Rust and Parkenized Finishes

[Vegaslaith]

I'm not sure how, but my Tantal has come down with a case of rust on the part of the buttstock that contacts my shoulder. Does anyone know how to remove the rust without harming the finish? I thought the whole point of parkenizing was to make metal rust-proof. Thanks in advance.

 

[WinchesterAA]

parkerization only works if you keep it oiled.

 

[Wildfire]

Wrong.

Hey there :
Sorry about the gun. Parkerizing will rust and very fast too. Way faster then a good bluing job.
Fine brush and keep rubbing. Use Lube 1000. It is for Black Powder guns. Looks really good too. It is a Natural lube that will last way longer then any petro oil you can find.

 

[Mil-Spec45]

I'm not arguing Wildfire, but just personal experience with my guns tell me the opposite. Several blued guns I have will rust rather quickly when carried against my skin or while it's damp. The couple parkerized I carry have never rusted, even one bit, even after carrying in a nice big rain storm. I treat them all the same cleaning and oiling wise, too.

 

[Vegaslaith]

Ok, so far "Lube 1000" is on the table.Do they have it at Wal Mart or Big 5?

 

[goon]

Vegaslaith - I use Havoline 10W-40 motor oil on my Parkerized FAL. Parkerizing has always been way more rust resistant for me than bluing.
A couple weeks ago I was out shooting my FAL when it started freaking pouring rain. I had three mags loaded and had just started shooting. I figured that since both I and the rifle were already wet, I might as well finish shooting.
I cleaned the rifle as usual when I got home and there has been no rust. The rain actually just beaded up and ran off.
All you need to do is put a coat on every other day or so until you can see that the parkerizing isn't absorbing any more oil. I use motor oil because it's always available to me and it's "free". I just use the last little bit that doesn't come out of the bottle when I add it to my engine. Just that little bit will usually be enough for several coatings.
But I don't use it in the bore.

 

[the naked prophet]

Parkerizing is not a rust-resistant finish. Parkerizing is only a porous surface, and the rust protection is up to you. Cover it with vaseline and bake it in the oven set on warm or 150 degrees, to melt the vaseline and make it soak into the porous surface.

If you use brake cleaner, or other solvents, you're cleaning out all the rust protection too. Be sure to reapply the grease (grease will stick better and not run out like oil will).

 

[justin 561]

Try some steel wool to remove the rust and then touch up the blueing/Parkenization.

 

[R1100R]

Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner has a rust remover in it. It is sold at Walmart. I have use it in my Tantal and it works well. The parkerized job on most Tantal's is spotty. I shoot a lot of Milsurplus ammo and is corrosive. Oil down the rifle well let it sit. Then wipe off excess.
Don't to forget to check the inside of the gas tube a lot of AK's rust there.

 

[takhtakaal]

I had it in the exact same spot on the exact same weapon and it came that way from the vendor. It also had some issues up on the grenade launcher/muzzle break as well. The vendor copped a massive attitude and will never see a dime of my money again. At any rate, I used Flitz and a massive dose of CLP and have only had one re-occurrence in the past year. You must take all precautions possible with Tantals and milsurp ammo or you will pay the price.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

Use ONLY 0000 steel wool (no harsher) and plenty of oil to remove the rust. If the part won't get hot, and is mostly oil-free---you can use plain old Johnson paste wax or turtle wax on the surface as a rust preventative coating also.

 

[DFW1911]

One of the guys on our annual Alaska pilgrimage brought an shotgun that was Parkerized: it began rusting immediately upon arriving at our cabin. We had to disassemble and thoroughly clean it every night. Granted we we in S/E and on the ocean, so the salt content is very high, but that thing rusted so fast it was scary.

As a point of comparison I normally take my 870 which has been "Robarized"; that gun has never had any problems or rust develop anywhere on it.

 

[Vegaslaith]

Neo-Luddite, what's 0000 steel wool? How do I tell when looking at the package?

 

[jakemccoy]

In my experience, matt < blued < parkerized. In other words, matte is the worst for rust prevention. Sometimes people confuse parkerized with matte. I'm not saying people here are, but I've had people try to sell me a gun that was matte but advertised as parkerized.

 

[jmr40]

jakemccoy, you beat me to it. I cannot think of a single rifle or shotgun designed for hunting that is currently in production that is parkerized. All of the matte finished guns are simply blued after bead blasting the metal.

Remington parkerized their 11-87 and 870 special purpose shotguns, but only for the first year or 2 of production. After that they simply blued the matte finish to save money These are the only factory parkerized hunting guns that I know of that have ever been produced

There are some handguns that are parkerized and most of the military type rifles and shotguns such as the Mossberg 590 are as well.

Real parkerizing holds up pretty well.

 

[GBExpat]

... what's 0000 steel wool? How do I tell when looking at the package?

Fine-grade steel wool ... it will say "0000" on the bag/box.

 

[skinewmexico]

They all rust if you don't keep them oiled. Steel wool will fix that.

 

[Vegaslaith]

Thanks guys. 0000 wool and keep it oiled.

 

[Neo-Luddite]

That's it--steel wool is rougher as the numbers go up from 0000 to 000 to 00, etc. 0000 is almost as soft as raw wool or cotton. You could even just start with some heavy felt and oil, too.

 

[mbt2001]

I use Barricade, Birchwood Casey... I think that is the best on the market.