Air Gun Home :: View topic

cliffspot · Veteran Member

Been real rainy and humid the last week or so here in southern Miami. Went to shoot my B26 this evening. Took her out of the case, pulled the can of pellets out of the side pocket. Picked up the gun and it was ALL WET!! What the heck?!?! Then I felt the barrel.....kinda cold! Wow! The AC is on in the bedrooms because someone is always in there. The cold gun hit the hot, thick, humid air and instant condensation! Looked thru the scope and couldn't see zip! Never had really good AC in a house before now. Gotta remember to take out my gun(s) from now on to preheat/thaw? Wiped it down good after, don't want any rust. Strange......

billandbeaufort · Senior Member

cw · Banned

Don't store your gun in a gun case unless you are transporting it.
The same thing used to happen to me when I lived in Ocean Park,
Washington, right on the ocean. Wipe the whole thing down with
Beeman MP-5 oil and store in open air.

CW

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Please tell me you wiped it down with a papertowel and then an oily rag afterwards.

I'm suprised that in the case it would get that cold. I had a similar type thing happen to me this weeked. I spray painted one of my airguns to camo it. I set it out in the sun for about 90 minutes to dry. That's 90 minutes in the sun...in Phoenix....in June...in 110 degree heat.

Of course the gun was smoking hot when I brought it indoors, but what amazed me even more was that after over an hour of sitting inside in the AC, the barrel was STILL too hot to touch. You could hold your hand a couple inches above it and feel the heat eminating off of it. I just hope that it didn't weaken the metal or burn up the grease and oil inside the piston.

yourdaddyjoe · Supporting Member

Hey Cliffspot,

This won't help when you take the guns out into the moist air... but... if you are going to store them in a closed space in high humidity... it's a good sugestion...

I live in the foothills of the Sierras and I own a gun safe. It did the same thing once in awhile... I now use one of those "Dri-z-air" canisters. It works great and keeps my fire arms from rusting. I also use them in the camper.

Also... every time I buy something that has the "Silica Gel" (Chicklets) packets in the packaging, I save them and toss them in my tool box, gun carry cases or anything that is sealed up tight to keep it dry on the inside...

http://www.drizair.com/

If you want to get fancy... these fit in gun cases very nicely...
Pelican Peli™ Desiccant (Silica Gel)

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=698869&Sku=P335-1046&SRCCODE=GOOGLEBASE&cm_mmc_o=TBBTkwCjCVyBpAgf%20mwzygtCjCVRqCjCVRq

Hope that helps. Our problem in Sunny California right now is Smoke... 32 wild fires... Any one have a way of clearing the air???

It's too smoky to shoot... and I am a diehard shooter...

broommaster2000 · Moderator

A gun case isn't for storing a gun. It's for transporting one. Guns are supposed to be put in either safes or on display, if you want to keep em good.

I base this on a ton of people who've had rust experiences and other who hadn't. Most who have these rust problems put their guns away in their cases. The stuff in most of the cases tends to hold moist a bit.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Uhh, I think gun cases can be used for storage purposes too. As a general rule all guns should be put away well oiled in a cool dry place, and even at that, they should be maintained every so often to prevent rusting.

You won't get a hermetic seal out of a zippered gun case but it will keep the dust off of them and keep them from getting scraped up. If you live in a humid area then it that moisture will get into everything regardless.

cw · Banned

I bought a couple of used guns once that had been stored
in gun cases for years. They had an interesting pattern
etched into them by the foam.

broommaster2000 · Moderator

Well, it's just that I've heard and read this and that about rust, and in a lot of cases it had to do with cases. Mr. Green

Most of the foam that's used tends to suck oil away from the gun too, and dust isn't a real problem, unless you're talking about sand-dust.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Another benefit of using rustoleum spray paint to camouflage my rifles is that it protects them from rust. You still have to worry about the bore, but that can be oiled easily enough.

What am I talking about...I live in Arizona. It's so dry here I don't think I've ever even seen rust here!

My washing machine is in an outer room with no a/c. If I don't get the laundry out right afer the cycle is done, the clothes will literally bake dry in the washer within a few hours. Gotta love the desert!

broommaster2000 · Moderator

But just to make sure, Rust isn't caused just by moist, now is it? Oxidation is also caused by the metal coming in contact with air.

I'm not fabulous at science, but I recall that it has something to do with currents or something?

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Well, I know that metal submerged in water rusts much faster than even moist metal exposed to air, so that should say something.

cw · Banned

It says that the oxygen atom in the water molecule
binds to the iron in the iron/carbon compound of steel
easier than to the oxygen molecule in air. Plus there is
more readily available oxygen in water than in air for
the iron in the steel to form bonds with.

cliffspot · Veteran Member

My bedroom is super cold and DRY, the AC is very strong. What happened was I got the "cold beer" effect.... cold surface contacting warm moist air, condensation! I did wipe it down with a soft dry cloth and my silicon soaked cloth after that. In Hawaii, I had guns start to rust in my gun safe even tho I had MANY of those dessicant packs in there. It's just a matter of monthly wiping down with oil to prevent that. Never had a problem once I started that no matter if the gun was in a case or out.

Rogerflat · Silver Status Member

Dude. You somehow managed to turn your airgun into a beer can. Nice job! Razz