What is Your Wipe Down & Oil Application Schedule??

[.45man]

Hi all,

(I did a search on this topic and looked back a month, nothing substaintial came up)......

I was wondering what some of you do in the way of maintenance (periodic or one time preventative) on the exterior and bore of your firearms, especially those that are not handled regularly??

I was handling a few firearms today and realized that there are many (rifles, shotguns, and handguns) that I have not handled or wiped down in over a year since I last cleaned and oiled them.........They certainly look ok....I looked down the bore of a few with a Pelican M3 light - the crown and chamber areas are clean.....

I have a collection of 65+ firearms in a climate controlled safe. I handle a dozen on a regular basis, but the rest sit for months and months at a time without handling....

I usually put a heavy coat of oil down the bore and on the exterior if I know I am going to let them sit for a while. The long guns are stored muzzle down.....

Your input and thoughts would be appreciated......

 

[HSMITH]

My 'collector' guns are oiled up every 3 or 4 months. I wet a small rag and wipe them down making SURE I get all the fingerprints off and a general coating. Usually I use CLP, and they are still slightly wet when the 3 or 4 months has passed, and more or less I am just adding a tiny bit of oil and making sure they are evenly coated. This process has kept any corrosion at bay even in very humid environments with no temperature control.


IN your case with NO handling and a good temperature and humidity controlled environment you can easily go a year with CLP, but it certainly won't hurt anything to do it more often.

 

[hoghunting]

Dallas has fairly high humidity and my guns stay in a vault with a Golden Rod to control humidity. The guns that are not used very often, get wiped down once a year or every other year if I remember. I check to make sure the Golden Rod is working whenever I open the vault. I have never had any problems with rust. I have seen more stocks ruined by oiling the actions and storing the gun with the butt down. Oil will soak into the stock.

 

[JohnBT]

Rig Rag and Rig grease. It's just too easy to use and it does not run or evaporate. I use it for everyday guns.

John

 

[Dave Markowitz]

My guns that are going to sit for an extended period (months or more) get a coating of RIG. Stuff that gets used on a more regular basis get lightly oiled as needed. I don't keep to a formal schedule.

 

[WTA]

I don't have any that sit around but it sounds like you all got it firgured out. My commonly used ones get field stripped and cleaned and greased after almost every day I have them out. It's really dusty around here. I pretty much only use grease on the Garands and M-14's. My 1917's get some oil on the barrel under the handguards since there isn't much reason to take them out of the stock except once a year.
My Winchester lever action that I carry the most on coyote patrol is a pain to clean. I'm about to just parkerize it and be done with it because I am tired of the little rust specs popping up all the time from carry. That won't be a problem with parkerizing.

 

[JohnBT]

I've been thinking about taking a Rig-Rag and oiling it. I hate using a cloth to wipe down a gun because it's too hard to get into the nooks and crannies and lettering and such. A Rig-Rag will even reach up under a ventilated rib.

We don't have dust here - only pollen.

It's so dry today I'm going to have a nosebleed. It's 63*F with 45% humidity.

John

 

[ball3006]

When I get a new gun.....

I do a complete coverage with LPS2, a milspec rust preventor and lube, and let dry. It is my wipedown fluid from then on. The color and smell of the lube is identical to Breakfree. On the moving parts I use Militec oil or grease, depending what is needed. I have never had a corrosion problem with this practice.......I get it at Tru Value hardware.......chris3

Edit: forgot to add that I have guns stored for many years done this way with zero problems with rust. I also wipe the bores with LPS too.....chris3

 

[Jaim03]

WTA, what brand/type of grease do you use on your Garands, if I might ask? (And welcome to THR... bought a Leupold scope from you a month or so back...)