storing in handgun in foam lined case

[AcceptableUserName]

I've made this thread before but I couldn't find it so here goes. I have some pistols I'm storing long term. I don't shoot them but I love them and have no desire to part with them.

I've heard storage ina foam lined case cause the gun to fall victim to trapped moisture. My question is say I put a silica packet under each foam pad, 2 resting inside the pads and my gun into an airtight ziploc bag with an additional silica packet or 2 inside. Would this now be a sufficient LONG TERM storage solution? 5+ years...I do not own a gun safe or this thread wouldn't be made.


Thanks!

 

[outerlimit]

I throw a silica bag inside of the gun rug and that is all. I haven't had any problems with that method so far. But I try to keep my place fairly humidity free the best I can within reason.

I had the sights of a stainless Colt fall victim to rust and it was just sitting open in a safe, but tight against a gun rug.

 

[eatont9999]

I would keep it well lubricated with a thick lube. The military uses cosmoline and submerges the gun in it after warming up the grease.

Any one here know a good place to get cosmo or another thick lubricant/protectant in a cheap mass quantity? I may want to store a few of mine long term too.

 

[ArmedBear]

http://www.bull-frog.com/publications/articles/bury_seashore.php

I have wrapped oiled-up guns in painters masking paper, then put that in a foam-lined gun case.

It's dry where I am, though. If you're in a humid environment, I don't know what to tell you.

 

[outerlimit]

Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier to store blued guns long term with a light coat of oil in a safe with a dehumidifier in a humidity challenged residence?

Just a thought, seems like cleaning off that cosmo junk might do more harm to the firearm than just looking after it.

 

[rcmodel]

Use the same stuff the factory's use.

Vapor-Barrier paper wrapped around the gun in the box.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1197/Product/GUNWRAP_trade__PAPER


Use R.I.G. grease for long term storage.
As good or better then cosmolene without the mess.

http://www.shotgunsportsmagazine.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=79&products_id=660


rc

 

[dagger dog]

Some of the foam used in the less expensive cases can give off vapors that can be corrosive. If you are sure that the foam is ok, your idea with the dessicant packs is a good one, but most of the dessicants become moisture laden after a period and that time period depends on humidity levels where the storing takes place. They can be "recharged" by drying at 200 -250 degrees in your baking oven. But if you want to store and forget, Cosmoline is available through Midway USA and is a well proven bomb proof long term storage method.

 

[btg3]

These links may be of interest as they compare various corrosion prevention products...

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=...nic__Knowing_the_Limits_of_Rust_Preventatives

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

 

[AcceptableUserName]

great links, thanks.

 

[bigeye]

I have not had good luck with this as the foam degenerates and the fumes and chemicals can ruin a weapon. MANY other ways to do long term storage without foam. Even a steel single gun safe (the type kept on a night stand) with regularly checked dessicant could be much safer. Good Luck.

 

[The Lone Haranguer]

Styrofoam or other closed cell foam, perhaps. But the soft rubbery foams usually found in cases are open-celled, therefore will absorb moisture and promote rust/corrosion on the handgun if it has no additional protection. You can put a protective coating of some sort on the handgun, put it inside a "zip-lock" plastic bag and then put it in the case.

 

[herbie1]

I have used a couple of these:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/z-corr_bags.htm

 

[oneounceload]

What RC said about the vapor barrier paper. All of the old guns always came wrapped in them. I would NOT use foam -no way to guarantee all the moisture is out. Not too sure if a small dessicant and then vacuum-sealing would work (assuming coated in preservative)

 

[Mr.Revolverguy]

Do not store in a foam case unless you want it ruined. My mom had my grandads pristine m10 in a foam case for about 12 years. When I remembered it I asked her about it we pulled it out and it looked like this below. It is off at S&W right now being refinished. I will be posting a write up of the before and after on my website http://www.dayattherange.com so I hope smith & wesson does a good job it will be out there for everyone to see.

 

[GunAdmirer]

I was going to suggest the storage bag in the gun case idea.

I've always wondered why gun cases and rugs are lined like they are when the material promotes rust. How many guns have been damaged or ruined?

I had a friend leave a rifle in a foam lined plastic case in his garage/shop while in Iraq. Came back to a rust covered rifle. What a waste.

 

[paradox998]

I would use either a treated ziplock bag with a vapor lining that inhibits corrosion or one of the grey borestore cloth pouches. The pouches have a special fabic that will wick away moisture. Of course give the guns a good coat of preservative like breakfree collector.

 

[Dr.Rob]

You can buy spray on cosmoline, hell its FIVE YEAR storage. Unless you have someone taking it out of a safe to oil it once in a while, I wouldn't store it in that soft foam which is made to protect the gun from IMPACT not protect the finish from moisture.

Bore stores aren't bad.

 

[cyclopsshooter]

I have wrapped oiled-up guns in painters masking paper, then put that in a foam-lined gun case.

It's dry where I am, though. If you're in a humid environment, I don't know what to tell you.

+1 but i use wax or plastic lined butcher paper and bore butter... leaves a film that doesn't evaporate- and its non toxic

 

[AcceptableUserName]

i had some of that anti corrosion paper left over from my Mossberg box. I wiped the gun dry, wrapped it in that paper, puut in a ziploc along with a few wiped mags and put in an airtight ziploc bag with a silica packet inside. and then into the foam case it went.


that should do me at least for a while, eh???

 

[scottaschultz]

A little OT, but...

I will admit that I am not too got at math...

The Brownells gun paper looks like it would work, but in the description it says, "1 square foot of paper protects 1 cubic foot of space."

OK, so we have a piece of paper that measures 12" on all sides - 1 square foot. Now if you have a cubic foot, that is a box that measures 12" on all sides - of which there are 6!

So how does 1 square foot of paper protect 6 square feet of space???

Scott

 

[jon_in_wv]

http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduc...zrate&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=621#enlarge

I use this stuff on my guns when I store them. My guns are in a locked cabinet in my laundry room. Hardly a dry environment. So far I haven't seen and rust on my guns. I also use a Gold Rod and Damp Rid in my cabinet.

 

[twofifty]

30 years in foam = no damage

The volume of a 4" x 10" x 50" rifle case, is 1.15 cubic feet. Your 12" square piece of Brownell's paper is not quite big enough to protect the contents of that case.

As to foam damaging rifles, I've stored a bolt rifle in the same foam-lined hardshell riflecase, over a period of 30 years. No dessicants, no fancy rust preventing paper. The rifle was taken out and re-oiled maybe 5 times over those 30 years, and shot/cleaned maybe 3 times.

Result: Not a spec of rust anywhere, and the blueing is perfect. Shoots great too!

This in a continental climate, with cold rainy snowy winters and hot humid summers.

I think where folk get rust damage in foam-lined cases is when they put a gun in a case that had a tiny bit of rain fall into it, or where the end-of-day dew got absorbed into the foam. I keep my case closed when the gun is in use, to ensure the foam stays bone dry.

 

[btg3]

Just about any firearm owners manual will say to avoid storing the firearm in "anything that will attract or hold moisture".

Does anyone else think "sponge" when foam is mentioned?

And FWIW, any material with a high surface area (like open-cell foam) will adsorb moisture from ambient air. If the case is later closed up and stored below the dew point, there's bound to be trouble.

 

[orionengnr]

I will admit that I am not too got at math...

You're not too "got" at English, either....

 

[sebtool]

I've got several pistols stored in the corrosion resisitant zip lock type bags in foam lined cases/boxes. I think I got them form Dillon or Midway back in the early '90's. Wipe them down with a lightly oiled rag(I keep several of them in a zip loc bag in my range bag, more in an old coffee can on my bench) before I put them up. Never had a bit of rust on any of them, and this is in Missouri - not exactly known for low humidity...