My blued guns ALWAYS rust! Help!

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mountaindrew

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I have tried many lubes, greases and other products, and all my blued guns have rusted at one time or another. I really try to keep them lubed and clean soon after shooting, but they all rust. Not to mention the magazines! Now that I have no more stainless guns, keeping the blued ones rust-free is of high importance.

My guns rust in storage, in the glove box, and in times when I wish to carry, I need help.
Drew
 
I've had rusting problems with my Ruger Vaqueros, grip screws on my CZ75's and the slide and grip screws on my Sig P220.

In all cases I used Breakfree CLP on them. I cleaned off the rust and then soaked the offending parts down with the CLP and let 'em dry. After a year the Vaqueros are rust free. After 10 months the Sig and CZ's are rust free.

FWIW my reloading dies all tended to rust too. A good CLP treatment stopped it. Now I automatically hose down any new dies I buy and so far no rust.

I'm a believer in Breakfree CLP...
 
I 2nd the BreakFree treatment

I also have had good luck using breakfree clp on stuff. My reloading equipment all stays rust free after wipedowns with the stuff. It seems to coat better and linger longer than other protectants. It actually removed some rust from the slide of a 1911 that I had put away with salty/oily finger prints on that had rusted.

d.
 
Most rusting is due to handling -- the sweat and salts from the body cause a lot of corrosion.

The cure is to ALWAYS wipe the gun down thoroughly before putting it away. If you carry under a T-Shirt, and the gun butt can touch the skin, it will rust -- if you don't wipe it down thoroughly.

If you store a gun for a long time, even minute humidity, salt and so on can cause rust. Use an appropriate storage bag, or even an oil-soaked rag to completely cover the gun.
 
Another handy item is a "reel rag" which you can get at most any sports store. Its just a silicone impregnated cloth that you can use to wipe down your firearms with. Leaves a very thin coating that will prevent rust. They are great for post range use.

Beyond that I'd chime in for the clp.

Rust isn't a problem here in Colorado but I had to deal with it in North Carolina for a few years which is where I learned about the reel rag's.
 
Another Break Free addict here. When I first get a gun, and then at least once a year or monthly for my water fowl gun, I detail strip them and give them an over night WD40 bath. Wipe them dry, then another over night bath in Break Free. Even guns I recieved with rust on them are still rust free.

Since Break Free kept my m16s rust free in Korea and Kansas, I trust it on my guns.
 
Use Eezox or FP-10 to clean your guns. Use those dessicant canisters (from Brownells, Midway, etc.) in your safe. Wipe your guns with a dry cloth (even the grips) before putting them away. Don't leave them inside the leather holsters when you're not wearing them. You may use the silicone-impregnated cloths to wipe them also. Rust happens. The suggestions above minimizes them.
 
i've been using a bullfrog storage bag for the past 11 months with my blued BHP. i live on a sailboat in salt water, and the bag has kept the gun rust free. once i accidentally left the gun out of the bag for 2 weeks and surface rust had already started to appear, so the bag's been doing a good job for me. i recently tried the bullfrog rustblocker gel on my 870. we had some pretty heavy rains and it got dripped on, the only areas that rusted were a couple of nooks and crannies where i didn't do a good job applying the stuff.
 
Breakfree clp is alredy my main product of choice, based on advice like this, but it doesnt alway work. I dont get hay I can oil the hell out of a gun and magazine, for instance my Ruger MarkII, go shoot a few, and then by the time I clean the gun, usualy just the next morningm I have rust, sometimes on the grip screws, sometimes on the grip, sometimes on the magazine sidewalls.

What good is an oil if it losses its ability to protect after one gentle use?

Its like having to add a quart of oil to your car every time you drive anywhere ( I had a car once that used that much oil. It is not fun)

Why do they even make blued guns? Even the cheap black paint on my Saiga seems to be a better finish than bluing. Does bluing have ANY advantage over plain white steel? (other than looks)

I want to be able to USE my guns, not just look at them from afar, afraid to touch them for fear of them corroding away!
 
I was having problems with my carry gun (stainless 1911) rusting due to extremely high humidity here. I always used Breakfree CLP, but it just wasn't getting the job done. Someone on the forums here suggested a product called CorrosionX and it has worked quite well for me so far. You can get it from Brownells but the shipping on it is kind of expensive because of the Hazmat fee they have to charge.

Rick
 
Another faithful follower of Break-Free CLP.
I am expermenting with Bullfrog Rust Inhibitor and Lubricant. It shows lots of promise. Bullfrog is a lubricant that contains Vapor Corrosion Inhibitors. I'm also playing around with MPro-7 CLP( I clean w/ MPro-7 gun cleaner). Everytime I get done wandering and end my affairs with other products, I always seem to come back to Break-Free CLP and LP. :D :evil:
Stay away from Militec-1. It's a great lube, but a sorry rust inhibitor.
 
I agree that BreakFree is a good product, but for serious rusting problems (including several folks whose perspiration is rather acidic, and would rust even a stainless steel gun after a couple of days uncleaned - the gun, I mean! :D ), I found a better solution. Simply buy a tin or bottle of car wax polish - the non-abrasive kind. Rub a little on the exterior surfaces after cleaning the gun, allow to dry, and buff off. It forms a protective layer over the surface that defies rust. Simply renew the layer every couple of days, or week, or however often it needs it (depends on how, where, and how often you carry the gun).

This also works great on shotguns like the Remington 870 Express. The cheap exterior finish on this gun rusts if I look at it after coming out of the shower - but a good non-abrasive car wax deals with the problem easily.
 
SLCDave mentioned Blue Wonder Armadillo and Gabby suggested Boeshield. Use either one after you have wiped the entire finish with CLP ( or some other good lubricant...I saw a test recently showing Eezox to provide superior rust protection......and give it some time ( overnight ) to penetrate. Then wipe the gun down to remove any excess CLP/lubricant and apply the Armadillo or Boeshield according to directions. While I haven't used Armadillo I know it to be excellent.....with the Boeshield leave it on overnight to dry before you use the gun or put in storage....then you are fully protected. I would also wipe the gun down often between applications of Armadillo/Boeshield with the heavy duty version of the Sentry Solutions cloth made for marine environments. I live in the wetlands of the Pac. NW and sweat like...well you know....and so far this proceedure has kept me rust free. Oh to have the interior of my arteries so slick !

-Regards
 
Thanks, MountainPeak! I knew I was missing something simple! :D

Actually, might be moving sometime soon, as my wife is now job hunting out of state, and Arizona and Colorado are on the list of possibles (Colorado, Colorado, please Colorado!)

until then I will continue "moving" to the higher states any time I get a vacation.

btt The real reason I am so concerned it that I am getting a Blued Marlin mod 94 that I wish to keep rust free and pretty. I could really care less if my kel-tec or feg get a little orange dust, but the pretty guns need to stay that way!
 
I also agree with using a good car wax with Carnuba, I forgot.

Silly me used the last of my vehicle wax with Carnuba - on a vehicle. :D

RIG only needs a very light coating...humm...I have used RIG on the battery terminals to prevent corrosion, I use it for the hinges on tool box, tail gate...I wonder how RIG would work on the paint itself .

I keep a minimum of products around...
 
Depending on how much beating around you expect the Marlin to take, an alternative to car wax is Renaissance wax, an acid-neutral wax used by museum curators and about half the folks on the knife and sword forums. I've used it on my shotgun and blued wheelguns for several years. Anything that "provides a barrier against fingerprints and the devastation of water, WINE, ALCOHOL, and other spills" can't be all that bad. :)

http://www.woodfinishsupply.com/RenWax.html
 
Leave the Sentry in the packet

with the Boeshield leave it on overnight to dry before you use the gun or put in storage....then you are fully protected. I would also wipe the gun down often between applications of Armadillo/Boeshield with the heavy duty version of the Sentry Solutions cloth made for marine environments.
Click to expand...

I did the same thing, but using the Sentry Cloth after application of breakfree. Found out the "carrier" in the Sentry cloth was mineral spirits and it will take away your protection. I have some nasty pits on a pretty Miroku to show for it.

Now I use Eezox. It is the best anti-rust agent I've found, and it's not slippery or greasy like BF. I haven't tried the Armadillo product yet, so it could even be better. But the Eezox works great, particularly the aerosol version in a can.

I've come to the conclusion that the Sentry thing is essentially useless.

Also, I recommend always washing your hands before handling guns, and use the thin rubber gloves if that's convenient. I have an 1899 Swede Mauser. Its bolt managed to go 104 years without rust. I let a friend of mine work the bolt at the range. I found out later he'd been eating beef jerkey and salted chips for lunch. 5 hours later I found brown rust on the bolt and some pitting underneath when I went to give wipe it down for return to the safe. I blame myself, in part, because before going to the range I had used a Hoppes all-in-one cleaner rather than Eezox. Turns out the Hoppes was more solvent than protectant and left the bolt metal unprotected.

The thing about rust--guns can stay stable for a long time with minimal attention. But get any kinds of salts near them and rust can form in minutes.
 
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