I have an older (uncommon) Canon SLR film camera with an assortment of expensive lenses that I retired from service when I went digital. It's in mint condition (I bought it new) and the thought of trading or selling just isn't in the cards. I want to store it so that someday my grandchildren (or great grandchildren) can take it to the Antiques Roadshow and have an expert tell them it's worth a bazzilion dollars. I have this crazy idea to put it into a vacuum bag and suck out the air... then hook up an argon bottle from my tig welder or a mixed gas bottle from my mig welder and replenish the atmosphere with an inert gas. My thought is that the inert gas may help to preserve the non-metallic components like the shutter and screens.
Are there any chemists amongst us that can comment on the effectiveness of this little exercise? Could the inert gases have any deleterious effects on the camera and lens components? Or would I be better off just storing it in a vacuum?
If none of you wizards can give me a correct answer, should I ask Clinton, Obama, Huckabee or McCain (snicker).
Cheers