How Do You Stop Firearms Rusting in A Gun Safe?

Rust can build up on guns quickly, especially if you don’t handle them often and so don’t notice it. Knowing how to prevent your guns from rusting in a gun safe can increase their performance, and in so doing, increase the safety for you and anyone else who might handle the gun or be in the vicinity when it’s fired.

While keeping your guns in a gun safe is a highly effective way of preventing them from rusting, it’s still possible for some moisture and humidity to creep inside the safe each time it’s opened. So, even if you store your guns in a fire-rated safe, you should pay attention to moisture and humidity levels inside it, and clean your guns with the appropriate products; read on to know more:

• Monitor moisture and humidity levels

You should track the levels of moisture and humidity inside your safe at least twice a year, and you can use a piece of equipment called a hygrometer to do this. If you don’t have one, or wish to know more about them, talk to your local, professional locksmith, who will doubtless be well versed in safes, too.

• Use a gun safe dehumidifier

Whether or not your hygrometer detects high levels of humidity in your gun safe, you should consider using a gun safe dehumidifier to mitigate the levels, as if not spotted soon enough, this can quickly cause your guns to rust. For a home-made solution, you can place a bowl of uncooked rice inside the safe, or a bowl of silica gel.

• Use a wax product to clean your guns

To find out which might be the best wax to clean your gun with, you can talk to your local firearms dealer, or even your local locksmith. Use an appropriate wax to coat the metal parts of your guns once you’ve disassembled and cleaned them; this will help prevent them from rusting up.

• Always wear gloves when cleaning your guns

Oils from your skin can easily pass onto your pistol when you’re cleaning it, adding to the risk of rust. Always wear gloves when cleaning firearms to ensure that they’re as clean and oil-free as possible.

• Place your safe against an interior wall

When you position a safe against an interior wall, you expose it to far less heat than if you place it against an exterior wall; this in turn, can help to prevent humidity and therefore, decrease the risk of rust.

• As soon as you spot rust, react quickly

If you notice even the smallest amount of rust on any of your guns, get them cleaned as soon as possible. Nylon cleaning brushes or bronze wool soaked in an appropriate cleaning solution, should help you remove the rust.

Storing your firearms in a gun safe is essential for the preservation of your weapons and the safety of you and others, but even if you rarely use your guns, you should check on them regularly to ensure that they’re rust-free in case you need to use them in an emergency situation.