Rust prevention

[pgilmore]

Anyone use WD-40 in your muzzleloader as a rust prevention? Im looking for somthing that works to stop rust before it starts. I clean,dry,and oil my gun just to come back a week later to run a patch down the muzzle and get rust on the patch. Now when i say rust i dont mean the muzzle is coated with rust. I can look in the muzzle with a light and it is clean and still has its new shine. But the patch will have that orange color.
I us hoppes gun oil and would think it would be a good oil. Is this somthing to be expected. What do you guys do to prevent this?

 

[ohio ramrod]

While I have often used wd 40 to assure all water is removed I don't consider it the best rust preventive. I use the old G.I. gun oil for reasonabley short term. And spray on Anti rust spray ( sort of like a thin cosmoline, a mixture of waxs and oils ) for long term storage. Just remember to throughly remove any petrolium based oils before firing black powder .

 

[Tom-ADC]

WD40 displaces water fine, but not a great rust preventor. I use a gun oil then wipe dry before I head out to the range.

 

[nchawkeye]

If you clean your gun and go back and find rust a week later then you need to change your cleaning procedure...BP is very corrosive once shot, if you don't get it spotless it's going to rust...

I put a tooth pick in my touch hole, pour some alcohol or water into the barrel, let sit a couple of minutes and pour it out...I pull the tooth pick and run 3-4 patches down and repeat...Once the barrel is dry I use WD-40 to displace the water, dry and use a good gun oil to protect the barrel...When I'm ready to load I run 2 patches down to remove the oil and load her up...

 

[nkbj]

There's an aerosol product on the market called "Rust Prevent" that has a curing film effect. Smells like cosmoline actually. The stuff seems to work well on a prolonged basis.
I most usually just use a heavy dose of oil inside the barrel. And, yep, sometimes I still get that infuriating orange tinged patch.

 

[hanshi]

I use WD40 but do not rely on it to prevent rust. A quality gun oil is just so much better. I'm not entirely convinced it's necessarily rust one sees. Bp compounds & compounds formed with lube, etc, may often be the culprit. I've noticed it for decades yet those old barrels are still pristine.

 

[Celt5494]

I normally clean the heck out of the guns then run some bore butter down them and leave em' be. Seems to prevent any problems if done right. I'll pull the lock off and coat the inside with Rem Oil which is a high quality gun oil rust preventitive aerosol. It would also work well down the barrel if you want. After the cleaning they go into a humidity controlled safe that prevents rust that will naturally occour no matter what you do if left out in the household air.
One of the guys suggested using GI oil also known as "CLP" (Cleaning, lubricant, protectant). It's cheap and works great on just about anything firearm wise and is super easy to get a hold of.

 

[Stumpkiller]

No. I use Beechwood Casey Sheath. Now replaced by Baricade.

WD-40 will chase water off but it doesn't last for rust protection.

 

[noworries]

I normally clean the heck out of the guns then run some bore butter down them and leave em' be. Seems to prevent any problems if done right. I'll pull the lock off and coat the inside with Rem Oil which is a high quality gun oil rust preventitive aerosol. It would also work well down the barrel if you want. After the cleaning they go into a humidity controlled safe that prevents rust that will naturally occour no matter what you do if left out in the household air.
One of the guys suggested using GI oil also known as "CLP" (Cleaning, lubricant, protectant). It's cheap and works great on just about anything firearm wise and is super easy to get a hold of.

Ditto...A good solid HOT soapy wash and rinse, a few dry patches and a rubdown with Breakfree or Triflow...no rust

 

[Melton Kidd]

I haved pretty good luck with Balistol. I have seen tests comparing products on steel exposed to the weather and Balistol faired better than most. That said, I would not use it for long term storage without checking every couple of weeks.

 

[nkbj]

So, is there a formula that actually neutralizes the salts and sulphides? There's probably something common as dirt on the shelf at the GreatWal that would do it. Shoulda paid more attention in chemlab.

 

[Sharp Shooter]

I just spray Birchwood Casey Sheath down my bore, then run a patch or two. Works great for me.

I would like to use the Track of the Wolf mink oil I use as a patch lube but I always end up with a big glob at the breech. Still works though.

When cleaning your muzzleloader, try running a few patches soaked in Windex down the barrel. The ammonia in the Windex chemically breaks down the corrosive salts. Off brands work to.

I think in the Civil War they used to pee down their barrels to help clean them. I dont know if thats true but that is just what I heard. Makes sense because of the ammonia in your urine.


Kirk

 

[RADeO]

So, is there a formula that actually neutralizes the salts and sulphides? There's probably something common as dirt on the shelf at the GreatWal that would do it. Shoulda paid more attention in chemlab.

Yup! That would be water. :grin: