Fighting the entropy!

[Homesteader]

Hey all. A question born of curiosity, and some aggrivation, mostly:

I've got four long-smokepoles: a Brown Bess, a .45 "Penn" flinter rifle, a .54 Sharps, and a 12 ga. double cap-lock. Also have three C & B smokewagons, a .36 rifled flinter pistol, a little .41 pocket flinter, and probably something I'm forgetting. And gear for them all.

Anyway, I'm meticulous about cleaning after shooting. Nonetheless I find that I've got to spend a lot of time re-cleaning, re-lubing, re-working, etc. etc. It's almost unending. Clean this one, notice that that one's getting a little rust spot, a little mold (leather), a little something nasty, and then on to the next, and the next, and... Well, you get the idea.

Am I the only one that's spending an inordinate amount of time maintaining his shooting irons and gear? It seems to be unending. I do lube them well (I think), I clean them well (I beliieve), and I do not have them in a particularly bad environment. (Well, they are in the South, so maybe that last bit isn't quite correct.)

It takes a tremendous amount of my free time to keep my shooting gear in good shape, and I'm just wondering how the rest of you handle it.

 

[Slamfire]

Well that's the rules of the game ain't it? You can't win, you can't break even, and you can't quit. :surrender:

 

[Rebel]

Well, you could always sell a few so you didn't have so much cleaning to do. :grin:

 

[rabjr]

Homesteader

Once my guns are cleaned and lubed, I rarely ever see any kind of rust. I do make a point to relube the barrels and wipe the guns down about every 4 weeks. I never case any gun. Some are in a gun safe, some on the wall.

 

[Homesteader]

LOL! Yeah, I do believed you've summarized it dam**d well!

 

[greenneck]

It depends on what you use to lube the guns with after cleaning. Some oils are not very good at preventing rust. There have been some threads on this forum about lubrication and tests.

I personally use RemOil and have no regrets. Some of my guns are used only for one or two weeks a year and the coat of RemOil left on them keeps them rust-free for the year.

Steve

 

[Parzifal]

.... :applause:

The way I see it is the more I clean up my ladies the better they shoot and the longer they will last.

Its like a whole other part of the hobby, If those guys "way back when" in the line didnt clean them muskets they wouldent work consistantly and more then likly some frenchie would kiss em with the bayonet.

 

[bub524]

Boy, thats too bad! Its a shame to waste so much of your hard earned free time cleaning and maintaining guns. As a New Years gesture of kindness I'm offering to help you out. If you send me the Bess, longrifle and Sharps I'll clean them evey day for you. No charge , no strings. I'll even pay shipping. :grin: :grin:

 

[Stubert]

In your post you mention mold. That would lead me to believe you have a humidity problem.

 

[Homesteader]

Oh yeah, no question about it. Very difficult to control humidity down here (South Carolina, near the marshes & swamps) even with air conditioning in the summer and heat during both days of winter. :winking:

I do believe I'll try some different lubes for the shootin' irons, but I'm afraid I'll have to pass on those very generous offers of cleaning services via mail. :blah:

It's a constant problem with many things: tools (charcoal in the toolbox helps with that), leather, clothes in a closed closet, cast iron cookware, canvas tents, etc. etc. Lot of work just maintaining gear.

 

[bob1961]

my one flintlock i use now till my .54 i'm building is done i clean in hot water after shooting, then oil the bore with hopps gun oil after some dry patches to make sure the bore is dry after the hot water....then after the bore patches are done oiling the bore i wipe down the barrel and barrel channel "it's a T/C hawken" i put back together and i'm done with it....when i go to use the gun next time i just dry patch the bore then load and go....never had any problem with any rust, even after i'm done hunting in jan and don't touch the gun till say may or june to take it to the[url] range....in[/url] fact with my surgery i had in aug from when i got sick in dec last year i didn't touch my gun till this oct to try to hunt after my surgery, and guess what no rust anywhere :v ..............bob

 

[WRussell]

Preventing rust is a topic that will never end, 'cause rust (& mold) will never end.

The best I've read about and tried is micro-crystalline wax. I read it was developed by a museum in England. Renaissance wax is the pricey brand name, Lee Valley has a much cheaper product, and I found a big, dirt cheap jar in a local big box store (called museum wax) that works well.

It works on anything. Keeps steel from rusting, brass from tarnishing, leather & paper from molding. (Leaves no stain on paper) I read where a collection that got salt water exposed in Katrina showed good proof: the stuff that had been waxed had virtually no damage, while the stuff with only oil was rusted.

So clean, wax, oil the moving parts. Give us some feedback.

 

[Coonhound]

I use Bore Butter religiously. I've found, that when i know any of my rifles are going to lay unused, if i lube both the bore and outside (to include stock!) generously it tends to hold off the rust.

 

[Many Klatch]

I store my guns in the basement. In the Summer I have to run a dehumidifier full time to keep it from mold. I never have to mess with my guns between shooting. It may be due to my gun oil. 50% 2 stroke motor oil and 50% kerosene. I got the recipe from an ole boy that asked, have you ever seen a 2-stroke motor rust inside? I figure the mixture burns clean on the first shot, the kerosene makes it a real penetrating oil and the 2 stroke oil has special oils that coat the steel.

Give it a try, the price is right. :thumbsup:

Many Klatch

 

[flashpanner]

I have my machinist's tool box near my gun with micrometers, precision squares, gage blocks, etc. I have several desiccant packets placed in the drawers. I also have several in my semi hard side gun cases. Iron oxide has not taken up residence in over 8 years. I do the lube thing too. Desiccant gel is avaliable at hobby stores or ChinaMart(WalMart) in the floral area. Hope this helps

 

[wulf]

I live in Az. Very dry even when it rains..I give
a thorough cleaning and ck a week later and find
no traces. As an added precaution I stored them in a closet type enclosure with a light bulb all
day and night..This I think gave a constant dry-
humidity factor..also I stood them on the muzzle
to drain oil out that end rather than out the pan
and inside the lock...I'm very thorough with my cleaning and the rest is maintance...I have no problems..I think the lite light is very helpfull
I trust my cleaning that lasts 2 years without the
need for inspection.

 

[jtmattison]

It depends on what you use to lube the guns with after cleaning. Some oils are not very good at preventing rust. There have been some threads on this forum about lubrication and tests.

I personally use RemOil and have no regrets. Some of my guns are used only for one or two weeks a year and the coat of RemOil left on them keeps them rust-free for the year.

Steve

I use Rem-Oli also. Never had a speck of rust even after months in the safe.

HD

 

[renovato]

If it's prone to rust, I slather it down with CorrosionX or RIG and never hafta worry about it until it gets cleaned again. If it's prone to mold, it gets Ballistol and that problem is ended. Being naturally lazy, I always try to find the easiest solution for the least amount of work! :rotf: