question about a 66

edteach

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I had a 66 I sold for a 686 back in the late 80s. Not because I wanted a 686 but because I had put my 66 in an after market smith and Wesson marked soft case. After about a month I noticed that it had some spots on it. It was rust. I cleaned it oiled it and put it back. I did not take it out of the safe for several months and when I did it was pitted with rust. I traded it and threw the case away. I have never had a problem with any SS gun since. Question, Has anyone ever had a problem with a foam case chemicals rusting a SS gun?
 
You trap moisture in just about any case unless the case has some sort of material to block out new moisture and absorb the trapped. It is always better to allow air to circulate around the steel, even better to use some kind of moisture absorbent material, and very next level would be a system like a Golden Rod or similar. If you absolutely must use a soft case then leave at least a quarter of it unzipped. Wipe the steel with a corrosion preventative like a CLP or better product. I have used Eezox for this purpose and found it to work very well so far. Last make sure that you are keeping the steel away from sources of more moisture. I had a friend show me his collection once. He pulled his rifle out from next to his A/C unit in a hall closet space. Any A/C unit will have a certain amount of moisture and a drain line connected to it. Sometimes you just don't think. And yes, he had rust spots on his nice Win 70 Featherweight. Oops.
 
I keep a cup of Arm & Hammer baking soda in the bottom of my safe. I guess I'll know if it works in a few years.
 
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Best bet, invest in a safe / cabinet safe that has a built in dehumidifier. Problems solved!
 
Cases are for transport, not storage. Put guns in a safe with either an electric dehumidifier or desicant packs.

The cause of the rust was not moisture caught in a case. I had several other guns in the same safe in the same way for years. It was some chemical reaction. I have never had the problem since on blued, or SS guns. The only other problem I had was shooting corrosive ammo and not cleaning it with soap and water.
 
I had put my 66 in an after market smith and Wesson marked soft case. After about a month I noticed that it had some spots on it. It was rust. I cleaned it oiled it and put it back.(QUOTE]

Put it back in the case or in the safe?

Can only assume if you put it back in the safe after cleaning, the rust already had a quick enough head start that you couldn't get it all cleaned off.
 
OK so no one here knows anything about it. Thanks anyway.:rolleyes:
 
Yea it was a classic mistake that many have experienced. The only thing worst is leaving the gun in a leather holster for long periods as you get the chemicals used to tan the leather attacking the finish and it really does a job on the guns finish.
 
OK so no one here knows anything about it. Thanks anyway.:rolleyes:

Alright, in answer to the original "question" you posted ":rolleyes:" ("Question, Has anyone ever had a problem with a foam case chemicals rusting a SS gun?"). No, I have never had a problem like that on any finish no matter where or what I stored the gun in. Maybe it was just a bad finish to begin with and once the rust took hold it was unstoppable. I did however carry a blued rifle with deer blood on my hands once which made a pitted mess out of the area where I was holding the gun.
 

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