Rust on Outside of Barrel

Wrong forum.

A simple search in gunsmithing would have answered your question.

But:
0000 Extra Fine Steel Wool and oil or cleaning solvent will remove light rust without harming the remaining bluing.

Just don't rub it dry, or in one place for half an hour.

Once you get it off?
Buy some RIG and a RIG-RAG to wipe the gun off every time you handle it and unlike light gun oil?
There will never be rust again.

http://www.brownells.com/gun-cleani...87_a_7c7313_a_7c167300024_d_167300024_d_10195


rc

I've been known to get a little carried away, so I use a patch of wool cloth with oil. On bad rusting, I do start with steel wool.

Hello, walkalong. Before trying the steel wool..either use an older (copper..not zink) penny or a thin copper scraper..flood surface with thin oil or Hoppe's #9 & gently scrape surface..won't remove any pits, but won't remove bluing either.

Neither will 0000 Extra Fine steel wool & oil.

Have you ever used it to have an openion??

Hot bluing refinishers use 0000 steel wool & and oil to card the bluing salts residue off of brand new Weatherby types finishes.

Use copper scrapers if you don't beleive me.
But then figure out how to get the copper rub-off off the bluing you just added to your problems.

rc

smooth aluminum foil folded up and rubbed straight over a few times. Works on bumpers too

Ho boy!

That does nothing to stop the rust.

It just knocks the rust blooms off the top of the oxidizing rust pits, and makes it feel smooth for a while again.

0000 Steel wool & oil gets to the bottom of the problem, and stops it from coming back the next time you feel of it, and find it blooming up again.


Not trying to rain on the copper penny and aluminum foil parade.

But I have been doing this stuff for almost 50 years.

And I know what works long term.
And what doesn't.

rc

Flitz. Steel wool encourages rusting by causing microscratches and leaving ferrous material behind. Flitz will remove rust and offers some degree of lasting protection. It also won't harm existing finishes.

How can you leave 'ferrous material' behind on rustey ferrous material??

And who cares if you did??

Like I have already said several times.

Extra Fine steel wool & oil was probably used on your Weatherby highly polished blue bling finish to card off the bluing salts residue when they made it.

rc

I know I will probably get jumped on by someone here, I'm certain that there are other methods, maybe I just have too heavy a hand to use steel wool. For removing light surface rust, I use a carpenters pencil to card off the rust, wipe off, then oil. The graphite will not cause any scratching, no matter how much karate kid, wax on wax off, you use.


P.S. For those of you who would like to jump.... Please try it first, I think you will be pleasntly surprised!
A very wise man once told me, "If you haven't change a major opinion in the last three years.... check your pulse, you might be dead."

Get a Big 45 rust removal pad. I used to use 4/0 SW and oil but it can thin the bluing or remove it on old finishes. The pad work great and doesn't damage the blue. I bought 1 and after claening up a couple old .22s I thought needed rebluing, the results were excellent. Didn't need to reblue. I bought 3 more to have on hand. Try one.
http://www.big45metalcleaner.com/

So what's next - somebody will advertise a Gun Roll to clean your blued guns, looking suspiciously like a kitchen roll, but made from "pure organic" cellulose... And with a price of 20$ for a roll?

+1 on gentle rubbing with 0000 (4 zero) steel wool with light oil.

You will not harm the bluing if you have the slightest understanding of the phrase "gentle rubbing". Nor will you leave scratches or "ferrous material", at least not on polished blued steel.

It just works.

Ill im gonna add is is you don't completely remove the rust it WILL come back, trust me its what i do, paint or oil can slow oxidation but will not stop it.

"So what's next - somebody will advertise a Gun Roll to clean your blued guns, looking suspiciously like a kitchen roll, but made from "pure organic" cellulose... And with a price of 20$ for a roll?"

It's not a stainless steel pot scrubber. If you read the add it's a softer alloy that removes rust but not hard enough to remove blue unless you scour the crap out of it. I used to use steel wool as other shooters I know. Since we got a hold of a Big 45 pad, steel wool doesn't touch a blued surface. Do what you want and don't try something different. Every one whos tried one has been sold. The proof is in the outcome and they work great.

Actually I have read the add. If it's "harder than rust but softer than bluing" like they claim then it will be harder then the gun steel, including the barrel. See, rust is harder then any steels used in guns - it's an abrasive material. So if what those guys say is true, then your guns are in trouble. Most of the steel alloy ingredients mentioned are used for improved machinability and do not posses any magical properties. Concisely - it's just one expensive kitchen metal sponge. RC already told several times what to use for removing rust. And it works. If you want you can substitute oil for water... Simple tap water, but it happens to be a very good rust dissolvent. You can go even further - boil the cleaned part in water for half an hour and see how the rust transforms into bluing.

Boris

Thats interesting. I haven't thought about boiling any rusty guns. I've used SW on guns from cleaning surface rust as mentioned(4/0 with oil) and other grades to clean and reblue as needed. I've also seen plenty of used guns that were cleaned with SW the now needed a reblue. Since I picked up the Big .45 pad I've cleaned and restored allot of guns( over 30 years) that would have needed a reblue if SW was used. So I guess they are magic.

4/0 steel wool is softer than steel, but there is one "small" problem - when scrubbing rust most people don't change the pad often and when soaked with oil the rust particles really easy clog the fine wool and you end up with a home-made abrasive pad. That Big .45 pad is coarser and therefore can't clog with rust so easy.

Boris