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keeping mould off guns

Posted: 10 Feb 2019 09:42
by trekker
getting to the end of my list of questions :)
wondered if anyone had any remedies for the following occurring. situation here is we are in a monsoon season, we'll get about 8ft of rain over 3-4 months, temps about 105F between stsorms. Some things get mouldy but ive never had mould settle on surface of a dry gun like this. Its easy to wipe off but re appears in under a week. its in a solid 1/4" all steel gunsafe. At this stage I am thinking of drilling some holes in the safe to promote airflow,....

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Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 10 Feb 2019 10:33
by Ranch Dog
I take it you have not refinished your stock.

"Rubberwood is susceptible to fungal and insect attack..." In recent times, it is better than it once was as it is chemically treated in the production process but for our purposes (the great outdoors) it is not sufficient as the firearm is delivered from the factory.

Early on, here on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, I saw it develop rather quickly on my Rio Grande RG45-70 a few days after being under a thunderstorm while on a nilgai hunt. The heavy rainfall removed most of the stain as well.

Given my location, I run a Golden Rod in my safe. I also have an open display rack in my airconditioned room but was still seeing corrosion on firearms when wiped with a paper towel so I put a Golden Rod across the base of that rack as well and that ended the issue.

Given your climate, the first thing you need to do is refinish the wood. I used the Birch-Wood Casey Tru-Oil products and have not have had an issue since. Beyond all my Rossi's, I've been refinishing leverguns with these products since 1999 and they look as good as the day I completed the projects.

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 10 Feb 2019 15:19
by trekker
Ranch Dog, thanks! I will do both things. You are correct in that I have not done anything to the stock. I got this gun in used but excellent condition so I assume the previous owner left it as orginal as well. Good to know about this.

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 10 Feb 2019 16:13
by HarryAlonzo
Forget the mold (mould?)! What a great rifle! Weaver receiver sight? What's the mounting rail?

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 11 Feb 2019 05:59
by trekker
Thanks and not sure exactly they are I bought it used with hardware on it. The red dot is what I use. If no pics post I will do so from my computer later.

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 16:36
by Conman
Back in the day, when I was in the military on an island in the Pacific we kept light bulbs in our lockers. Else everything got mold. Ever see a pair of green boots? LOL

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 14 Feb 2019 17:44
by Ohio3Wheels
Not noticed any on the Rossi stocks but do get it on the military stocks particularly the Swedes and the Garand. If things go as planned those are in for refinishing hoping for a dryer summer this year.

Make smoke,

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 21 Feb 2019 11:34
by Iplayfarmer
I'm just emphasizing what others have said here, but moisture control is the key to mold control. It's also key to control rust and other corrosion. I'd recommend against holes in the gun cabinet. Use the golden rod like Ranch Dog suggested or get a desiccant pack. It seems every gun shop or sporting goods site has some kind of silica gel or other "dehumidifier" offering.

By all means, treat your stock with something. But you'll still have the moisture in the cabinet encouraging rust, corrosion, mildew, and all kinds of natural phenomenon.

I snatch up every "do not eat" packet from every shoe box or amazon shipment that we get. I just throw them in my gun cabinet. I probably have a few dozen spread throughout the space. I live in an arid climate, so a little goes a long way.

If you want extra assurance that the silica gel will work, bake it in your oven at about 225 degrees F for a couple of hours once a year or so. This dries it back out again and "renews" it for continued service.

Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 23 Feb 2019 19:03
by trekker
Thanks for all the advice folks. Here are some better pics of the gun regards a query above to the rail etc. Not sure if its an after market rail by rossi or something else? its a shade under 5.5" long. Seems well fitted, I might try a scope for fun at some stage. The red dot is some cheap clunker, I will replace it with a smaller bushnell. The rear sight I assume is a williams?


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Re: keeping mould off guns

Posted: 24 Feb 2019 00:06
by HarryAlonzo
Very nice! Looks like somebody did a nice job installing a flat-based Weaver rail. Yup, that's a Williams FP-71 receiver sight, if I'm not mistaken. And an unbranded knock-off of an UltraDot red dot. Fun combination!