Hey guys, I am, once again, requestng your assistance. I found some rust on the barrel of my AR. I used some rust remover to get rid of it and all of the rust is gone, but at the sarcifice of my beautiful matte black finish. Now, I want to refinish the barrel. What is the best way to go about this?
Freaking Rust!
- Thread starter Adam123
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jimmyraythomason
Member
You do realize that bluing is a form of rust don't you?
Best way is to have a gunsmith hot blue it.(that is assuming it was blued).
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rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Rust Remover huh?
Mercy!
It was probably Parkerized from the factory.
You could try a bottle of Birchwood-Casey cold blue touch-up from Wallyworld.
But a reblue or re-Parkerizing job by a gunsmith is going to be the best bet for long-term satisfaction.
rc
Mercy!
It was probably Parkerized from the factory.
You could try a bottle of Birchwood-Casey cold blue touch-up from Wallyworld.
But a reblue or re-Parkerizing job by a gunsmith is going to be the best bet for long-term satisfaction.
rc
Jimmy, I did not blue it. I used rust remover. The last time I checked, that was entirely different from bluing a gun. In fact, I'll take an educated guess and say that it is the exact antithesis of bluing. Furthermore, I do not want it blued for a finish as it never was blued. It has a matte black (parkerized) finish. Lastly, thanks for the chemistry lesson.
RC, If there is a better way of getting rid of rust (exclusing sanding, taking a wire brush to it, or any other abrasive method) than using rust remover, I would love to know. In my inderstanding of this, a simple "mercy" will not suffice. Thanks.
RC, If there is a better way of getting rid of rust (exclusing sanding, taking a wire brush to it, or any other abrasive method) than using rust remover, I would love to know. In my inderstanding of this, a simple "mercy" will not suffice. Thanks.
rcmodel
Member in memoriam
Well, the best way to handle rust is to not let it rust in the first place.
Keep Parkerizing oiled and it will not rust.
Wipe down the gun every time you handle it,or use it, with a silicone rag, oiled cleaning patches, etc, and it won't rust.
Removing rust from a matt finish is a little more complicated then removing it from a polished blued surface.
With the latter, 0000 Extra Fine steel wool and oil will remove rust without harming the bluing.
With Parkerizing or a matt finish blue, you can't do much rubbing without knocking off the high spots and removing finish.
I would have suggested you work on it with a bronze bore brush & bore solvent, as that will not hurt the finish, but will remove light rust. An empty brass cartridge case mouth could also have been used as a scraper.
rc
Keep Parkerizing oiled and it will not rust.
Wipe down the gun every time you handle it,or use it, with a silicone rag, oiled cleaning patches, etc, and it won't rust.
Removing rust from a matt finish is a little more complicated then removing it from a polished blued surface.
With the latter, 0000 Extra Fine steel wool and oil will remove rust without harming the bluing.
With Parkerizing or a matt finish blue, you can't do much rubbing without knocking off the high spots and removing finish.
I would have suggested you work on it with a bronze bore brush & bore solvent, as that will not hurt the finish, but will remove light rust. An empty brass cartridge case mouth could also have been used as a scraper.
rc
jimmyraythomason
Member
You have missed my point. Bluing is a form of rust. You used a rust remover on a form of rust (assuming that your gun was blued and not parkerized or some other finish). Rust remover removes bluing because bluing IS rust(sort of). You said it had a matte finish you did not specify that it was parkerized in the OP.
RC, thanks for the tips. I appreciate it.
Jimmy, I did not miss your point. I assumed that most people would know that, by my statement of having a "matte black finish, I had a parkerized finish. I don't ever recall seeing a blued AR. Let's just place our exchange under the category of "miscommunication". Take it easy.
Jimmy, I did not miss your point. I assumed that most people would know that, by my statement of having a "matte black finish, I had a parkerized finish. I don't ever recall seeing a blued AR. Let's just place our exchange under the category of "miscommunication". Take it easy.
jimmyraythomason
Member
I have done many "matte black" bluing jobs. They are quite common.
I did not know it was possible to blue a gun and get a "matte black" finish. Of course, I've seen blue jobs that are very dark/black, but they did not end up with a "matte black" finish. When I am referring to "matte black", I am thinking of a very specific finish. It is sort of grainy, non-reflective, and rough. I was unaware that you were able to get this type of finish with the technique of bluing. Like I said earlier, I have never seen a blued AR. Thanks for posting!
Edit: Here are some examples of what I consider matte black:
http://www.nextconceptcars.com/wp-content/matte-black-rolls-royce-phantom.jpg
http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200810/black-matte-bmw-lumm_460x0w.jpg
Edit: Here are some examples of what I consider matte black:
http://www.nextconceptcars.com/wp-content/matte-black-rolls-royce-phantom.jpg
http://pictures.topspeed.com/IMG/crop/200810/black-matte-bmw-lumm_460x0w.jpg
jimmyraythomason
Member
Yes the rough,non-reflective finish is accomplished by glassbeading the metal parts(not polishing them)before the hot salts bath. Not just on guns,I often glassbead and blue steel scope mounts and bases to match the rifle's finish.
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