[sidekick]

I have an old remington .22, and the metal works on it have some surface rust and general corrosion. Nothing terrible though.
So anyway, to make it look nicer and last longer I was thinking about rebluing it, but i wasn't sure where to start.

Also, if I didn't want to reblue it, but still wanted it to look nice, could I just wire brush and clean the metal until it's a shiny steel color and just leave it, or would it have to be reblued. (I'm not trying to sound ignorant, I'm serious!)

Thanks lol.

[Kodiak AK]

Wire brush is brutal . Squirt some oil on 0000 steele wool and be gentle . If it isn't to bad a Birchwood casy blueing pen will touch it up . Almost every home blueing kit is worthless so if you want it reblued you have to send it to a smith .

[sidekick]

Yeah I know a wire brush is sorta harsh, but I don't want to sand it,
and I think that even steel wool will take the bluing off, although I might be wrong.
I think I'll try a little steel wool and see what it does.

Btw, how much does it cost to have a gunsmith blue it.

[cratz2]

There's a product that is similar to steel wool, but it's like the metal is coiled. Many gun shops have them and, along with some FP10 or CLP, they do a very good job at removing rust but not usually even scratching the blue job.

Bluing is kinda funny. I think as long as the metal isn't pitted pretty seriously, I like the look of a well worn blued gun... Maybe I'm just weird. Blue jobs generally run from maybe $120 up to... well... much more than you probably want to pay. ;) Plus, if there are surface irregularities, the finisher will probably want to do some flaw removal which may run another $25 to $50 if it's not terribly bad. Plus shipping both ways... basically you're getting into pretty serious money and of course, it destroys the original finish and usually the value. If it's a keepsake or has sentimental value, I'd just clean it up and keep it oiled. If you just want to add some corrosion resistance to a shooter, you might try one of the home spray and bake kits.

My 1/12 of a quarter. :p

[BluesBear]

Penetrating oil and 0000 steel wool is the way to go.

If it still needs bluing then Blue Wonder is the best by far.

[Kodiak AK]

Last gun I had reblued was a Pre 64 Win 94. That ran me $140 about six years ago . I must say it looked great after words .

I know What am I thinking destroying a rifle like that .

I loaned it to a friend for deer season , and he left it out in the rain with out proper protection . He offerd to replace or repair my choice . Since it still shot sweet , I decded on a re-blue .

[Sunray]

For light rust, use the 0000 steel wool and light oil. That'll take the light rust off. If the rust is crusty, it's likely that the steel is also pitted. Fortunately, on an old .22, it's not the end of the world. The steel on .22 barrels is thicker than you'd think. A brass wire wheel in a hand drill or bench grinder will take it off. Think gentle. Then just use some cold bluing to cover the spot and you're done. Oil the metal.