Removing rust from bores.

[Rachen]

As I was lubricating and oiling my Armisport Enfield down with Birchwood Casey Barricade today, I noticed some light rust inside the bore, no doubt from storage either at the factory or at the store's warehouse. Right now I brushed the entire bore with Barricade, to prevent further rusting.

Is there a "best" solution for removing rust from the rifle's bore. I was looking at Birchwood Blue and Rust remover but it is full of real heavy duty acid and I won't even think about subjecting ANY area on a prized gun to any of that solvent.

Please share any insights you may have. EvapoRust may seem good. If WD-40or Pennzoil is any good, I'll give it a try. I rather use a petroleum based rust remover. Thank you all.

 

[mykeal]

It may not actually be rust, but rather a rust preventative used for long term storage. Some Italian manufacturers used a yellow/orange colored gel in bores of guns to be shipped overseas at one point. I had a Uberti revolver that was done that way. When the material mixed with dust and some bore cleaner it turned a rust brown/red.

However, assuming it is indeed rust, I think you really only need a surface treatment, so you're right to stay away from the heavy duty compounds intended for pitted metal. I'd go with a good nylon brush and hot soapy water, then a hot water rinse follwed immediately by dry patches and then a good rust preventative oil, either mineral or petroleum based.

WD-40 and Pennzoil are fine for rust prevention but not rust removal.

 

[Rachen]

Mykeal, it is indeed rust. I first introduced multiple patches soaked with Barricade down the bore. Out came all the preventative grease, along with their characteristic brown/yellowish colors. The bore looked shiny and crud-free afterwards. However, there are streaks of rust near the muzzle, some streaks here and there.

Would just soapy water remove this rust? Nothing else needed? I was thinking WD40 and a good bore brush, many folks used WD40 to actually scrub off rust.

What do you think? Maybe EvapoRust?

 

[mykeal]

Not familiar with EvapoRust.

I use the Birchwood Casey product on moderate to bad bores - restored a very bad 1851 Navy for my brother-in-law last summer - and have not identified any specific problems with it. I have also used a product called Blue Wonder that I got from Brownell's for metal prep prior to browning barrels. It did a good job on a pocket knife that had some light surface rust on it.

I think the brush is the most useful tool on light surface rust - it mechanically removes the scale - and using a good rust preventative will keep it from coming back by keeping oxygen at bay. It's only necessary to remove the oxide chemically if there are deep pits that the brush may not get into or does not have the strength to break loose.

The hot soapy water does nothing chemically, of course. It just provides a medium to carry the scale away. The brush does the real work.

 

[scrat]

bronze bore brush and some gun oil. Always worked for me.

 

[arcticap]

I use a bronze brush too but only when absolutely necessary. It's important to realize that once at the point where the direction of the brush is reversed in the barrel, the ends of those bristles can put an increased amount of wear pressure on the barrel much greater than the forces of the brush when it's simply going in the up or down direction.
So it might be better to make full strokes with the brush and to do as few strokes as possible. That's why some folks won't use a bronze brush unless absolutely necessary and only as little as possible.
While other folks clean with a bronze brush all of the time, no one will ever really know or admit if using it causes harmful wear on a particular spot over time or not. So be very conservative using one since over time that little bit if rust may just get shot out on it's own. Or try to see if there's a plastic brush available or a scrubbie pad of some kind. People have mentioned a small piece of a 3M green scrubbie pad as working, but I'm not familiar with their actual composition.
Could they be like something used for scouring teflon pans?

 

[Zeke/PA]

Careful with the "rust remover" stuff as you may affect the blue/ brown on your rifle/ pistol.
Brass brush, oil and elbow grease will solve your problem.
Zeke