My Ruger Mark 1 got soaked

[SunnySlopes]

My wife took her CCL class today. During the shooting portion it was pouring down rain and there was no cover. She had to leave the bolt locked open in the rain, leave the gun on the table, step back while others shot, etc.

All my stuff got soaked. Leather range bag. Zippered pistol case. And the gun.

I took the gun apart. I dried everything off, then soaked the bolt mechanism, trigger assembly, magazine, etc, with WD 40.

I let the WD 40 drain off, wiped it down again, and put it back together.

Is that sufficient to prevent rust?

 

[wally]

I'd oil it with something better than WD-40, its good for Water Displacing, but not so hot as a rust preventative. I've always used Brake-Free CLP and getting wet has never bothered any of my guns.

 

[joeschmoe]

Get some gun oil (or even Mobil 1). WD40 is a solvent. Your gun should be fine as long as you still have a good finish on the gun. The damage would occur if you put it away wet. A gun safe heater like a Golden Rod is worth the investment to combat rust. Guns get wet. That's okay.

 

[SunnySlopes]

Re the above. Yes, I'm using the WD 40 solely for the purpose of water displacement. For lubrication I use Froglube. But at the present I'm just soaking the gun in WD 40 to get the water out.

 

[jmr40]

WD-40 was developed during WW-2 for the Navy to displace water in electrical devices, not as a gun lubricant. Lots use it, some have had problems. It can gum up after time and has been know to seep into primers in ammo and cause the ammo to fail to fire. It was probably a good idea to use it to flush out water from the gun, but I'd get all of the WD-40 off and wipe down the gun and lubricate with something made for that purpose at this point.

 

[mbopp]

When the solvents in WD40 evaporate you're left with a gooey, gummy mess.
If you don't want to detail strip the MKI I'd soak it in ATF to remove the WD40 residue then re-lube it with CLP.

 

[X-Rap]

You'll be fine.

 

[BCRider]

I agree with the others that you want something better as a lubricant. But as a rust preventative it's decent enough.

There IS a thin oil that is left behind after the solvents evaporate and that's what covers you off against rusting issues.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

You did just fine using wd40. Now that you got rid of the moisture you can put some gun oil on it.

 

[Vern Humphrey]

One thing you want to do is thoroughly dry the rest of your gear -- many a pistol has been rusted left in a damp case or holster.

 

[SHR970]

jmr40said:WD-40 was developed during WW-2 for the Navy to displace water in electrical devices, not as a gun lubricant.

No it was developed in 1953 by the Rocket Chemical Company in San Diego to prevent corrosion on the skin of Atlas Missiles. In 1958 it was offered to the general public.....in1969 the company changed its name to WD-40. The chemist that perfected the formula was Norm Larsen.

WD-40

Using the WD to get the water out of the gun was a good call. Now clean and oil as usual. As Vern said,,,dry the rest of your gear.

 

[wow6599]

wally got it right in post #2

 

[Snowdog]

You're fine. I've had similar things happen to me over the years and the same process of disassembling, drying, WD40, wiping down and oiling has prevented rust just fine. Not a speck to be seen, ever.

 

[19-3Ben]

One thing you want to do is thoroughly dry the rest of your gear -- many a pistol has been rusted left in a damp case or holster.

Huge +1. I might even consider disassembling and popping it in the oven at the lowest setting (about 150F) for an hour just to give it a lot of dry heat so that anything left in little cracks warms up and evaporates. Then give it a wipe down of your favorite oil and you'd be good to go. Just don't get the oven hot enough to change the temper of any of the metal. I don't think 150F would do anything though.
But I'm sure the WD40 did it's job yesterday so no worries.

 

[Dentite]

America's obsession with WD40 is an interesting one. We always had some around growing up. I've now found that for whatever people usually use WD40 for, there is a better alternative.

As mentioned above I'd use something better for rust prevention.

 

[SunnySlopes]

As mentioned above I'd use something better for rust prevention.

Understood. What I did was to break the gun down and wipe everything I could reach. Then I used the WD 40 to displace the water (in the places I couldn't reach) to places I could reach. I wiped it down again.

Then I soaked everything in Rem Oil and let it sit for several hours and drain. Then I wiped everything down again.

Finally, I soaked everything in Hoppes #9 Lubricating Oil for about 8 hours. After that time, I wiped everything down again and reassembled the gun.

 

[Dentite]

Understood. What I did was to break the gun down and wipe everything I could reach. Then I used the WD 40 to displace the water (in the places I couldn't reach) to places I could reach. I wiped it down again.

Then I soaked everything in Rem Oil and let it sit for several hours and drain. Then I wiped everything down again.

Finally, I soaked everything in Hoppes #9 Lubricating Oil for about 8 hours. After that time, I wiped everything down again and reassembled the gun.

Sounds like you have in under control.

 

[Goody3086]

Glad you got that cleared up and handled.

Now tell me, where are you located? They allow you to qualify with a 22? Here in Texas it is a minimum 32 centerfire I beleive.

 

[Roadking Rider]

You'll be fine. I once dove into a pool and forgot I had my Kel Tec P3at in my pocket. I remember it was there right before my head hit the water. I got out blew it dry with a Shop Vac, sprayed it with some WD 40. I took the gun apart when I got home a couple hour later, cleaned and sprayed the gun down with CLP. The gun has never had a problem. Actually it might have done it some good.

 

[SunnySlopes]

Oklahoma. Six hours classroom time and then 50 shots on the range. Three rules for the latter: 1) Do not shoot the instructor. That's frowned upon. 2) Do not shoot a classmate. That's also frowned upon, but not as severely as shooting an instructor. 3) Don't shoot yourself.

Violation of any of those rules will probably delay getting your CCL.

 

[788Ham]

With things all slopped up with oil now, take a shop vac, or a compressor, and blow most of the oil inside of it out, won't hurt a thing, plus, there will still be enough oil inside the frame to prevent any rust.