On the board of directors of a museum: dealing with firearms.

[RPZ]

Balistol is a fine cleaner and short-term anti-rust agent. It sounds as though your museum is being well managed in this day of political correctness. Your curator should have known about "Renaissance Wax" the museum standard for long-term preservation of metal and wood. Nonetheless, you did good! Having done this for more than 40 years, I arbitrarily break firearms into two categories; probably fired with corrosive ammo or not. In the "corrosive" group I further divide into muzzle loaders and breech loaders. Probably half of the muzzle loading guns that came my way were still loaded. These took special attention. A bore scope is handy to inspect the interior of the barrel. Neutralizing black powder residue and corrosive salts from fulminate and chlorinate primers usually requires a very careful disassembly (not always possible) and hot water bath. Once cleaned and preserved, firearms should be handled with clean cotton gloves so no finger-prints are left on them..

Renaissance Wax popped into my mind as soon as I read his post. And if the museum has other artifacts; wood, leather et al, Renaissance wax is the way to go.

 

[CraigC]

Maybe a "hey! Look at me! See what I do!" post is more what we have here then a simple gun oil question.

My thoughts exactly.

 

[Solomonson]

I don't think we have met, so you know nothing about me. Or what "things" I might know. One thing you will discover on this forum is this: No matter how much you think you know, someone here has forgotten more about the subject than you will EVER know. Never assume that anyone has less knowledge than yourself until you get to know them. I have been humbled more than once learning this lesson.

What kind of a museum doesn't want any visitors? Sounds more like a private collection more than a museum. Stop calling it the latter if no one is allowed to see it.

I know a great deal about people like you based on your postings. Your posted the ridiculous red herring that the museum under question doesn't want visitors. That's an out-and-out fabrication. So is your private collection quip.

You may not realize that many (most?) museums don't have all their wares on display at any one time. If you visited the museum under discussion right now you'd probably post something else negative about it (and me) for not having any firearms on display -- at least firearms that you could see.

If that bugs you, then that's on you. Just no more fabrications please.

 

[Walkalong]

That's enough.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Museums love visitors as they bring in revenue. However, they compete against sporting venues, the cinema, zoos, amusement parks, theatre, musical performances for disposable capital. That disposable capital in the attending middle class is declining as the economy continues its contraction. Furthermore, most museums lose money as operating expenses (power & other utilities, staff) aren't met by the revenue generated. They rely on foundations, endowments, fund raising and donations to sustain themselves. Even with that, most museums cannot survive without a dedicated corp of volunteers who man the service desk, information desk, serve as docents/guides and in some places, gallery attendants.

Space restriction is what prevents almost every museum from displaying its entire collection. Anything displayed must have a lot of protection. Sunlight damages fabrics. They must be protected from insects and small animals (think wool and leather). Theft prevention and fire protection as well as temperature and humidity control in a public area (more expensive than a storage room).

Museums need your support. It was found that people who go to museums are the same folks who as children were brought to them as a family outing. Take your kids and expose them to museums.

 

[Walkalong]

Excellent advise!