Removing minor oxidation from a pistol

[minutemen1776]

I just bought an older Ruger Mark II pistol that has some minor surface oxidation on the backstrap and frontstrap. The pistol is otherwise OK and it seems to have a really sweet trigger, but I'd like to clean up the oxidation if possible. Is there a some type of cleaner, lubricant, etc. that might remove or lessen the oxidation? How about some VERY fine steel wool to buff out these small places, or would that hurt the finish even more? Any ideas? Thanks!

 

[Quoheleth]

Naval jelly and a scotch pad, coupled with elbow grease?

Q

 

[wishin]

Naval jelly. If I were to use any abrasive, it would be 0000 steel wool and a lot of elbow grease.

 

[Jim Watson]

Naval jelly will remove any gun blue that it touches as well as the rust.
Very fine steel wool - or bronze wool if you can find some, Brownell's carries it - and oil will cut light rust. If it is truly "light oxidation" a coarse cloth and oil will clean it up.

 

[Jim K]

In my experience, the "oxidation" on backstraps and forestraps of handguns is "patina" from handling, not the kind of light surface rust that can be the result of moisture in the air. The suggested remedies won't work; you can clean the "oxidation" off, but there will not be blue underneath, since the blue has become part of the oxidation. Cleaning it off will reveal bare steel; the only solution is to have the gun (or at least that part) polished and reblued or touched up (temporarily) with a cold blue.

My solution is simple. I don't worry about it; it is a normal part of gun usage and even if the gun is reblued, it will only "oxidize" again with usage.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

I would leave the Navel Jelly to the navy to use on rusty battleships.

Navel Jelly has no place on any firearm that has any bluing left at all.

I refuse to use it on even an old rusty gun.
It takes everything off, down to bare steel, and etches into that if you leave it on a minute too long!!

Flitz polish on a soft cloth will remove minor oxidation without harming bluing.

0000 (extra fine) steel wool and oil will remove red surface rust without harming bluing.

rc

 

[Manco]

If you're talking about minor orange surface rust, then Weapon Shield CLP (the grease also removes orange rust and is a superior rust preventative), a cloth, and some gentle rubbing ought to take care of it without harming the bluing. Otherwise, what Jim Keenan said.

 

[wilkersk]

On a blued finish, if it doesn't wipe off with a little gun cleaning solvent and a non-abrasive cloth, then chances are the finish has been compromised. If you're not going to have it refinished, just wipe the pistol down regularly with a silcon cloth, or a properly lubricated gun cloth and don't worry about it. If its truely light surface rust, and you do this, it won't be noticeable unless you look closely under a bright light.

If its polished stainless, try a little oldfashioned Colgate toothpaste (not the gel), then remove all the residue with a gun solvent and wipe with a silicon cloth or gun cloth.

I keep a piece of old Tshirt that I've used for this purpose for at least 25 years. It has enough Hoppe's gun oil on it that I don't even have to add any.

 

[Blakenzy]

For fine, superficial " non-malignant" rust: Silicone spray (the type made for car interiors) and brass wool/shavings. No need for over-abrasive steel. You could use the CLP type deals but they usually smell really offensive.

 

[jimmyraythomason]

Nothing better for light surface rust than 0000 steel wool and oil. Try anything you want but you can't beat this team.

 

[HDStreet]

If you have minor to light surface rust, take a #2 graphite pencil and rub the graphite into the rust spots. This penetrates the ruff areas and seals it with the graphite. It also blackens the rust color. Simply wipe off the excess when finished. My Dad taught me this long ago and it has always worked for me.

 

[BCRider]

I've doctored up 4 or 5 of my used purchases that had minor rust blooms using the classic fine steel wool and oil method and they've come out looking like there was never any rust at all.

Don't fear using steel wool. The blued surface of the guns is harder than the wool and I didn't get any signs at all of any scratching on the blueing on any of the guns I did this on.

 

[Bliggida]

Bury it in the backyard for 10 years and call it "petina"
- at least if you plan to re-sell it.

 

[Bula]

Another vote on the 0000 steel wool saturated with a little FP-10 or any lightweight oil. Keep the surface wet and quit when you feel the steel wool clump start to 'glide' over the metal. Make sure you remove the grip panels prior.

 

[TonyDedo]

Sorry, the gun is ruined. Best not to shoot it anymore. I'll be a pal and take it off your hands for $200.

 

[Jim K]

I don't know exactly the condition of OP's gun, but it seems to me that none of the above posters have seen guns that have had a lot of handling. I could show pictures of dozens of old and not so old guns and milsurp guns with a brown color and believe me, there is NO blue under that brown patina.

Right now, I am looking at an old Iver Johnson, all brown. No amount of rubbing with steel wool and oil will "restore" the bluing because there is no blue left. Using an abrasive would only result in bare metal, with or without scratches.

Jim

 

[rcmodel]

Well, "none of the above posters" covers a lot of guys.
Me included.

I have seen a few old guns myself, and you are quite correct that if the finish has turned a completely brown patina, there is no bluing under there.

However, the OP ask about

some minor surface oxidation

I still felt my "Flitz first" then "steel wool & oil next if necessary" was more likely to help remove oxidized hand prints safely, then the "dunk it in Navel Jelly" suggestions!

rc

 

[c3prret]

Used to work with cadium plated hardware in the Navy, had to use the mildest means available to remove the tarnish. Always had a supply of pencils or just the eraser.

 

[wsfarrell]

+1 on the Flitz idea. I use Mother's Mag polish, which is similar and available at auto stores. It has turned several drab blue Colts into gleaming works of art.

 

[Stophel]

The old trick is to use a little bit of oil and a copper penny to scrub/scrape the minor rust off. It won't do anything to the metal, but will knock off the red/brown rust and make it look a little better.

Even if you get rid of all the rust, it will still leave pits or etching. That rust was formerly steel, and it is now gone.

 

[PT1911]

steel wool and breakfree... works for me.

 

[Confederate]

First, is the gun blued or stainless? If it's blued, don't use naval jelly, as you'll take the bluing right off (bluing is just controlled rusting).

The best way to handle your problem is to order some Mothers aluminum polish from Amazon.com (or pick it up locally), and use it lightly. I've had some success using leather and a little BreakFree, but any polish should help you remove light surface rust. Also, make sure this is rust and not just repeated contact of the hand against the blue. (Oils in the hand can cause bluing to fade, creating normal patina, or "character.")

If the gun is stainless, you can be more aggressive, applying stainless steel wool (never use regular steel wool on stainless guns -- it can cause corrosion and create nasty problems).

You can also freely use naval jelly on stainless, as well as crocus cloth and other light abrasives.

 

[riflenut]

oxidation removal

I own a 1978 COLT TROOPER MK 111 6" BARREL when i purchased it used and brought it home, i noticed hazy oxidation in different locations on the revolver. I tried some carnuba car wax it was a inprovement but still had some hazing. then i tried some blue magic metal polish cream on it . It removed all the blemishes and put a hell of shine on that colt blue!

 

[minutemen1776]

I finally got a chance to sit down and scrub my "new" Mark II. First, it was far dirtier than I'd realized, both inside and out. I cleaned to whole thing with a little solvent and then wiped it down good with CLP. I put a lot of elbow grease into rubbing down the areas with the oxidation. Thankfully, that seemed to remove 80-90 percent of the problem, but there's still just a tad left. To get the rest, I may use a mild polishing compound that I have which is similar to Flitz (can't recall its name right now), or I may just call it good. On the whole, this pistol is in fine shape for its age. It just looks as though someone shot it a long time ago and then put it away without cleaning it. I figure the oils from the former owner/shooter's hand, plus a lot of time, caused the oxidation/patina on the front- and back-straps. The blued finish looks a whole lot better now, and the inside (bore, bolt, etc.) shines like a new dime. It'll be nice to get to shoot it once the arctic weather subsides.

 

[45crittergitter]

+1 for bronze wool and oil.