Have unblued chrome-moly barrels which are not installed on rifle actions except when in use in the laboratory. They are stored in the dry on racks -- some vertical, some horizontal.

What brand name rust inhibitor do ya'll recommend for when they are in storage.

Other than appearance, any reason to blue or otherwise finish them.

Barrels are kept in semi-arid Idaho.

Hammer

I would just paint the exterior with any brand of spray paint from the hardware store and forget about it...and run a patch of oil down the bore before I put them away.

I would do as Rick suggests only really clean them using something that will not leave any residue using cotton gloves to not get any finger prints on the metal. Then paint and then protect the bore.

Don

Condensation can get to steel and iron. What happens in a shop here in New England is that it gets cool in late September and the steel gets cold. Then we get an Indian Summer day with high humidity and everything has rust on it.

If that shop is climate controlled ok. Otherwise beware.

Companies like Hougton make rust preventitive coatings for steel. If there are not that many barrels Boeshield spray is very good.

Sir,

I would think that the regular application of the same oil you use on your finished firearms would do just fine. Just remember to keep them dry and fingerprints off them and you should be fine with a little oil. Especially if your laboratory is climate controlled.

Don't know if this might be of interest, but there are several corrosion tests floating around the Net. If I'm not much mistaken, Saeed (or somebody else) also made one and posted results on AR. Here is another, recent test from 6mmbr.com.
- mike

Just paint the damned things! From what it sounds like all you are doing is screwing the barrels on and off of test receivers...and you don't need a some exotic outside finish for that.

The good thing with painting them would be the ability to "color-code" them so you can tell at a glance what you are grabbing off the rack: 308 caliber 1-12 twist= Blue with a red stripe...308 caliber with a 1-10 twist= blue with two red stripes...or whatever the hell you want. Not only is this cheap and easy just imagine how colorful your test facility will be!

Any of the better Krylon brands should keep them from rusting and you won't have to worry about wiping protection on and off the barrels each time you use them. If they get a nick or scratch just spray on a bit more paint.

K-I-S-S !!!

WD-40 in test its been shown to resist rust better then other oils or gun lubes, do a simple test.
get some bare steel plates, coat them with likely rust preventatives, and place them outside in the weather. you should see results in about 5 days depending on your local. Some of the smiths around here say Kroil is better then WD, cant say I don't like WD as a lube but use it on the exterior of guns tools etc
Mike

wd40


Water displacement test #40
it works good.
and that is where the name comes from

I’m not sure why this is such a big friggin deal!

The guy has barrels that get stored on racks and taken out to put on receivers for testing purposes...then they get taken off and put away on a rack.

What would you rather do...(1) paint the suckers and forget about them, or (2) be in constant state of spraying WD 40 all over everything and then having to wipe it all off before you install it, spray it down again when you’re done, have WD 40 all over everything in your testing area, have it drip all over the place while the barrel is stored, then do the whole thing all over again the next time you use that barrel??????

I have used KleenBores Rust Guardit. Great stuff. Spray inside and outside of the metal. when you get ready to use the barrels spray them with WD40 or any solvent on it to dissolve the thin waxy coating. I have had firearms with it on for over 20 years and it protects them great. Especially the humid days in Louisiana.