Gun Maintenance Archives | SecureIt Gun Storage

Yes, Using a Toothbrush to Clean a Gun is Ok

Posted on March 11, 2025February 14, 2025 by Josh Kinser

Using an old toothbrush that has no residue on it can be a great way to clean rust or debris off of the ornamental features on the outside of pistols or revolvers, and some of the decorative smaller areas on long guns like rifles and shotguns. A toothbrush is not large enough to be able to reach each area of the barrel in a long gun which is why a bore brush or nylon cleaning brush is always going to be better than a toothbrush for long guns.

Pro-tip: Do not attach a toothbrush to a stick or piece of metal to clean the barrel of a rifle or shotgun as it could fall off and bristles can come loose and create a hazard in the firearm.

You should not use a toothbrush on any of the areas inside the firearm or that are used for firing the gun. This includes the inside of the barrel, the chambers, firing mechanisms, and the magazines.

A toothbrush is not designed for cleaning a gun, it’s for removing plaque and buildup off your teeth. Depending on what the bristles are made of they could fall into the chamber or barrel, melt against it under heat, or clog the barrel leading to multiple types of issues when using the firearm. If thread or cloth gets inside, especially in a magazine, it could jam it and create a very dangerous situation.

One other issue you may run into if you use a toothbrush to clean or polish a gun is the bristles are softer and more bendable than a typical nylon brush. This may increase the amount of time you spend cleaning your firearms. Some people find the process soothing and as a way to relax, so this could be a great option for them. But remember, the toothbrush is not designed for cleaning a gun, so you may end up doing damage to it.

Pro-tip: If you do use a toothbrush to clean your gun, gun oils and lubricants tend to be thicker than a WD-40, so opt for a thicker lubricant so the looser bristles of the toothbrush can support it better.

It’s always a good idea to use products designed specifically for cleaning your firearms like a bore brush made from nylon, bronze, brass, or other material designed for removing excess powder and cleaning your guns. It isn’t a good idea to clean your gun with a toothbrush, but you may be able to polish outside and ornamental features with one.

What a Carbine is, Its Uses, & Storage Needs.

Posted on March 4, 2025February 12, 2025 by Josh Kinser

A carbine is a type of rifle with a shorter barrel than a traditional long gun and has multiple uses including sports, hunting, and by militaries for defense. Due to the shorter length of the barrel compared to traditional long guns, carbines are easier to maneuver in tight areas and are easier to carry on your body.

The shorter length of the barrel also makes them a bit lighter than a standard rifle or shotgun, and easier to handle. This can make carbines better for new shooters, people that are 50 and over, or don’t want to carry a heavier firearm with them, especially if they have to camp or hike through the woods for hunting.

The shorter barrel and lighter weight could increase recoil (depending if the firearm is gas powered, cartridge power, muzzle break, etc…), so make sure to test and configure the carbine properly if recoil is a concern.

We recommend the following as a starting point to reduce recoil on a carbine:

Cartridge type – The type of cartridge significantly impacts the amount of recoil a firearm experiences, as the bullet’s weight and velocity, determined by the cartridge design, directly influences the force of recoil generated when fired.
Gas system – A gas system helps manage the recoil force by redirecting it through the mechanism instead of directly impacting the shooter’s hand.
Muzzle brake – A muzzle brake reduces recoil by redirecting the expanding propellant gases exiting the barrel to counteract the recoil force.

There is no shortage of options for a carbine as most of the popular gun manufacturers produce a carbine model. Some of our favorite carbines include:

Sig Sauer MPX K
Kel-Tec SUB-2000
Beretta CX4 Storm
Ruger PC Carbine
Springfield Armory Saint Victor 9mm Carbine
Colt AR9
PSA AKV – Technically classified as a pistol due to barrel length and configuration, but can be considered a carbine.
Smith & Wesson M&P FPC – A blowback-operated carbine, but not beholden to the AR-pattern.

Carbines can be stored in any long gun safe as there will be enough space available length wise compared to handgun safes which are likely not long enough for the barrel. The biggest difference between the way you store a carbine vs. a standard rifle is the shorter barrel may need a different holder or grip as the mechanism that holds the firearm in place may not be short enough to grip it allowing for it to fall over or shift while in the gun safe.

Our Agile™ line of gun safes allow for modular storage and will work perfect for your collection.

You’ve likely also seen carbine rifles and pistol caliber carbines in movies, music videos, video games, and with the military. This is because they’re equally visually striking as they are easy-to-use for sports, hunting, and defense. Now you know what a carbine is, why they are popular types of long guns, and have some options to help make a decision if you’re looking to purchase one.

5 Pro Tips to Firearm Storage in Saltwater Environments

Posted on February 25, 2025January 31, 2025 by Josh Kinser

In order for your firearms to be able to protect you, or function properly on a hunting trip, you need to protect them. Humidity can cause corrosion on both a gun safe and a firearm, and when you add salt to the moisture in the air you add to the potential damage. There are numerous studies like this one that show the salt in the air can increase corrosion on metals like carbon steel, and this one which watched as wind deposited salt across a large stadium and monitored corrosion.

In addition to the normal corrosion from moisture, the air deposits salts which work as an electrolyte and modify the movement of electrons more easily than in non-saltwater droplets. Corrosion is in part a result of electrons being moved via the electrolyte according to the United States Naval Academy, so the salt air may be acting as an additional conduit.

But that doesn’t mean you cannot take or protect your firearms in a vacation home or while on a trip, you just have to modify how you store them to protect them from the salt air. Here are five tips you can use whether you own or rent out a vacation home with a gun safe, or you’re about to enjoy a trip with friends or family.

5. Clean and Lubricate Regularly

If the gun is stored off-season while you’re not using the home, or you are saltwater hunting for fowl, make sure to clean and lube your firearm regularly. It is especially important to do this if you’ll be leaving the firearm after the season ends. The lubricant acts as a protective barrier which may help with protection while you’re using the firearm, but will definitely help after if you don’t have time to wipe it.

Salt and humidity will corrode faster, so getting it all out and reapplying the lubricant post cleaning is vital before storing the firearm in saltwater air environments.

4. A Case in Your Safe

If the firearm will be stored in a salt air environment for long periods of time like a hunting lodge or vacation rental you visit once or twice a year, or in a gun room for your armory or collection, invest in a good case. Gun safes have vents to help keep air flowing which reduces corrosion. This also lets the salt air in.

Whether you have a gun room or a gun safe, find a weather proof and moisture proof case for the firearms you will be leaving stored. If you clean and lubricate to remove the salt and moisture while adding a protective barrier, and then store in a water and air tight case, there’s less chance of the firearm gaining exposure to the salt air while it is being stored.

3. Invest in an HVAC Dehumidifier for Your Home

There’s a case to be made for using dehumidifiers in your gun safe, but when you live in saltwater air environments they won’t do much good. The inside of the gun safe may be regulated, but it won’t protect your safe or your home. If humidity is an issue, investing in a dehumidifier for your HVAC system will help to regulate the air in the home.

This works to reduce the humidity in your home and some systems have filtration that can remove larger particles of salt with the humidity. None are going to be perfect, but any reduction is a good way to protect your home and your firearms with their storage devices.

2. Air Purifiers

HVAC upgrades are expensive and not always an option. There is good news if you’re like most of us, some air purifiers are able to reduce and remove some of the salt from the air in your home. They are much less expensive and can be added to the room your firearms are stored in.

On top of these you can upgrade your air filters from the current heat pumps and HVAC systems that can handle tiny particles. Sea salt particles in aerosols can be less than 0.2 μm according to Science Direct, so choose filters that can handle tiny particle filtration.

1. Change Your Ammunition

We all have our favorite cartridges and ammo, but some can cause more corrosion than others. It isn’t practical to clean the barrel after every use, and you may be in a rush before putting the firearm away and not have time.

Check the packaging and manufacturer’s website for primer that does not contain potassium chlorate as this is the main culprit of corrosion. Any small change you can make when your firearms are going to be in salt air environments helps, and this is one more that is in your control.

You cannot control the salt in the air as it is nature, but you can work to reduce the saltwater air that can get to your firearms and how often you clean and lubricate them to remove salt and add a protective barrier. With proper precaution and maintenance, you’ll be enjoying your firearms even in salt air environments for years to come.

Corrosion Can Impact Guns in a Gun Safe

Posted on September 25, 2024October 1, 2024 by Josh Kinser

Corrosion in a gun safe happens because of the materials used to construct the lining between the metal walls, the carpeting on the floor and shelves, and other chemicals that go into the construction. With that said, all gun safes can corrode if not properly cleaned and stored, just like guns rust and the rust can be removed from the gun.

Some good news, rust cannot spread from one metal to another. But if one metal is rusting or corroding, the cause of the corrosion will likely impact other similar metals, and that is why you want to treat the cause of corrosion the minute it is detected. If the safe is corroding, you can expect your guns to start rusting too.

When guns corrode they become hazards as the barrel can weaken, the bolt and receiver may get damaged, and there is a risk for an explosion if pressure cannot be released properly and propel the cartridge forward.

This is why it is important to check your gun safe for corrosion just like you check your guns for rust. And this starts with knowing what to look for by understanding the main causes of corrosion, and proper care.

The Cause of Gun Safe Corrosion

There are four culprits when it comes to chemical reactions that corrode a gun safe.

Formaldehyde (CH2O): Used in drywall manufacturing, formaldehyde is a dispersing agent in drywall slurry. These agents vaporize in your safe, creating a potentially caustic environment for metal and wood. Formaldehyde is also present in the adhesive used for carpet interiors and causes significant corrosion, with a corrosion rate over 1.0 mm/year in carbon steel.
Elemental Sulfur (S): Found in drywall, particularly from China, sulfur reacts with humidity to form hydrogen sulfide and sulfuric acid. The acid attacks metals differently, but in the end it is about corrosion.

Carbon steel for example has some protection as it forms hydrogen gas and ferrous ions forming a protective layer on the safe, while stainless steel’s protection is dependent on the temperature and concentration level of the acid.
Pyrite (Iron Sulfide): Common in gypsum, pyrite reacts with oxygen and water to form iron oxide-hydroxide (rust) and sulfuric acids. Pyrite in drywall can lead to rapid gun rust.
Ferrooxidans Bacteria: This metal-eating bacteria lives on the pyrite in drywall, breaking it down into iron hydroxide and sulfur-based acids. The bacteria can also consume other metals, exacerbating corrosion.

As you can see this is a metal gun safe issue, it is literally from the inside out. It is also why you don’t always see concerns about gun safe corrosion in wood and glass display cabinets, or the old shotgun above the fireplace. Although moisture in general can lead to rusting, these storage and display types have different types of corrosion problems.

How to Detect Gun Safe Corrosion

Spotting corrosion in your gun safe is easy when you know what to look for including:

A sulfur (earthy) smell once you open the door or get close
Rust inside or on the outside
Discoloration of the materials and metal

Why Gun Safes Use Materials That Cause Corrosion

If you’re wondering why a gun safe manufacturer would use these materials knowing they can cause corrosion, the answer is simple. It’s cheaper and lighter.

Traditional safes are based on the original Silas Herring design and used thick outer steel, thin inner steel, and plaster or cement in the middle. This design was abandoned in the 1980s in favor of cheaper, lighter materials. The result is the modern gun safe: a thin-walled steel box lined with drywall and carpeted over.

When these changes occurred UL (Underwriters Laboratories) created a new classification. Class RSC–Residential Security Container. The RSC is the standard gun safe sold in most stores throughout America.

If you have purchased a gun safe made after 1980 it is most likely a UL Class RSC. It is drywall based and subject to all the corrosion issues above. Your best defense against corrosion is still well-cleaned and well-lubricated firearms combined with proper gun safe care.

Pro-tip: Open the door regularly and let your safe air out. This will reduce the corrosive sulfur compound buildup. Dehumidifiers slow the process by lowering humidity, but they don’t stop it.

How to Prevent Corrosion in a Gun Safe

The first thing to do is avoid buying gun safes with drywall or carpeting. Instead, consider safes that follow the Herring double-walled steel design, offering better security and modest fire protection. However, these safes are expensive, starting at around $6,000.

Alternatively, steel cabinets can be a viable option. They provide similar security and fire protection as drywall-based gun safes but without as many of the corrosion issues. Smaller, modular steel cabinets offer flexibility and can be easily secured throughout a home, providing quick access in emergencies.

You may also want to try a vented gun safe. This style is designed with ventilation systems that allow for better air circulation, significantly reducing humidity levels inside the safe.

By lowering humidity, the risk of moisture-induced corrosion is minimized. Additionally, vented gun safes help in dissipating harmful gasses and vapors that can emanate from materials like drywall and carpet adhesives. The controlled environment ensures that the internal atmosphere remains less corrosive, thereby extending the lifespan of your firearms.

Corrosion is an issue that impacts gun safes, and when they are impacted the guns inside are likely at risk too. This is why you want to check your safe regularly for any signs of corrosion and invest in a properly built safe using the Silas Herring design if corrosion is a concern. And you can shop our selection of gun safes built to keep your “guns safe”.

The Fire Rating on Your Gun Safe Doesn’t Matter

Posted on August 27, 2024November 11, 2024 by Josh Kinser

The fire ratings on gun safes are not a measure of security or protection, they are a measure of how much drywall or filler is loaded in between the metal outside and the inside of your gun safe. The filler material does not effectively stop a burglar from cutting the safe, only the type of metal and the quality of the material does.

The time and number on the fire rating are how much time the safe can last at a specific temperature before the inside gets over 350 degrees Fahrenheit. So if you see 2 hours (120 minutes) at 2,000 then your safe will in theory protect the contents inside for up to two hours at a fire burning 2,000 degrees. And although this sounds great, it isn’t very relevant anymore.

If your home is on fire and it is hot enough to melt a safe, your guns will be warped and not salvageable. This was an issue in the early 1900’s when firefighters were not able to get to the home in a timely manner. That’s why two fire rating companies formed, there was a need back then. We go over this a bit later below.

In modern times, fire response teams are more efficient and the chances of your home burning to the ground or being on fire long enough to impact your gun safe are next to zero.

Home fires are still very common, but response times from the fire departments are fast. There are also a ton of products that you can purchase to put a fire out before it spreads which have reduced the amount of homes burning to the ground. Here’s a graph from the US Fire Administration showing recent declines from 2013 to 2022.

Still concerned? Don’t be, you can check your own risk levels.

Most cities and towns have a local website where you can find your fire department’s average response time to evaluate your risk. The goal set by The National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) Standard 1710 is to have a full response time from call to arrival of 5 minutes and 20 seconds allowing for ample time to get your house fire extinguished. This in turn means your gun safe will likely be unaffected. And you can find ABC fire extinguishers on sale pretty inexpensively online if yours has expired.

That’s the bottom line and why the fire rating on a gun safe in many situations is irrelevant. You may want to do some digging when the fire rating seems too good to be true.

Gun safe ratings can be done by the manufacturer or by a third party, so it is important to not rely only on the rating, but who gave it.

Underwriters Laboratories and Intertek ETL are the two most trusted third parties when it comes to assigning firing ratings on gun safes. Both organizations are over a century old and have been a 3rd party resource for consumers like you.

There is no fireproof room in a home, but kitchens catch fire more often than others because you’re working with fire, heat, and flammables, and they’re followed by bedrooms and other spaces where electrical fires occur from overused and under maintained sockets. Kitchen fires are normally stopped, literally in the pot, before they can spread. It still counts statistically as a fire, but because they get under control quickly it does not spread.

If your gun safe is furthest away from these hazards, and the fire department can make it in time, the fire rating may save the day if the room only gets touched without heating up too much. But again, it is unlikely a higher fire rating will help because if the fire gets to the point protection is needed, chances are it is already too late.

Now you know the history of fire ratings and gun safes, what to look for, and that the ratings likely won’t help or hurt your guns as the chances of needing a safe that withstands intense heat are slim to none. But if you want that extra bit of assurance, check out our gun safes here at SecureIt. We have options that meet all your needs.

Category: Gun Maintenance