In high humidity, therefore high sweat generation,

by Paul , Friday, May 30, 2025, 21:02 (8 days ago) @ Gunner

I was having fits finding some kind of rust prevention for the PPPPPP. Even tried the car wax thing, but that worketh not on a parkerized finish. Then I stumbled on an article about "Ed's Red" and he mentioned using ATF thickened with lanolin for an "Ed's Red compatible anti-corrosion" oil. So down to the "chemist" I went and inquired for lanolin - which they so happened to have. Heating up some ATF in a jar in a pan of water on the stove brought it up to a nice temperature. Dropping bits of lanolin into the ATF and stirring it eventually gave me a heavy oil, especially after it cooled down. I liked it enough I bought more lanolin and made up a big batch which I then sold to other folks for their own use. In this climate I've found nothing that prevents rust like that combination. The lanolin helps the ATF stick to the steel and works great at preventing rust. I now use it on the exterior surfaces of all my airguns as well as the PPPPPP. And since I started using it I've never had a problem with rust on any of them, even when left in a humid closet for months on end. I keep a "lotion dispenser" of the Lanolin/ATF concoction on my work bench. Makes it handy. Grab a rag or paper towel, pump a dab of it out, apply to the surface you want to preserve. In fact, I also keep a zip-lock baggie with a piece of ATF/Lanolin impregnated flannel in my range bag. Makes it easy to wipe down a rifle/pistol prior to placing it back in the case after using it.

And a bonus - ATF also works great as a lube for the tip of CO2 cartridges when one inserts them into a CO2 gun. Much cheaper than the "name brand" stuff in the tiny tube. I keep an old eye medicine bottle of it in the CO2 cartridge baggie for when I need to swap out a cartridge. Keeps the interior of the gun lubed up enough and also helps prevent corrosion.