Does ground up coffee good for preventing rust?

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JellyJar

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I was thinking ( sometimes that's a bad thing to do ) and IIRC James Rockford of the old Rockford Files TV show used to keep his perhaps illegal Cold Detective Special revolver in fresh ground up coffee in a cookie jar to not only hide it from whoever but also to keep it from rusting. Seeing as how he used to live in a mobile home on the beach and a marine environment like that is very hard on anything made of steel or iron. So the question is this...Is ground up coffee good at preventing rust? Also, wouldn't you think that the small bits of coffee might get inside the lock work and screw things up?

As this is Hollywood it had to be right, right? :D
 
Why? I'd think it would be mildly corrosive and hard on the coffee besides.
Oil works. Oil it, put it in a couple of ziplocs and hide in your ductwork if you're worried.
 
If you just want to "wrap" the gun I would get some VCI (Volatile Corrosion Inhibitors) Paper. Have you looked at the cost of good coffee lately? VCI wrap and bag it in a zip loc bag. I would not place a gun in ground coffee, it just does not seem a good idea with so many options made for gun storage out there. :)

Ron
 
First off I am a big Rockford fan and even have the complete box set and have seen every Rockford episode several times.

He stored his gun in the cookie jar and not in coffee. And his gun was legal. The cops took it away from him several times and returned it. And I wouldn't store any gun in coffee grounds.
 
Fictional TV shows or Movies are never a good source for proper gun handling.

I've watched the Rockford files a few times recently on MeTV and didn't see anything other than his .38 snub was kept in the cookie jar and nothing about coffee but could have been in an episode I just don't remember from many years ago and haven't see recently.

If you don't want your guns to rust oil them well. If you're worried about moisture buy commercial desiccant.
 
Well believe what you want. He used the gun in several shootouts and once the cops grabbed him when he was walking from his car to his trailer while the gun was in his pocket and it was returned every time. There were several times the dialog stated cookie jar. But go with what you like. Its a moot point anyway.

I am sure storing a revolver in a tin of coffee is no more harmful than storing it in sand, dirt or fine metal filings. The gun should still go bang every time.:banghead:
 
According to the media, coating any bullet with teflon will make it armor piercing. Doesn't really work in the real world.
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You are correct. But coating bullets in coffee grounds will let you shoot an airplane out of the air. I saw Rockford do it with my own eyes. Right there on TV.:p
 
Ratshooter said:
Well believe what you want. He used the gun in several shootouts and once the cops grabbed him when he was walking from his car to his trailer while the gun was in his pocket and it was returned every time. There were several times the dialog stated cookie jar. But go with what you like. Its a moot point anyway.

I am sure storing a revolver in a tin of coffee is no more harmful than storing it in sand, dirt or fine metal filings. The gun should still go bang every time.
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It's hardly a "moot point." You're flat-out wrong. I remember at least one episode where Jim stored his revolver in coffee grounds (or was it instant coffee grounds?)
 
Seriously? Do you believe everything you see on TV? You honestly don't know that coffee has acid in it?

Coffee has several acids in it, formic and acetic being the greater percentage. While these are weak acids and they would take a while to create rust, but they will do it. They are used for cleaning metals because they oxidize metals and oxidation of metal is just another way of saying that the metal is corroded or rusted. If you don't treat the surface after using the acid then the metal will rust very quickly.
 
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No I am not "flat out wrong". Hopefully no one here is dumb enough to store a nice gun like a colt in coffee grounds.

But if you think coffee grounds, fresh or instant are a good gun desiccant then I volunteer you to store your best gun for the next year in coffee grounds. Your choice of type. I'm pulling your leg just so you know.:neener:

Steve C made the best point, don't believe every thing you see on TV.
 
HAHA. I never stored my Detective Special in coffee. And if I lived anywhere near the beach, I'd only own stainless guns and keep them oiled.

Reminded me of that scene in "Witness." Remember when someone in that Amish family hid Harrison Ford's ammo in a can of flour?
 
I know you can patina metal with coffee, so I'd tend to think it wouldn't be good to store a gun in it.

If the was going to put it in something, it would be rice, but I wouldn't do that either.
 
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Continuity errors are rife in series TV. One writer has him hiding his revolver in the cookie jar, another one comes up with a pseudo scientific gimmick. Writer No 2 did not read or watch prior episodes done by writer 1.

I am sure we could come up with a lot of examples.

I remember the movie version of Modesty Blaise based on a paperback itself based on a French comic strip. The comic strip was renowned for its continuity errors so they put a number of them in the movie just as an inside joke. I laughed, my friends got mad at what they thought were screw-ups.


P.S. Don't keep your freeze dried coffee in an unsealed container, it IS a dessicant and will turn into a brown puddle if left exposed to room air.
 
The coffee grounds perform a function similar to bluing salts, further bolstering the revolver's factory blue job and giving the color of the steel a distinctive corrosion-fighting and crime-fighting hue.

:)
 
In the interest of science. Let me jump in please. I like coffee. I prefer fresh ground coffee and, have a container of beans at the coffee station. There is also a container of ground coffee there for a quick cup of coffee or, to offer to non VIP guests (such as the in laws), but, I digress.

If I felt compelled to store my pistol in coffee, I believe I would opt for the whole bean container. Less chance of errant grinds binding the action.

Now, in the ground coffee container I keep a big tablespoons for measuring out the coffee. About one heaping spoon per cup, if it interests you. None the less, the spoon is silver. There is no particular reason I use a silver spoon. I like it. It's the right size, I don't have a matching set and, it does add a certain amount of class to the whole coffee making experience, though truthfully, if you are already starting out with pre ground coffee, you should step back and reassess exactly where your life is going.

The silver spoon (please see attached photo) is distinctly tarnished. Both on the handle and certainly on the spoon part. Leaving me to assume that coffee certainly does not prevent tarnishing or corrosion on metals but, may actually hasten said tarnish.

Definitive proof? No. Are steel and silver dissimilar metals? Of course. But, points to ponder.

image_zpsilplgkfv.jpg
 
It's easy and cheap (just not quick) to test.

Take a piece of ordinary run of the mill carbon steel, polish it to remove any finish it might possibly have, (not an expensive gun, obviously), place it in a sealed jar with coffee and see what happens after a year ;)

Personally I'm betting it wouldn't rust or pit, just acquire a sort of finish of surface corrosion of some sort.
 
Ratshooter said:
No I am not "flat out wrong". Hopefully no one here is dumb enough to store a nice gun like a colt in coffee grounds.

But if you think coffee grounds, fresh or instant are a good gun desiccant then I volunteer you to store your best gun for the next year in coffee grounds. Your choice of type. I'm pulling your leg just so you know.

Steve C made the best point, don't believe every thing you see on TV.
Click to expand...

Yeah, you are flat-out wrong. It's not a question of whether storing a gun like that is a good idea -- it's not.

You suggested that the scene never happened and you're wrong -- "moot" and all.
 
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