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Vacuum sealer and silica packets
WearyTraveler
Member Posts: 2,006 ✭✭✭
Ok - have a rookie question...
I?ve got a food vacuum sealer and a bag of silica packets. I?d like to long term seal an old Winchester 94. I?m thinking about stuffing a bunch of the packets in the recesses of the rifle, then sealing it in the plastic vacuum bag.
My understanding is that the sealer will remove all the excess air and that the silica will absorb any moisture that remains in the rifle?s recesses.
Now, if the silica packet is resting on the rifle?s metal, will the moisture in the packet eventually rust where the packet touches the metal?
Will the relative humidity make any difference? More moisture is locked in?
I?ve got a food vacuum sealer and a bag of silica packets. I?d like to long term seal an old Winchester 94. I?m thinking about stuffing a bunch of the packets in the recesses of the rifle, then sealing it in the plastic vacuum bag.
My understanding is that the sealer will remove all the excess air and that the silica will absorb any moisture that remains in the rifle?s recesses.
Now, if the silica packet is resting on the rifle?s metal, will the moisture in the packet eventually rust where the packet touches the metal?
Will the relative humidity make any difference? More moisture is locked in?
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Comments
I think if stored in a plastic bag the oil/grease will get gummy from temp. fluctuation and I think oil/grease will get on the wood in a odd manner.
I wasn?t aware of this problem. I?ve got silica packets stuffed in the mag wells of my pistols, then in gun socks. So basically I should take them out or at least move them so they don?t touch the firearms?
At the museum, we do not wrap any guns with anything. We gently remove the oil and then coat everything, wood and metal, with a high quality crystalline wax. We use Renaissance Micro-Crystalline wax that was developed for the British Museum. Then the guns are stored either in open rooms, or in enclosed display cases with a light flow of dehumidified air. Air circulation is essential.
+1000
Don't use silica packs for long term storage of anything.
You might as well put a damp sponge in the bag.
For true long term storage of almost any thing, I pull a vacuum on the heavy plastic bag, then fill the bag with Argon gas from my mig welder setup.
Nitrogen gas is cheaper and more prevalent than argon, but nitrogen is not really an inert gas. It does react with some other elements.
But remember any storage method will not stop decay or rust IF there is something on the item when you seal it up.
Finger print oils will rot a steel barrel no matter how you store it.