ok so i went to arkansas for a week to visit family. and when i got back my mossy 500 had tiny rust spots covering the entire heat shield and mag tube. it came of with a simple wipe down.. but the heat shield still has a grainy feeling to it.. i was pretty upset... anyway! ive had this gun for 2 years, ive always left it sitting around.. in the corner, in the closet ect. and it has NEVER rusted.. and im 100% no moisture got to it... does anyone know what could cause this random rusting? :/
moisture from the air. depends on how you run the air conditioner and how humid it has been around your area lately.
It takes a while for poor storage habits to eat through the bluing. Now that it has done it in spots if you continue to store it poorly it will get worse, faster. Take a cloth wet it with wd 40, and wipe down the outside of the gun, wd 40 has rust inhibitor that remains once the base evaporates. Don't hose the inside of the gun down with wd40 as it will gum up the action as it evaporates. Everytime you usethe firearm or handle it, wipe it down. Also closets are about the worst place to store q gun. They tend to be high hummidty, because of damp cloths, IE you hang your wet rain coat there to dry etc. I believe breakfree CLP is good to wipe down to, but it leaves the gun oiler. Good luck in you future storage.
Oxygen reacting with iron. Question? Anyone SPRAY anything around there recently!? Air freshener, bug killer, sun screen, cologne/perfume...
I've never had a firearm rust in storage in the house, but I've had one do it from being in my truck. I store my shotgun outside the safe in the closet so I can get to it ASAP if needed and no rust whatsoever and I live in Indiana where the humidity is downright oppressive at times.
If you are not going to use the gun, use wax as the preservative. One of the WW2 museums in LA got hit pretty bad by Hurricane Katrina. Water everywhere, etc. Amazing discovery in the clean up. Exhibits coated with oil rusted badly. The ones that had been rubbed down with wax survived pretty well.
Because you don't put oil on it. Mobil 1 is cheap, comes by the quart, and is as good as any 10$/2oz. "lucky day" solvent out there... Remember, it's a lot easier to keep it oiled, than to play catch up, once it's rusted.
