doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com OT: Gun storage climate control

Vapor phase inhibitor paper also works great for long term storage of larger bore rifles ,and all shotguns, by rolling up a strip and inserting it in the bore(s). I've been using in since the '80s. Haven't looked too see if it is still available but need to because my stash is almost gone.

I just make it a point to take mine out every few days and wipe them down with a oily rag. I am always handling them - taking them out, shouldering them and just caring for them. I enjoy doing that anyway.

I hate to share this, but 65 years of storing guns, in and out of safes in the DC area has resulted in no rust or condensation with no help from rust inhibitors. Maybe I'm just lucky. For several years, my only safe was on a carport, unprotected from weather and still no damage to the guns. I have never used a light or anything else. Now I use a dehumidifier and empty it daily, still no sign of rust or condensation.

That is understandable since for the past 65 years Washington DC has been drier than dirt in more ways than one. 😁

Now that we have given thoughts to the modern methods of keeping the perennial enemy rust off guns and maybe tools. Now for a couple of old school methods that work for keeping rust at bay, Dry Rice acts as a desiccant in days past a small cloth bad of Rice put in the guns case before storage. Having re purposed many gun cases I have found a few grains of rice in some, it was only asking an old timer did I find out what the Rice was for and I have used it on many occasions. An other method for keeping rust away from steel is Camphor as it breaks down the fumes prevent the rusting process. Camphor I have not used though there is a lot of articles on the net about its rust prevention abilities, the reason I have not used it is because the smell of Camphor brings back not so good childhood memories of earache coughs and colds some how Camphorated oil seemed to be used for all sorts of children's pains coughs and colds.

I have heard that when people drop their cell phones in water, if they put them in a bowl of rice, the rice will absorb the moisture from the phone. I have heard more than one person say that they have done that.

It will, but it doesn't mean the phone won't die from the water anyway. From experience.

Luck probably has very little to do with this, unless it is considered lucky to know enough that it takes a multifaceted approach to keep gun metal free of rust. Common red rust is ferric oxide (hydrate), and the only way to totally prevent it is to keep oxygen away from the surface of steel. That isn't easy when oxygen is 21% of the air we breathe. Bluing on our guns is a different oxide that inhibits the formation of red rust, but bluing alone isn't nearly enough. Over time, unprotected blued steel will acquire a brown patina, which is a nice term for rust. So I would assume that eightbore is lucky enough to know he has to use something that inhibits oxygen from reacting with his gun metal, such as wax or a good gun oil. I find it hard to believe he has never used any gun oils or products that inhibit corrosion, especially in a climate with seasonal high humidity. All gun oil is not created equal, and some last longer and do a better job than others. We have all seen the tests and debates about which ones are best. Products like RIG or cosmoline are great for long term storage, but a pain to remove for frequently used guns. You can store a gun in a very dry climate and still get a fine grained rust over time if it isn't properly cleaned and protected. Perspiration contains salt which is hygroscopic, and will pull in moisture, which contains oxygen. So merely handling a gun could cause rusting issues, which is why curators of gun museums handle them with clean white gloves.

The vapor phase corrosion inhibitor (VPCI) paper or plastic that Stan and I mentioned earlier is wonderful stuff, because it emits a volatile vapor that collects at the surface of steel, and displaces oxygen. But even that has limitations because the VPCI chemical infused into it dissipates over time, so it must eventually be replaced. Naturally, it lasts longer when it isn't exposed to heat and sunlight. When we recently installed a new Fanuc 6 axis robot at work, it came crated and nicely wrapped in Cortec VPCI plastic, so I snagged a few hundred sq. ft. that would have been discarded, as my co-workers were blissfully unaware of what it is good for.

https://www.theruststore.com/VCI-C12.aspx

I would have salvaged some of that too, Keith, but probably not several hundred square feet! Good on you.

One of my Grandad's sayings was "Don't throw anything away. If you don't have a use for it keep it 7 years. If, after 7 years, you haven't had a need for it, keep it 7 more".

I abide by that and my wife hates it. 😁😁😁

Funny....... while I was reading this- at the same time that Progressive insurance commercial was on tv that tells you-- "Don't be like your parents". And the people want to save their worn out car mats and their left over crown molding like their parents would have done. Ha-ha!!