Rust and mildew removal question

[HWooldridge]

One of our sons is a ranch manager for a wealthy family in north Texas. The dad made his billion in the oil field - got a divorce, retired, spent a bunch of money on guns, cars, heavy equipment, etc., etc., then he died suddenly and left most of it to his daughter. She has good common sense but is technically challenged and most things mechanical are a mystery to her.

My son called me tonight and said they opened an underground vault today that contains about 25-30 antique long arms. The vault had an air exchanger system that apparently broke about a month ago and now all of the guns have mildew on the stocks and some level of light rust on the metal.

He wants me to tell them how to restore the condition - or possibly take on the job. Of course, I don’t know anything about what's there and have not seen any pictures - my son says it’s mostly Civil War era muskets and old Winchesters. Knowing how the dad bought things, it would not surprise me if they were in pristine shape before the damage happened.

I know this is premature, but I’m thinking about trying burlap soaked in oil for the metal parts, and a whole lot of elbow grease. I have a carding wheel but am worried it may be too aggressive.

I also have no idea what to do with the wood - would a toothbrush with baking soda and water work to remove mildew on a typical finish from the 19th century?

[challenger_i]

Wood: stiff brush w/baking soda, but use alcohol (preferably Everclear, due to the low water content). The alcohol will kill the mildew. After air-drying, oil the wood well. Test an inconspicuous area with the alcohol first, in the event the wood has a shellac finish.

Burlap and light oil, for the metalworks, may suffice but if the rust gets persistent, add 2 ounces wintergreen oil to a quart of Marvel Oil and use that with the burlap. Wear rubber gloves. Do NOT get any on your lips, or you will be craving wintergreen Lifesavers!

[Der Gebirgsjager]

The traditional method of rust removal from firearms is to use 4-0 steel wool (4-ought, 0000 grade) and a light oil. This will remove only the rust, but won't harm the remaining original blue. BUT, any rust in pits that have resulted from the rusting is very difficult to remove and is best done with a liquid rust remover. That is hard to control, and any that runs onto the undamaged portion of the finish will remove that bluing. Very careful use of an eyedropper for this will help. As for the mildew, try a cloth soaked with hydrogen peroxide. After it comes off, usually easily, apply a coating of carnauba wax to prevent reoccurrence of the mildew. No guarantees against it coming back as storage conditions are important, but like all guns periodic maintenance should be the rule.

DG

[HWooldridge]

Thanks for the tips - I’ll let y’all know what develops.

I have never met these folks but it sounds like the lady is trying to preserve time capsules from the day her dad passed away - she has all of his cars parked in a large climate controlled garage but they never get driven. I’ve seen pictures of a jeep Renegade from the 1980’s that has something like 150 miles on it - you would not believe the interior and exterior - looks like it just drove off the lot.