Gun Lubes, Storage vs. Use?

[Griff]

I have a number of Winchester 1894/94s; most of which I keep separated and in long term storage. I tend to use different lubes on those I'm not planning on shooting for awhile (more like years rather than months). Does anyone else?

If so, what do you use? (I use axle grease inside the action and a lighter oil on the exterior metal, then wax paper around the gun, inside a sleeve).

My method requires that I clean the grease out before I can use the gun. Not that I NEED to, I keep several .30-30s in the safe ready for a variety of uses. I was just wonderin' if someone knows of a better method that wouldn't require disassembly and a thorough cleaning before use.

[colo native]

for storage i use balastol

[colo native]

www.ballistol.ca

[J Miller]

Griff,

I use a product made by the Break-Free outfit called Industrial PCL. NOT CLP.
I've got several rifles in their gun cases, plastic cases with foam guts, in the closet that have not been used in 10 years. I take them out occasionally to check them and there is no rust.
This stuff is great. It's expensive and very hard to find but worth it to me.

Joe

Edited cos of a brain fanny burp.

[John Boy]

Eezox ... http://www.theopenrange.net/forum/index ... pic=5457.0
The best lube - cleaner and rust preventative I've found to date
Griff, the ideal conditions to store firearms is: 50 Relative Humidity and 70 degrees F

[marlinman93]

I basically use nothing, but I take them out every 6 months and check them, then wipe with an oiled rag and back in the safe.

[AmBraCol]

Any more I just use the same stuff that I use for my carry piece. It's just ATF thickened up with some lanolin. If I were to store them for a long time I'd use the same stuff, just a bit more lanolin to make it even thicker than the batch I'm currently using. It's the best rust preventative I've found for my carry piece. And I sweat like an overworked horse and we have close to 100% humidity much of the time. No rust at all when I wipe it down every few days. For storage? Same stuff.

Guns store better if they're not all wrapped up. Keep the air moving around them, or at least give them some air space. The humidity trapped near them is the danger. In the past I've used total immersion in 30 weight motor oil or ATF. Wrap the piece up (sans stock) in torn cotton sheets, place in a plastic bag and pour the ATF or 30 weight over it until it's soaked. Then I wrap the bag around it tightly to get rid of excess air and make sure the ATF is sopped well into the rag. Then I wind tape around it to make sure the air's gone. Then into another bag and wrap again. Guns stored this way for years in adverse conditions have not showed any signs of rust. And for pre shooting treatment? Just wipe down. Swab the bore and chamber real well (and the magazine tube if it's a tube fed), bolt the stock back on and you're good to go. For less long term storage I just wipe down with ATF/Lanolin and call 'er good.

[afish4570]

For wiping the exterior of all my guns I use a piece of lambs wool (buffing bonnet) with RIG(Rust Inhibiting Grease) I bought mine from Midway several years ago after my supply had run out. A one pound can costs around $8.00 and lasts for many years.The inside of a barrel can be swabbed out with a loose fitting patch liberally coated with Rig. My carry guns are wiped a couple times aweek (or after a rain exposure). A very thin coating is all that my hunting or in use guns gets with the wiping of the impregnated (with RIG) lambs wool......Not messy and you never no it been "greased" for longer storage I wipe a fresh gob of RIG on my lambs wool and knead it in to evening distribute it.....An old target shooter taught me this about 40 yrs. ago.My guns may look used but no rust or stains on blued or SS guns....Breakfree makes a preservative collectors lube that last for a long time too for the working innards.....Just an old guys process that works and easily gets a stored gun ready to shoot.afish4570

[Chuck 100 yd]

I have used nothing but Midways Rust Guard for many years. I have never found as much as a speck of rust on any of my guns since I started using it.

[JohndeFresno]

CorrosionX - for storage and for everyday use. See the link - popular with many gun writers, and it works for me.
http://www.corrosionx.com/gun_use.html

[brucew44guns]

Noahzark got me interested in Corrosion X some while back. It's an industrial and aircraft type oil that is loaded with anti-corrosion properties and anti-rust compounds. A gallon of it is about 90 bucks plus freight to get it you. Enough to last for years. I put it in a plastic ketch-up squeezer to dispense it, pretty handy. It is premium stuff. Also, if you are near a Chevron Distributor, you could get a 5 gallon pail of Chevron Handy-Oil. Excellent stuff for guns, about 70 bucks or so for 5 gallons. Your guns won't rust with Handy Oil either.

[Ray Newman]

I live in wet WA ST & the Golden Rod heaters in the safes run 24/, along a Bullfrog rust inhibitor that I hang in the safe & replace very year w/ a new one. Instead of discarding the old one, I keep it in the safe for one additional year.

To avoid rust on moulds, dies, etc., I cut to fit the storage box & place a piece of ‘gun wrap paper’ inside.

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/Store/ ... P?%20PAPER

http://www.goldenroddehumidifiers.com/

http://www.bull-frog.com/

When storing firearms, I heat the barrel & action w/ a hair dryer until warm to the hand, then apply a liberal coating of RIG (Rust Inhibiting Grease) to rifling, action, inside of cylinders etc. I then wrap the pistol in Gun Wrap paper (see above link).

Some opine what I do is overkill, but it is easier to remove grease & paper wrap than deal w/ rust....

Lee Valley Tools also offers "Corrosion-Inhibiting Storage Bags" (6X8", 10X12", & 12X18") reusable plastic storage bags.

http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx ... at=1,43326

[Fairshake]

EEZOX beats all others hands down. John Boy is being modest by just posting the site test on Open Range and not yelling out about it. I had never heard of the stuff until reading his post a while back. I'm a former Firearms instructor with the Baton Rouge Sherrifs Office and City Police. I worked very close with The FBI and other large departments. Through all my previous test I thought that Corrision X and Break Free were about the best. Take a look and see the pictures and you will be buying EEZOX as I have. I use Ballistol to clean my guns as I'm a shooter of "THE HOLY BLACK" but I will from now on use nothing but this product to store my guns. John Boy is a wealth of information. Look on Open Range Please.

[GonnePhishin]

Griff,

I also go along with using Corrosion X- Great Stuff

[Jaguarundi]

For wiping the exterior of all my guns I use a piece of lambs wool (buffing bonnet) with RIG(Rust Inhibiting Grease) I bought mine from Midway several years ago after my supply had run out. A one pound can costs around $8.00 and lasts for many years.The inside of a barrel can be swabbed out with a loose fitting patch liberally coated with Rig. My carry guns are wiped a couple times aweek (or after a rain exposure). A very thin coating is all that my hunting or in use guns gets with the wiping of the impregnated (with RIG) lambs wool......Not messy and you never no it been "greased" for longer storage I wipe a fresh gob of RIG on my lambs wool and knead it in to evening distribute it.....An old target shooter taught me this about 40 yrs. ago.My guns may look used but no rust or stains on blued or SS guns....Breakfree makes a preservative collectors lube that last for a long time too for the working innards.....Just an old guys process that works and easily gets a stored gun ready to shoot.afish4570

+1 on the RIG !Excellent for restoring lube lost during the Hot blueing process also.

[RANisbet]

The purpose of any rust inhibiting technique is to create a barrier between the steel and the water source, in most cases the source is air which contains plenty of humidity.

Any oil, grease or synthetic that does not contain H2O will work as a barrier.
Some evaporate easily others do not.
Cosmoline was widely used by our military up through WW2. It was very much like grease.

A couple of products that will work almost as well as cosmoline are wheel bearing greese and also plain old petroleoum jelly! Only problems with these is the clean up and removal when you are ready to use the firearm.

Many places now revert to air tight storage bags with an ample package of moisture absorbent material.

I use a combination of these techniques.

[Blaine]

WD40.....Never, ever had a problem.

[scr83jp]

I use petroleum or synthetic lubes sparingly inside of my weapons but NEVER on the exterior surfaces. When GS Ellis Simon was alive he showed all of his customers how to protect blued steel by using TREWAX .All of my blued steel & stainless steel weapons are coated with TREWAX . I was on the Accurate Reloading Forum explaining about my use of TREWAX when a former customer of Ellis signed in stating he had him repair and service all of his Winchester Model 21 collection and he still uses TREWAX on the exterior of his Model 21's.I've met several of his former customers & we all have one thing in common we use TREWAX on the exterior of our weapons.

[Mokwaw]

I give the internals a good healthy blast of WD40, and let the excess drain off. The exterior gets light machine oil (3 in 1) wipe down. Wood gets Olde English furniture oil wipe down. My guns are usually not in long storage (years), usually just short term (less than 6 months).

[scr83jp]

I give the internals a good healthy blast of WD40, and let the excess drain off. The exterior gets light machine oil (3 in 1) wipe down. Wood gets Olde English furniture oil wipe down. My guns are usually not in long storage (years), usually just short term (less than 6 months).

Petroleum based oils migrate and damage wood stocks & I've seen many ruined stocks from oil migration.WD40 is a dust attractor.I use militech 1 & drislide for internal lube but no clp cause it's a dirt magnet that's what jammed the weapons in the iraq.

[ohio hunter]

I use Lee liquid alox thinned with mineral spirits. I hate the stuff for tumble lubing boolits but do use in in my homade lube. It is an undercoating rust preventive for autos and I got the idea to use it on guns. Works great and does not migrate. My Eds Red gun cleaner uses some too. My .02
J

[Old Time Hunter]

Guess I've never had an issue, pulled my old Glenfield out after thirty + years, wiped it off with a clean rag and ran a couple of RemOiled patches down the barrel. Not a lick of rust anywhere.

[JFE]

I had some rifles in storage for about 15 years and I used a product called Rangoon Oil. Dont know if it is still available but it was ex UK. This oil was apparently designed for firearm storage in high humidity conditions. The metal work on the guns were coated inside and out with this product (which by the way is quite thin) and then I inserted piece of clean rag wetted with the oil into the muzzle and then wrapped them in blankets (no gunsocks in those days). 15 years later they were as good as I had left them.

Joe