foam stuck on luger
 

hello all

i've inherited a 6 in barrel luger from my dad 20 years ago. i was told its a naval version. its been in a foam case ever since he bought in in the early 90's. here is the problem. after all these years my buddy wanted to check it out so i took it out of storage. what i saw when i opened the case was the foam that lined the case has degraded and was stuck all over the luger. i was too afraid to clean it off as i didnt want to damage the finish. my question is how can i safely clean off the stuck foam off the gun without hurting it. my alternative is to take it to an expert if i have to. that could run into big bucks.

any advice would be appreciated

thank you

I think I would try a few drops of oil on a spot where there is not too much foam. If it takes it off with a little help (toothbrush) You are home free............

Could we see some pics of the foam case and pistol?

Probably Acetone would be the quickest to dissolve the foam, and it won't interact with or harm the blue. But also, as Hugh suggests, trying a small, inconspicuous area first is always a good idea. Quickly follow up with oil to remove haze/residue and preserve the surface.
Ron

I would not be surprised to see the bluing blemished from the foam and chemical reactions.

As said above, most oils would dissolve it, acetone would work best, then after cleaning it, use gun oil.

Clean well, but don't overdo it, less is better in this kind of 'cleaning'.

Ed

ill try and get a few pics up

thanks for all your suggestions. i was thinking of acetone at first but was afraid it may affect the finish

here are a few pictures of the luger and stuck foam

the foam has an oily feel to it

i would say its been in this case for 30 or more years. its been so long i dont even remember how to strip it. i did this for my dad when he first got it to clean and oil. to be honest, i dont even remember if we brought this to the range to test

It's an Interarms Mauser Parabellum from the early 1970s.
Nothing 'naval' about it, they were available in several barrel lenght, including 6 inch.

Most of it should wipe off with a bit of oil and a wipe.

thanks for the clarification. this was what was told to my dad and i didnt have a reason to doubt him. so since this is not from the 1940's , i dont have a problem then to trying to clean this since its really not worth much

thanks again

Not worth much?
They go from $1200 to $1500 on Gunbroker

oh? how much for a genuine luger from the 30's-40's?

Original German and Swiss Lugers can range from $800 (for a shooter) to the moon (thousands).

Take the grips off carefully before you start to clean things .Acetone might damage the wood finish.

Make sure to properly oil it after using acetone if you do that... It completely strips oils - and it typically a really aggressive plastic solvent.


You might need to try well oiled bronze or steel wool gently on an oiled surface when you get the bulk of the stuff off.

I've found that good old Hoppe's No9 solvent will take off most adhesives and plastics after an overnight soak. Totally benign to the finish.

Acetone surely works, but just to be safe first I would use WD40 an old toothbrush and a lot of patience, then a good coat of BALLISTOL.

A 1970s Mauser Parabellum is also a 'genuine' luger. Made by the same company as those that were made between 1930 and 1948. The quality and fit and finish are excellent.

thanks for the reply. as you probably figured out i know very little about lugers and their history. the info i gave about the gun was only a repeat of what was told to me. always willing to learn though. my interest in this gun is to restore its beauty ruin by 30 years of storage. never thought foam can degrade this way

i guess its a good idea to strip this luger before i start. are there any good how to's to do this anywhere. like i mentioned, ive only done this once about 30+ years ago. i was young and have all my brain cells then. i dont remember a thing

There are a number of videos that detail how to field strip a Luger. Just use Google to find them.

To learn more about your "Original" Mauser Luger, you may want to purchase a copy of "THE PARABELLUM IS BACK 1945 - 2000". A very well researched and written book that you'll enjoy reading. One of the authors is our very own Vlim who has replied to your questions.

Let us know how things turn out with this Luger. They are great handguns, and fun to take to the range.

sure. right now im waiting on my buddy to bring me some replacement foam. as soon as he gets this to me ill start. i dont have an alternate place to store it

ill take some new pics once its done

appreciate all the feedback from everyone

We also publish a FAQ on this site that you'd fine useful. Just follow the FAQ link at the top of each page.

BTW, I disagree about using WD-40. It's a water displacement chemical, and not a lubricant or cleaning chemical. I've learned over the years that it doesn't work well with firearms. Your experience may vary, of course...

I store my Lugers in silicone impregnated gun socks made for long term storage, or "Bore Store" storage sleeves. Others store them in safes in open air racks.

The silicone impregnated textiles repel moisture, and can help prevent damage inside a safe from handling and in fire situations. The box and foam you use today may just deteriorate in the future.

Hold on...you’re “waiting on replacement foam”? Surely you aren’t planning on cleaning this mess off your gun only to place it back in foam again, are you? If so, save your time and effort and put the gun back in the same foam, because the same thing will happen again with the replacement foam. Or, you can go on Amazon, or to your local gun store and drop $25 on a quality gun rug from Boyt.

https://www.amazon.com/Boyt-Harness-...dDbGljaz10cnVl

hmmm i take it placing a gun in a foam case is not good. i didnt know. thanks

i think i got a spare gun sock somewhere but i dont know if its silicone impregnated. i originally bought it for my colt gold cup but never used it. let me go find it......thanks

As was stated above, do not clean this Luger and place it back into a foam box for storage. I own the same Luger you have, and also the same type of foam filled box. In no way would I store mine in that type of foam box. There are many other good, and SAFE ways to store your Luger.

Even the original styrofoam boxes offered better protection than these foam lined ones.

i actually found the gun sock...will keep it there once its cleaned

What
 

tell me this isn't a joke

no its not a joke. this is not my area of expertise.

the foam was removed without harm to the gun by using acetone as suggested

thank you everyone for your help

Excellent and thanks for showing the results...

These are beautifully made, and many (like yours) in top condition are very satisfying...

It will be happy inside it's gun sock (all the commercial ones have silicone impregnated in them to ward off moisture)...

Your's is one of the later ones that has the more P.08 looking grip (as opposed to the more Swiss looking grip profile found on the earlier ones). It seems that Sam Cummings complained to Mauser that people wanted the P,08 profile, and not the straight Swiss style M1929 grips.

like i said before i thank everyone who chimed in an helped. i have to admit one thing, the luger slide mechanism is like no other gun ive seen. to be honest, im not all too familiar with it and struggled a bit to understand how it works. without the help of youtube, i would have never been able to field strip it. even with the videos i had a difficult time reassembling it.

Two helpful hints: First, as you slide the toggle train into the receiver, push the sear bar in with a finger to allow the firing pin to move past the sear without engaging. Then install the axle pin.

Second, when sliding the receiver unit onto the frame, move it all the way rearward and then pull it forward until the "S" arm clears the main spring hook. Carefully move it backwards again to allow the "S" arm to engage the main spring hook. (If you're careful, you may engage the "S" arm as you move the receiver rearward initially and not have to pull it forward. It helps to tilt the front upward to allow the arm to engage the hook easier)

Then seat the side plate, push the receiver backward against the main spring pressure and rotate the take down lever into it's locked position.

Replacement foam?
Why do it again?

I would not, ever, never store the luger in a box with foam or anything else.

Depending on your storage area- safe, shelf, other- a nice clean sock will keep away
the dust and any dings from moving it around.
If you want to go up in "class" buy one of the treated "bore stores"; as long as it breathes you are ok.
JMHO.

While there were a number of designs in the late 1890's, the one that emerged most successful was the Luger.

The toggle design originated on other rifles, machine guns and pistols (the Maxim and the Borchardt, C-93 for example), it was Georg Luger's redesign of Borchardt's pistol that succeeded in the military marketplace.

The Swiss depended on the Luger for almost 50 years - perhaps exceeded only by Colt's M1911 / M1911a1 design which has been in the US military for over 100 years.

You literally hold history in your hands. Hopefully, joining the forum will help you understand it better, and obviously will help you take better care of it.

These handguns can be very addictive. If you decide on acquiring another, look to the military issue guns from Germany or Switzerland for your next. You won't be dissatisfied if you get some reference material, and study them a bit...

As many of us, including Don above, have mentioned, the Bore Store or silicone treated breathable sock is a good storage choice. I don't like using plain untreated cotton or synthetic blend socks because the cotton can retain moisture, but the ones that are silicone treated (all "Gun Socks" should be) would do the trick. A proper zipper case "rug" is also a good alternative, but just get in the habit of regularly checking the contents and properly oiling the guns with preserving gun oil, wiping fingerprints off...

the gun now lives in the gun sock. yes for all these years the gun was in storage and in that foam case just the way my dad had it i doubt he knew the foam would degrade that way. i can tell you guys i certainly didnt know but now i do. i wont happen again.

i also got a 50th anniversary version never fired and in a commemorative case a p38. these 2 guns are real beauties

For a good primer to understand how the Luger works, I'll recommend Gerard Henrotin's e-book "Luger Mechanical Features" H&L Publishing Possibly the best $7.95 you'll ever spend!

thanks, i really need to read some of these e-books. this luger slide is very difficult to pull back and i want to know if thats how its supposed to be or some spring needs replacing.

i also noticed the slide does not lock in place unless you have the mag in. is this how its supposed to be?

Yes, the Luger's Holdopen is only supposed to be activated by an empty magazine, Another good reference for Luger technical and general development details would be the C&rsenal video on them. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Exsk6nVc3zQ