Howdy!
When I was stationed in Germany [Fulda] I put my guns I wasn't taking in storage, just like St. George said. Light coat of BF, and a piece of chemical-release paper that is used in the Military for long-term storage. (I didn't, however, have on cotton gloves or store them muzzle down - which is BEST.) Plus, I threw in a desiccant bag with each gun into a padded case. Rust or other corrosion didn't have a chance. These guns, which were opened ONCE (to check) after 4 years, ended up in storage nearly 9 years. Only one problem surfaced, and was pretty simply fixed.
One of my revolvers was/is a Colt 6" Python, Electroless Nickle plated. It has a sort of dull, rather than super polished finish. I liked it that-a-way because, at that time, Colt didn't offer a Stainless version (this was in 1981-'82), and I was on a kind of "tactical" kick. (In other words, no gorgeous Colt "Royal Blue" finish, which can glint at night as easily as a blued piece.) Any-hoo, the Chem-release paper (which releases an anti-rust chemical "vapor" for long-term storage) was covering part of the gun in the case. When by best pal opened the case for the first time, he saw that the chemicals had leached out and stained that big, gorgeous, bull barrel and cylinder sides wherever the paper touched metal!
He KNEW I would be ... shall we say - 'distressed,' (NOT at him - it wasn't HIS fault, after all
) so he used some Simichrome polish and after about 1/2 hour all was back to its' regular silver color. The only fly in the ointment was that now, after the Simichrome and rubbing, the dull finish was pretty shiny. (We now know the secret. You can save manufacturing costs by NOT final-polishing the gun when it comes out of the plating tank, and you, Colt - or any other manufacturer, can advertise it as a "special" finish and charge $20 EXTRA for it, but have fewer labor costs! Ain't free enterprise grand?)
I haven't heard about Hoppes being left in the barrel for more than 6-12 months, but I personally would go for an oil, even 30 weight, even if that's all that was available. Hoppes MAY have added a lightweight oil to their solution, for storage. Midway sells their brand (or Tipton - which they own) of bore cleaner that advertises oil in it for storage.
I've also heard NOT to use the OLD Mil-spec cleaners, 'cause that removes ALL oil and will evaporate leaving the metal unprotected. I WOULDN'T use Ballistol (straight) for long-term use, but I HAVE seen the "torture-test" photos that showed Ballistol doing better than BreakFree under their conditions.
I'd have to test THAT myself - I don't exactly trust their results. (My
opinion is based on years [14.5] of Tank crew-served weapons being left out in ALL kinds of weather with only BreakFree protecting the metal - over the factory phosphated finish, of course - and having NO issues. The longest time was nearly 5 months in a row, during Desert Storm. And YES, that included a surprising number of rains, but mostly the 75+ degree temperature differential that happened daily! (98 to 116 deg. F. during the day and dropping to 22 - 38 deg. F. at night - and it drops that much in less than 2 hours!
Our machine guns would sweat EVERY night!)
Happy Trails!
PS - No; I
don't work for BreakFree Co.: I just know that their product WORKS. I'm sure that there are OTHER products out there that also work, or are perhaps better than BF, but I haven't TRIED every product.
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