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Thread: Handgun care

  1. #1

    Default Handgun care

    This started off as a reply posting to the thread ‘Rust on my M&P’ but I thought it might make a more interesting general post on so called Gun Care.

    I will still put up a S&W response to the specific thread later but enjoy this so long. Maybe it will provoke some interesting debate.

    Let’s look at some hard facts – the truth! Well, the truth according to SB.

    South Africans, and probably others in the world in similar climates, tend to be a bit laid back when it comes to the maintenance and servicing of consumer durables.

    Particularly we are not strong on reading instruction manuals because we are the main manne and ‘we know it all’. Local marketeers know this well.

    S&W probably did themselves a bit of a dis-service when they stamped STAINLESS on the side of the slide of the M&P series.

    We, with our wonderful, ‘know it all’ wisdom, probably take this to mean “Ooh, it’s stainless steel, I don’t have to clean or look after it”.

    As has been posted - “all guns rust” and nobody has yet to disagree.

    All guns require a little bit of TLC now and again.

    South Africa, generally speaking has a very agreeable climate in most places. However, at the coast, particularly KZN, the atmosphere is exceptionally corrosive – warmth, humidity and salt air. Ask the automotive industry.

    Did you know that South Africa has the finest dust in the world? Ask Ford Motor Company. Great grinding paste for guns. Up here we should know. And dust absorbs moisture.

    For the last couple of months up on the Highveld we have had uncharacteristic and consistently high humidity levels. Climate change? Global warming? Change of Government? Things are not what they were!

    Nothing promotes the onset of corrosion like warm temperatures, high humidity and still air.

    Now ask yourself about the climate in your safe! That’s usually where your guns spend most of their time. And you want to keep your guns in a sauna?

    Even at a good 40% humidity that means exactly that. 40% water and in vapour form all primed up and looking for a resting place.

    Examine the environment for your carry gun. Same warm temperatures, probably higher with body heat. Humidity (read sweat), still, acid air (read sweat again) and moisture absorbing bum fluff, and fine dust, stuck in all the important little places. No, we never use closed in IWB or SOB holsters and we never f**t when we carry do we? Anybody know if methane gas is corrosive? It certainly isn’t dry!

    But you at least have a Kydex or otherwise polymer holster don’t you? Not a moisture absorbing leather or Cordura one surely?

    And you cart your guns to and from the range in a branded and expensive, designer range bag. Designed to rot your guns that’s for sure!

    Made of heavy duty, non breathing or even better, waterproof dark fabric. All zipped up and offering your beloved toy a nice closed environment, hotter than hell. And often stuffed in the boot of the car that’s been parked in the sun all day.

    No moisture present - right? No, we never put cool drinks or cucumber sarmies in our range bags do we? So there’s no condensation or moisture OK?

    Wiped the sweat off before we put the gun in its cosy little warm compartment did we?

    An old fashioned wicker picnic box will be a hundred times more effective. Any marketeers out there?

    And we always take the guns out and clean them the moment we get home. Right! Let me wipe the condensation off the beer bottle before I clean the guns. Can wait till tomorrow can’t it? And tomorrow never comes!

    ‘85 World Shoot – Florida (the other one). Guns were bright red before we even got off the range.

    Ringing a few bells out there are we? Don’t worry I’m as guilty, or more so, than most!

    I have a couple or three friends with walk-in safes. All report much heightened activity with their de-humidifiers and more so this year than ever before.

    Khumba just told me that, in his newly built walk-in, his de-humidifier is drawing 3 litres of water every 12 hours. OK, it is new concrete but 3 litres every 12 hours? That’s rough.

    This GC just came out of the bottom of someone’s safe! OK so a little bit of water got in but it was only a little bit and it will dry out soon won’t it? It does pay to check in your safe from time to time particularly if you love your guns. I won’t embarrass the owner but he’s not a GunSite member.



    Corrosion can start very much quicker than you might expect, particularly in the present climate.

    So that’s got that off me chest! Life without fun would be just that.
    If all else fails, use a bigger mousetrap

  2. #2
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    Default

    Excellent post SB!

  3. #3
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    Default

    nice post, great info

  4. #4
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    excellent ! thank you.

    JFI - Durban is one of 7 places in the world that is know for its corrosive environment.

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    Default Re: Handgun care

    Excellent post - seeing that pic hurts.

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    Default Re: Handgun care

    Thanks SB. This is a real eye opener. I've thrown a few sachets of silica gel into my safe. These are the sachets that normally comes with new bags etc. Should help with moisture absorption.

  7. #7
    Moderator KK20's Avatar
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    Default Re: Handgun care

    rice (un cooked!) will do the job as well if silica is not easy to get
    live out your imagination , not your history.

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    Default Re: Handgun care

    The old collectors trick is to mount a small lamp in the bottom of your safe, in the old days that would be a 15W pigmy lamp. In the new world a 5/7W energy saver would do.

    Moisture always condenses on the coldest object, all you have to do is to make sure the safe is not the coldest object in the room.

    If a walk-in safe is supplied with an airconditioner, you bring the moisture to your safe.

  9. #9

    Default Re: Handgun care

    Quote Originally Posted by KK20 View Post
    rice (un cooked!) will do the job as well if silica is not easy to get
    interesting...never thought of that!!

    ---------- Post added at 10:10 ---------- Previous post was at 10:07 ----------

    Quote Originally Posted by corriedewilde View Post
    The old collectors trick is to mount a small lamp in the bottom of your safe...
    Assumably because hot air rises heating the whole interior of the safe? Not much space in my little safe - how do you think one of those little "down lighter" lights would work?

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Handgun care

    Quote Originally Posted by corriedewilde View Post
    The old collectors trick is to mount a small lamp in the bottom of your safe, in the old days that would be a 15W pigmy lamp. In the new world a 5/7W energy saver would do.

    Moisture always condenses on the coldest object, all you have to do is to make sure the safe is not the coldest object in the room.

    If a walk-in safe is supplied with an airconditioner, you bring the moisture to your safe.
    With the cost of electricity on the rise, I'd rather do the rice trick.

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