waterproofing advice

Tulloch

Well-Known Member
here goes ,

I was stalking on Saturday and got caught out in torrential rain that carried on for hours, my scope and rifle took a fair soaking (thankfully ) with no lasting effect as far as can see,

Is there anyway I can waterproof the rifle more ( especially the scope ) for such ocassions ????
 
Don't stress over the scope, it's water tight as long as it's still nitrogen purged. The rifle could be coated which weatherproofs it from the elements.
 
see i dried off and oil coated the rifle after use but I took it out on Monday as was away Sunday and the scope had what looked like on the objective end a mist spot, granted once scope warmed up a bit in the sun it completely cleared but I was a little worried that it got a little water damage from Saturdays expedition..
 
If your metal is finished in a polished blue, you can wax all the metal with Johnson's Paste Wax, which you can later easily remove. It is a furniture wax for wood, but is very waterproof. If your stock is wood, water will spot many finishes, but that can be rubbed out. I would not intentionally take a wood stock with any kind of oil finish out in the rain, unless it was one set up for that purpose. The finish on a Remington 700 is very tough and waterproof, but you have to seal the barrel channel, action inletting, and butt with a polyurethane like the exterior finish. To keep water from pouring in there, I would run some removable camo bow tape down both sides where the metal meets the wood.

One of those pullover neoprene scope covers works well for keeping it all dry until you need it. Leupold, Burris and Allen sell them.
 
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see i dried off and oil coated the rifle after use but I took it out on Monday as was away Sunday and the scope had what looked like on the objective end a mist spot, granted once scope warmed up a bit in the sun it completely cleared but I was a little worried that it got a little water damage from Saturdays expedition..

What scope and how old?
 
If your metal is finished in a polished blue, you can wax all the metal with Johnson's Paste Wax, which you can later easily remove. It is a furniture wax for wood, but is very waterproof. If your stock is wood, water will spot many finishes, but that can be rubbed out. I would not intentionally take a wood stock with any kind of oil finish out in the rain, unless it was one set up for that purpose. The finish on a Remington 700 is very tough and waterproof, but you have to seal the barrel channel, action inletting, and butt with a polyurethane like the exterior finish. To keep water from pouring in there, I would run some removable camo bow tape down both sides where the metal meets the wood.

One of those pullover neoprene scope covers works well for keeping it all dry until you need it. Leupold, Burris and Allen sell them.

I have a Browning A-Bolt rifle .
 
a little mate its not ideal for getting off undetected but easier than taking out of a slip. i usually chuck it on when transiting on gator or quad it keeps mud off rifle a treat
 
Tulloch, if you can find a used wood stock, put that on the rifle, and seal it up, before doing the same to your pretty stock.
The A-Bolt II has a tough, polymer finish like the Remington M700. You just need to remove the barreled action and recoil pad, and seal the inside.

Do not use oil finishes, like linseed oil or tung oil, as they take on water. That, or waxes which take on water, are what cause the rings on table tops where cold drink glasses sat.

Make sure the wood is good and dry. Mask off the nice exterior finish with 3M painters tape.

You want to seal the raw wood with a sealer for polyurethane, like Varuthane ( used on sailboat brightwork), or Permalyn. You brush it on, let the wood soak it up, brush on some more while still wet. It may take several applications over a period of 20 minutes. Then hang the stock in a ventilated room and let it dry overnight. The next day, apply the polyurethane inside and to the butt.

A second method is to use a polymerized oil, which will seal and then will do the top coat, the next day, like Casey's Tru Oil or Formby's Tung Oil, which is not really Tung oil.

If you are starting from scratch, a laminated or wood stock can be finished inside and out with a thin, penetrating epoxy that they uses to make cedar strip kayaks and canoes, like Gudgeon. This is what they did with the later M-14 stocks in Vietnam, until they went to the fiberglass stocks. The M700 was coated with polyurethane inside, or the heavier M24 type stock was impregnated with epoxy, then some were painted over that. But these epoxy finishes I am talking about are clear. The only problem is they yellow in the sun, so you have to put on a top finish of something like a poly with UV additives in it.
 
Tulloch, if you can find a used wood stock, put that on the rifle, and seal it up, before doing the same to your pretty stock.
The A-Bolt II has a tough, polymer finish like the Remington M700. You just need to remove the barreled action and recoil pad, and seal the inside.

Do not use oil finishes, like linseed oil or tung oil, as they take on water. That, or waxes which take on water, are what cause the rings on table tops where cold drink glasses sat.

Make sure the wood is good and dry. Mask off the nice exterior finish with 3M painters tape.

You want to seal the raw wood with a sealer for polyurethane, like Varuthane ( used on sailboat brightwork), or Permalyn. You brush it on, let the wood soak it up, brush on some more while still wet. It may take several applications over a period of 20 minutes. Then hang the stock in a ventilated room and let it dry overnight. The next day, apply the polyurethane inside and to the butt.

A second method is to use a polymerized oil, which will seal and then will do the top coat, the next day, like Casey's Tru Oil or Formby's Tung Oil, which is not really Tung oil.

If you are starting from scratch, a laminated or wood stock can be finished inside and out with a thin, penetrating epoxy that they uses to make cedar strip kayaks and canoes, like Gudgeon. This is what they did with the later M-14 stocks in Vietnam, until they went to the fiberglass stocks. The M700 was coated with polyurethane inside, or the heavier M24 type stock was impregnated with epoxy, then some were painted over that. But these epoxy finishes I am talking about are clear. The only problem is they yellow in the sun, so you have to put on a top finish of something like a poly with UV additives in it.

Thankyou :)
 
Another thing, about the metal:

A matte finish on steel, carbon or stainless, will be more prone to staining and rusting, as it holds water in those little pores, so dry it out with a hair dryer when you come in, then oil it.

High polish blue rifles can be waxed and you cannot tell it. They may splotch up when wet, but you can strip the wax off easily with gun cleaners and other solvents. Also, most gun oils are lighter than water and float off, so use an oil that is heavier, and leaves a coating, like Tri-Flow or other synthetics.
 
Has anyone use the silicon pro-shot clothes that Mark "spud" sells ? Seems to me that the silicon would provided a good protective short term barrier on scopes & rifles. Works great on my Salmon rods & reels !
 
Just keep your gun cleaned and oiled after every trip, and if it gets a soaking dry it with a rag, then leave it to dry completely before cleaning with oil etc.
 
If your scope has got the moisture spot inside it could do with a service and re-seal.
I took my scope out to take pics to sell and it was all fine, however later on after i posted it for sale i notice it was misted again well i decided to get JB to remove my for sale post and I contacted Kahles . The scope is still under warranty so its off to Austria to be fuxed which is brilliant . I have to say thank you so far to Mark Swift at RUAG and Gregor from RMacleods in Tain for absolute immense service and loan of a scope til this gets back
 
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