Need advice on storing antique 1849 Colt Pocket Model

[Big Paulie]

Dear Guys,

    I have a genuine antique 1849 Colt Pocket Model, with nice uniform plum/blue patina.  Here is my question.  What type of oil or grease am I suppose to put (and keep) on this pistol to keep it from rusting or damage?   If I put regular gun oil on it, will this cut through the patina, and start taking it down to the cold white steel?  (Don't want to do that.)  If I put RIG on it,  will that keep it from rusting and not take off any patina?  

    Keeping it wiped totally dry and stored in a box just doesn't feel right?   Don't want the latent humidity in the air to start adding rust.

   Thanks for info from anyone with experience in these antiques.

Best Regards,

Big Paulie

[ribbonstone]

Friend gave me a can of "stuff" (wasn't makred as a commercial product..must have fallen into his lunch box) from Boeing.  Basically a spray wax.  Found out that Brownels sells something just like it as Boeshield T-9.  May be other products that work as well, but that stuff simply seems to form a wax barrier....doesn't seem to harm meatal or wood.

[Ramrod]

I have read that most museums use a special wax, and handle the guns with white cotton gloves.

[curator]

Renaisance wax is used by most major museums to prevent rust and oxidation. First you must remove all fingerprints and neutralize any acids or oils on the artifact. If you have a climatically controlled, low humidity environment, RIG gun oil for the metal and boiled linseed oil on the wood works just as well for the first 100 years. If you are only worried about the next 20 years, spray it down, inside and out with Balistol, and let it dry before putting it in storage. This is just as good as the hot dip in cosmoline.

[Ramrod]

"Curator", that sounds like someone who would know how to take care of old stuff. :lol: Personally, I only have a few antique rifles, and my idea of conservation is to spray them with WD-40 them after I shoot them!