I will be storing a variety of firearms in my gun safe for an extended period of time. It will be approaching 2 years before I open the safe after locking the pistols and rifles in it.

The area where they will be stored is in a pretty dry region of the country. The gun safe will be closed and locked the entire time.

I've never been presented with the issue of how to prepare the firearms for such an extended period of storage. I've always kept up on them by cleaning and reoiling them on a regular basis. However, I will be unable to do so for the next two years.

What do you think is the best way to prepare the firearms for such storage? Some of the weapons are blued, some are stainless or nickeled, and a few have other applied finishes.

Would a liberal application of Breakfree, on and in the guns, be sufficient to keep the firearms from rusting? If not, what would you recommend?

Also, woud you recommend removing the grips and stocks, either wood or synthetic, to oil the metal and then leave them off while in storage? My thought is that moisture would be less likely to be held under the grips if they're not left in place.

Thanks in advance.

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~No signature line

Here in western Montana the humidity levels can vary, but are generally moderate to low, nothing remotely approaching places like the Midwest in the summer, or the Southeastern US. I have guns that haven't been re-oiled for years at a stretch, and have never seen a speck of rust on any of them. This does presume that the safe is in a normal household environment, of course, not an unheated garage or attic with large variations in temperatures.

Breakfree would probably do the trick. But if I were going to be gone for 2 years I think I'd use some sort of rust-inhibiting grease. I still have RIG which I am not sure is made anymore, but a thin coating of that stuff will prevent rust, even in a humid environment, for a long time. I'm sure there are similar products on the market if RIG is no longer available.

CorrossionX is the way to go.

While others here are more knowledgeable on this, I would put a dessicant in the safe. Not sure it would last 2 years though. They also make dryer wands for safes.

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Misty

What you want is something that does not dry out like Mil-Comm's TW-25B it is grease "Since TW25B® does not gum up, and only a moderately thick coating is necessary, the stored weapon should be immediately capable of being fired if necessary, even after years of normal storage". The other is Ballistol an oil that also never drys out. Both are excellent for use or storage. I use both

Similar climate here. My Navy surplus "lubricating oil, light machine" suffices, and for working guns I would have no problem relying on a good wipedown holding for two years. For guns I cared a lot about I would use Rig or something very similar--perhaps even cosmolene.

I have a gallon of Break-Free that has been sitting in the garage for almost 20 years now (got it free). I have always considered it to be mostly hype, like the STP I put in an old pickup when I was a kid. I may use it if I run out of everything else slippery.

I've been using breakfree for about 30 years. It works great for me. I removed grips after seeing a post here to check to see if there was any damage on some of the 'safequeens'. There was none. So I'm putting that in the 'wives tale' file.
So, I give a good wipe down with Breakfree, wipe off the excess then return gun to box and store.

I have some heirloom guns that I keep in long term storage here in the Midwest. I like a heavy grease to really seal the metal and use RIG. These guns have been stored for over 20 years with no problems.

Unfortunately RIG was discontinued last year, but I'm sure there are other newer, and possibly better, greases out there. But I did hear that Birchwood Casey might be bringing RIG back.

P.S. There is a 15 oz can of RIG on GunBroker with a starting bid of $100!

Brownells did a comparison test on some oils against moisture a while back.

Old fashioned Cosmoline does a pretty good job, according to their tests, but it is greasy, nasty and thick- but it does the job.

Other than that, I'd recommend waxing your guns with Renaissance Wax- which is better than oil at water repelling and seals them against corrosion. I use this on the majority of pieces- and never a rust spot.

If you want to use oil, try the Break Free "collector" grade, which is much thicker than regular Break Free.

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Lost it all in a boat accident

As you can see from my handle, I'm in hot & humid Alabama. I use Breakfree all the time. I also put some dessicant in the safe and use a Golden Rod dehumidifier. I've never had a speck of rust. You can get dessicant at just about any craft store. They use it for drying out flowers and stuff like that.

I'm pretty sure that there are several products that are satisfactory, and I'm not sure which is best. However, I do know from personal experience that RIG is entirely satisfactory under worse conditions than you describe. RIG the gun, drop it into a heavy plastic bag which need not necessarily be closed, and put it away. It will be fine. It worked for me for two or three years in a Norfolk VA storage shed, with cold wet winters and humid summers. Not a spot.

Best way of them all?

Vapor-barrier paper and special "hard" plastic bags.
This is how the military does it now.
Properly sealed, the guns are rust proof for at least 10 years.

Note: DO NOT use ordinary plastic bags. They pass moisture and air, and allow the vapor to escape.

To store, wipe off with CLP Breakfree to neutralize fingerprints, wrap with a couple of sheets of the vapor paper, and seal tightly in the special bags.
This works better and more reliably than any grease or coating.

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Another advantage, you can open the bag and immediately use the gun with no degreasing.

I can't say with authority for years that it's the way to go, but forced with a similar situation for a few months, I used the vacuum-sealer "foodsaver" with clp and everything came out super.

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Joshua Brown(Town)

Gentlemen:

The US Military spent a lot of time, effort, and money in finding the ONE product that combined the functions of small arms cleaner, lubricant, and preservative and that product is Breakfree CLP. The MIL-SPEC that was developed for this one-step product was met and exceeded more than a generation ago and the US Military establishment and NATO have yet to find a better product for all firearms, rocket launchers, cannon, and artillery. Long-term storage of small arms is generally a cleaning and liberal swabbing of CLP and then heat-sealing into a polyethelene plastic sleeve, or wrapped in the vapour barrier paper and then sealed in heavy plastic as previously described. Both methods allow instant depreservation and ready-to-use weapons in the time it takes to cut open the plastic sleeves, whether storage has been for 10 weeks or 10 years. That is good enough for my storage needs.

Mil-Comm has been tested and is being used for almost every branch of the US military, air force, coast guards, marines and army. Also foreign military's use it Belgian Air Force, Italian Navy, Royal Jordanian Air Force, French Air Force, Norwegian Air Force, Singapore Air Force, Finnish Air Force, Portuguese Air Force, Swiss Air Force, Greek Navy, Royal Canadian Military, U.K. Ministry of Defense, Israeli Air Force Royal Netherlands Air Force, UAE Military all use Mil-Comm. I was introduced to it when I called Sig Sauer they recommended it to me. When all these military forces all around the world use it, it can not be bad.

dfariswheel has the right idea! That is the easiest and most fool proof way of storing firearms long term. Period.

I was doing some work at the Ranger Training Center at Ft. Benning when I found out the Breakfree CLP information which is why I immediately switched to it. Again, it has worked flawlessly for me. Its all I use for almost anything to service a firearm.

About the only thing Break Free does not do is kill corrosive primer residue.