Do you keep gun stuff in your trunk? Make sure it doesn't leak.

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BHPshooter

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I have had my gun cleaning stuff (in a .50 cal ammo can) and my spare BHP parts (in a small tackle box) in the trunk of my car for the last ~1 1/2 weeks. It has been raining on and off for about the last week.

I decided to oil my guns today. Hmm... that's funny, I can't find my oil. Oh yeah, it's in the car. So I go out (it's even raining now), pop the trunk, and get my boxes. On the way back in the house, I noticed that the tackle box is peeing on my leg as I carry it. :uhoh: This can't be good.

I get in the entryway, set the boxes down, and open the tackle box.

Most of my parts are orange. Apparently the trunk has a leak. :scrutiny: They will be usable once cleaned, but I don't really know where to start.

At any rate -- if you keep stuff in your trunk (or even in the cab) be sure that they're dry or protected!

P.S. -- water leaked on the .50-cal can the whole time too... no water got in, and nothing even happened to the outside. I'm going to start using ammo cans for everything, I think. :( :banghead:

Wes
 
I got one for ya. Never leave an outboard motor's gas tank sitting in the truck during the day. Vent cap closed, gas leaked out via supply line due to increased pressure from the heat.

Ah yes, nothing quite like the smell of gas for a week... :barf:

Oh and yeah, Hoppes #9 isn't great either.
 
I saw a chrome plated O/U at a range ,something I had never seen before so I asked about it . He had the gun in the trunk which turned out to leak so the gun was rusted .He decided to to chrome plate the whole gun.
 
Also, if you are storing aerosol cans without caps in a tool box, make sure they aren't in a position to start spraying when everything is closed up. CLP in a gun cleaning box is not easy to clean out.
 
If it's good...

...enough for the US Military...it's good enough for me. All my ammo and lots more are stored in those cans. My basement looks like a military ammo dump.

:evil:
 
Oh and yeah, Hoppes #9 isn't great either.
Click to expand...

Blasphemy!

Hoppes #9 and CLP are two of the most pleasant fragrances yet devised by man.

On a related note, my wife (for some reason?) does not let my buy my own aftershave/cologne.
 
Ammo cans...

are just short of indestructable. I participate in a game called geocaching (can be found at geocaching.com ).

In this game people hide "treasures" in various places, mark the coordinates with a GPS unit, and then publish those coordinates on a web page. Other folks take the coordinates, seek out the "treasure", and log in their finds.

One of the standard (and by far the most reliably weather-proof) containers for the treasures is your standard issue ammo can. I know of ammo cans that have been hidden, exposed to the weather, in the hills of Hawaii for over three years and are still keeping the contents dry and safe.

migoi
 
I left a Llama 380 in the trunk of my car while I was in college. My trunk leaked and I was horrified to discover the entire gun had a uniform coat of rust.

I did a home reblue job and finally sold it. It looked like some dog with the mange.
 
Electrolytic rust removal is a process in which a rusted object is submerged in an alkaline soultion and subjected to an electrical charge. This causes the surface rust to be redeposited onto the base metal.

In effect it turns rust back into unrusted metal.
It's magic and IT WORKS.
It's simple to do and can be done with a common automobile battery charger and household items.

Here's a great instructive article explaining exactly how to do it.

I have used this method to make bullet moulds and gun parts look almost like new.
 
I don't have a trunk, but if I did, I wouldn't keep any kinds of solvents in it. Those stay at home.
 
Here's my version of the electrolysis rust removal process:

You can remove rust from metal using electrolysis, and it will not harm the bluing. The main advantage to this method is it gets all the rust in hard to reach places. You will need:

· A plastic container that will hold the part and electrolysis solution.
· Steel rod. DO NOT USE STAINLESS STEEL AS THIS WILL PRODUCE HARMFUL BYPRODUCTS.
· Water
· Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not baking soda. Washing soda can be found in your local grocery store with the laundry detergents. If you cannot find washing soda, pour some baking soda {sodium bicarbonate} into a pan and heat it over low-medium heat. Water and carbon-dioxide will cook-off leaving washing soda {sodium carbonate}.)
· Battery charger or other high amperage power supply.

Cautions:
· Please wear eye protection and rubber gloves when working with this solution as it is very alkaline and can cause irritation.
· Do NOT use stainless steel for the electrode as this will produce harmful byproducts.
· The electrolysis process breaks down water into its component parts, Hydrogen and Oxygen, which can be explosive. Work outside or in a very well ventilated area.
· Be sure your battery charger/power supply is unplugged before attaching or touching the leads.

In the container, mix 1 tablespoon of washing soda for each gallon of water to make up your solution. Be sure the washing soda is thoroughly dissolved. Place a steel rod (do NOT use stainless steel) either through the part to be cleaned (use o-rings to prevent the part from touching the rod), or place numerous rods around the inside of your container. Connect these rods with wire; these will be the anode. You must be sure that the part to be cleaned is not touching the rod(s). Suspend the part in the solution with steel cable or wire so that it makes a good electrical contact with the part; this will become the cathode. Connect the negative lead (black) to the part being cleaned (either to the part itself, or to the suspending cable or wire), and connect the positive (red) lead to the rod(s), then plug in the charger. You will immediately begin to see bubbles; this is Hydrogen and Oxygen as the water breaks down. Allow the part to "cook" for 3-4 hours. The time is dependent on the size of the part, amount of rust, and the current of the power supply. After you remove the part, immediately clean and dry it off, then coat it with a good quality gun oil or rust preventative oil.

I tried this process on a 1911 frame that had a lot of surface rust all throughout the inside. I set the frame upside down on wooden blocks in the electrolysis solution and placed a rod with o-rings through the magazine well. I connected a 1.5 amp trickle charger and left it for about 4 hours. When finished, the frame was completely free of rust, and the bluing was intact.
 
Also, if you are storing aerosol cans without caps in a tool box, make sure they aren't in a position to start spraying when everything is closed up.
Click to expand...
It is a very bad idea to keep aerosol cans in a car or truck in hot weather, I sold industrial chemicals for a number of years, sometimes we carried samples around with us. I had a few aerosol cans in the trunk in my car, put them in the trunk in the spring time, during the summer I got in the trunk and noticed that a couple of the cans lids had come off, I picked up one of them to put the lid back on, it wouldn't go back on, the lid was retained by a groove pressed into the top of the can, the cans had gotten hot enough that the contents had expanded and pulled that groove out of the top, they had come very close to exploding in the trunk of my car!!!!!!!!

I didn't keep anything in aerosol cans in my car again! I might take a sample with me to show a client, but it was either given to the client or returned to the sample shelf at the office.
 
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