My Smith and Wesson Shield and salt water

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15SilvyEcotec

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Wesley Chapel FL
We took the boat out recently and I had the shield in the center console in a holster and a padded gun case. We caught fish and had bloody decks so I used my raw water wash down system while in the water to pre-clean the decks. My console has rod holders with clear water lines that drain the water back on deck. One of the hoses had popped off and the gun was soaked.

I have rinsed it with fresh water and then field stripped it twice and used gun scrubber and oiled it heavy and let it sit for a day and wiped it down and put it back together. I see no rust but should I totally take it down, as in push pin and all. I am worried about the striker fire system? Thanks guys
 
I spilled chocolate milk over my keltec a few years ago, I took every piece apart got in every nook and cranny. Cant take any chances , that stuff dries sticky!
 
Field strip it, and allow it to soak completely submerged in WD-40 for a couple of days. Then blow it dry with compressed air. After that lube and reassemble and you should be good to go. WD-40 is made to displace water.
 
155, Seems to me that you've done more than enough to thoroughly clean and protect the Shield. I'm not familiar with the striker system in the S&W but am with the Kahr's which are fairly easy to
disassemble and clean. Strikers in Kahr's are to be left dry to prevent crud buildup....I expect the Shield is similar. If you are able to thoroughly clean the striker with brake cleaner, or similar product, I'd call it a day. If not, pull the striker and clean it to your satisfaction. I wouldn't worry about pins and such. However, if still in doubt, further use of a thin oil like G96 or Kroil all over the metal parts and left for a day or two, then cleaned with brake cleaner, and oil as per your manual, should be enough.

I'm a big fan of G96 spray or liquid. It is very thin, evaporates to leave a protective
film. I've used it for many years on rifles and pistols with exc results.
 
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Originally Posted By: tc1446
155, Seems to me that you've done more than enough to thoroughly clean and protect the Shield. I'm not familiar with the striker system in the S&W but am with the Kahr's which are fairly easy to
disassemble and clean. Strikers in Kahr's are to be left dry to prevent crud buildup....I expect the Shield is similar. If you are able to thoroughly clean the striker with brake cleaner, or similar product, I'd call it a day. If not, pull the striker and clean it to your satisfaction. I wouldn't worry about pins and such. However, if still in doubt, further use of a thin oil like G96 or Kroil all over the metal parts and left for a day or two, then cleaned with brake cleaner, and oil as per your manual, should be enough.

I'm a big fan of G96 spray or liquid. It is very thin, evaporates to leave a protective
film. I've used it for many years on rifles and pistols with exc results.


Looking at this diagram, your striker looks easy to take apart:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=0/sid=859/schematicsdetail/MP-Semi-Auto-
 
You can also add a small amount of Kroil to the WD-40. That will aid in allowing it to "creep into" small areas like between the pins and the frame. Kroil has the uncanny ability to get into places other oils cannot. Using this process it is not necessary to disassemble any further than field stripping.
 
Why not disassemble the slide? How hard can it be and the only way to be certain is to put eyes on the parts? This situation perfectly illustrates the little saying in my sig: Why know when you can guess?

If it's a plinker/range toy who cares if it goes click some day in the future..
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Why not disassemble the slide?


Because it's not necessary. There was no problem with the gun other than it simply got wet. Submerging it in WD-40 will displace ALL of the water. Guns get wet all the time. It is not necessary to tear them down to the last part every time they do. I doubt there is a police officers service pistol that has not been soaked multiple times. Especially in wet climates. They are not completely disassembled every time they do.

I've seen far more guns damaged by "kitchen table gunsmiths", than by water. Just ask most any gunsmith how many Ruger Mark .22 pistols they've had brought to them in cigar boxes by amateur gunsmiths who took them apart trying to clean them, and could not reassemble them. Or else damage them in the process.
 
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
This situation perfectly illustrates the little saying in my sig: Why know when you can guess?


I'll see your sig line and raise you:

"Show me a shade tree mechanic, and I'll show you someone who needs a ride to work."
 
Agree on the Ruger Mk pistols but this ain't one. Quick look at a vid on Youtube and it looks like it's easier than a Glock to pop the slide apart.

I recall photos you've posted that you seem to own about half of the Glock catalog, so you'd rather submerge a slide in a container of WD-40 and Kroil (that most people don't have) than pop it apart and give it all a quick squirt/dry/lube and be done?

Edit: if a guy is a stone cold klutz with no mechanical ability then yes, go buy a quart of WD and Kroil and dunk away!!
 
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Disassembly - concentrated blown air - then the G96 spray bath, followed by more concentrated blown air, sounds perfect.

Personally-speaking, WD-40 and guns should never be bonded together. I've seen guns rust after meeting Mr. WD-40.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Funny, in this Brownell's rust test, WD-40, (scroll to the bottom), scored among the highest of all the products tested for rust resistance. Even better than Brownell's own product.

Agree. I have seen another report on WD-40 for other applications. It appears to be great for rust prevention.
 
Originally Posted By: billt460
Originally Posted By: AZjeff
Why not disassemble the slide?


Because it's not necessary. There was no problem with the gun other than it simply got wet. Submerging it in WD-40 will displace ALL of the water . Guns get wet all the time. It is not necessary to tear them down to the last part every time they do. I doubt there is a police officers service pistol that has not been soaked multiple times. Especially in wet climates. They are not completely disassembled every time they do.


Not only no, but HECK NO on dunking a gun in WD40. Talk about making a goopy, sticky mess, and possibly stuck striker in a year or two after the WD40 dries into a mess.

WD40 should never, ever be used on guns. Period.

Yeah, yeah, Grandpa Jim has been spraying his duck guns down with WD40 for 50 years and his guns are fine. Yeah and I've seen just as many stuck firing pins gunked up with WD40 to never touch the stuff.

Proper thing for the OP to do was to dunk the frame in soapy water, dissemble the slide in the 13 seconds it will take to do so, dunk the slide/parts in soapy water, rinse in clean water, then dry the parts with compressed air and a hair dryer and re-lubricate with your lube of choice.

Do it right. It's a self defense tool - not a duck gun.
 
There is nothing wrong with using WD-40 on anything if it's used to displace water. That is what the product is designed for. You obviously must blow it off with compressed air after removing it. Then relubricate with your favorite oil, and the weapon will be fine. I've been doing this to 3 Ruger Mark .22 pistols for years and thousands of rounds, rather than fighting trying to disassemble then reassemble them. WD-40 washes out all of the gunk, and it smells a lot better than Kerosene. I use this same method on all of my Glocks. WD-40 will not harm wood or plastic.

Again, after soaking in WD-40, give the entire gun a good blow dry with compressed at at 90 PSI, and the gun will be clean and dry. The people seem who have all of these problems and issues with WD-40, simply don't understand how to use it, or how it's meant to be used. It's not a Moon shot.
 
Originally Posted By: Al
Originally Posted By: billt460
Funny, in this Brownell's rust test, WD-40, (scroll to the bottom), scored among the highest of all the products tested for rust resistance. Even better than Brownell's own product.

Agree. I have seen another report on WD-40 for other applications. It appears to be great for rust prevention.


Take the WD-40 treated gun outside hunting for the weekend (Fri-Sat-Sun) and let it be absorbed by the upper Midwest's natural moisture. Then watch it begin to rust a-lot faster than gun oils with inhibitor in it. There are gun oils out there that won't show gun rust at all in that hunting trip. But certainly not WD-40.

I've said similar before.... a few days ago. Take a new Master padlock and treat the keyhole like we sometimes do, to loosen things up. Treat the outside of that padlock with WD-40 and put it normally where many go, right in the middle of the two sliding doors that are common on steel sheds.

Watch that start to slowly rust and be quite brown in another year.

It works indoors just fine thou. Good for treating guns that go in a dry gun safe. A product like G96 synthetic spray is five times better than WD-40. You can spend $4 for your guns or you can spend $11...... your choice..... your gamble.

Do whatever floats your boat. Mine can withstand outdoors moisture, unlike the garbage WD-40. Would not surprise me if the motor oil in guns fanatics are next in this thread. That's another product you don't want to take where I hunt. Works good in a sealed engine. But let Mother Nature get into that motor oil..... Rust City.

Use whatever and I'll just shake my head when your gun rusts. For you were forewarned here. Nothing more for me to say here, so I'll bow-out and ignore this thread for now thru April.

Hey thread-starter! For a couple dollars more, protect your gun innards the right way and spray something like G96 instead of that gosh-awful WD-40. DO NOT take that gun on that boat with WD-40 in it. If you do, it may not ever get wet again and still rust.
 
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Originally Posted By: bubbatime
dissemble the slide in the 13 seconds it will take to do so, dunk the slide/parts in soapy water,

Are you saying to remove the striker, striker safety, etc? Or just the spring/barrel?
 
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