Replacing Ammo Can Seals

[QuebecoisWolf]

I have a WWII ammo .30 cal can that's in pretty spectacular shape for $10 (retail is $25-50), but the rubber gasket that seals it has completely rotted. Since I want to use this thing for WWII reenacting field use, I would like to make sure that it is watertight.

Has anybody ever replaced the seal on an ammo can? What kind of rubber gasket should I use and where can I find it?

Google has lots of ideas, but I'd like to know if someone here has tried a fix that actually works.

 

[dwnthehatch]

I would like to know as well. I just noticed three of my empty .50 cal cans were filled with condensation when I recently opened them.

 

[Sirex]

Maybe go to Lowes or Home Depot and look for the thin rubber window weatherstripping?

 

[Mooseman]

You might try screen door spline.

 

[Huckleberry]

Tube of Liquid Gasket

 

[mvee]

If they are the same size as the current productions ones, maybe you could use one of those. You could get some rubber sheeting (for gaskets) from the hardware store and cut it to fit.

 

[crasher]

The general consensus tends to be that you're better off buying/using newer cans with seals you trust for stuff you want to keep airtight, and just relegating the leaky cans to 'general storage bin' duty where 'weathertight' isn't a major issue.

Thats been my experience, and the wisdom of the people I've consulted on this.
YMMV. Feel free to ignore whatever parts you wish to.

 

[IndispensableDestiny]

Tube of Liquid Gasket

Ditto. Let it level itself as it cures.

 

[stovepipe]

http:// http://www.mcmaster.com/#rubber/=g2tpg7

They have just about everything.

 

[BFMIN]

Here is my technique. I strongly suggest you practice it on something first.

Buy some black colored RTV silicone in the big tubes that you need a caulk gun for.
Purloin/buy/rent/borrow a caulk gun.
Practice running a single smooth bead of the right diameter( preferably on scrap metal).
Get the channel in the lid & the top seam of the body 101% clean. Use whatever works, alcohol, gasoline paint thinner MEK Etc.
Put some oil (olive oil Crisco or whatever) on a paper towel till it is evenly damp, but not dripping.
Rub it round the lip at the top of the body of the can, make sure you go down the sides a bit more than you think you need to.
Set the body aside while you find something to fit in the can that just lifts the lid evenly off of the metal-to-metal seal.
Put whatever it is on to the inside of the inverted lid.
Run that practiced bead round the channel in the lid. Take extra care at the join where you start/end the bead.
Invert the body & gently lower it onto the inverted lid with the RTV bead.

* really important*
Go away for 24 hours!
Gently peel the body away from the lid.

Hey it worked for me. Good luck.

 

[K31]

Find someone who's got a rusty or dented 30 cal can offer them $5 and take the seal.

 

[tc617]

BFMIN has the right idea.