Long Term Gun Storage

[joab]

I may be going away for 10 to 14 months.
I'll be leaving my guns with mom. They will be stored in a Sentinel gun locker.
Any suggestions on rust prevention. I don't think Ballistol is going to cut it for a year in humid Fla

 

[UberPhLuBB]

Packing grease and wrapped in wax paper?

 

[dfariswheel]

The way the military and industry protect metal today is not to slather it with grease.

Now days they put guns and machinery in sealed plastic bags with sheets of "Vapor-Paper".

The bags are made of a special plastic which will not pass moisture. (DO NOT use ordinary baggies)

The vapor-paper gives off a vapor the surrounds the metal with a barrier that totally prevents all rust for at least 10 years.

You can buy the bags for rifles and pistols, and the paper in sheets of various sizes from Brownell's.

All you have to do is lightly coat the metal with something like CLP Breakfree to neutralize any fingerprints, and wrap the gun in the paper.
Seal it in one of the special bags, and you're good for years.

As an added advantage, which is why the military and industry use it, is the gun or part can be taken out of the bag and put into use with no de-greasing.

This is really the surest, most effective long term storage method available.

 

[joab]

As an added advantage, which is why the military and industry use it, is the gun or part can be taken out of the bag and put into use with no de-greasing.

I like that part. The last thing I want to do is degrease 40 guns when I get back

 

[klover]

been using the vapor for several years

the stuff really works. I throw the little yellow plastic chips into metal ammo boxes to keep the ammo and tools as new.

Many of my revolvers I wrap in the paper, and store in their leather holsters after the light oil for prints. They are showing NO rust after years of being stored this way. I figure a thin paper wrap will fall away, so the arms are at the ready and well kept. The "stainless" ones get the same, since I'm sure the inside parts often are not.

CRC makes a spray labeled sp-400. It's designed for machinery parts in corrosive environments which need to disassemble as in pulleys on shafting.
It appears much as cosmoline if you spray a very heavy coat on.
I've used it for firearms with a very light coat sprayed. I did outside test plates of sanded mild steel half sprayed with a light coat (it rains a LOT in WA). The coated halfs show very little rust on treated sides after one year.
One $6.00 can will do about 50 rifles I'd guess.

However, plastic parts may well suffer from the solvents in SP-400 .

 

[Telperion]

I read that this paper may not be good for aluminum. Any experiences to report?

 

[SRYnidan]

Pipsqueak

The receivers of both M-16 and M9(Beretta) series weapons(as a mater of fact most military weapons in use by the U.S.) is forged aluminum. I know we used VPI extensively in the Air Force and had no trouble with them.

 

[JohnBT]

I'd use RIG, mostly because I already have it. It doesn't take much and the only thing that really needs cleaning after storage is the bore. Sheath would work for a year or two easily in my experience and is available in a spray can. So would BreakFree, but I like RIG and Sheath better.

I don't have anything bad to say about the vapor tabs I use, but I only use them in toolboxes and such.

40 guns, huh? Definitely something in a spray can.

John

 

[SteelyDan]

Interesting. I've never heard of the Brownell's bags or the vapor-paper before. Which is part of the reason this is a great site.

 

[TheOtherOne]

All I did was buy a bunch of Gun Socks:

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...=cat601049&parentType=index&rid=&cmCat=search

I cleaned all the guns with a generous coat of CLP before putting them in the socks.

 

[Sam Adams]

I've had several guns in my safe for years without any problems. Yeah, I know, I shouldn't leave them alone for so long without bringing them to the range, but some just fell out of favor.

Anyhow, I've got them all lubed with either CLP or FP-10, inside Borestores or the silicon-impregnated gun socks (I like the Borestores better), and the safe has a Golden Rod. As I said, I never had a problem.