Proper way to treat stainless steel?

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TyK

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This is.. embarrassing but I've had 3 stainless steel guns under my care start to get black spots or just flat out rust.

GSG 1911 hammer,
Beretta 92FS INOX,
Ruger SR1911

I've tried oils, lubricants and a 'protective coating cloth' but it always happens. (Hoppes, EWL, some random cloth)

What is the proper way to prevent rust/block spots from forming on stainless steel?

Thanks for any help you can give me.


(Guns were all kept in a safe while the SR1911 was kept in the padded cloth case inside the safe)
 
I would give them a light coat of Mil_Comm TW25B grease and invest in one of the small safe de-humidifiers.I got one at Cdn Tire (Remington) and it keeps the humidity around 45..
 
Keep silica gel packs in your case/vault/safe to prevent. I dont have much help on fixing the problem tho.
 
crackerbarrel2 said:
I would give them a light coat of Mil_Comm TW25B grease and invest in one of the small safe de-humidifiers.I got one at Cdn Tire (Remington) and it keeps the humidity around 45..
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I agree. My stainless are fine and my humidity never goes above forty percent. A/C in summer and forced air in winter not good environment for sinuses, but great for firearms.
 
I was afraid the foam in the cases I was using was wiping the oil off.. Is that a realistic concern or am I just grasping at straws? Haha.

Thanks for the tip of Silica Gels, I had a few packs laying around from Christmas purchases so I tossed them in my safe.
 
Stainless is more correctly known as Stain"resistant". It can still rust if not cared for.

First off stop storing the guns in the foam lined cases. When you take them out and the foam gets cold you end up with condensation forming in the pores of the foam and on the guns when you come back into the warm house. This moisture stays in the foam unless you leave the cases open for a few hours after you get home to let the foam and the guns warm up and dry off.

Far better to find another way to store the guns. Even then you want to open the cases up and let the guns warm up and dry off to the house temperature before you put them away.

And when you do put them away a wipedown with an oily rage kept just for this use will ensure that the metal has the film of protection it requires.
 
BCRider said:
Stainless is more correctly known as Stain"resistant". It can still rust if not cared for.

First off stop storing the guns in the foam lined cases. When you take them out and the foam gets cold you end up with condensation forming in the pores of the foam and on the guns when you come back into the warm house. This moisture stays in the foam unless you leave the cases open for a few hours after you get home to let the foam and the guns warm up and dry off.

Far better to find another way to store the guns. Even then you want to open the cases up and let the guns warm up and dry off to the house temperature before you put them away.

And when you do put them away a wipedown with an oily rage kept just for this use will ensure that the metal has the film of protection it requires.
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Thank you! The biggest point of similarity between the guns was a small storage of a week or 2 in a foam lined case.. and the last one I touched (the SR1911) was extremely cold due to a power outage knocking out my heat and dehumidifier the day it was put away..

Next time I go to the range I will follow your advice and let them warm up a bit when I get home and then store them in an appropriate safe post a good oily wipedown.
 
I had a SPS remington that was left in a foam case for about 2 weeks. Let me say I was less than dissapointed when I opened it up. Now everything is left out of a case or in a gun safe. In Edmonton the air is NEVER moist so we rarely get a problem when it comes to rusting in the open air, especially with stainless.
 
i live in a VERY salty and moist environment - (and my guns are in my basement....) , with several stainless firearms. My success (6+ years, not a speck of rust) is prodigious oiling, along with a safe dehumidifier (mentioned above). Before i hit the range, i wipe them down, inside and out. My shooting partner has a similar guns, and uses the more conventional "very light coat" for corrosion protection-- he has had a few instances of problems in the barrels.

My most successful oils have been the following -- froglube liquid, clenzoil, and ballistol. Although i think any firearm oil would be fine in the quantity i use. I specifically avoid the wood (i have a couple stainless "elite P226"'s , with hogue redwood grips), and use G96 on that.
 
Watch what you do with that oil rag after the rub down. Some have been known to catch fire. I just take a patch oil it, wipe down the gun and throw the patch in the fire place.
A litle vinegar and a piece of paper towel will do wonders on the stain. Soak the paper towel and leave it over the rust spot, keep it wet for an hour or two. Surprizing what it will do.
 
Thank you all for the help and the solid advice. I have a ton of hoppes gun oil and EWL left over so I will put a good coat on it when I store it and wipe it off before I use it.
 
I have been using a pelican case with kaizen foam in it for a few months now and I have no rust in any of the pistols in that case (2 pistols).

I think that some guns are just more prone to rust due to the way they created/materials used. None of those 2 pistols are stainless though...
I didn't know stainless was so 'sensitive' to storage and humidity.
 
TyK said:
Thank you all for the help and the solid advice. I have a ton of hoppes gun oil and EWL left over so I will put a good coat on it when I store it and wipe it off before I use it.
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The dollar store has large dessicant filled containers, put them in your safe.
 
"...to get black spots..." Carbon from shooting, not rust. SS can be polished with no fuss.
"...the padded cloth..." That can absorb moisture. Foam cases absolutely will attract moisture. Shouldn't bother SS too much though. Silica gel packs won't help either. Too expensive in a safe. A low wattage light bulb left on all the time in a safe will keep the moisture out. Still shouldn't be much in the way of rusting on any SS. Not much you can do about the carbon other than regular cleaning.
 
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