Preservation of 422,622,2206 pistols

[john14_18]

A friend of mine,in his 40's, has built up a pretty good collection of the different variations of the 422,2206,622,etc. series. All are NIB, I think most of these guns were aluminum or alloy, but not sure. He is planning on keeping them and giving to his grand kids one day and wants to know the best way to store them. Also wants to know if grips should be removed and how to keep them from cracking over the years. He has a pretty nice safe. Any assistance would be appreciated.
Thanks!

[tom2]

Wipe them down with a silicone gun cloth and keep them in that brown wrap material in the Smith boxes, which I understand is apparently treated with anti corrosion stuff? No need to mess with the grips. If the grips rot in storage the metal would be ruined too! You could leave them in their boxes after a wipedown in a gun safe that is inside a climate controlled home, not a basement or attic or garage or something, and they should have indefinite lifespans that way. Maybe not 300 years but well into several lifetimes. If they had been fired you would want a thorough cleaning before storage. IF they take them out and handle them, then go ahead and wipe them down before putting away. The grips on those are varnished hardwood. They will not be a problem, unless, like I said, they get stored in dampness for a long time. Which would be nonsensical. Since they are not gonna be fired any time soon, you don't want them dripping with oil or something. Gun oil is not good for wood over time, either. I tried dessicant packs in a gun cabinet one time. They drew in moisture and retained it, and caused fine rust on a Ruger that was stored nearby. Done with those. If nothing else, inspect them occasionally like any valuables.

[GeoJelly]

Alabama methinks has quite a bit of humidity - I would suggest putting a few desiccant packs in each box. I periodically order a bag of 35 of them from CrookBay for $12-ish. I get the orange beads & they will turn dark green up here in just a few months in a closed box

[tom2]

OK well whatever you do, don't put the packs in the blue boxes with the guns!!! They soak up moisture in the air like a sponge, and then you don't want a sponge with water in next to your gun! The only way to use those packs is that you would have to religiously monitor them for when they get near saturation. And the intervals would not be really very long. They make electric devices called damp destroyer or something like that. They create some heat to drive out moisture. Then again the safe manufacturer may have some best advice for their particular units, that would be wise to ask about.

[murphydog]

If your friend is planning on long-term (years-decades) storage, depending on how they are arranged in the safe cardboard boxes 'might' be OK, but I think of them as a way to get the gun from the factory to the dealer rather than for extended use.

Personally, I would use Renaissance Wax on the exterior surfaces, a light coating of Break Free on the internals, and Sack-Ups or Bore Stores for protection. Some form of temperature and humidity control and the guns would be set for quite some time.

[john14_18]

Thank all of you for the valuable information! I appreciate it and I know he does too!
Thanks again guys!

[mi2600]

RIG, Teflon gun socks, Z-Rust bags.

[Grimjaws]

I had a long long work day and saw this post when doing some light reading on my favorite forum. When I first read the post I thought he was storing over 422 million pistols!!!

Good grief that had to be a big safe. Then I realized it was model numbers not a huge number

I’m dumb when I’m tired! My wife said when I’m rested too! 😁