seal your scope base????

[buckslayer]

i've never heard of this before but can you get water under your scope base???. i use one piece ''weaver style'' on a handi-rifle. i thought that loc-tite coated under the base would keep it out but it(the loc-tit) didint dry. i even degreesed it. so i bought some brownells metal-coat epoxy and plan to paint it on the chamber real thin. will this work thanks for any info!!!!!
later buckslayer :wink:

[Bullseye]

I have always wondered about water under the scopebase myself.  I have taken many bases off of Contender barrels that have been hunted with for a few years and have never found any rust under them, but I always expect to.

[sgtt]

Moisture can seep in very small places.  All firearms/accessory mfg have tolerances that they stay within.  If your barrel from mfg A is on the high end and the scope base from mfg B is on the low end............Nothing man made is perfect.  In a former life we used bedding material on all our scope bases.  This was not to keep water out but to make the fit between base and receiver better.  I have also witnessed people placing a piece of emery cloth on the receiver and basically lapping the base to fit.

[Skeezix]

I've taken several scope bases off of several different rifles and have found rust underneath them.  The rust ranged from light to fairly heavy pitting.  The price of the rifle doesn't have a lot to do with it either.  Some of the worst I've found was on a KDF (Kleingunther) and on several different Brownings.  But down in Alabama where I did my work, it was very common to hunt in the rain.  

Because of this, about 25 years ago, I started painting the underside of the scope base, and the top of the receiver where the base would sit, with clear fingernail polish or clear model airplane paint.  Then while the polish or paint was still wet, I'd set the base in place and tighten the mounting screws, coating the threads with Loctite as usual.  

A few times, I've been caught out of Loctite and I just coated the screws with the polish or paint that I put on the base and receiver.  That held the screws tight in every instance, however it's not as secure a grip on the threads as the Loctite is.  Once the base is tightened down, I go around the perimeter with a cotton ball or swab dampened with acetone to remove any excess that has squeezed out from under the base.  

I always degrease the base and receiver top with acetone or Brake-Clean or carb cleaner or something like that before painting it.  This insures a good bond of the polish or paint to the metal.  

A couple of times, I've used epoxy to seal the base to the receiver.  But I had to remove the base from one of the rifles a year or two later, and it was very difficult breaking it loose from the receiver, and then cleanup of the dried epoxy was difficult and time consuming.   Because of that, I stick with the clear fingernail polish or clear model airplane paint because, even when totally dry, it can be easily removed with acetone or fingernail polish remover (which contains acetone).

I've taken bases off of rifles that I have mounted and sealed this way, that have been hunted in the rain every year for over 15 years, and never found a speck of rust under one of them.

[gunnut69]

The clear paint sounds like a good idea.  I usually coat any metal that's hidden from veiw for long periods with wax.  Things like the barrel, under the forearm wood line, and the bottom of the receiver.  I use paste floor wax although car wax will work, even marble table top wax..  It will wear away but can't since it's protected.  Easy on and easy off...While your at it coat the inletting and seal the gap between the barreled action and the stock with wax too.  It will help keep out excessive moisture but won't dry hard enough to affect the accuracy or zero.

[Dave in WV]

I've read several posts here about the problem. The most often mentioned for use was black RTV. I used Devcon. I cleaned the top of the receiver and put two coats of auto wax on it before I applied the Devcon. I used a Birchwood Casy Super Black pen to touch it up.