Speckled rust on revolver frame

I would start gently with some oil/CLP on a soft cloth or paper towel. Message the trouble spots and see how much comes off.

Are you sure it's rust? Lots of reds on that case hardening.

Keep rust wet with penetrating oil (liquid wrench, ect.) for a good while. That helps with the rub off.

Shooting Pyrodex?

You are probably not going to get the case colors to reappear, but the oil/CLP certainly is not going to cause additional problems.

It’s a good looking gun. Shoot it and enjoy it. Have fun and don’t fret about minor stuff.

edit:

I would completely disassemble it, clean it and lube it before going to the range. The minor imperfections in the photo are not very frightening. I would just like to verify that the internals are ok.

I think you can use a regular brass cleaning brush and oil. I would not go out of my way for that, just hit it when cleaning good, and after several cleanings that rust will be gone, some markings may be left if there is pitting, but - that seems like minor character marks to me.

Brass wool and Kroil oil, break free or the like. 0000 steel wool works to if used lightly..

If you want to focus on the individual spots versus a wide swath with a brass brush, try a copper (real copper) penny and scratch lightly with the edge on one spot at a time as if you were using your fingernail. The spots will come off and it shouldn't hurt the colors.

I could be wrong, but that looks more like a finishing issue to me than rust.

Noelf2's idea of using a real copper penny is a good one. That can work real well. But, the penny has to be 1981 or older, otherwise you're using mostly zinc. Use the edge and "flick".

Howdy

The colors on real bone Case Hardening are very fragile. They can easily be erased with Naval Jelly, vinegar, and other strong chemicals Strong sunlight can even cause the colors of real bone Case Hardening to fade.

The good news is, I doubt your revolver's frame has real bone Case Hardening. Most of the replicas use a chemical treatment that adds colors to the surface, if it had real bone Case Hardening it would have been a lot more expensive. Case Hardening is a labor intensive process.

The colors on the Case Hardened frame of this Colt SAA were pretty well erased by a previous owner who wanted to 'antique' it. Just a little bit of the original colors showing.






Anyway, my suggestion is to just coat the frame with a light coat of oil, such as Ballistol, to keep the corrosion from spreading. Don't try to do anything to the colors, you will probably cause them to fade.

If you want to try anything, I would use bronze wool. You can buy bronze wool from Brownells. Try rubbing very lightly with bronze wool and very light oil. I would not use steel wool, no matter how fine.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-...brasives/metal-wool/bronze-wool-prod7391.aspx

A gun needs to earn its good looks. Best routine for antiquing is 10,000 rounds fired, 1,000 miles carried, and cleaning with lye soap and water a few thousand times. Through that process, a little surface rust is inevitable. Some oil with steel wool will buff it out (brass wool if you’re worried about scratching).

Whatever you do to remove it will show. I would clean it with a solution of Dawn dish washing soap and water, dry it, and apply paste wax. You have to keep oxygen and moisture away from the steel and paste wax is a much more efficient method of doing so than oil.

Copper penny
Oil and toothbrush
Oil and brass brush, if stubborn
Wipe
Load
Shoot
Enjoy

Good looking shooter, have some fun with it.

Copper penny should work