mould on older shotgun

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mould on older shotgun

Post by allthegearandnoidea » 29 Feb 2020, 7:27 pm

Hi All

Ive got an old SKB O/U in the safe and it gets a coating of mould on the stock after periods of rain. What the best cleaner/preventative I can use?
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by flutch » 29 Feb 2020, 9:03 pm

Fungicide of some sort, treat it 3 times in 3 weeks, then when dried out properly wax polish the stock to seal it
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by allthegearandnoidea » 29 Feb 2020, 10:12 pm

thanks Flutch I'll try that
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by Stix » 29 Feb 2020, 10:19 pm

You will have mould spores in the grain of the timber that need to be killed...

Household bleach should do the trick...but...you might need to consider refinishing the stock if your first attempts fail...

Personally, id try & isolate it from other timber, & certainly not let it touch the synthetic lining inside the safe if you can help it...
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by Thom318 » 29 Feb 2020, 10:37 pm

Oil of cloves is a good mould killer, and less damaging than bleach, also smells a lot better in my opinion. Just put a couple of drops in a cup of water and wipe a light layer over the stock, kills the spores in a couple of days
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by flutch » 29 Feb 2020, 11:26 pm

I'd still go a broad spectrum fungicide, it's designed to kill the spores and inhibit the growth of any other spores, but treating it multiple times with breaks between will ensure that it gets into the timber and areas spores are trapped. Once this has been done over a few weeks it will make sure all the spores have been eliminated, then you can either polish and reseal of refinish
Guns:
Rossi S/S 410
Lanber U/O 12 gauge
Adler B220PG 12 gauge
Ruger 22lr
Remington 270 win
Howa 223
Weatherby 300 Winmag

Bows:
G5 Quest Drive
G5 Prime Defy
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by Faedy » 01 Mar 2020, 8:32 am

Bleach does not kill mould.
I work in the mould remediation industry.
Clove oil is good for the home owner to use.
If you can get some 6% hydrogen peroxide use that first- just wipe it on and.leave for 10 mins then wipe off. Repeat 3 times then use clove oil for residual protection.
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by Ats3 » 01 Mar 2020, 5:46 pm

Isn't hydrogen peroxide also known as bleach? So use bleach followed by clove oil?
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by Diamond Jim » 02 Mar 2020, 12:11 am

Common household bleach is chlorine based (Sodium Hypochlorate or similar). Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) releases oxygen as the active ingredient. In any event, mould on the surface is just the fruiting body of a fungus that is likely deep inside the wood. Wiping the outside with bleach or hydrogen Peroxide will remove the spores but won't kill the mycelium deep inside the wood - which is gradually digesting your stock!
A professional would be the best source of advice but I'd suggest a prolonged heat treatment of some sort. That may relax the wood enough to remove any cast in your shotgun stock so you may need to have it re-bent to fit you after the mould is killed. That or source a replacement stock.
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by Faedy » 02 Mar 2020, 1:40 pm

The clove oil will be absorbed into the wood killing the mycelium and hyphae.
Hydrogen peroxide will also be absorbed to a certain extent.
Dead or alive the mycotoxins are still just as dangerous.
The method described in my earlier post will be sufficient for the gun.
Your local chemist should have the hydrogen peroxide
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by KMA » 07 Mar 2020, 8:48 pm

WD40 spray on a rag wipe over,done.
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Re: mould on older shotgun

Post by snag » 08 Mar 2020, 6:57 pm

I used Glen 20 on mine and it worked really well. Smells good too.
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