Naval Jelly on rust

Most of the replies citing 0000 steel wool pertain to removing light rust without harming a blued finish; "Naval jelly" will remove the bluing as well as the rust.
Regards,
Greg

Lightest rust - 0000 steel wool and oil
heavier rust - naval jelly
Heaviest rust - abrasives

Navel jelly is a harsh strong chemical that can pitt metal if left on too long.
Best used on rusty battleships, not guns, IMO.

Always start out with 0000 steel wool and oil, progress to a fine wire carding wheel on a buffer/grinder, and only then resort to some chemical that eats metal for breakfast.

rc

See this:

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/lid=10990/guntechdetail/How_to_Fix_Light_Rust_on_a_Gun

When I said pitt, perhaps "etch" would have been a better word.
I tried Navel Jelly on a gun one time many years ago.
I was not at all pleased with the frosted bare metal look all over the gun when it finally got to the bottom of the deeper rust.

I later sat the container on a shelf in the garage, where it eventually ate through the container, and the shelf it was setting on. It then went to work on my tools on a lower shelf.
That was enough Navel Jelly for me!

rc

Ah, Naval jelly is for battleships, OK, now I understand. I thought....nevermind.

You might consider a product called EvapoRust, which can be found at AutoZone type shops and maybe even Tractor Supply. I've used it on bolts and stuff and it did a good job of removing rust and I didn't notice the discoloration that occurs with Naval Jelly.

Ah, Naval jelly is for battleships, OK, now I understand. I thought....nevermind.

Click to expand...

bearmgc! Try it and let us know!

And, naval vs navel.

Naval Jelly is thickened phosphoric acid. Which goes along with all the stories about using cola drinks to remove rust. Or the guys at the fertilizer R&D facility I worked at leaving rusty tools in a can of ammonium phosphate liquid fertilizer to clean them up.

for a few bucks you can build a electrolysis tank. to remove rust.

+1 for Evaporust. best thing since sliced bread.
I've used it on machine tools and guns for a couple years.

0000 Steel wool and WD40 for light rust and preserve the bluing.
If the bluing is gone, into the Evaporust she goes!

I've done Naval Jelly, which is just jellied acid. Never again, throw it away.
Electrolytic works, but it's dirty and fussy.

ER is clean, non-fussy, won't harm anything (except bluing).
You can drop a bucket of gun parts in and go off and leave it for a day or a month, and when you came back all the rust will be completely gone, leaving just bare steel.
If the steel has a high carbon content you may get a nice blue-black surface.

You can re-use it until it gets so nasty you can't stand it. I've not kept it to the point it stops working.

good stuff. Harbor freight carries it. $20 gallon

progress to a fine wire carding wheel on a buffer/grinder,

Click to expand...

would that be steel wire or brass...im doing a rebluing project on a .22 and have already removed all the old bluing and rust there is. i just want to clean it up better so that the bluing covers and looks better.

Steel, fine wire carding wheels.

http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/cid=702/k=/t=P/mfg=/Products/Wire-Brushing-Carding-Tools

I never ever use brass wheels, or bronze wool, or anything else with brass / copper in it.
It just gets brass / copper all over the gun parts, then you have to figure out how to get all that off before you can blue.

rc

rcmodel,I quit using brass punches on pins,sights etc for that reason. Removing the brass hash mark can be a bear. bearmgc,you are confusing Naval Jelly with Navel Lint. It happens to me all the time.