Alternative to Cosmoline

[Suo Gan]

I know that most of us have spent a good bit of time taking cosmoline off of firearms. But has anyone found a good alternative to cosmoline for long term firearms storage. The price of cosmo is extremely expensive and prohibative unless used in very small quantities. The only thing that I can come up with would be cotton picker grease in bulk drums or 5 gallon buckets. Any other ideas for alternatives to cosmoline?

[NuJudge]

I use LPS-3.

CDD

[Shooter6br]

Vasoline works great for rust prevention.

[Shiloh]

RIG

Rust Inhibiting Grease. Alox works well also. That's what it is designed for.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=10073/Product/RIG_RUST_PREVENTITVE

Shiloh

[twotrees]

These are the people that brought you Cosmoline.

We have used Rust Veto in my labs for over 30 years it works well.
I goes on wet and dries to a wax. Kerosene will remove it.

I am removing rust from a bunch of old molds and these will be coated with Rust Veto, before they are sold.

Rust Veto (http://www.houghton.ca/products.asp?Cat=1&SubCat=4)

[XWrench3]

i stored a shotgun for 18 years with STP. i did pull it out of the closet every couple of years or so to make sure it was not rusting, but that is all i ever did to it. i wiped down every metal part i could get into with a rag, cleaning patch, or Q-tip. it took me 3 hours to get all of it back out when i finally decided to shoot it again. but 18 years, ABSOLOUTLY no rust for the partial cost of a jug of STP, not to shabby. today, i think it runs abour $2.65 for a pint of it, and you could probably coat 10 firearms with it. just try not to get it on the wood, i would suspect it would eventually seep into the wood, and turn it dark. for the first two months, i would check the gun for migration of the STP about every week, and wipe off the excess. after that, you should be fine. p.s., i just remembered that i did leave 2 cleaning patches inside the action, to catch any STP that migrated down the barrel.

[kelbro]

Boeshield T9. Even works in salty environments.

[Suo Gan]

It seems like some of these might melt off if the gun is in a warm place? All worthy ideas, LPS-3 looks good. Some of these are quite a bit more expensive than cosmoline. I am looking for something that can be applied wrapped and stored for a duration of time without the fear of corrosion. I'm thinking that the cotton picker grease might be the cheapest of them all so far.

Anyone have a home recipe I could try?

[Bret4207]

Any of the boating stores, West Marine for instance, sell corrosion preventative in spray cans. Most of it seems to work as well as the far more expensive Boeshield T9, which I found works good.

[725]

Corrosion - X. Search for it on the web. Comes in regular and heavy duty. Heavy duty is what you want. Originally made as a marine rust preventative, I think. I spray down my sickle bar cutter after washing and it sits outside all year. Snow, wind, rain, and east coast humidity non-stop. Blades and worn bare metal still shiney after the year's lay over. Absolutley no rust. Wipe it off or wash it of with any solvent (kero, mineral spirits, etc) The regular is used around my shop almost like oil. Very spareingly, I use a patch in my barrels and then use the used patch to wipe down any exposed metal. Rig is also good and I use it under the handles of revolvers and on a general wipe down rag.

[Onlymenotu]

Hi all, I have a few guns I seldom shoot and have several times pondered on giving them a good cleaning and a good coat of Rem Oil and buy a roll of make your own bag's * it's tube form cut to the lenght you need.... and seal the ends* for my vacuum sealer, then stick the gun and a desiccant packet in there and seal it all up.... with all the air sucked out of it should not rust and the plastic should keep the dust or any other nasties off the outside of it.... doest anybody know any downfalls to this idea..... would the oil and the plastic interact or react...... Ideas? and should or would be a lot less clean up than some of the listed above ... just an idea

[markinalpine]

I've read that Cosmoline was developed for storage when conditions might not be the best. If you are looking for long term storage of something where you can control these conditions, then you could get by with something cheaper, maybe the STP, and you could always remove the stock, and store the preserved metal in one container, and the stock with a good thick coat of Johnsons Paste Wax seperately.

Mark

[Recluse]

For controlled conditions, such as inside the house/gun safes, G96 is my ultimate favorite--and has been for better than 25 years. It's safe. . . . hell, forget safe, it's GREAT for wood finishes and it just wipes off. No kerosene or naptha or cutting torches needed to remove it.

For uncontrolled conditions, such as outside, in a workshop, my boat hangar, etc, I use liquid alox. Best stuff I've ever found as a rust preventive/inhibitor.

Cost? Not sure how much it costs to buy a gallon of alox--when I need that much, I'll order it from Lars here on the board--but I DO know how much my guns and other hardware cost.

Easy choice that way.

:coffee:

[Bret4207]

Anyone else have good memories of the smell of G96? We used a lot of it in the shop and the smell brings back a lot of memories. It's not as aromatic as Hoppes, but it's still is pleasant for me.

[jcwit]

Cosomoline is still available thru www.schafco.com. Available in aerosols and gal cans.