How to do long term storage of AR platform?

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JussRight

JussRight

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As of right now, I am considering storing my ARs in some type of long term storage. I want to preserve my ARs but store them away. I have thought about packing them in some type of grease? Wrap them in plastic and either bury them or store them some other way. If I do this, what type pf grease? And what type of plastic?

Is there a better way than grease to do long term storage?

Questions....
Will the grease break down my polymer furniture?
If I bury them, will the cold effect the internals?
What type of grease should I choose?
What type of wrapping should I use?
Do I need to fill every crevasse with grease, including the barrel?
Am I just freaking paranoid? LOL!

Any help is gratefully accepted!
 
Definitely remove plastics before long term storage. Oils that protect metals typically don’t do well on polymers. Perhaps stored separately they would survive better with metals and plastics stored appropriately in nearby locations (side by side buried boxes)
 
Ok, thanks for that info. What about storing it in an attic or a storage place other than my house? Could my ar be safe from corrosion if I just grease the metal parts real good and wrap it in plastic?

@ Breechface...Gaahhhahahahahahha

So the polymer can just be contained as is in the pvc pipe?
 
JussRight said:
Ok, thanks for that info. What about storing it in an attic or a storage place other than my house? Could my ar be safe from corrosion if I just grease the metal parts real good and wrap it in plastic?

@ Breechface...Gaahhhahahahahahha

So the polymer can just be contained as is in the pvc pipe?
Click to expand...
Now your talking Cosmoline. Yuck. Effective but yuck.
 
The military has used VCI paper and VCI bags at least since WWII, and hasn't used cosmoline since the 1970s. On a personal note, I have had some semiauto rifles (CETME, FAL, AR15, etc.) and handguns stored in VCI bags for more than two decades now, with nothing more that a normal clean-and-oil before storage. When I had occasion last year to pull some out for inspection, they were still in exactly the same shape as when they went in (albeit with a slight stickiness from the vapor deposited on the surfaces) and they were ready-to-use as they came out of the bag.

VCI is the answer.
 
Last edited:
As mentioned above the VCI storage bags are the way to go for really secure long term storage.

This is what the military is using, and the advantages are that it's total protection as long as the special plastic bag is intact, and that the weapon can be removed from the bag, the bore wiped out and it can be put into instant use, with none of the laborious grease removal cleaning required.
Some of these will protect a gun for up to 20 years even in harsh conditions.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...-bags/vacuum-seal-storage-bags-prod42749.aspx

Note that sealing a gun in any standard plastic bag will NOT protect a gun even if you put VCI vapor paper in the bag.
Ordinary plastic bags will pass moisture and allow the protective vapor to escape.
These firearms storage bags are made of a special "hard" plastic that won't allow the vapor to escape or allow moisture to infiltrate.
 
1) Clean thoroughly, special attention to bore
2) Light coat of oil in and out; wood waxed
3) Into sealed bag or container, with:
4) Several packets of silica gel

I have multiple firearms in long-term storage. Some have been in and out and back in. The storage location is not climate-controlled but is not subject to any unusual temperature or humidity for the local climate. I've found that the silica gel needs to be replaced about every three or four months. I rewipe the guns when I replace the gel or rotate the storage, and by four months they need it. It's working OK so far, but none have been stored through all four seasons sequentially yet.
 
Couldn't one use mylar bags for long term storage? Possibly with oxygen absorbers? Then depending on where you want to store. Put in PVC if burial is your thing. Just dont forget where they are buried!
 
I think I'd wrap the gun before putting it in a plastic bag. Gun oil in contact with a plastic bag will cause the plastic to degrade and eventually you might find it ends up getting glued to the gun.
 
I soak them in gas, non oxy 91.

It’s the best because they last forever. When ready to shoot, oil and go.
 
Any merit to making up a PVC case with a Schrader valve on one end and a one way valve on the other end to then be able to add nitrogen to the atmosphere of the PVC case?
 
I am considering storing my ARs in some type of long term storage.
Click to expand...

How long and what elements are you trying to protect them from?

They can sit in the back of a gun safe for many decades with a dehumidifier and be like new when you take them out. Ready to load and go.

You could bury them in the backyard in a PVC tube capped off and sealed with a preservative and last longer that you’ll live or anyone without ground sonar could be able to remember where to find them.

An old engineer I knew has a favorite saying, “You can’t seal out water but you can seal it in.” If I were storing in an area where water was going to be an issue I would rather displace water than try and seal it out forever.
 
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