Can I store my gun in a bucket of oil?

[BigBlock]

There's no two ways about it, I'm lazy. That means after I'm done shooting my '58, I don't clean it for a week, or two, or three....

Would it be ok to just dunk the whole gun (minus grips) in a bucket of oil and leave it dirty indefinately? Would WD-40 be ok?

 

[RON in PA]

If you could create an anaerobic situation so that the black powder fouling could not suck moisture out of the air and cause rust it might work, however, when you wanted to use it next you would have to clean out all the oil and still get rid of the fouling. It's a no win situation, so get used to the fact that if you shoot black powder or black powder substitutes like Pyrodex you have to clean your gun and soon after shooting.

Just get off your butt.

 

[BigBlock]

Thanks RON, but I use WD-40 to clean the gun anyway, so yeah, I'd have to clean it out before I use it - but not until then. I would think letting it soak that long in WD-40 would soften everything up.

I'm thinking about getting one of those cheap Harbor Freight parts washers...anybody use one of those?

 

[brentn]

If you want to store firearms of any kind for a long long time, or your lazy in your cleaning process, ATF works wonders.

Transmission fluid has a detergent in it to break down carbon buildup, best thing for metal on a firearm. Point being, remove the grips on the 58 then throw it in a bucket of ATF.

I wouldn't use WD40 personally, I have never seen it sold in a jug, only a spray and its usually sorta expensive, at least compared to ATF. There, as far as I know, are no cleaning agents in wd40, but I could be wrong on that one.

 

[jeepmor]

I've have one of those small parts washers and they work great. Just remind yourself and others that it's full when they go yanking off the storage shelf like it's empty and spill solvent all over themselves.

I borrowed a big model from a neighbor a few years back and bumped it with my jeep when parking in the garage. 3-4 gallons of solvent covers a whole lot of your garage floor.

If you have a vaccum bagging system, you could toss your gun in there, but that's a lot of vaccum bag. Your wife might not be too keen on that considering what that stuff costs a roll.

 

[GOSA]

Make sure you keep the gun off the bottom of the bucket, 'cos that's where the water will go... suspending it mid-bucket in paraffin or ATF should work...

 

[mykeal]

Good Lord. I can't believe this thread. This must be a joke, right? Please tell me you don't mean it.

 

[4v50 Gary]

WD 40 is not a cleaner and it's bad as a lubricant since it deposits a film on the surfaces. Given time, WD-40 will disable some features of a gun.

 

[Phantom Captain]

Agreed,

He's got to be pulling our leg right??

 

[Bad Flynch]

Let's face it: the main bad actors in black powder fouling are water soluble, not oil soluble. They respond very well to water, hot and soapy, or otherwise for cleaning. Hot soapy water helps remove the residue left over from the BP lubricant, too.

I have a shop that is air-conditioned and also has a dehumidifier; the relative humidity runs right at 30 percent, according to the humidistat. After about 3 days, I will see a faint reddish discoloration on an unprotected, black powder fouled, surface. (I tried it to see)

Over the years, I have tried all sorts of stuff and plain hot, soapy water is quite good. However, I have lately had really good luck with Ballistol Milk. Whatever is is Ballistol, perhaps a light "soluble" oil, using the stuff as an emulsion allows me to delay cleaning for a couple of days with no apparent ill effect to the gun. Although Ballistol is said to "neutralize" black powder fouling, I see no reason that it should (or does) beyond the simple expedient of an oil cover. The water in the stuff helps dissolve the fouling.

One makes Ballistol Milk by adding 1 or 2 ounces of Ballistol to about 10 ounces of distilled water and shaking it up. Presto, you have Ballistol Milk! I mix mine in a cheap spray bottle of a convenient size.

After shooting, simply place the gun on an impervious surface and spray it, all over, outside and in, with the stuff and walk off if you want. Come back at your convenience and swab the thing down until clean and re-spray. Go off and leave it for another convenient time and wipe it down again. Then store your slightly oily gun as you would normally.

The only real drawback to this is that Ballistol has an odor reminiscent of a sour baby, maybe sour baby poo! It is not bad and goes away in short order, so it is really not a problem

 

[ZeSpectre]

Assuming you are serious...

1) all the moisture and crap will go to the bottom (where your gun is)
2) cleanup when you do pull your gun out will probably be 3 times more involved than what you would have initially have had to do.

penny-wise but pound-foolish IMO.

 

[budney]

Let's face it: the main back actors in black powder fouling are water soluble, not oil soluble. They respond very well to water, hot and soapy, or otherwise for cleaning. Hot soapy water helps remove the residue left over from the BP lubricant, too.

Thus the 19th-century military manuals recommending you clean your weapon with water.

--Len.

 

[mykeal]

OK, I'll play...

How about a bucket of lake water with a quarter pound of Rid-X?

ZeSpectre, Bad Flynch and 4v50 Gary, you guys are taking this far too seriously. They don't really mean it. Do they?

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Though I am NOT familiar with blackpowder guns, I am familiar with WD40. I am always amazed when people say that WD40 should not be used on guns. I personally use WD40 as my "go to" firearm lubricant. I have used it since the early 1970s and still have guns from that time.There have been NO problems at all! It WILL cut grime out of actions and locks though it doesn't remove lead fouling. There are better cleaner/lubricants for firearms than WD40 but it will not harm your guns! Just keep it off the wood!

 

[ZeSpectre]

ZeSpectre, Bad Flynch and 4v50 Gary, you guys are taking this far too seriously. They don't really mean it. Do they?

Back in late high school I thought a guy I knew was joking about building a nitrous oxide system onto a riding lawnmower so he could drag race it. I made several trips to the hospital to visit him after we all found out he was NOT joking.

From then until now I've seen a lot of fairly smart people nearly earn their own "darwin awards" so I tend to take such suggestions seriously.

 

[mykeal]

From then until now I've seen a lot of fairly smart people nearly earn their own "darwin awards" so I tend to take such suggestions seriously.

Oh dear me. You could be right. I've always tried to adhere to one simple rule: don't buy any firearms you haven't handled personally. This just reinforces that rule; there really may be people out there who would treat a bp gun that way. Shudder.

 

[CavemanEngineer]

Wow and I thought I was lazy. This is truely CavEmanEnginEEring. But on the other hand, the one dragging knuckles, ya don't know till ya try it. Let us know how it works out. Maybe you could dry it in kitty litter?

 

[Sistema1927]

WD40

 

[BigBlock]

WD 40 is not a cleaner

Actually, yeah, it is a pretty good cleaner, and it is sold by the gallon. I use it for cleaning parts all the time. Until yesterday, my gun (stainless) sat dirty for about 3 months in open air. It was frozen up completely, and a little WD-40 and a toothbrush cleaned it right up. There was a tiny bit of rust on the bolt, but nowhere else. Gun looks and works like new now. I agree WD-40 is no good once it dries, but that's the point of submerging it. It wouldn't be anymore difficult to clean because I already spray it all with WD-40 anyway.

I like the idea of using ATF and suspending it off the bottom. I think I already have a case of ATF in the garage...I know ATF makes a good cleaner too.

Thanks to those that actually had something useful to add....

 

[CavemanEngineer]

OK you are right and I am sorry to come off so unpleasantly like I did, I was just a little dumbfounded and didn't take it seriously. Yes at my shop we have 5 gallon buckets of wd40 and it does or is a pretty good solvant, but we use it to dry wires and electronics and such. If you have to clean before you shoot anyway why don't you do a quick clean before you store it. I would even say clean it then store it in oil. ATF is a wonderous hydraulic fluid and also works well to put a shine on the old woodgrain stickers on the side of old stationwagons but I don't think I would toss a revolver in it. I too am a very lazy person and love to find shortcuts but I don't know. I am not kidding on this one.. try taking it to the pressure washer(ie the carwash) wash wax then put it in something with wd40 or whatever. I am also not kidding when I say let us or me know how it works. I think half of the fun of shooting my 58 is the teardown and cleaning. Please accept my appology for my comments earlier. I do infact own CavEmanEnginEEring, so I still agree that your question and solution are true Caveman tactics.

 

[Tom Bri]

I usually take the barrel off and pour boiling water down it. Do that till the metal is way too hot to tough. I wear leather gloves. The barrel will dry because of the heat. You can run a few patches down it with some cleaner and that will hold it for a while.............

Keep it in a REALLY dry place too.

 

[ED21]

Revolver cleaning (C&B)

Thirty some odd years ago when I used to shoot BP alot we would take the grips off the revolvers. Field strip as much as possible and throw the whole mess in a dish pan with hot soapy water. Scrub with a tooth brush, runs some patches and wire brushes down the bore. Rinse with very hot wate and place it all (not the grips) on a baking sheet and place in the oven set at about 150 degrees for about 15 to 20 minutes. this would help dry the water in the hard to reach places. Let it cool and apply a light coat of gun oil. Reassemble and be ready for the next time. worked great. The hardest part was cleaning the ring around the sink so the MRS. didn't have a fit.

 

[mykeal]

ED21 - me too

That's how I learned and it's what I still do. The only time that ever failed me was with the original Pyrodex, but it worked great for real black powder. The only difference is that I now use a light coat of Bore Butter in the bore rather than gun oil, as I've found it seems to keep the bore cleaner longer when shooting, and fouling is easier to remove later.

For everyone else: I don't have anything against the modern bp solvents, I just haven't tried them because hot soapy water has worked fine for me since the early 70's. That's 1970's...

I do not like and will not use WD-40 on any of my guns, smokeless or black powder. I just don't like the film it leaves nor how it feels. I don't know if it damages or protects or has no effect, I just don't like the greasy feel, and my current process and materials have worked well for many years.

As for submerging a gun in ATF or oil, well, OK, that's fine for long term storage with 2 caveats: First, motor oil, or even olive oil, for that matter, does "attract" dirt/dust particles. That is, they become suspended in the liquid. Thus, the container needs to be covered or closed. Second, cleaning the oil/atf off the outer surfaces, and getting it out of the inner works, is a major mess. There's just no way it can be done neatly and thoroughly enough to suit me. I fail to see that saves any time or effort over just cleaning it first.