Armory Sponsor
Posted: 11/29/2005 4:51:09 PM EDT
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OK guys, I need some serious help with this one. My grandfather passed away a couple of years ago. My aunt now has the Mauser that he brought back from WW2. She has no knowlege of firearms, and has no intention of ever using it, but it has HUGE sentimental value for both of us. I'm going to be at her house for Christmas, and I intend to clean it up. What I need to know is what can I do for it to keep it in good condition if left unattended for a few years? I know NOTHING about preserving firearms. Everything I own gets regular excercise and cleanings. Give me product suggestions, what do I do, how do I keep this thing from deteriorating? Thank you in advance. This one means alot to me. |
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There are several approaches to this issue. Taking the rifle apart and slathering it with cosmoline is what the military normally does. This will preserve the metal nearly for ever, but until you clean the cosmoline off, it will be kind of disgusting to handle. You could also try slathering it in Rust Inhibiting Grease (RIG). The National Firearms Museum treats all of the firearms that they have on display with a layer of regular car wax. This won't protect the weapons as well as the other solutions above, but at least you can handle and/or view them. You will, of course, have to completely clean the rifle before shooting with any of these techniques. |
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Clean and oil rifle. Put into storage bag, squeeze the air out and seal the bag. Put bagged rifle into storage case. Bag keeps moisture away from rifle and case keeps bag from getting ripped. www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ProductDetail.aspx?p=1154&title=TRIPLE+TOUGH?%20PREMIUM%20STORAGE%20BAGS |
| If you were really concerned, and didn't want to touch it for long, I'd go with the worldwide military standard of "grease the fuck out of it." It seems to work well, some of the surplus rifles we see today look like they were made yesterday. To go one extra step, put it in a bag with no air. |
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The best protection is what the military and industry use these days to protect metal, and it ain't slathering it with grease. They now use vapor-barrier storage. This is a special paper that gives off a vapor that drives out oxygen and surrounds the gun with a vapor that totally prevents rust for at least 10 years. To use, you wipe the metal down with a good rust preventing lube like CLP Breakfree to neutralize finger prints. Then you wrap the gun in a couple of sheets of the vapor paper, then seal it in a special plastic bag. The bags are made of a special "hard" plastic that won't pass moisture or allow the vapor to escape. You can buy the special bags in long gun or pistol sizes. and the paper in pistol or long gun sized sheets from Brownell's and other places. DO NOT use standard plastic bags or baggies, since these will pass moisture and allow the vapor to escape. The military now use this system because you don't have to spend hours slathering the gun with grease, and when you want to use the gun, you can just take it out of the bag and use it without spending hours trying to get the grease off. The biggest advantage is, it actually does a better job than the grease. |
I wasn't aware of that, that's pretty cool. What kind of cost does it pose, and where can I get some? Edit to ask: How long do they last? |
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