Finally tried cleaning with water...mixed feelings about it

[JohnKSa]

How can a gun go into hot water and come out rusty unless it's left in the water for an extended period of time??

I'm not a chemist, I'm just telling you what happened.

It didn't rust rapidly after coming out of the water, it came out of the water with a coating of fine rust that wasn't there when it went in. It stayed in the water no more than perhaps a minute.

In retrospect, I wasn't really surprised although I felt kind of stupid for doing it. Water rusts iron/steel and heat speeds up the process. The only reason I did it was that I had seen it recommended in so many places.

 

[Joe Demko]

Somehow, in many years of BP shooting and corrosive ammo use that I cleaned with hot water, I have never experienced this high-speed rusting.

 

[JohnKSa]

Dunno what to say about that. I'm not all that interested in going a second round to try to figure out what/if I did wrong considering the cleanup I had to do the first time to get all the rust removed.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Bare polished gun metal is put into HOT soapy water and then into HOT clean water before being placed in HOT (295 deg.) SALT solution for hot bath bluing. Out of the bluing solution and any sludge rinsed off with a water hose before being put into a Hot solution of stop bath to stop the bluing action. WATER does not hurt guns before or after bluing. I will use WD-40 and 0000 steel wool to evenly blend the bluing. I HAVE watched rust form on some gun parts when immediately submerged in the hot soap but since bluing is just excellerated rust it isn't much of a problem.

 

[JohnKSa]

Again, I can only report what happened. Maybe there's something in the local tapwater, maybe something else. Dunno. I put it in hot water and it was coated with fine rust when it came out less than a minute later. I don't plan a repeat performance.

 

[Oyeboten]

Hi JohnKSa,



Well, no Gun should ever be that 'clean' to begin with, for Rust to occur that fast.


Any of my Revolvers, you could put them into Water for a day probably, and there would be no rust.


Only if something has been seriously chemically degreased and cleaned to un-natural heights, could this happen.


Steel articles degreased in Hot Caustic, can rust very rapidly, as with having been cleaned in Caustic and then Acid Washed...they can rust in seconds if immersed in Water, or just if sitting in a humid Ambient Air condition.


Normally, a Revolver would have, and should have, a light coating of Oil or Grease or other on everything.


Mine sure as heck do..!

 

[Foto Joe]

Unfortunately, this horse has been beaten 'til its ears bleed on more than one occasion. What we all need to remember is that there are people reading this forum for information and not arguements. Allow me to make some observations without endorsing or condemning any method.

I too had serious reservations about cleaning with water when I started, those reservations were quickly dispelled once I got the bugs worked out. Real Black Powder residue is "hygroscopic" (it will attract moisture). Therefore it does make sense to use at least something that replicates water to clean it. In my experience (which is not vast), solvents, be it BP or Smokeless do a less than decent job of cleaning a BP gun. Hoppes No. 9 in particular is something I would not ever us again, that's too much work. Conversely, using what I use to clean a BP gun doesn't work for smokeless guns, I learned that the hard way.

I tried the dishwasher trick last year at my daughters house,(my dishwasher at home is a redhead and she refuses to clean guns unless she shoots them) it was easier to clean them by hand. That and I got flash rust after leaving them in the dishwasher through the drying cycle, oops.

I've also tried the oven method, same result, flash rust. Not only that, it was hard to clean the rust off wearing oven mitts. Note to self: Oven may have been just right for muffins but not a Dragoon.

The bottom line is, experiment and find something that works for you. Once you've found your pet method, share it with us. I promise that none of us will use all of it, but even the most stuborn of us might just "Borrow" part of it.

WD-40: Use it if it works for you, personally I don't care for it for much of anything.
Hot Water: Love it or hate it. If you hate it, let those who use it do what works for them. It works well for me.
Oven: Refer to Hot Water with the exception of the Oven part.
Ballistol: Originally formulated for BP cartridge guns, it does work if you can learn to like the smell.

The only thing that matters is Clean thoroughly and clean well. If you miss a spot you will sooner or later find corrosion there.

 

[GENTLEMAN OF THE CHARCOAL]

Foto Joe. Your post right above mine here (#57) is a good post. I mean that. It's a real good post. If everyone posted like that instead of wanting to argue and tell people they're full of BS and so forth, this site would be a pleasure to read..
I don't use WD-40 all of the time or 3-in-1 machine oil all of the time either. However, I have used both of them quite a lot on my firearms and the only disappointment I suffered was that the driving rain seemed to wash off the WD-40 too easily. I have all kinds of oil and lubricants. Even have 4 cans of Rem Oil in spray cans I picked up at Wal-mart's a few years ago. Never have ever used any of it. Even have 16 unopened cans of oil (military surplus. each can about the size of a large can of 3-in-1) just like they used to issue me for the M-1 and M-14 and so forth. Have dry lubricant (Lubri-Plate) for extreme cold weather. Don't know how much right offhand but I'vd sure got a pile of it. It's piled into a cardboard box around here somewhere. I don't get out to where I need it too much anymore..Right now I'm using 'Super Lubricant'. It work's extremely well and 2 or 3 drops will go a long long ways. I also like Cabela's Muzzle Loading Lube to. I have alway's gotten good service from Cabela's lube and solvent products and have a good supply of them....I don't use water at all but if someone like's to then it's certainly nothing to me and shouldn't be anything to anybody else.... The only way water is going to get on one of my pieces is if I slip and fall into a creek or river, or am in the rain because I'm hunting or looking for somebody, or get drunk and accidentally urinate on it....Anyway, enjoyed your post. I recon around on here but find so little that I actually care to read....Have a good day....

 

[jimmyraythomason]

accidentally urinate on it....

Now THAT will cause it to rust VERY fast!

 

[scrat]

Bore Butter. After shooting i will take apart my revolvers. Clean them with hot soapy water. Then towel dry them and then put a light coat of Bore butter over everything. For the internals. i make sure they are dry then use Graphite to lube the internals. then put it back together. On my long arms. Same thing except i run some regular gun oil down the barrels. Before i go shooting a little Jack Daniels on a patch to go through the cylinders and barrel. Shoot a cap only to make sure the nipples are clean then im good to go. On some of my guns that are stripped like my pietta. i use some mothers mag and wheel polish. Mothers mag and wheel polish will brighten up the brass as well. Sometimes i will put a small dab of auto wax on the grips then put them away.

 

[SteveInColorado]

Maybe there's something in the local tapwater,

I lived there for 8 years. You got a lotta somethings in your tapwater . It's the only place I ever lived where I never, under any circumstances drank tapwater. It wasn't rust, it was algae residue that immediately began growing on your gun .

 

[osprey176]

i just disassemble, pull the nipples(ouch) and put the whole thing in the dishwasher.when done,swab the barrel and reassemble,and i'm finished.aint stainless steel wonderful? i will NEVER buy another blue b/p revolver.actually you do need to oil the mainspring and the sights,as they are blue,but thats it.love my ruger o/a