Like the song goes, it’s the most wonderful time of the year.
My kids gave me my Christmas gift this morning and I was a little suspicious about the package’s weight. They told me to go ahead and open the parcel as they doubted I’d wait for Christmas anyway. I tore open the wrapper to find an old cigar box.
Lifting the lid, I was surprised to see a blued steel J-frame! The boys chipped in to get me a Model 40 Centennial! Just as cool, the cigar box had been converted to a felt-lined pistol box, something I’ve never seen done before. It was a really slick touch.
Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve owned a blued steel handgun.
I don’t want to have the revolver chromed or nickeled, so I was wondering what folks here recommend to keep rust at bay? I’ll probably carry this gun AIWB so rust is a real concern.
In the past, I’ve used WD40, CLP and FP10 but they were better at removing rust rather than preventing it. I read about stuff like Boeshield and Corrosion X but I don’t know anyone who has used any of these products.
+1. I sweat a lot, and the J-frame I inherited from my dad got some rust after I wore it exclusively through a Dallas summer spent mostly outdoors. Eezox helped me work the rust off, and has helped me keep it off ever since. (Though I don’t wear that J-frame much any more.) It’s also a pretty good lubricant, though there are better.
Another vote for Eezox but lately I have been using a product called Rustys Rags, it’s a silicone oil (propietary blend) soaked sheepskin sponge with a seperate flannel rag. They were offering free samples to members of The High Road forum and I have been using mine for about a month on all my pistols, shotguns and ARs. Excellent product that gets rid of all smudges, fingerprints, etc and literally makes your guns look like new! Brownells stocks them or you can buy direct. Living in Oregon my guns are exposed to crap weather constantly and salt air but I have full confidence in this product. www.rustysrags.com
If any water based glue was used to make the case conversion, be sure it is fully cured before storing your gun in it. You want to treat the fabric in the case because the case is more for transport than storage. The case can and will hold moisture in humid areas. 100% pure silicone spray applied lightly to the fabric will help here. Do this twice per year. As far as the pistol, cleaning and applying a sheen of protectant is the key thing. If you want no rust at all, you should explore doing this daily if you carry daily. If you store for long periods, I would be checking it often. Rust has a way of showing up if you get negligent. Don’t be afraid to leave a good sheen of protectant if you do store for long periods. It may be a little overkill, but all my pistols, save two, are blue, and none have any rust. When you want to shoot at the range or carry, simply wipe with a cotton towel.
I do not know about the products you asked about as I use motor racing lubricants on my weapons.
Thanks for the very thorough advice! I don’t intend to store the revolver in the cigar box case though. If it isn’t in a holster, it’s kept in a safe which does have silica gel packets that are replaced regularly.
Do you carry IWB? Do you apply anything to your gun before you start your carry? I remember trying Turtle Wax a looong time ago, but hard chrome seemed like a worthwhile convenience back then.
You make it sound like you are new to this. If you are offended be an answer you already know the answer to, why did you ask in the first place. You sounded like you were proud of that cigar case.
I don’t believe that was his intention and from reading everything it does not appear that he was offended. He is pround of the case but it won’t be used for primary storage. I believe you read to much into it. That being said, your response was edited and I suggest you dial it back a notch or two. It appears that you were the one who was offended.
I was not offended in the least and I think SWATCop1911 read it right.
The internet can be cold in that we don’t get to hear people’s inflections or read their faces while viewing posts. I’m sorry if my writing conveyed anything less than sincere intentions.
Anyway, going back to the topic. No, am not new to this but I have not carried a blued steel handgun in a long time. The last was a 1911 and after fighting rust on that gun for a while, I went hard chrome and never looked back (until I discovered Glocks.)
I have never carried a blued steel revolver, though I kept a loaded Model 10 for home protection and had some nice blued pistols for recreational use.
My thinking, and I could be wrong here, is that there are many more areas for rust to develop on a revolver simply because of the amount of exposed surface area. On a semi-auto, we just have to address the flats and the rounds and we’re pretty much GTG. There are a lot of crevices on a round gun and this is why I’m looking for what has worked for others.
This is why I ask if you’ve carried IWB and if you treat the gun with anything prior to carrying it. I’ve noticed that IWB carry can literally immerse a gun in moisture but still, it is how I carry best. In my quest to keep the aforementioned 1911 clean, I did try a host of stuff which included WD40, CLP, FP10, Turtle Wax and even an additive which is used to reduce emissions from diesel engines. None of them really worked out.
I’m looking up Eezox. I’ll try it out and post an update once I’ve used it for a couple of months.
[QUOTE=padwan;837893][The internet can be cold in that we don’t get to hear people’s inflections or read their faces while viewing posts. I’m sorry if my writing conveyed anything less than sincere intentions.]
No apologies. I am the idiot here and know better than to try to read a post when I am sleepy. Please forgive. (If I had been the moderator, I might have been inclined to give me a vacation)
Blued handguns are not created equal. Take the Taurus Tracker in blue, for example. You can wipe all the oil off, bury it in wet mud for a few months, dig it up, clean it, and it will not be rusty. Some older revolvers, even in chrome, will pit and rust due to impurities in the metal, just like rust spots on your expensive steak knife set. Modern metal works have all but eliminated this. Many blued hand guns actually have a coating similar to paint (parkerizing) right on the bare metal. If not cleaned and oiled regularly, they will begin to rust where the wear marks are. Taurus again; the PT1911, in blue, is parkerized and will actually rust from underneath the coating if not kept oiled. Glocks on the other hand will not rust even if the parkerizing wears off because of other treatments to the metal. To be safe, simply spray lightly with your favorite protectant and wipe excess with a towel, on a daily basis, if you carry daily. It is a hassel, yes, but it is good insurance if you want to keep the rust away.
100% pure silicone spray is a super good rust preventative, if used as a daily exterior wipe down. It has no degreasing properties in that it eats the lube you have on your gun for lubricating. Also, it is absolutely harmless to any parts of your gun. As with any other oil, it may darken your holster a bit where it gets on it, but you can wipe the gun good enough that this should not happen while still leaving a film of rust protection on your gun.
Pure silicone like the 3-in-1 brand spray you get at the local hardware? I think I have a can of that stuff lying around somewhere. I normally use it for door hinges and window rails. Had no idea it would be good for that application as I always thought it to be a lubricant instead of a protectant.
An auto parts retailer is a good place to get this. The 3 in 1 may have other additives (unless it says 100% silicone) that will make the gun feel greasy, even after wiping. That mixed with sweat and you will have a loose cannon. Pennzoil or Castle 100% pure silicone spray (you may have to order the Castle) will give the protection you want without the slippery feel. It is what I have used for years, and none of my pistols, rifles, or shotguns have any rust on them. Hope it works for you.
Just a tidbit, you can spray the foam inside a gun case and it will not degrade the foam, but will displace any moisture if you ever decide to store in a case.
The 3 top rust inhibitors, by most accounts and tests, are the following in order:
Eezox
SLiP 2000 EWL
BF CLP
I used to use Eezox… until it took the paint off my pistol sights and I found that it contains chloro-compounds (chlorine). I now use SLiP 2000 and CLP. Between the two, no rust whatsoever.
Just a word of advice, you cannot displace the moisture inside a space (or a gun case) without either dehumidifying it or completely filling it up with something else other than moisture-laden air. If the conditions are right, moisture will get to the gun.
An accelerated way to test a “moisture displacing theory” is to put your cool (not cold) gun in your ambient temperature (kept in the house) gun case. Then, put the gun case in direct sunlight in your car. After about a 1-1/2 hours open the case, if your gun does not have condensation on it, your “moisture displacement theory” worked…for now…but more than likely you will have a wet gun …and in two or three weeks you will have a rusty gun.
If you can keep the gun in the case and the case at a constant temperature, you might not ever experience the condensation problem but this is why you often hear, “do not store a gun in a case”.
Wish I could say I didn’t know this for a fact… oh well…live and learn.
