Rust on my slide?

[roblox84]

So I haven't shot my gun for a few weeks now, it's been sitting in my safe and recently I pulled it out and I noticed there was rust on the part of the slide where you pull back on. It wipes of for the most part but why would there be rust forming on the slide? The last time I used it I cleaned the gun and wiped the whole thing down with RemOil. Did I do a bad thing by putting a greasy gun back in it's holster and in a safe? I don't want the gun to rust to the point where it won't wipe of and makes the whole gun look like crap.

[juniustaylor]

Not sure why it specifically targets the slide. Rem-Oil doesn't do a whole lot IMO of keeping rust off. It just makes a warm fuzzy feeling for the most part. Remington does make another product in a squirt bottle. Don't remember the name of it, the stuff smells nasty and it is supposed to be a rust inhibitor.

In the meantime, you should invest in some silica packets or a Golden Rod safe dehumidifier deal. The Golden Rod and similar devices heat the safe's internal air temperature to over 140 degrees. Being that it's constantly heated, it keeps condensation from forming. I use these canister deals from Wal-Mart. They are in the laundry crap where you find clothes hangers. They're clearish, oblong in shape. Have an orange lid on top and cost me $3.47 which does seem like a ripoff. They work real well, I don't have much, if any real problem with surface rust forming.

[juniustaylor]

It's this stuff, you can find it at Wal-Mart.

Rem-Oil Moisture Guard Spray
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Remington-Moi ... z/16930252

The little canisters are similar to DampRid.

[roblox84]

Thanks, I might have to go with that moisture guard spray. I looked at the golden rods but I don't know how someone is supposed to run a power cord out of a safe. Maybe I shouldn't even keep the gun in the safe? When I first got the p64 I played with it and just put it in my drawer and no rust even after a week. So I don't know now if it is the rem oil I used or keeping the gun in the safe or both.

[juniustaylor]

What composition is the holster? Most any holster can hold sweat, leather can be worse. During the tanning process, salts are sometimes still embedded in the leather. As we all should know, salt is hygroscopic and draws moisture. If you leave it out of the holster, then it's probably just condensation as the temperature of the steel changes as the temperature in the safe heats and cools. With the Golden Rods and similar devices, the plug on the end of the cord comes apart. You run the wire through a hole that is virtually in every gunsafe. Once the wire is on the outside, you just reassemble the plug. I got one for my pappy for Christmas, hope he likes it!

If you live in a damp area, then a silica device would work well, but a dehumidifier would probably be best to remove excess moisture in the air.

[roblox84]

I got the holster from amazon and it says that its made of leather, but the thing is the holster is not touching the part that had the rust on it. http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003RC ... 00_details. I was thinking of using those silica packets but I can't even imagine how much I would need for my safe because it's like 3-4 cubic feet. It is a waterproof safe so like you said it's probably keeping a crap load of moisture in there since there's no ventilation. I guess I will try the remoil for now and see what happens. If it still rusts I will pull it out of the safe.

[Curly1]

I use Bore Stores on all my firearms and have never had a problem.

You can get em at Midway.

[lklawson]

I did a whole series of tests on rust inhibitors. RemOil is better than nothing for stopping rust, but there are a lot of other better performers.

The top performers in my corrosion resistance tests were: Breakfree CLP, WD-40, and food grade Silicone.

I, personally, use WD-40 on the external parts of most of my guns because it performed slightly better than CLP, but I usually recommend CLP to folks because it is easy to screw up WD-40 by putting it on too heavy or letting too much seep into internal parts. When sprayed on a rag and wiped on, WD-40 does just fine. If it is hosed directly on, and left in heavy, wet, puddles all throughout the gun, it can lead to build up which negatively impacts function.

Silicone (an old salt-water divers dive-knife protectant) would be the same. Use on external parts only.

I also tested Renaissance Wax. This is what museum curators use. It works very well and a little goes a very long long way, which is good because it costs a lot. I'd also only use that externally, such as on the slide and the external frame.

There are a lot of gun folks who swear by Johnson's Paste Wax. It's cheap, and goes a long way. Polish the external bits just as if you're polishing a car. I've not tried it but it comes highly recommended from several sources that I trust.

You might also try the classic 3-in-One oil. It's the original "CLP" product. It works OK. Certainly better than RemOil and, just like WD-40, you might already have some sitting in your garage.

CLP is pretty much idiot proof and works very well (just follow the "shake before use" directions on the can). It's what I recommend as a starting product because it's not all that expensive, and performs each of the CLP (Clean, Lube, Protect) very well.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

[lklawson]

As a side note on leather: Yes, leather can attract and "trap" moisture. But not all leather is created equal.

Most leather in use today is "Chromium tanned." It is cheap and produces good results on a large scale. But it doesn't last as other methods. It will degrade all by itself just sitting over a period of decades.

Top quality leather is "Veggie tanned." This is the "old" process used by cave-men on down to the early 20th C. (I think that's when Chrome tanning took off, anyway). Veggie tanning uses vegetable based products and doesn't contain the same sort of caustic salts. This is the stuff that saddles is made of because it lasts much better. But it is a lot more time consuming and difficult than Chrome tanning. It's also vulnerable to heat in ways that Chrome tanned leather isn't (which is often taken advantage of to mold and stiffen the leather in a process which used to be called "cuir bouilli"). I assume that most modern custom and mom & pop holster makers use Veggie tanned leather but I also assume that many (most?) mass produced holsters use Chromium tanned leather. I would particularly assume so of original holsters made for communist surplus firearms. If it's a surplus commie Police or Military holster, I assume that it's Chromium tanned.

Edit: I know we have a few holster makers here on this forum. Pipe in guys, do you Veggie tanned leather?

This isn't to say that it's "safe" to long-term-store firearms in Veggie tanned holsters, of course. Part of the tanning process does include lye. I just think it's safeER than Chromium tanned holsters.

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

[Donzi]

Please, NEVER store a firearm in a holster, especially a leather holster or a rifle bag. I've seen pix of several older firearms, including a beautiful WWII bring-back German P38 and an unfired 1920's M1903 Springfield rifle, that were basically ruined from rust due to long-term storage in holsters/bags. I just lubricate my firearms normally, using US Military LSA (lubricating, semi-fluid) oil that costs about $7-8 a quart from Numrich or Sarco & is also commenly @ gun shows. Works great. I then place them in my gun safe, which has a Golden Rod heater installed. Is your safe specifically designed f/ gun storage? Most gun safes have a small hole on the rear side, usually near the bottom, that permits installation of the Golden Rod or other electrically operated device. The hole may have a rubber plug in it on the outside. HTH.
Donzi

[roblox84]

Donzi....No my safe isn't designed for gun storage. It's just a home safe.

[juniustaylor]

The leather I use is veg-tanned. While it probably won't draw water like other leathers may, I figure it's best just to unholster the thing when you go to store it away. If it's a duty gun / daily carry, then I probably wouldn't bother with it. Just take it out every now and then to give it a look over. I've never experienced rust issues with my own handmade holsters but I don't leave the gun in them anyway. Good info Kirk.

Pretty much every safe on the market whether it's a full-blown fireproof safe or just a cheap department store security cabinet, they should have a hole in them to route the wire for the Golden Rod or similar device. Donzi, do you notice a temperature difference in the safe. Is it warm in there when you open the door?

[Donzi]

Juniustaylor-
Yes, I can feel a slight warmth coming from the Goldenrod when I open up my gun safe. It's not exactly overwhelming, but then I don't think it needs to be overly hot, just enough to keep the inside dry, which it seems to do quite well.
Donzi

[lklawson]

My rust tests:
http://cbd.atspace.com/articles.html (There are 4 articles on it there, parts I-IV)

Other tests:
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=1070 ... ventatives

http://www.lesjones.com/2007/01/29/gun- ... otectants/

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

http://www.accuratereloading.com/rustest.html

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html

http://www.thektog.org/forum/showthread.php?t=243525

Peace favor your sword,
Kirk

[irishbob979]

Bought a RIA 1911 from a Sailor on terminal leave. He threw in 3 S/S mags and 400 rounds of ammo plus some Frog Lube. I tried it on my carry P64 (which I keep immaculate) I was amazed at the stuff it took off the internals. I also ran a patch down the barrel and same thing - more carbon.

Frog Lube is great. If it's good enough for the Seal Teams, it's good enough for me.