underground storage rust preventatives

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fariaguard

New member
Looking to store toys in a tube buried in the ground long term (years). I've done a lot of research of rust preventatives but not in this application.

I understand Ezox and RIG are great for normal storage. Will they work in this application. What about Mil-Spec Cosmoline?

Toys will be stored in a plastic bag made for this then put in another vacuum sealed bad then sealed tight in a waterproof air tight pre bought or homemade PVC container.

Any input is appreciated and thanks!
 
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mete

New member
My stuff, NOT buried , is coated lightly with RIG ,wrapped in VPI paper, sealed in plastic . It's ready to shoot without cleaning. You can always use cosmoline and there should be info available about that .
 
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kilimanjaro

New member
Let me guess, when an oppressive government comes to take your guns, yours are going to be safely buried. Just when do you plan on digging them up? Maybe when they take your 32 ounce sodas? Maybe after the other 90 million gun owners who didn't bury theirs don't have them anymore?

You don't have to be afraid of your government, they are afraid of us.
 
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T. O'Heir

New member
Cosmoline is just the brand name used, Stateside, for expensive, thick, petroleum jelly. Regular vehicle grease will do exactly the same thing. Mostly likely without turning Parkerising green.
A firearm vacuum sealed in plastic will be as protected.
RIG appears to be water soluble. Birchwood Casey says it lasts until it gets rained on.
 
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Shimpy

New member
I did a lot of testing years ago, not underground but in the rust capital of the world, my backyard in Miami Fla. Rig and Boeshield was the best and I couldn't get them to rust. Boeshield was developed by Boeing and is a spray that leaves a opague waxy film. I don't know if it is still sold.
 
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FITASC

New member
Wax, grease, or anything similar that will keep the metal from being exposed to air will work. Someone recently did a test (and I cannot remember which site it was on) where he had plain steel plates and used almost 30 different things to prevent rust. One of the top winners was a WD-40 specialist product for corrosion, along with Frog Lube and Boeshield.
 
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Dixie Gunsmithing

Moderator Emeritus
I'm like T. O'Heir, in either using Cosmoline, or very thick wheel bearing grease. They used to make a dark brown bearing grease, I don't recall the brand, which came in a yellow plastic round bowl, about like butter comes in now, with probably held about 12 to 16 ounces in it. The grease is so thick, that you can stick stick a 1/2" wrench in it, and it will stay standing upright. However, be prepared to have some sort of solvent to strip it, as both are a monster to clean off. In a pinch, and if you're outside, gasoline or kerosene will bring it off. Cosmoline will harden over time, but I'm not sure on the bearing grease. However, the two fuels in mention will bring it off, hardened or not. I believe the last time I bought the grease, it was at a marina, for boat trailer wheel bearings.

Last, make sure you coat the bore and chamber thoroughly with it, along with the important moving parts. You don't want the bolt, firing pin, sear, trigger, or hammer, etc, rusting up. Everything steel needs to be coated.
 
J

JJ45

New member
I also use marine "high temperature, water proof", boat trailer wheel bearing grease.

I use it sparingly at Garand grease points also and for storage but none of my guns really require long term.

Speaking of the water proof assertion made for marine grease. All grease apparently is not waterproof? I guess Rig is not.

I talked about this with a guy that has owned an auto repair/service station for about 60 years and he told me ANY grease is good and don't worry about contaminating one grease with another, such as lithium based with another. Opinions probably vary on this matter.

One thing to think about is whether or not it has "toxic" chemicals as some grease like Slip 2000 (sp?) are supposed to be non-toxic. If that's a concern
 
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mete

New member
Cosmoline can be melted out. I have seen a DIY oven with heat by a couple of light bulbs and the oven a couple of garbage cans ..Temps aren't all that high and enough to remove most of the cosmoline .The rest to be taken off with solvents.
 
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buckhorn_cortez

New member
You have two separate problems. Rust and water intrusion.

You can store your "toys" in ZCORR or Protech bags. They come in different sizes and are made for storing guns on a long term basis to protect them from rust.

The second problem is storing something underground is preventing water infiltration.

There are special containers made for this purpose by Monovault and MTM.

There's an entire website dedicated to this subject called:

How To Bury Your Stuff.
 
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tangolima

New member
I have been looking for something like the zcorr bags. Thank you. I will give them a try, not for burying but long term storage.

If I were to bury a firearm and ammunition, I will put the content in a zcorr vacuum bag. The outer container would be the thick black abs pipe, sealed with cemented end caps. I will seal it on a hot dry summer day here in Southern California to minimize moisture.

-TL
 
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Scorch

New member
Not trying to be the wet blanket here, but there may be others factors to consider.

Virtually all of the guns I have ever seen that were buried and left for an extended period of time were damaged in some way. You can say they were not prepared or preserved properly, but short of dismantling them, greasing them, then reassembling them, there is no surefire way to make sure the grease/oil/cosmoline gets into all the areas of the gun. And when the guns are retrieved, they will need to be completely dismantled and the operation reversed in order for the gun to work properly, you don't just grab them and go. I recently preserved five rifles for a customer who vacuum sealed them and put them in storage for an extended period, but not underground.

IMO, the biggest concern is that if you bury your guns, someone else may find them and retrieve them, and then you are out the guns. Whether they are buried on your private property does not matter, if someone sees evidence of earthwork, they will eventually investigate. If for some reason the authorities are investigating and find the hidden cache, it could be considered prima facie evidence of some other subversive activities and used against you. Look at the news reports of people arrested with "large arsenals and several thousand rounds of ammo" when in reality they found a half dozen guns and enough ammo for an extended range trip.

And lest you think that some 3-letter govt agency is going to confiscate your guns and you will be the only one with a gun and will make a stand for humanity, consider what that sounds like in reality.

And, in conclusion, there is a saying I once read: If it's time to bury your guns, it's time to dig them up.
 
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Dixie Gunsmithing

Moderator Emeritus
Scorch is correct. I used to do a lot of metal detecting, and roamed the woods when I was young. One would be surprised what you can find. Someone could happen onto that ground, if it is in a wooded area, and find them without you being the wiser, and thus, you could find that you are without your guns, when you go to digging. There are several who do metal detecting, who post their results on YouTube.

Not long back, several went detecting on Blair Mountain, in WV, where the famous shootout happened between the Baldwain detectives and the mine workers. They found revolvers, etc. buried that were dropped all those years back. Metal detecting is still popular, and many of them disregard whose land it is.
 
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Slamfire

New member
Bury them in the desert where rain fall is measured in zero inches per year. Like those Egyptian mummies. Otherwise, no matter what you do, they will rust.
 
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James K

Member In Memoriam
And if the OP doesn't live in the desert? Could he take anything to, say, Arizona, bury it, and expect to be able to find it in 20 years or so? Or even get to the place if the S really does HTF? And at that point, what possible good would one gun do?

That being said, a piece of large diameter PVC pipe, with caps glued on both ends would probably be about the best, especially if air can be evacuated and replaced with an inert gas.

Jim
 
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black_hog_down

New member
What about a large diameter PVC pipe with end cap glued on and then filled with motor oil to the top?
I will assume you are burying AR type rifle so oil shouldn't hurt metal and plastic parts. Sling off the oil and then wipe down. You'd be ready to rock in no time.
 
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Dixie Gunsmithing

Moderator Emeritus
One would have to use a water displacing oil, I would think, if one tried submerging one in oil.

You can oil a newly blued gun, with regular oil, and there is a possibility for it to rust. Water displacing oil is rather thin, and it works its way into the oxide coating on steel, or clings to polished steel. Also, it would need to saturate the interior parts, especially protecting springs, the sear faces, through pin holes, between the bolt halves, and the firing pin. It would have to be an oil that would not allow damage to the gas seal of the rings and cylinder in the bolt. The problem is, water displacing oil is pretty expensive.

Aluminum would be no worry, as it will be anodized or painted.

Another thought would be to dunk it in Brownell's Hold, then allow it to dry. How long that would last, I don't know.
 
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