August 16, 2023

Fail Safe Firearm Rust Prevention

It's important to properly care for and prevent rust on firearms to ensure their longevity and reliable operation. Whether your are storing a hunting shotgun or rifle during the off season, keeping a family heirloom safe, or simply looking for a fail safe way to prevent corrosion in a gun safe the most effective method is to control the environment the guns are kept in.  When storing your firearm, using an anti-rust VCI firearm storage bag from Arms Preservation Inc. protects your guns in several ways. Our bags are engineered to offer unmatched protection and are manufactured with a combination of proven flexible barrier packaging and VCI materials to create a microenvironment that inhibits rust formation.  Our durable 8mil thick bags also provide added ding and scratch protection when guns are stacked in safes. 

How VCI Chemistry Prevents Firearm Corrosion:

The onset of corrosion occurs when an electrolyte such as water, oxygen, or humidity is present on the surface of metals. When this happens, electrons can then flow from high-energy areas of the metal to low energy areas in a loop through the present electrolyte. As a result of this corrosion process, the formation of oxidation on the metal surface then occurs. VCI molecules provide corrosion prevention which prevent this reaction by covering the metal surface and essentially blocking the electrochemical mechanism that triggers the beginning of oxidation. VCI molecules are drawn to any metal surface that oxygen molecules can reach and form an invisible mono-molecular layer to protect the metal from corrosive attack.

Three Simple Steps For Fail Safe Firearm Rust Prevention

  1. Clean The Firearm: Properly clean your firearm after each heavy use. Use high-quality firearm cleaning products, such as Breakthrough® Cleaning Products, to remove fouling, residues, moisture. Make sure to disassemble the firearm if necessary to clean all components thoroughly. Apply a thin layer of Breakthrough® Clean Technologies High Purity Oil to the surfaces requiring lubrication. This helps prevent friction, reduces wear, and provides an additional layer of protection against rust. A thin coating of Metal Defense Anti Rust Spray can be applied to daily CCW pistols or Home Defense shotguns and rifles.  

  2. Insert The Clean Firearm Into A VCI Gun Bag: Make sure the firearm is clean and dry before placing it in the VCI storage bag. Open the pre-installed Velcro® closure and gently slide the firearm into the bag. Once the firearm is inside the bag simply press the Velcro closure shut and the firearm is ready to be stored. The presence of metal immediately begins to draw the protective VCI molecules from the bag material which are attracted to the external and internal surfaces of the firearm.  Firearms can be stored with optics and electronics still mounted as well as loaded if desired.  

  3. Removing the firearm: When it is time for the firearm to be removed from the storage bag simply open the Velcro closure and gently remove the firearm from the bag. Once the firearm is removed from the storage bag, the protective VCI molecules dissipate from the metal surface leaving behind no messy residues allowing the firearm to be used directly out of the bag without any cleaning or preparation needed.  

Additional items such as dehumidifiers and desiccant packs can be used in addition to VCI storage bags.  Gun safe dehumidifiers are an excellent way to help control the atmosphere inside your safe however, they are susceptible to power outages and flooding so they have their limitations.  Regarding desiccant packs, keep in mind that they draw moisture to them so if using one a best practice would be to place the pack somewhere in the gun safe away from the items you are trying to preserve.

Some of the main benefits of the Arms Preservation Bags over similar VCI bags:

  • Prevents rust for 5 years with constant monthly use and upwards of 10 years when rarely used such as once or twice a year.  Similar bags at best will only last upwards of 2-3 years when rarely used.
  • A.P.I. gun bags last longer due to the addition of a unique external barrier layer that only allows the VCI chemistry to be off gassed into the bag while also blocking moisture from the outer atmosphere.  
  • A.P.I. storage bags create a controlled micro environment rich with anti corrosion chemistry that also blocks the external atmosphere from permeating the VCI material which can occur with similar single layer VCI poly bags.
  • A.P.I. gun bags also come with pre-installed Velcro® closures that provide convenience as well as additional safety as they can withstand the weight of a firearm keeping it secure inside the bag.  Some similar bags use a small press to close zippers whereas most others require the use of zip ties or even a heat sealer to shut the bags.  
  • All of our raw materials are sourced in the US and our bags are manufactured with American labor.
  • Our thick durable materials also provide additional ding and scratch protection in crowded safes, cages, or racks.