Mildew on my gunstocks!!!!
Lame Duck
yesterday and found mildew growing on some of my wood stocks. I couldn't
believe it. I've had the cabinet in this particular location for almost a
year, so I thought I would have seen any dampness problems show up by now.
(I never had this problem until moving to Florida.) Fortunately, there was
no rust on any of the metal parts (I use a lot of oil when I put my guns
away). And, interestingly, a couple of my guns had no mildew at all. My
ultra cheapo, imported, 40 year old, double barrel, 12 ga with some sort of
rubbed finish was unaffected, as was my fairly new Browning XT Trap with
high gloss finish.
I'll be buying a dehumidifier (the cabinet is located in a confined area)
ASAP, but in the meantime I'd like recommendations on safe mildew removal
techniques. Mildew has to be killed or it will grow back. I know a mixture
of diluted chlorine bleach and water will kill it, but the thought of
washing down my gunstocks with such a concoction gives me the
hee-be-jee-bees.
Any ideas?
Thanks.
Al
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Truebrit
Applied heat will kill mildew but I am not sure what degree of heat would be
required. The high setting on a good hair dryer might work but not be hot
enough to harm the finish of the wooden stocks. Make sure you remove any
butt plates and clean under those. Mildew does love the dark as well as
damp.
--
Cheers!
Alex.C
Truebrit
Rubaiyat of Omar Bradley
Martin Eastburn
we kept a 100 watt light bulb (shielded in an expanded metal cover)
burning in the bottom of each closet. The top of the closet and bottom
allowed air flow - and the heat kept the mildew off the shoes and
clothes. The RH was in the high 90% all of the time. Island was 500
yards wide. Salt spray went across the island most of the time. After
a few days or weeks you got used to living at sea level in such
conditions. I moved there from El Paso. 4000 feet to sea level in
three days. (prop planes in those days.) I later flew the maiden flight
of a 707 from El Paso to Dallas flying to School from overseas.
As for the heater - you could get any resistive heater - not a light
bulb for the same effect. It wasn't the light, but the heat and air
flow rising from the bottom and out the top.
Martin
CH
A lot depends on the specific stocks, but in general sunshine is your
biggest ally.
If you can place them direct sunlight for several hours on each side. Brush
or use a dry paper towel to get the mildew off. You should probably do this
for any guns that were in the cabinet whether they are showing signs of
mildew or not.
After the sun treatment, get some Birchwood-Casey Gunscruber. Spray a
little on a cloth and spot test your stocks. It's generally safe, but I'm
not vouching for it in advance, do your own spot testing. For those it
works out okay on, spray the a cloth down, then wipe the stock down with the
cloth. The chlorides in the GunScrubber should kill off the mildew.
Naturally, you'll need to decontainment the cabinet as well. A bleach
solution may be the easiest for that.
In the future, you may want to consider storing the guns in
silcon-impregnated "gunsocks." These can wick away any latent moisture,
and also protect from condensation problems.
-CH
Mike Marlow
Three years in Okinawa - same thing in the closets. I don't think we used
100W, because you really don't need that much, but the point is the same.
The light bulb keeps the closet dry.
Ralph Mowery
AT 90% humidity all the time, it may take more, but most areas should use
one of the Golden Rod type heaters. Thay are only about 8 to 15 watts
depending on the size. They also only cost about $ 15 to $ 25 depending on
size and place. They should last forever and not have to be replaced like
the light bulbs.
Here is one example:
http://www.midwayusa.com/viewproduct/?productnumber=762730
Martin Eastburn
Martin
Walter Martindale
his gun safe - a 40 W lightbulb running 24/7 keeps his safe warm and
dry in Invercargill - where you don't tan, you rust...
Cheers,
Walter
sta...@prolynx.com
though the cabinet isn't hermetically sealed, you aren't getting any
air movement, so dessicant will work. Just check the telltale tabs
periodically and renew in the oven.
You might try stripping the stocks off the guns and using something
like Murphy's Oil Soap to clean. Shouldn't damage finishes since it's
made for furniture. Mildew isn't a real problem here, so that advice
is purely theoretical. Humidity today is a balmy 10%. You might also
consider using some stock wax to give the little bugs something
unpleasant to munch. I do that on the guns I haul off to the swamps
to hunt, hit the inletting and under the buttplate, too. Usually only
the outsides are finished.
Stan
Lame Duck
remediation. While I decide exactly what solution to adopt (relocating the
safe would be nice), I have temporarily increased the airflow into the
enclosure where it is located.
I did take my guns out for a good sun tanning session. Interestingly, the
stocks that had been treated with polymers did not have any mildew on them.
The M-1903 that I refinished by hand rubbing an oil, which contained
polymers was fine. However, my M-1s, which had the finish the CMP shipped
them with both had mildew. My 40 year old double barrel shotgun with it's
rubbed oil finish was also fine. But I used to rub it down quite often with
a silicon gun cloth. My .22 semi auto of the same vintage had some mildew,
but, over the years, I hadn't wiped it down with the silicone cloth that
much. Finally, my Mossberg shotgun with the Hogue stock was clean as a
whistle.
The moral of the story? Plastic rules!
clarkm...@gmail.com
not good for a plastic garage can stuffed with old military take off
stocks.
Half of them had mold or mildew or what ever that scum is.
Doing a Google search for cleaning mildew off gunstocks actually gets
many hits.
I am sure there are many ways to clean a stock, but I used Latex
gloves, diluted Wet and Forget, and rubbed with steel wool.
I have no good reason for using Wet and Forget over bleach, both were
already in my household.
Anyway, the stocks are all clean now, back in the garbage can, waiting
to get thrown away or cleaned again after ANOTHER wet winter.
Lame Duck
<clarkm...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:isbrbm$6of$1...@news.albasani.net...
# In April of this year, I discovered that the wet Seattle winters are
# not good for a plastic garage can stuffed with old military take off
# stocks.
# Half of them had mold or mildew or what ever that scum is.
#
Snip
#
# Anyway, the stocks are all clean now, back in the garbage can, waiting
# to get thrown away or cleaned again after ANOTHER wet winter.
If you're going to keep them in a plastic can, why not put a dispenser with
your favorite brand of calcium chloride in it, and then seal the top?
That will wick the moisture out of the air trapped inside the can, and
should keep the mildew under control. As long as you keep the top sealed
you shouldn't need to replace the calcium chloride.
I haven't done this with my gun cabinet, since it isn't sealed. I'd be
replenishing the pellets every few days. Works like a champ in the small
safe for my pistols though.
Al
Gunner Asch
#You might buy a couple of dessicant cans to go with a Goldenrod. Even
#though the cabinet isn't hermetically sealed, you aren't getting any
#air movement, so dessicant will work. Just check the telltale tabs
#periodically and renew in the oven.
Check with any machine tool importers in your area. Many of them come
with a rather suprisingly large quantity of dessicant bags that are
quite reusable by simply putting them in the oven for X minutes
Most importers will simply toss em when they unpack a machine tool like
a lathe or mill.
Check with them and you might be up to your neck in dessicants
Gunner
Lame Duck
Yea, that first reply didn't escape me. But it's hard to fathom that moist
air will fail to invade the cabinet just because there is no flow.
Low-and-behold my wife just informed me we have something on hand that she
uses in a problem closet. Guess it's worth a try.
Al
Murff
# Yea, that first reply didn't escape me. But it's hard to fathom that
# moist air will fail to invade the cabinet just because there is no flow.
# Low-and-behold my wife just informed me we have something on hand that
# she uses in a problem closet. Guess it's worth a try.
#
One of these rather preposterous things lives at the bottom of my gun
safe:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/PROTEAM-HO1875-Proteam-Dehumidifying-Egg/dp/
B002DUCL20
It seems to work, though. The "egg" is a sintered ceramic with a very
high surface area which adsorbs moisture, and it has silica gel inside.
Heat it on full power in the microwave for 8 minutes every week or so
depending on how wet the air is.
The problem here is usually coming in at night with cold guns that
condense moisture. We're up in the Pennine hills that run down the middle
of England, and it rains a lot. Once they've been given an hour in the
gun slips to warm up, a wipe with warm dry kitchen towel followed by a
light layer of oil seems to prevent exterior rust. A light mop through
the barrel on particularly cold nights. And keeping them in the safe with
the egg.
Murff...
Lame Duck
"Murff" <mu...@warlock.org> wrote in message
news:isgucc$k2d$1...@news.albasani.net...
# One of these rather preposterous things lives at the bottom of my gun
# safe:
#
# http://www.amazon.co.uk/PROTEAM-HO1875-Proteam-Dehumidifying-Egg/dp/
# B002DUCL20
#
# It seems to work, though. The "egg" is a sintered ceramic with a very
# high surface area which adsorbs moisture, and it has silica gel inside.
# Heat it on full power in the microwave for 8 minutes every week or so
# depending on how wet the air is.
# Murff...
My goodness, what a goofy looking thing that is! LOL! I'd have to check
it's dimensions, since I don't have much room in the bottom of the cabinet.
My guess is that it would not fit. Could rig up a sling and suspend it
though.
Al
hangf...@gmail.com
# On Tue, 31 May 2011 21:42:05 +0000 (UTC), st...m wrote:
#=20
# #You might buy a couple of dessicant cans to go with a Goldenrod. Even
# #though the cabinet isn't hermetically sealed, you aren't getting any
# #air movement, so dessicant will work. Just check the telltale tabs
# #periodically and renew in the oven.
#=20
# Check with any machine tool importers in your area. Many of them come
# with a rather suprisingly large quantity of dessicant bags that are
# quite reusable by simply putting them in the oven for X minutes
# Most importers will simply toss em when they unpack a machine tool like
# a lathe or mill.
Nothing beats free, but the cheapest way to buy your way into desiccant is =
to buy a big can of flower drying desiccant from a hobby store like Michael=
's. Unlike the shipping packets it does come with the humidity indicator (t=
urns pink once damp), and you get plenty all at once.
I take a 3-prong approach to fighting humidity in humid basement storage. O=
ne, I keep an Ikea 2 bulb (25W each) under-shelf type lamp shining in the s=
afe. If one bulb burns out the other usually keeps going. It doesn't need t=
o be in the bottom of the safe to create circulation. Two, I keep peanut bu=
tter cans full of cheap flower desiccant in the safe. The tops have large h=
oles punched in them with paper towel liners to prevent spillage. Three, I =
run a dehumidifier.
On top of that I store every gun cleaned, and I always pull them out 24 to =
36 hours later and examine them and wipe them down again. I started that ro=
utine when talcum powder from wearing latex gloves while cleaning caused ru=
st on a stored gun.
Between all of these techniques I've had zero problems with rust or mildew =
in 2 decades, with the one exception of that talcum powder incident.
HF