My gun safes are in my basement. I have a dehumidifier in the basement, but the safes are in their own small room with a door. Air can circulate into the room through the floor joists at the top of the wall. Nothing in the basement has any mold on it, including my hockey goaltender equipment, which is also in it's own small room seperate from the larger part of the basement.
I spent about an hour wiping down some of my wood stocked rifles because they had a very thin layer white mold on them. None of the rifles with any kind of a surface treatment to the wood had any mold on them. The only rifles affected were MILSURP rifles with raw wood stocks. None of my firearms had an rust on them, inside or out. Nothing else in the gun room had any mold on it.
I have rechargeable desiccant canisters in each safe. Other than installing something like a golden rod type system, is there anything I can use on the affected rifle stocks to keep this mold from growing?This message has been edited. Last edited by: SgtGold,
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Posts: 7238 | Location: Newyorkistan | Registered: March 28, 2007
I have used VCI storage bags with good results. They are treated so stocks with a coated finish, like Rem.,Weatherby and such may fog. Milsurps, probably not a issue. I can't recall did I buy them from Brownells or who just now. Could have been Midway.
Posts: 18173 | Location: The Bluegrass State! | Registered: December 23, 2008
Set the wood out in the sun for a day, then brush off as much of the mold as you can. If the stocks are greasy you might want to wipe them down with mineral spirits to degrease them. Let them dry, then use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and rubbing alcohol on a shop rag to wipe them down thoroughly to kill the mold.
After the stocks are fully dry I’d wipe them lightly with Ballistol to protect the wood and metal.
Posts: 27520 | Location: SW of Hovey, Texas | Registered: January 30, 2007