870 Express getting surface rust. Coatings?

[toolmaker]

My new working 870 Express has a few light surface rust spots. What non-greasy coating can be applied inside and out to prevent this? Is a working gun for truck and HD. Thanks.

 

[GrayBear]

RUST -

This is just a report on what I've done for over fifty years. No humidity problems in my retirement area but this has worked in humid East Texas and in a couple of sea coast cities. There's probably lots of new whiz-bang products out there that'll do it better!

Interior surfaces and the bores gets a very light coat of a good gun oil, often Hoppes, in early spring and late fall. The exterior surfaces are polished with Johnson's Car Wax.

It's worked for me, YMMV

GrayBear

 

[sm]

Since '09 ( tm) .


1. RIG ( Rust Inhibiting Grease) . Treats Bores, protects internals. Includes Mag tubes of SGs.

1a. RIG +P

2. Johnson's Paste Wax For Exterior ( RIG the internals)

3. Minwax - finishing wax paste . Works like Johnson's . I prefer the "special type for dark colored surfaces". Like Blue and Walnut

Hey, I was at the hardware store, they have guns at the hardware store, so I bought Minwax. They don't have guns at the Grocery Store where Johnson's was sold....back in '09

Hot , Humid here in the South. Get icey with the freezing rain and snow as well. Heck these products are even proven with "mud".

Just a very light coat is all that is needed with RIG. There is a Ithaca 37 that lives in a vehicle, still in great shape after 20 yrs ...

 

[JohnBT]

I use RIG on most of my guns. I didn't know for a fact that RIG +P was good for rust, but I have a big jar of it. Yes, RIG is greasy, but that must be its only fault.

Since 1993 I've used Birchwood-Casey Sheath on my 870 Express when duck hunting. I hang the gun in 2 pieces on coated wire and pretty much spray it inside and out while holding a clean rag behind it to catch the overspray (and then use it to wipe down something else.) Don't forget the holes in the rib. Let it dry for a few hours (or overnight) and you're done. The kind of hunting we do involves bad weather, a boat, saltwater and some ice and mud. I can't wait.

Speaking of mud, years ago I had to take a garden hose to a friend's shotgun clogged with a frozen mixture of sea spray, bird guts and bilge water (long story...they weren't even our geese, but we had a boat.) I'm glad the hose at the marina would reach the hot water faucet inside and that I had a big spray can of Break-Free.

I have a can of bowling alley wax around here somewhere, but putting it on an 870 sounds like a lot of work. Anybody tried spray wax?

John...I've always thought Richmond was really humid, but then last week I saw 15 inches of rain in 4 or 5 hours.

 

[Gearhead Jim]

I'm not sure this would meet your "non greasy" standards, but I use Break Free CLP for most of my cleaning and lube chores. When finished, wipe down the exterior with it and then use a couple of clean paper towels to wipe off as much as possible. The remaining oil film will be hardly noticable at first, by the next day it's gone. Or so it seems to me...

Repeat the process after each day of shooting. The only minor cases of rust, happened on guns where I neglected this procedure.

There may be better ways but this one requires no extra stuff to buy, clutter up my bench, or bring along on a hunting trip.

 

[toolmaker]

Thanks for all the responses. Would have replied earlier but I couldn't get on the site. I ended up disassembling the 870 to it's sub-components and with a toothbrush, worked Johnson's paste wax into everything inside and out. Wiped off the excess and let it dry overnight, then rubbed it down good with an old terrycloth washrag. Made sure there weren't any globs in the receiver or elsewhere, and reassembled the gun. Action works smoother for sure on my gun, and I'll see how it holds up. At the worst, if I have to start over, a good spray with cleaner/degreaser and try something else...

 

[Red Label]

I think that you will find the wax to work very well. I have several older guns that don't get out much and I used wax on them. No rust at all. The ones that stay inside without much handling seem to cause me more rust problems than the working guns I use all the time!

 

[HSMITH]

It's an 870 express. Go down and get a couple cans of Krylon camo spray paint and paint the gun. A can of brake cleaner will prep the metal, a little sandpaper and then the brake cleaner on the wood are all you need. The Rig grease Steve mentioned is about as good as you can get for internals, but be aware that it gets stiff when extremely cold. MObil 1 15w-150 works well enough for me on my duck guns.

 

[Burt Blade]

I know some folks who used automotive paste wax on their service revolvers, for decades.

A very light coat of Turtle Wax on the outside of the weapon, and a very light coat of good gun oil on the inside. (Ballistol is my favorite gun oil)

 

[campbellcj]

Sorry for the dumba$$ post, but I am in the market for an 870 or Mossy 590 kind of thing (home defense/tactical shotgun) and as I live in a coastal SoCal area with huge temp and humidity swings, I had been leaning towards the 870 Marine Magnum. It would get infrequent use (relative to handguns at least) but periodic maintenance doesn't scare me. Good choice?

Thanks

 

[turretG]

Exellent choice!

 

[Bwana John]

I had a POS 870 Express that would develop a light coat of rust over the whole reciever even when well oiled and sitting in the safe. Solved it with a coat of krinkel-finish, matte-black, hi-temp engine paint, then cammoed a krylon finish over that, and used it as my leave it in the truck, pole the canoe, hunting the mudflats gun. When I went to sell the gun it was very hard to get all the paint off the metal though, and never got it off the stocks.

 

[Gabby Hayes]

If you're looking for something a bit easier to use than paste wax, and longer-lasting than CLP-type products, take a look at Boeshield, a spray-on lubricant/protectant developed by Boeing. It gets freqent mention and good reviews by those who've tried it. http://www.boeshield.com/index.htm

 

[JohnBT]

And here just the other day I was asking if anybody had tried spray wax...

Boeshield - "a unique combination of solvents and waxes"

 

[9mmMike]

I also use CLP on my Express models but they are used often and cleaned and retreated every time. No rust though.

Mike