Rusting in safe

[NOTABIKER]

. I sold a Colt police special to a friend about 5 years ago. All he did was put it in a safe and never fired it. I just bought it back and it now has a small amount of pitting it did not have before. Just a wipe down with a oily rag a few times would have prevented this.
I do not understand how people fail to take proper care of their guns.

[baih777]

It's the same as how people take care of their cars.
Some people never wax their cars.

[Garv]

I just picked up a mossberg 12ga from my cousin.

I do not think he touched it in 20 years, just left it in a rifle bag.

Light rust, I will fix it up.

He just thought of it as a tool I guess, sigh.

[splaturn]

How often do you polish your shoes? There are forums for people who religiously polish their shoes and have an addiction. To others, it's something they do when they remember to do, and for the rest it probably doesn't matter.

How often do you take your kitchen knives in to be sharpened? To some they do it themselves every xyz-weeks. Others only when they get dull. Some just don't.

How often do you wax and polish your cars?

How often do you tune up your bicycle?

How often do you wipe down your toolbox?

It's a combination of seeing something only for its utility aspect, and even ignorance. You found it offensive because it's something you take pleasure it, and that's fine. But it's not something life-dependent. In the grand scheme of things and to him, it just doesn't matter.

If you ask a dermatologist, he'll talk about how people are ignorant about sunscreen. If you ask a melittologists, they'll explain how we're ignorant about pesticides/insecticides. The list goes on and on....

[heidad01]

You should rub an oily rag over all stored guns at least twice a year. I take them out and spray them with Rem Oil head to toe and a gentle wipe leaving some oil behind. It can be wiped clean when needed for use.

[Jimmy's]

You know all those kids that had a hard time in school, and now they work for their Dad.

[baih777]

You know all those kids that had a hard time in school, and now they work for their Dad.

You mean live of their dad.

[Jimmy's]

You mean live of their dad.

Oooops.

[jimmykan]

I live in SoCal away from the ocean.

I clean my guns thoroughly only once a year on average. The bores of my "match" rifles get cleaned every couple hundred rounds.

One time I took off the grips of a stainless 1911, and found rust spots on the frame underneath.

How often is one supposed to wipe down inside there?

[Dan_Eastvale]

. I sold a Colt police special to a friend about 5 years ago. All he did was put it in a safe and never fired it. I just bought it back and it now has a small amount of pitting it did not have before. Just a wipe down with a oily rag a few times would have prevented this.
I do not understand how people fail to take proper care of their guns.

I know how you feel. My 4" police positive 38 special is my favorite revolver. I keep an eye on it and all the other guns in the gun cabinet frequently. Up here in Northern Utah the air is extremely dry so other than a brief wipe down nothing else is necessary.

[CandG]

Some people care for their stuff, some people don't. Most people only care for the stuff they cherish, and neglect other stuff. If he never even fired it, it doesn't surprise me he never gave it a good oiling. He probably couldn't care less about what condition it was in.

Like someone else said above, some people devote their time to maintaining their shoes, keeping them brand new and shiny at all times. I, for one, couldn't care less about my shoes. If they start to look like hell, I'll get new ones. But I'll be damned if I ever find a spot of rust on a gun.

Just a matter of interests and priorities.

[stevemac]

I do a complete CLP wipe down if one goes unfired for about 3 months. Otherwise, I do a cleaning after each trip out.

[dozer wright]

Wipe down with a silica towel everytime a firearm is handled and put back in the safe . Keeps rust from happening . Never know which buddy just ate a bag of chips on the way over to your house .

[Franklincollector]

Some folks don't care about guns like most of us do. That being said, I have lots of guns I don't touch for years at a time. They are bnib sitting in safes. I have never experienced rust for that matter. I have some bolt action shotguns with the bolt removed sitting in my rafters because I don't feel they deserve the space in a safe, again, no rust.

[NOTABIKER]

at this point will proper care prevent further pitting ?. I tried to scrape the surface rust with a pointed scribe [carefully] but i doubt it will help. It is still a nice gun. just a few very small spots on a otherwise beautiful 1944 blued 5 inch official police 38.I oiled it and put it in a hard case.Is it better to just keep them in my gun cabinet that has a dehumidifier . it stays 40-50 % in their year round. my rifles do very will in their.