Rust Inhibitors

[10-96inTexas]

I was given several of these and told to put them in my gun safe as a rust inhibitor. I read a little about them and they don't seem to do anything to reduce humidity but rather emit a "vapor" that inhibits rust. Has anyone tried these, do they work, is it "snake oil", ? Can they harm my firearms? (If I had any, boating accident a while back).

 

[Texasjack]

They do work. The military uses them on a lot of equipment. Corrosion is an electrochemical process that primarily occurs at the surface of metal. VCI (volatile corrosion inhibitor) is a volatile material that condenses on the surface of metal to form an extremely thin layer that protects the metal from oxidation. There are limits as to how much it can control and how long it works, but in a closed area - like a safe or a box, it will greatly reduce the amount of corrosion. The chemicals used are nontoxic (they're not even required to list them on their Safety Data Sheets), and they will not harm your firearms.

They only work for a set period of time, so you are supposed to write the date you take it out of the package and then replace them periodically.

If you can also maintain low humidity in the enclosed space, corrosion can be nearly eliminated.

 

[XLR8R]

Another option apart from VCI, which essentially forms a sacrificial (therefore time-limited) layer on metal, is to maintain an inert atmosphere in your enclosed safe space.
Argon is hygroscopic & displaces oxygen, making it an excellent stasis medium - although simple enough to use and cost-effective to boot, obviously few do.
However, similar results obtain from the use of desiccant packs (which are rejuvenated with dry heat) to lower humidity in concert with oxygen absorbers to prevent corrosion - both easy and economical.