I scream, you scream we all scream when Ice Creaming your gun

[Doug.38PR]

Horror story: My mother owns a S&W M-10 2 inch barrel that she carries with her in the car while traveling. She keeps the gun in the car trash bag where it is concealed and she can easily reach it if need be.

The only problem with this is...that a passenger she was driving around went with her to get ice cream a few days ago and threw what was left of hers into the trash bag before my mom had a chance to tell her that her gun was in there. (my mother doesn't put food and things in the bag for that reason). Mom didn't know what to do, knew that it might be a mess but didn't think too much ice cream had gotten on the gun (there was a lot of trash in the bag at that point) but left it alone figuring that I would be over in Louisiana in the next day or so and would clean the gun for her. So the gun sat in the bag with the ice cream for about two days straight.

She told me about it, I got the trash bag out of the car and brought it into my grandmothers place, took it out of the bag and instantly noted that the bottom of the bag was sticking to the gun. I pulled it free and out of the bag and her nice gun that prior to this had about 95% of the original blue finish on it was now a wreck
Blue was peeled off where they Ice Cream had splashed and melted on the gun surface. I took a towel and some gun lubricant oil and sprayed the gun. Nothing really came off. That gummy stuff mixed with the peeling blue finish hanged on. I finally ran hot water over the gun and scrubbed it with the towel. The places where the bluing was eaten away were bare metal after the grime and grunk had been cleaned away. "Oww, mom!!! " I sighed.
I had no idea ice cream would do this to a gun. If it does that to a gun then what in the world is it doing to us every time we eat it. I ask this question of the local gunsmith of the range I attend over in Louisiana. He told me that it would greatly surprise me how much of what we eat will eat bluing away on a gun. He was kind enough to coat the bare metal areas away with what he called tetrablue. You could still see where it had been eaten away, but it wasn't as obvious and was rust protected. He told me also that it wouldn't depreciate the value if I sent it to S&W company to have it reblued.
I felt so sorry for my mother beating up her nice .38 that she had picked out. Not like her to be so careless, I told her that a gun is just like a car or a house it's something you need to care for on a routine basis, keep it clean give it a nice coat of oil. I further advised her NOT to leave it in the trash bag anymore and to find another place to conceal it in the car.

[ddskehan]

easy solution.
1 dump the friend
2 you buy her a new gun because you love her.

solved!

[Mad Martigan]

Jesus, what kind of ice cream was it?

[XavierBreath]

Ouch...........
A refinish, even from S&W, will reduce the value of the revolver over time to any collector. Collectors want original finishes. A bad finish will be used against the seller to lower the price of an otherwise nice gun. Of course, this only matters if the gun is sold.

A refinish or damaged finish will not reduce the utility of the gun, nor it's value as a tool. This gun was purchased as a tool, not an object d' art. As a "truck gun" it's going to keep living a hard life. If you refinish it, there is a good chance it will not stay pristine. That is just not in the cards for a gun that is used. Thus, the money spent on replacing the damaged finish will be wasted.

If it were me, I'd run 50 rounds through the pistol into some assorted vegetables or McDonalds prizes to vent my frustration. Then I would simply go with the cold blue job and be done with it. The cost of the refinishing will not be regained in resale, and the cold blue/oil will prevent rust just as well.

FWIW, cola and coffee are two other frequent culprits.

[KyJim]

Maybe we should add the ice cream torture test when trying to find out which handgun is the toughest.

[skeeter1]

Look for a gunshop or range that has a big ultrasonic cleaner and get all of that ice cream ick cleaned off of it. There was someone on this thread who would do a professional re-blue for $150, much less then buying a new Smith.

Finally, tell your mom that guns don't belong in the bottom of a trash bag!

[RsqVet]

Buy mom a nice stainless wheel gun to take the place of the 10 while it is out for service then keep it as a house gun or better protected than in a trash bag.

[JJB2]

who would guess that ice cream would ruin blueing??? i wonder why the ingrediants in ice cream has such a reaction to gun blueing?

[gordo b.]

Milk products are extremely corrosive(lactic acid). I would of started with boiling water immersion (without the grips) , then remove and shake off excess water, blow with air if you have it (but boiling water goes away fast if humidity is low) , then immerse in a pan of Marvel Mystery oil for 1/2 an hour (at least). Wipe off the excess marvel when you remove it with a micro fiber towelette which has just enough abrasive texture to be able to polish off surface rust when used with the mystery oil. Let oil drain off , dry fire a couple dozen times and you have a gun that is lubricated sufficently to not rust for a few months and the action will be clean and properly lubed with out gumming up.Longer term protection or heavy use requires a firearm specific light grease and dissasembly!

I think a gun carried in a car by a non regular shooter can afford a little 'character'. Or get Coogan to hard chrome it!

[Doug.38PR]

what kind of ice cream was it?

The best: Country Cream in Mer Rouge village Louisiana. Apparently taste isn't the only thing it is good for. Perhaps gunsmiths should use this when debluing a gun for reblue (rather than sanding....as in sanding away stamps and patent dates and such ) End commercial.

Xavier is right, rebluing the gun would only be counterproductive. The gun looks fine. I personally don't mind rebluing a gun even if it does take value off it (I don't plan to ever sell mine) as I just want to keep them looking nice. But as this is mom's defense gun, I'll just let her keep it as is. It is still a fine piece with a good action. But shoot, she is typically such a neat person that I was shocked to find her having allowed this to happen. Surprised she didn't instantly try to clean it herself after the ice cream was dumped. She is the kind of lady who will as my dad sarcastically puts it, "run over people to avoid dirt, mud and water" while riding in her car.

[Mad Martigan]

I'm over in Washington Parish.

[PigPen]

I have to disagree.

Your Mom does not sound like a gun collector to me. I have not read where you state that the piece was a collector piece or that you are a collector and hope to inherit the pistol some day. Seems to me that this is a carry piece.....Real different than a collector piece. It usually doesn't work out to be both a collector and a shooter with the same piece......and this little episode shows why. Even if it was a collectible piece, it isn't now. Get it fixed.

Call S&W and ask if they will refinish it and how much it will cost, add freight and any other costs. Consider that your mom is not a firearms aficionado and might do better with stainless or you make the comitment to do regular cleaning, lubricating and function checking for her.

PigPen

[maas]

as i look at it the gun has lost alot of value over this. so instead of worring about whats going to devalue it more i'd send it back to s&w and have the gun gone threw and rebuled. you might as well have a nice working pistol instead of an orginal collector paper weight. i look at all my guns (and cars) as beeing worthless because i will never sell them.

[BigFunWMU]

She's lucky it wasn't some nice person who took out the car-trash for her.

Whoopsie, bye bye gun.....

[Doug.38PR]

She is not a collector, I am not a collector in the sense that I get guns just to see how valuable they will become. I am more a shooter who likes seeing older guns (1990s pre lock revolvers and back) in their prime or restored to their prime. I might send it to S&W later, but for now she needs it to protect her life with more than to keep it looking absolutely gorgeous. Sending it to S&W would take a month or two.

[BigO01]

Doug , I think I would buy and install one of those under the dash holsters for your mom , reaching for her gun in an emegency and even just coming up with a handfull of used Kleenex isn't and ideal situation .

This has to be one of the strangest true posts I have ever read .

[Hal]

This has to be one of the strangest true posts I have ever read .

hehe - try this one....

We moved to where we are now back in 1986.
When we moved, I packed up all the gun stuff and tossed a tin of percussion caps into the wooden Smith and Wesson presentation case that came with my Model 29. Inside the case were the original over-sized wooden target stocks.

10 years later,,when I got around to unpacking some stuff, I opened the presentation case......


The fumes from the percussion caps had eaten the lining off the inside of the box.
The once beautiful wooden stocks were a mess of red goo....

*sigh* you live and learn...

and people wonder why I'm so anal about cleaning and regular inspections of stored guns.....


Anywho - that model 10 sounds like a good candidate for a hard chrome finish.

[Desslock]

That Smith will make an excellent beater/camping gun now. Should still perform with cruddy blueing.

[Glenn E. Meyer]

FBI - Miami Shootout lesson - you need to keep the car gun in a place that is secure and reachable, even after an accident. Darwin!!

Buy Mom a good women's holster - look at the Galco catalog for a thigh holster for under her skirt - I know - Freud, :barf:

[Abndoc]

I would have guessed Ben and Jerrys ice cream.

[wolfdog45]

I say get rid of your moms friend and buy mom a new carry gun and send the old one to me

[Jack Malloy]

For those of us who are not handy with tools or don't have access to a gunsmith, if somebody gunks up your gun, you can always put it in a bucket of gasoline and let it soak overnight.
Charles Askins did that during WWII with his revolver....

[Mikeyboy]

1) We all now know that guns and Ice Cream don't mix

2) Your mother kept the gun in a trash bag in her car. It does not have to be a piece of art, it just has to protect her. For the cost of having it reblue professionally, you can get another used model 10. She is not going to keep the finish 100% because she is using it as a glove box (or car trash bag) gun anyway. Clean it up, make sure everything works, dress it up with some do it you self blueing if you like, then give it back.

3) She needs a better place for her gun, Unless you want her to pull a revolver jammed up with ice cream and used tissues.

[mfree]

If you follow Jack Malloy's gasoline advice there, use white gasoline from the camping section of whatever store you visit. Modern unleaded is chock full of wonderful detergents, anti-varnish agents, MBTE, ethanol, etc...

[Anthony2]

who knew guns were lactose intolerant?

Well, chalk it up to experience and have it repaired for her.