12GAUGE
13-11-2009, 05:11 AM
AoA Everybody
I'll start by quoting a line from Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility". Enough said! it’s a lot easier to acquire a weapon than properly storing it in a ready-to-use state while insuring adequate rust protection. Anybody who owns a cabinet queen that just sits there and collects dust, serving no purpose other than the occassional wow! cool! oooo! aaaaaa! gaaagaaa! of friends, knows what I’m yapping about here.
Now this cookie though seems tough is a lot easier to crack especially when one defines his/her goals (storage horizons) properly. Before we begin, let’s get certain things straight. We are assuming that we want to store the firearm in a ready-to-use state. Therefore no such solution will be pondered upon that renders it useless. No grease, no Cosmoline, no Vaseline or similar stuff that requires/mandates prior cleaning/removal before use. Let’s define the possible goals shall we?
1. Upto 1 month
2. Upto 3 months
3. Upto 6 months
4. Upto 1 year
5. Upto 5 years
Before we begin looking at possible solutions to meet each goal, allow me to stress the need to make sure that the weapon is safe. Kindly make sure that it is empty. Once ensured, kindly continue treating the weapon in the same manner as one would treat a loaded weapon. Safety first! All else later!
Upto 1 month:
Almost any kind of in expensive machine (or sewing machine) oil will do. Even WD40 is good enough for the job. A good light film/coating of almost any type of mineral oil will get the job done here. The preferred storing condition would be open storage (not enclosed) where there is plenty of ventilation so the moisture doesn’t condensate on any metal surface of the firearm. One can enclose the weapon but it only increases the chances of trapping any moisture with the firearm in the container and the steps required to remove/contain the moisture are simply put “THE JUICE IS NOT WORTH THE SQUEEZE”
Upto 3 months
Any good quality gun specific oil will get the job done. Oils such as Remington, hoppes and Pakguns Lubricant will provide adequate rust protection here and will not gum up over time. Just a good cleaning job on the firearms followed by a light coating of any specialty gun oil will ensure a rust free storage. Again storage should be the open type for the same reasons described above.
Upto 6 months
This is where it gets a little bit tricky. We want to store a firearm for upto six months and it needs to be rust free as well as in a state of readiness. One solution would be to get VCI impregnated oil and lightly coat all metal surfaces of the firearm. Volatile Corrosion Inhibitor is the space age technology of the corrosion prevention. VCI leaves a mono-ionic layer on the metal surface that acts as an active barrier against oxygen and moisture. There are specialty oils out there that are impregnated with VCI technology. They provide protection in two ways, first through the use of oil as basic contact preservative and second by depositing VCI molecules over the metal surface. Here again I would recommend open type storage conditions and not enclosed.
Upto 1 year
From here on out, I do not recommend open type storage. The best and most appropriate procedure would be to clean the weapon thoroughly, apply a coating of VCI impregnated oil and get the firearm sealed inside a low density polyethylene bag with minimum film thickness of 200 microns. The high thickness film is needed to ensure low moisture transmission through the plastic barrier. Any ordinary pulse sealer is good enough for the job of sealing. The VCI technology employed by the specialty gun oil is more than enough to combat the moisture that gets trapped within the plastic bag. Throw in a few silica gel packs (actually more than what you need cause they are dirt cheap) in there incase you are still concerned. Try not to leave any finger prints on the weapon. Better yet, use latex gloves while handling the weapon.
Upto 5 years
Now we are really stretching the whole concept of a properly stored, ready to use weapon here. Therefore it necessitates some extra care. Clean meticulously and then apply a coating of VCI oil. Afterwards vacuum seal the weapon in a LDPE bag (minimum film thickness 200 microns). Throw in a lot of silica gel packs. Some caution, DO NOT LEAVE ANY FINGERPRINTS ON THE FIREARM. One trick to vacuum seal the weapon is to use ordinary home vacuum cleaner. Seal the bag but leave a small opening for the vacuum cleaner hose. Insert the hose and suck all the air out then completely seal the bag. Care must be employed to avoid any air getting back inside the bag.
Some notes:
There are other VCI products out there such as VCI paper and tablets but nothing comes close to the protection offered by VCI impregnated oils. Remington makes VCI oil and so does the ‘Inhibitor’. The later is better known and commands the highest respect in corrosion protection for firearms. Both are available online for purchase.
http://www.gamaliel.com/cart/product.php?productid=6156&cat=1414&page=1
http://www.remington.com/products/accessories/gun_care/VCI_technology.asp
I could have recommended the use of golden rods that heat up the air surrounding the firearms to prevent rusting but they require electricity and I wanted the solutions to be input free or more appropriately said, WATTS FREE.
Silica gel packs are reusable and can be recharged by heating them in a microwave for 2 minutes at high heat, let them sit for a while to cool off then repeat two more times. This will recharge the silica gel for use again.
Silica gel packs are pretty cheap and are available at scientific supplies’ stores for less than 3 rupees a pack (5g each). Some companies in Karachi quote them at 500 rupees a Kg.
For people living in high corrosion areas must cut the duration period by half. For example, 5 years is equal to 2.5 years and 1 year equal to six months for those who live in aggressive corrosion prone areas.
Polymers are ok with extended oil contact oil however, wood will soften during prolonged contact so it is advised to first stand the firearm upside down for some time after applying a coat of oil so that all the oils runs down the muzzle instead of the stock.
Ammo can also be stored/sealed in LDPE bags for extended duration. Just remember to put in few silica packs.
You might want to search online for VCI gun oils. Plenty of good brands are out there. The most respected however is the “Inhibitor V80”.
there are other solution out there such as VCI polyethylene bags. these plastic bags emitt VCI and are widely used in the firearms industry for corrosion protection. www.polygunbag.com (http://www.polygunbag.com) and www.zcorrproducts.com
Regards.
Disclaimer: the information published in the above article is strictly for information purposes only. All information found in the article is without any implied warranty of fitness for any purpose or use whatsoever. You may pursue the use of information at your own risk. The author shall not be held responsible in any way for the loss of life, property and reputation resulting from the use of informational content of the article.
I'll start by quoting a line from Spiderman, "with great power comes great responsibility". Enough said! it’s a lot easier to acquire a weapon than properly storing it in a ready-to-use state while insuring adequate rust protection. Anybody who owns a cabinet queen that just sits there and collects dust, serving no purpose other than the occassional wow! cool! oooo! aaaaaa! gaaagaaa! of friends, knows what I’m yapping about here.
Now this cookie though seems tough is a lot easier to crack especially when one defines his/her goals (storage horizons) properly. Before we begin, let’s get certain things straight. We are assuming that we want to store the firearm in a ready-to-use state. Therefore no such solution will be pondered upon that renders it useless. No grease, no Cosmoline, no Vaseline or similar stuff that requires/mandates prior cleaning/removal before use. Let’s define the possible goals shall we?
1. Upto 1 month
2. Upto 3 months
3. Upto 6 months
4. Upto 1 year
5. Upto 5 years
Before we begin looking at possible solutions to meet each goal, allow me to stress the need to make sure that the weapon is safe. Kindly make sure that it is empty. Once ensured, kindly continue treating the weapon in the same manner as one would treat a loaded weapon. Safety first! All else later!
Upto 1 month:
Almost any kind of in expensive machine (or sewing machine) oil will do. Even WD40 is good enough for the job. A good light film/coating of almost any type of mineral oil will get the job done here. The preferred storing condition would be open storage (not enclosed) where there is plenty of ventilation so the moisture doesn’t condensate on any metal surface of the firearm. One can enclose the weapon but it only increases the chances of trapping any moisture with the firearm in the container and the steps required to remove/contain the moisture are simply put “THE JUICE IS NOT WORTH THE SQUEEZE”
Upto 3 months
Any good quality gun specific oil will get the job done. Oils such as Remington, hoppes and Pakguns Lubricant will provide adequate rust protection here and will not gum up over time. Just a good cleaning job on the firearms followed by a light coating of any specialty gun oil will ensure a rust free storage. Again storage should be the open type for the same reasons described above.
Upto 6 months
This is where it gets a little bit tricky. We want to store a firearm for upto six months and it needs to be rust free as well as in a state of readiness. One solution would be to get VCI impregnated oil and lightly coat all metal surfaces of the firearm. Volatile Corrosion Inhibitor is the space age technology of the corrosion prevention. VCI leaves a mono-ionic layer on the metal surface that acts as an active barrier against oxygen and moisture. There are specialty oils out there that are impregnated with VCI technology. They provide protection in two ways, first through the use of oil as basic contact preservative and second by depositing VCI molecules over the metal surface. Here again I would recommend open type storage conditions and not enclosed.
Upto 1 year
From here on out, I do not recommend open type storage. The best and most appropriate procedure would be to clean the weapon thoroughly, apply a coating of VCI impregnated oil and get the firearm sealed inside a low density polyethylene bag with minimum film thickness of 200 microns. The high thickness film is needed to ensure low moisture transmission through the plastic barrier. Any ordinary pulse sealer is good enough for the job of sealing. The VCI technology employed by the specialty gun oil is more than enough to combat the moisture that gets trapped within the plastic bag. Throw in a few silica gel packs (actually more than what you need cause they are dirt cheap) in there incase you are still concerned. Try not to leave any finger prints on the weapon. Better yet, use latex gloves while handling the weapon.
Upto 5 years
Now we are really stretching the whole concept of a properly stored, ready to use weapon here. Therefore it necessitates some extra care. Clean meticulously and then apply a coating of VCI oil. Afterwards vacuum seal the weapon in a LDPE bag (minimum film thickness 200 microns). Throw in a lot of silica gel packs. Some caution, DO NOT LEAVE ANY FINGERPRINTS ON THE FIREARM. One trick to vacuum seal the weapon is to use ordinary home vacuum cleaner. Seal the bag but leave a small opening for the vacuum cleaner hose. Insert the hose and suck all the air out then completely seal the bag. Care must be employed to avoid any air getting back inside the bag.
Some notes:
There are other VCI products out there such as VCI paper and tablets but nothing comes close to the protection offered by VCI impregnated oils. Remington makes VCI oil and so does the ‘Inhibitor’. The later is better known and commands the highest respect in corrosion protection for firearms. Both are available online for purchase.
http://www.gamaliel.com/cart/product.php?productid=6156&cat=1414&page=1
http://www.remington.com/products/accessories/gun_care/VCI_technology.asp
I could have recommended the use of golden rods that heat up the air surrounding the firearms to prevent rusting but they require electricity and I wanted the solutions to be input free or more appropriately said, WATTS FREE.
Silica gel packs are reusable and can be recharged by heating them in a microwave for 2 minutes at high heat, let them sit for a while to cool off then repeat two more times. This will recharge the silica gel for use again.
Silica gel packs are pretty cheap and are available at scientific supplies’ stores for less than 3 rupees a pack (5g each). Some companies in Karachi quote them at 500 rupees a Kg.
For people living in high corrosion areas must cut the duration period by half. For example, 5 years is equal to 2.5 years and 1 year equal to six months for those who live in aggressive corrosion prone areas.
Polymers are ok with extended oil contact oil however, wood will soften during prolonged contact so it is advised to first stand the firearm upside down for some time after applying a coat of oil so that all the oils runs down the muzzle instead of the stock.
Ammo can also be stored/sealed in LDPE bags for extended duration. Just remember to put in few silica packs.
You might want to search online for VCI gun oils. Plenty of good brands are out there. The most respected however is the “Inhibitor V80”.
there are other solution out there such as VCI polyethylene bags. these plastic bags emitt VCI and are widely used in the firearms industry for corrosion protection. www.polygunbag.com (http://www.polygunbag.com) and www.zcorrproducts.com
Regards.
Disclaimer: the information published in the above article is strictly for information purposes only. All information found in the article is without any implied warranty of fitness for any purpose or use whatsoever. You may pursue the use of information at your own risk. The author shall not be held responsible in any way for the loss of life, property and reputation resulting from the use of informational content of the article.