Rust Removal - Old .22 - Best Way?

[jjohnson]

Hi, Gents!

I have a new project - a little Marlin .22 single shot that looks like it's lived in a garage for years (I think it DID!). There's fine rust on the barrel and elsewhere, not the kind you'd get with submersion, but the light surface rust in spots where somebody's grimy hands were before it was "stored."

If you had light rust and wanted to see if you could get it all off without totally stripping it for DuraKote or something, what would you use? "Never Dull," 0000 steel wool, or what?

I know if the rust is deep, this will probably be my first DuraKote project, but if all it needs is a good bit of elbow grease with something that won't damage the rest of the bluing, I'd rather try that first.

Advice is always appreciated - Thanks!

 

[rcmodel]

0000 steel & oil.
It won't hurt the bluing in the least unless you really get over-enthusiastic with it.

If that won't do it, get out the Shake & Bake paint.

rc

 

[krs]

When you are using oil and #0000 wool on the barrel try first to get your rust off using the wool wrapped around the barrel and work it by either turning the barrel in your hand or by wrist acting to turn the wool around the barrel rather than working lengthwise.

If this works - good. If your blueing is thin, as old blue gets with age and exposure, working AROUND the barrel will minimize the slight but visible lengthwise marking from your energetic work.

If the blue is still deep you can safely work lengthwise as long as you don't overdo the pressure you use.

I've found Marlin blue to be better and more longlasting than Winchester's blueing. Also, it's sometimes worth the try to use a good cold blue like Oxpho-Blue from Brownell's on old Marlin barrels.

Normally I wouldn't mention cold blue but with some Marlins, some old Brownings, and one old Walther I've gotten a very nice result with that stuff. It's got more to do with the steel than the product I think. For example 19th century Swedish steel will cold blue, so will early 20th century Belgian steel, but Spanish and German steels are a waste of otherwise useful time no matter when those people dug up their ore. It may be good steel, and I think most would agree that in general German steel is finer than most others but when it comes to a cold blue process something in the formula prevents a decent result in German guns. . (I'm pretty sure that the Walther plant in the 1930's was importing it's steel from the Ukraine in order to save a little per gun. A penny saved per unit had real meaning when the number of Walther pistols is considered.

Some considerations before resorting to one of those awful paints for a nice old Marlin firearm.

 

[Sunray]

A light touch with a fine brass wire wheel in a bench grinder. Eye protection is mandatory. 0000 steel wool and oil if you don't have a bench grinder.

 

[krs]

A light touch with a fine brass wire wheel in a bench grinder

I wouldn't get near it with any power tool, light touch or not, but that's just me - I'd happily live in the world before power tools.

 

[Badger Arms]

Brass wool (if you can find it) with some Break Free. The brass won't damage the bluing and it comes off with amonia products (like Hoppes #9 or even the little bit that's in Break Free).

 

[Jim K]

+1 on the brass (or copper) wool. You can find it sold as a pot scrubber in the kitchenware department at any grocery story.

For the oil/penetrant, I prefer a product called G96 Gun Treatment to Hoppes.

Jim

 

[CZguy]

Brass wool (if you can find it) with some Break Free. The brass won't damage the bluing and it comes off with amonia products (like Hoppes #9 or even the little bit that's in Break Free).

Brass wool is the way to go, and the finer the better. I use it with regular gun oil or light weight machine oil.

You can usually find brass wool at Midway, or Brownell's.