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Vacuum sealer and silica packets

WearyTravelerWearyTraveler Member Posts: 2,006 ✭✭✭
edited June 2019 in Ask the Experts
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?
”People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
- GEORGE ORWELL -

Comments

  • charliemeyer007charliemeyer007 Member Posts: 6,579 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I would clean and oil the rifle after a full disassembly. I would put the moisture and maybe O2 absorber packets inside the bag but not in-contact with the rifle.
  • yoshmysteryoshmyster Member Posts: 20,983 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I got a friend who swears by those Boar Sock things?

    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.
  • MobuckMobuck Member Posts: 13,734 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    those silica packets attract & hold moisture so you don't want them in contact with the firearm.
  • WearyTravelerWearyTraveler Member Posts: 2,006 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    I looked up the VCI paper / bags. Pretty interesting and neat. However they all say 2 or 5 year protection (depending on Mfg). Any idea for a firearm that?s going into the safe / closet for longer term? One that?s just going to sit ad basically be forgotten about?
    ”People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
    - GEORGE ORWELL -
  • WearyTravelerWearyTraveler Member Posts: 2,006 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Mobuck wrote:
    those silica packets attract & hold moisture so you don't want them in contact with the firearm.

    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?
    ”People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
    - GEORGE ORWELL -
  • truthfultruthful Member Posts: 1,975 ✭✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Not sure what you mean by long term, but you need to be aware that virtually any material in contact with another material for an extended period of time will transfer something, moisture, oils, solvents, monomers, etc. to what is being "protected." It might be unnerving to unwrap your treasured 94 down the road a decade or two and discover that the wood has been discolored and/or the plastic protective material you used has bonded itself to the metal. If you go this route, make sure you use acid-free archival materials intended for the purpose. Buy the most expensive available, and replace it with new material every few years.

    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.
  • babunbabun Member Posts: 11,054 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    Mobuck wrote:
    those silica packets attract & hold moisture so you don't want them in contact with the firearm.

    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?

    +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. :(
  • WearyTravelerWearyTraveler Member Posts: 2,006 ✭✭✭
    edited November -1
    So is a better solution the gunsocks and a goldenrod?
    ”People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf."
    - GEORGE ORWELL -
  • tsr1965tsr1965 Member Posts: 8,682 ✭✭
    edited November -1
    The silica packets are a desiccant, like molecular sieve, but not as good. One must make sure the beads are active, with low residual moisture in them. remove them from the packet, and put them in the oven in a steel or glass dish at 300 degrees for 3 hours...it will drive the moisture out. Let them cool, then proceed as desired.
This discussion has been closed.