Really crappy way to "clean" a gun

[Anna's Dad]

I was just involved in a minor canoeing accident (no one seriously hurt) and my S&W M&P (practically brand new ) decided to go for a swim.

After about an hour of searching, by the grace of God I was able to find it and the dry bag that it was in. Let's just say that the dry bag wasn't and the gun was dripping wet.

It was about another hour or two before I was able to get the gun back to our cabin and field strip it.

I found a small rust spot inside the barrel. Also, the sear deactivaction lever appears to be a splotchy yellow color--I'm assuming this is not normal although i've certainly never looked carefully before.

I sprayed everything down with Breakfree thoroughly and wiped it down. I oiled the rails and mechanism with Hoppes and cleaned the barrel with oiled patches.

The rust cleaned off no problem and the barrel looks great. The sear deactivaction lever, however, is unchanged. Even scraping it with my fingernail doesn't have an impact.

Any suggestions on how to make sure things stay running smootly? I've never detail stripped the gun (nor do I know how) so if that's needed, I would really appreciate a link to instructions.

Appreciate any help!

 

[Chris Rhines]

The sear deactivation lever is painted yellow from the factory. It sounds like the dunking removed some of the paint. Nothing to worry about.

I doubt that it was rust you found in your barrel - being wet for a few hours won't cause most guns to rust. More likely it was dirt.

- Chris

 

[CajunBass]

I doubt it's hurt. I've hunted in all day rain and snow a number of times, and normal cleaning is all that I've ever done to any gun, and never had any trouble.

 

[Deer Hunter]

Water doesn't cause rust, exosure to moisture AND oxygen will. Without oxygen, it couldn't rust.

 

[Anna's Dad]

Great news about the sear deactivation lever!

It sure looked like a bright orange rust spot in the barrel, but it was very small and wiped right off with a patch.

It was really soaking in water (the dry bag did basically nothing but hold water). Good to hear that the general concensus is that all will be well!

Thanks and I will continue to check back for any follow-ups or other opinions.

I'll try to take it to the range when I get back home on Friday.

Best regards.

 

[Anna's Dad]

Deer Hunter,

Yes, I assumed it was the couple hours after being fished out of the river that the rust would have formed.

I didn't expect it to rust that quickly being treated stainless, but I have seen non-treated metals rust very quickly like that.

I'll strip it again tomorrow to see if anything else has developed. Really crossing my fingers because I love this gun.

Of course even if it was run over by a steam roller I'd buy another one to replace it so I wouldn't be without one for long! It was just my new baby so I'm a little sick that this happened.

Again, thanks for the replies.

 

[elprofeloco]

H20

One of the posts seems imply that oxidation (rust) does not happen in water - not so. Water (H2O) is mostly oxygen by weight, and everything from iron ship hulls to iron/steel guns can and will oxidize/rust immersed in water over time. In any chemical reaction, oxidation included, two primary variables are heat and time.

Water is more oxygen-rich than air; moisture is nothing more than limited amounts of H2O - some times air-borne (e.g. fog) or entrained (e.g. "swamp coolers" and humidifiers), sometimes as condensate.

Bottom Line: keep your weapons rust-protected as much as possible (and teach your kids to not store anything made of iron or steel in their aquariums).

 

[Kilgor]

That's why I carry a Glock.

 

[tkendrick]

Just my opinion, but:

ANY firearm that would be damaged AT ALL after only a couple of hours in the drink needs to go in the nearest trashcan.

 

[skud_dusty]

A good idea for later use if this happens again is to clean with wd40 or something else that displaces water. Make sure you clean really well afterwards though, as wd40 has been known to leave a nasty film that can gunk up really quickly.

 

[1911 guy]

Limited use of WD40.

WD is a horrible lube and protectant, but works well for things like this. Just heed skud_dusty's advice above and clean well with proper solvents and oils after using WD to expell the water from nooks and crannies.

 

[Walkalong]

WD is a horrible lube and protectant, but works well for things like this.

WD-40 = Water Displacement formula # 40. They got it right in only 40 tries.

There are much better lubes out there.

 

[Baneblade]

Ahhh. Combat tuperware. Plastic guns are great for a reason.

 

[W.E.G.]

The spot you saw in the barrel was probably bullet metal.

 

[RustyHammer]

Two hours in fresh water shouldn't harm anything (if cleaned properly) with the exception, maybe, of the wood grips.

Salt water on the other hand is another story!

I doubt it was rust that you saw ... if it was, it was probably already there. My guess would be copper from previous use and/or some sort of silt from the water that got in there and dried. Either way, you should be fine.

Post pictures and let us know how she does!

 

[TimboKhan]

ANY firearm that would be damaged AT ALL after only a couple of hours in the drink needs to go in the nearest trashcan

I agree with this sentiment. but partially disagree with this one"

WD is a horrible lube and protectant

WD40 is a pretty bad lube, but my dad has used it as a protectant for probably 40 years now, and his guns are all as spiffy as the day he bought them. I won't clean with it, I won't lube with it, but I won't hesitate to give a gun thats going into storage for awhile a coat of it either.

I am positive that your going to be allright. A couple of hours in the non-briny deep shouldn't be a problem whatsoever.

 

[chaim]

I sprayed everything down with Breakfree thoroughly

That might potentially be a problem. Doesn't Breakfree have a warning that it can harm plastics and not to use it on plastic parts? If I'm not mistaken, isn't the frame of the M&P polymer (i.e. plastic)? It may be fine, or you may have weakened your frame. One time, you probably are fine, but I've seen Breakfree practically dissolve cheaper plastics. A trip to a gunsmith for a quick once over might not be a bad idea.

 

[rdaines]

Water Chemistry

The oxygen in the chemical formula for water H2O is not in a form that will cause the rust, it is the oxygen that is dissolved in the water (the stuff fish breath) that causes the rust. The oxygen content of the water depends on many things like temperature, depth, and water column turnover. There are many places in Long Island Sound (NY) that have major fish die-offs each summer because of low oxygen content.

I would also imagine that a clean gun would have enough lube on and in it to resist the ill effects of water for hours if not days.

 

[tydephan]

Doesn't Breakfree have a warning that it can harm plastics and not to use it on plastic parts?

Yes. But they also make a polymer safe version of the product as well. I assume this is what anna's dad is referring to.

 

[Hawk]

Welcome to the club. Accidental admissions are welcome.

 

[jeepmor]

The oxygen in the chemical formula for water H2O is not in a form that will cause the rust, it is the oxygen that is dissolved in the water (the stuff fish breath) that causes the rust. The oxygen content of the water depends on many things like temperature, depth, and water column turnover. There are many places in Long Island Sound (NY) that have major fish die-offs each summer because of low oxygen content.

This is not entirely true. Rust is an oxidation process, but it can also be partly electrolysis, releasing the oxygen for use in oxidation. Sure, much less than oxygenated water and won't happen quickly, but it will happen. There are parts in the gun that will have dissimilar electrical states (think thermocouple here) and thats where your small charge comes from. This is why electrolytic solutions speed the process along.

 

[JRC45AUTO]

If water wont cause rust without oxygen, explain where the rest of the Titanic went !

 

[chaim]

Yes. But they also make a polymer safe version of the product as well. I assume this is what anna's dad is referring to.

That's good to know. I just stopped using it when I accidentally used it on my polycoat finish CZ 75B (I don't think it damaged the finish). In addition to that accident that could have caused a problem, I thought about how many plastic parts some guns have (the trigger bar and trigger on my Bersa is plastic, I wonder if any of my guns have plastic internals I don't regularly see). So, I never use it and never really looked at the product again, so I didn't know about the polymer safe version. I'll have to pick some up, because that stuff is great when cleaning hard to reach places.

 

[armed85]

All the metal parts in the M&P are stainless steel and the barrel and frame are treated with a process almost identical to Glock's Tenifer. Melonite QPQ is the American version of Europe's Tenifer QPQ. The difference has to do with environmental laws, but if quality control at both factories is equal, Melonite should perform just as well as Tenifer.

Don't believe me? I welcome you to Google it.

Some people have weird body chemistry. I witnessed the same person touch a Glock slide and a stainless steel revolver and both had rust form. The slide serrations on the Glock had surface rust while the stainless steel revolver had pitting.

The Glock is carbon steel with Tenifer QPQ. The M&P is stainless steel with Melonite QPQ. The M&P should be more corrosion resistant in theory.

I agree with what everyone else has said about your barrel. Rust will not come off with just a few patches. You would of had to scrub at or it use an abrasive to get it off. Breakfree CLP is not an abrasive. Mother's Mag Polish is though

The stainless steel revolver I mentioned above needed an abrasive metal polish to return it back to new condition.

Enjoy your M&P and be safe.