehumidified safe.

I'd estimate this method is good for 20 years safe storage.

Mineral Spirits is an excellent and fast solvent for JPW.

Gary

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delmarskid1 posted this 30 December 2015

Roy Dunlop mentioned a home brew that is easy to make. Equal parts by volume of canning wax and linseed oil. Melt the wax pour and stir. This makes a good release agent when glassing a stock too. I put this stuff on the bottom of a water heater sitting on concrete and no rust came after ten years. It washes off with paint thinner.

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Wineman posted this 31 December 2015

Thanks everyone for the good feedback. Somewhere I read about an Alaskan native with a rusted 22 LR that had been out in the winter for several years. A gunsmith said it was a POS and just toss it but after checking the bore he found the bullet wax had perfectly preserved it.

Ric, I loved the story of the non existent folks. One of my uncles was on an LPH during the VN War. He was an electricians mate and he said he was in the Beach Jumper program to run the radio communications. He might have dug up one of your caches?

Dave

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RicinYakima posted this 31 December 2015

Not likely, as everything we did was on/around the Ho Chi Minh trail. Unless he also worked the Mekong River delta up into that other country we never went too. Give him my best wishes and a welcome home from me. Ric

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Wineman posted this 01 January 2016

Ric,

I will next time I see him. He is in Arizona, retired from the IBEW and cleans pools to fund his habit. I never really discussed the time he served, so I could not tell you where he was. One of my other uncles just passed, he was a machinist on the Ticonderoga, same time same place. We have the Hornet docked in Alameda and I was able to see the areas he would have worked in as part of the tour.

Happy New Year.

Dave

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Brodie posted this 01 January 2016

For long term storage I dip mine in melted paraffin.  The whole rifle.  Scope, stock and all then chill in the cold box and store in the safe.  Seriously, I just clean well wipe down with an oily rag run an oiled patch through the bore and lock it up.  Northern AZ is dry as a bone for three quarters of the year.  During the monsoon season humidity runs around 90% when it isn't raining.

As a side line.  Years ago after my Dad's guns were stolen he bought a Treadlock Gun box, about 6ft. long and the size of a small day bed it was pretty much impervious to anything short of a cutting torch, and hard as heck to move.  He put it in the garage and when he put the guns in he layered them with quilts and blankets to protect from bangs and scratches.  Well the humidity of Long Beach Ca. was absorbed by the cloth and the weapons were terribly rusted in spots.  Not the bores the bluing, barrels and actions.  Personally I would have been happier with the dings and scratches. Brodie

B.E.Brickey

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Ken Campbell Iowa posted this 01 January 2016

another sad thing is storing a gun in a cloth case ...especially if it was left there without oiling after a hunting trip two years ago ...

ken

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Brodie posted this 01 January 2016

So is storing one in a vinyl or plastic case where air cannot get to it, and there is temperature change.

B.E.Brickey

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bandmiller2 posted this 28 April 2016

My safe has a golden rod heater, I just a good gun oil ad have never had a problem. Allot depends on where you live and the humidity. Had good luck with rig although I think Lubriplate white grease is just as good. Frank C.

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