Flooded Firearms.

[buck3050]

I live in Laplace and I had about 10 inches in the house and the gun cabinet. I managed to get back there on Friday and opened up the cabinet. I immediately took them out and wiped them down. No rust on the metal but all of the wooden stocks swelled. Everyday is open of the cabinet and air them out. I have A/C as of yesterday and the house is cool. I know alot of fellow BSer's have gone thru this during Katrina. What are some hints to get my stocks back to normal or is it to late and need to be replaced. All of my composite stocks and all my pistols are fine. Any help would be appreciated. Friday, Saturday and Sunday there was no way to remove the firearms due to me having to boat in. Thanks

 

[X Zombie]

I'm not an expert on firearm wood stocks but my buddy does a lot of furniture restoration. He once restored a customers table and chair legs that were water damaged from a busted pipe in someone home. The actual wood was fine once it was dried out but the finish was ruined. What makes furniture restoration like what he did expensive was matching the finish on the refinished parts to the undamaged parts. You might just need to get the wood refinished.

 

[buck3050]

There is no discoloration on the stocks, I wiped down the dirt mark and the stocks look fine except for the swelling of the stocks.

 

[dwr461]

I'd send a PM to Candyman. He's quite the stock expert.

 

[ntruder800]

+1 for Candyman the stock expert.

 

[Blackhawk]

Wipedown is fine, but disassembly and cleaning is better. You never know where moisture may have penetrated.

 

[dwr461]

Yeah definitely pull the wood off the metal and let it dry until you here from an expert.

 

[jdindadell]

ATF is your friend. It is really cheap and you can just soak the actions in it. Oil floats on water so make sure you put something in the bottom of the pan to keep the gun in the oil. WD40 works to remove the water, just make sure you use oil afterwards, as wd40 is NOT oil.

 

[Quickdraw22]

ATF is your friend. It is really cheap and you can just soak the actions in it. Oil floats on water so make sure you put something in the bottom of the pan to keep the gun in the oil. WD40 works to remove the water, just make sure you use oil afterwards, as wd40 is NOT oil.

He's talking about wood, not metal...

 

[nwmousegunner]

If the stocks got wet enough to swell you will usually have a discoloration of the finish after it dries.