Rust on new SS gun

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AKMtnRunner

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Alright, I may have messed up already . . . but hopefully I can learn a lesson from you folks.

So I just returned from a hunt with my new ruger guide gun with a detachable muzzle brake. We had some rain and were doing quite a lot of bushwhacking so I did like my Dad did and wrapped some tape around the muzzle to keep the chamber/bore free from water and debris. Well, back at home now and I've noticed some surface rust on the muzzle that was covered by the tape adhesive. The metal is matte stainless.

I did a google search and don't see any other complaints about this happening to other folks, so it must have been a mistake to use the tape or something else I did or didn't do.

What's the best way to remove the surface rust and what should I do to prevent this from happening in the future? And what's really the best way to prevent debris and water entering the bore in the field?

Thanks!
 
Try cleaning it with a soft cloth & bore cleaner first.
It may just be tape residue in the matt finish.

There is no need to tape the muzzle shut to keep water out.
In fact, it's a very bad idea.

The gun 'should be' hanging muzzle down in a good holster.
In which case, any water that gets in the bore from the top end will be able to run right out the open bottom end!

rc
 
You can hit it with a brass brush and then Hoppe's to remove any brass markings.

Hit it with Rig Gun Grease or even Johnson's Paste Wax to prevent rust.
 
I don't think you'll find a useful holster for a rifle even if it is a short 20" barrel.

On the other hand tape on the muzzle is not the best choice IMHO. I'd start with lots of wax - I like Renaissance but Johnsons works as well and may be cheaper and easier to find around home. I'd wax the barrel (and the channel) and threads before I put either the muzzle brake or the thread protector on and then I'd wax again to get any gap after the threads are covered.

I suggest condoms or finger cots for a muzzle cover with no particular adhesive.

Froglube helps with getting rust off but I'd think almost anything including 4X steel wool or an all copper Choreboy would work just fine.
 
Flitz works good to remove rust. That is what Remington recommended to use on a NIB rifle I bought. Never thought I would open the box on a new stainless rifle and see rust.......but it is the"new" Remington.........
 
I don't think you'll find a useful holster for a rifle even if it is a short 20" barrel.
I think you are completely right!

I somehow mis-read the OP and was thinking 'Guide-Gun revolver' all along.

Sorry!

BTH: The old tried and true muzzle cover for a slung rifle in the rain back in my day was a GI issue condom.
Keeps the water out, but not so tight as to seal the moisture in.

rc
 
There is no need to tape the muzzle shut to keep water out.
In fact, it's a very bad idea.

What could possibly be bad about it. It may not be needed for rain, but there is more than water that can get into a barrel. Even the most careful folks sometimes drop their rifles. I've found tiny bits of leaves, seeds etc. in the barrel after walking through brush.

I used to only tape the muzzle in the rain. The last few years I just tape up in late September, add extra tape on the barrel and take it off in January. It blows off before the bullet reaches the muzzle and has zero effect on accuracy or POI.

A little solvent at the end of the season removes any tape residue.

2013cohutta018_zps80d98931.jpg
 
What could possibly be bad about it. It may not be needed for rain, but there is more than water that can get into a barrel. Even the most careful folks sometimes drop their rifles. I've found tiny bits of leaves, seeds etc. in the barrel after walking through brush.

I used to only tape the muzzle in the rain. The last few years I just tape up in late September, add extra tape on the barrel and take it off in January. It blows off before the bullet reaches the muzzle and has zero effect on accuracy or POI.

A little solvent at the end of the season removes any tape residue.

2013cohutta018_zps80d98931.jpg
How do you avoid the rust? I'm guessing that what happened to the OP is that water got trapped under the tape, and that is what caused the rust. How do you prevent water from wicking under the tape?
 
Flitz works good to remove rust

Yes. Flitz and a plastic cleaning brush or cotton brush, maybe on a low speed with a Dremel.

Flitz will clean it, polish it and give it a real nice shine.

I use it to clean really dirty things like jewelry, remove rust and oxidization and polish feed ramps on guns.

Most gun shops in my area sell little sample packs for like $1. That will give you enough to polish like 4-5 feed ramps or maybe an entire gun. You can buy a tube about the size of a toothpaste tube for like $12. I have had one of those for like 3-4 years. It will prob last a life time unless I become a professional jeweler. haha

MY Sig P238 was stainless and my Kimber Custom was stainless. Unfortunately the humidity does not agree and will do it's best to prove them wrong... It often times win. Both my guns always rusted near or around the slide release and in the hammer and hammer area. Probably because that doesn't get cleaned very well.
 
Rust Resistant, Not Rust Free

Despite a German name for it - Rostfrei - stainless steel will rust and corrode. Lotta years ago Guns & Ammo (or Shooting Times or American Rifleman - these massive brain cell die-offs are the dickens :mad: ) put 2 S&W K Frames, 1 blue & 1 SS, in sea water for a couple of months. The blue frame had some rust, but the SS was corroded significantly. Opened my eyes... If I see little orange specks on any of my SS guns, I clean it up with a good gun oil and either 4-0 steel wool or an appropriately smooth/non-marring "abrasive". I use RIG to prevent it... :cool:
 
MY thought is, why would good stainless rust at ALL...
Because there are all types of stainless steel.

The kind used in firearms is magnetic and has enough carbon in it to allow heat treating.

The kind used in cheap kitchen knives has little carbon in it, is non-magnetic, has a very high chrome content, and won't rust.

But here is a way better explanation of it.
http://www.sperkoengineering.com/html/Rust.pdf

rc
 
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