Rust on my CCH!

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semi-auto six-string

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Hi Y'all
My daily carry is a Colt 1991A1 Officer's compact, in a parkerized finish. I use an Uncle Mike's IWB holster, which I like a lot. However, I live in Kansas, and it's HOT here. I wipe the gun down when I take it off, and oil it pretty regularly. I recently noticed a thin line of rust, right up next to the left side grip panel. I know it's from sweat. I took the grips off, cleaned her up good with Hoppe's solvent, and oiled it with Rem-oil and some Hoppe's gun oil in the rusted area. It appeared to have taken care of it. However, today I notice it's back. So, a couple of questions.

A: Can you recommend an IWB holster with a sweat guard? I thought Fobus made one, but I can't find one for a 1911 compact.

B: Is there some type of rust inhibitor that I can use to keep the rust from returning?

It's not a collector's piece. I realize it's going to get dinged and dirty if I carry it daily. That said, I'd still like to do all I can to take good care of her.

Thanks in advance for any info.
Regards!
Skot
 
Catch the rust before it becomes severe.

You are going to eventually lose the finish anyway in "rust-areas."

Your choice of firearm is one that requires higher maintenance to maintain the integrity of the metal than many of the other good choices now in the market.

Its still a very reliable design, and it will take good care of you, if you take good care of it. Some guns need to be cleaned daily to some degree under certain conditions.

The wax idea is OK for a gun that sees little use. But, you'll need more than a coate of museum wax if you actually carry the gun in holsters, and are regularly handling it, and cleaning it with solvents.
 
I've found that Ballistol works quite well. You do still have to clean and wipe down regularly, because you are using a carbon steel gun as an everyday carry. There is no getting around that. However, I've found that the Ballistol delays the rusting enough that I don't have to be actually anal about it.

Pops
 
Get yourself a good "kydex" holster with a sweat guard, and youll be on the right track. That should cut down the majority of the problem. A good hard chrome finish, or something similar will take care of the rest.

I dealt with rusty 1911's for a long time until Blade Tech showed up. I still have my first Blade Tech holster, and it still works as well as the day it was new, even after 10+ years of daily use, and another 10 years or so sitting around here (I no longer carry a 1911).

That, and a hard chrome refinish (after a year in a couple of Galco Royal Guards rusted my last Commander to the point I couldnt stand it anymore), and it went another 10+ years of hard, daily use.

Heres the gun and holster (on the right, the one on the left was a new "spare"). The Commander started out as a nice Colt "blue".....
ry%3D400.jpg

Close up of what to expect after over 10 years of "hard" daily use.....

ry%3D400.jpg
ry%3D400.jpg
 
Try some Kroil on it for a few days. Get the rust "wet" with it and let it sit overnight. Try it a few nights in a row. I've removed light rusting this way.
 
Yeah I was gonna suggest a hard chrome finish too.

Enjoy the rain today and you might as well wipe her down again....
 
I had a Taurus PT1911 with which I couldn't keep ahead of the rust. I think that the textured blues are more prone to rusting than polished blue. More surface area, or at least that's my theory. I ended up getting it melonited.

As a stop-gap, try changing your lube of choice. Some dude on YouTube did a rust prevention comparison, a while back. Rem-Oil fell near the bottom of the list. Ballistol and Froglube were at the top, if I recall correctly.
 
Thanks for all the good info, y'all. Do any of you have any experience with "Metaloy Industries"? They do a hard chrome finish, and I've been considering going that route for my carry, and my Son's 1911.
 
Hoppe's solvent, and oiled it with Rem-oil and some Hoppe's gun oil in the rusted area
Click to expand...

Tyr Break Free CLP.

Coat the metal liberally, let set for about 15 minutes, wipe off excess.
 
Hard chrome is pretty much hard chrome. Any of the reputable refinishers should work out about the same.

I am the zen master of producing corrosive sweat. And, I'm a free sweater. All my stainless guns have rust. I rust through hard chrome. E nickle is a little more rust resistant, for me, than hard chrome, but, not nearly as hard. Same with the polymer finishes. Robar NP3 may offer the most rust protection.

Check out Coal Creek armory. They do a titanium nitride that is like tenifer on Glocks. It's very, very good. I had a pocket gun done, it has not rusted yet.
 
A couple of replies here that I hadn't seen. I truly appreciate the info. What I did that has worked well so far: I took the grip panels off and VERY lightly used some 00000 steel wool soaked in Hoppe's solvent to remove the rust. I then sprayed the gun with break free CLP and let it set for several hours. After a thorough clean-up, I re-assembled, and every few days I wipe the gun down with a good silicone cloth and run a very small bead of Hoppe's gun oil right down the edge of the left grip panel. It doesn't take much. I usually do this when I'm done for the day so it can sit. I haven't seen any return of the rust at all. To help keep the rust off the grip area I have been tucking a terri cloth wash cloth in my waistband, before I put my holster on. I then flip the edge of the cloth up over the grip. It's a big pain, but it works. It's been 100 degrees here the last few days, with a lot of humidity. There's no sweat getting on the gun when I use this cloth. HOWEVER, I don't want this cloth to be a hinderance if I should ever need to get to the gun in a big hurry. Most of the holsters I've seen with "sweat guards" protect the safety / hammer area, but not the length of the grip. That's the only place I've had a rust issue. Totally by accident I discovered a holster company that makes a holster with a sweat guard that covers the entire gun. It's made by N8-2, or "Nate Squared Tactical"
I haven't received mine yet but I'm really looking forward to it. I'll report back after I have a chance to use it a bit. Have any of you tried one?

Thanks again for all the good info / advice.
 
Hard chrome does indeed go far to keep rust at bay. But, in the right environment, it can still let some get through. I switched to a HC slide on my carry piece when the blued one started rusting. Now, one year later, there are trace (and I do mean tiny) amounts of rust starting to show in the slide serrations. But it has held up pretty good.
 
Like said above, cleaning with Hoppes #9 and using RemOil is fine but won't hold off the rust indefinitely. Using something with a rust inhibitor like Break Free or my favorite gun cleaner, G96 Gun Treatment. G96 works very well and it smells a little like bubblegum. I have use almost nothing else over the past few years. In your case I would recommend their military grade Synthetic CLP Gun Oil. It has the extra horsepower you probably need on your gun.
 
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