Rust Removal

[Newton]

A colleague of mine brought his inherited shotgun/rifle collection into work the other day for me to take a look at.

Two of the shotguns had varying degrees of rust, either on the bluing of the receiver, or in the bore. A nice 16 gauge pump had minor surface rust and a faiirly clean bore, but an old side hammer 12 gauge had a lot of external and bore based rust, the bore was rusty in patches, as opposed to rusty all over.

Is there anything that can be used for effective rust removal, and can the same product be used on the guns bore and the externals.

Any suggestions appreciated.

 

[sm]

I'm from the old school..."walk down..."

Meaning GO Slow, Start Mild. Don't get in hurry, and don't start getting abrasive , patience.

You knew that , I just had to mention it for the haste makes waste folks. Like dried eggs on a plate, soak will soften and easy to clean...some grab the uberbelt sander and wonder why the plate is ruined.

Ok, I'd start with a CLP , I prefer G96,( Breakfree, Remoil...whatever you have is fine) Spray bore and let sit, after a bit just use a patch to see what you have to deal with, spray again. I wouldn't get the brush out yet, because I've just removed rust with G96 and patches.

Receiver, same deal, IF and I mean IF you have the proper tools and stuff remove metal from wood ( take stock off) Rust may be lurking under there too.

Just keep using G96 and wiping with a soft cloth.

Now if For sure it needs more atten get 0000 ( 4 aught) steel wool USE WITH G96--NOT DRY and ever so gently with wet steel wool rub. GO Slow.

If for sure the shotgun Barrels are in need , use a cleaing rod attach to drill put on a brush for the bore and wisps of 0000 wound around the brush and spray with G96 and run the brush into the bore. Go slow and gentle and check often.

Do not use anything but the 0000, especially on reciever. 0000 Always wet with CLP

I didn't mention solvents for a reason, yes there is place for them, though it is rare that I use them. Some solvents if let to soak harm steel, like if left in bores, the solvents caution against soaking for more than say 15 min. Solvents mixed with other solvents a big NO-NO, on ecan reallyharm steel...weaken it.

Ammonia is in a lot of solvents--Ammonia will take the nickel finish plum off of a gun. I f ammonia should seep where you can't dry it ( and it will ) the nickel separates from the base metal ( copper, brass) and you have real ugly gun which will be expensive to re-nickel.

Probably no nickel on the guns you referenced...but for future info, and to stress the importance of not letting solvents soak..."might" be a part you don't know internally is plated/nickel...see? Err on side of caution.

Less is More, Go Slow..."walk down"

HTH

 

[hksw]

Flitz.

 

[Newton]

sm

Great response thankyou.

 

[HSMITH]

For rusty bores I would use the Birchwood-Casey "Rust and Blueing Remover". Wet patches with it and use it like you would solvent. Be sure to get it all out of the bore and follow the directions on nuetralizing it. Also be very careful of the exterior finish because it WILL strip blueing almost instantly.

Toilet bowl cleaner is essentially the same chemicals with scents and thickening agents, it works VERY well also and is 1/10th the price for a huge bottle.

For the exterior rust I would follow the advise above, oil and OOOO steel wool with a LIGHT touch.

 

[sm]

Newton, your welcome-keep us posted .

HSMITH, humm never tried that BC Stuff. Thanks.

I'll have to if my gunsmith buddy has any. Since I'm doing good to keep oil around here...and I'm likely to clean guns at his place...umm need to poke around...plus I need to steal some stuff for my patio door as a lube.

Yes I clean toliets before you people make any comments. Chlorine tears my sinuses a new one, I mean I don't use anything with chlorine. If I enter a restroom that has been cleaned with it, I get a reaction quick. So for the sake of simple I don't get close to that shelf area...some scents too strong for me to even read labels. Potpourri is another no-no for me.

I use Baking Soda for a lot of cleaning. Inexpensive, doesn't scratch, cleans fiberglass, stainless sinks, toliet bowels...

Heck I even used in cooking the other day...imagine that.

We used baking soda mixed with just enough water to make a paste to clean brass, silver, copper, gold , nickel and platinum. Some mixed with ammonia...but ammonia and nickel not good as we said ammonia will separate the nickel form base metal. OK for the other metals.

I still polish with this Baking soda paste. I use Simichrome [by Happich] . This goes back some mumbleysomething years when the various metal polishes were not readily available...the few we had were not that good. Flitz was not even thought of...still think the Simichrome is better [ I could be biased].

Fabulustre, I used more when it came out than red rouge, -green and black rouge have a place , but Fabulustre cleans up much much easier and works just as well.

Rule For Polishing remain the same; you can take it off...you can't put it back.

Similar to over sanding wood and measure twice -cut once.

 

[cadjak]

I use a product called Eezox. Start out with some on a rag and see how much rust comes off. If you need an abrasive, I agree with the others, use 0000 steel wool or a hard to find item called Big 45 Frontier Gun Shop Gun Metal Cleaner.
-cadjak

 

[MaxSE PT99]

rust on parkerized finish

Newton, I apologize for interrupting your thread here, just have a similar ? to ask.

Anybody know how to remove rust from a parkerized finish Mossy 500? Will the same products mentioned above work as well?


Thanks in advance....

Jon

 

[cadjak]

Jon,

All the products that I mentioned will work on a parked gun. What have you tried so far to protect the gun from rust or remove the rust? What happened?
-cadjak

 

[Sunray]

For the 16 ga, use 0000 steel wool and some light oil. Have a look inside its innards but they're likely ok.
Before you spend a lot of time and elbow grease on the 12 ga, have a look down the barrel. You're looking for a swirling pattern almost like rifling. If you see it, stop doing anything to the shotgun. Its got damascus barrels and, unless it's a big name firearm, not worth worrying about. Even if it is a big name gun, it's likely rusted to the point of being unsafe to shoot. To make a decent wall hanger out of it, use a bench grinder with a very fine brass wire wheel. Lightly remove the rust being careful not to remove what's left of the bluing and hang it over the mantle.

 

[MaxSE PT99]

rust on mossy

Hey cadjak,

The mossy in queston isn't mine, i just saw it at a local gun shop the other day and was contemplating a purchase... $125 for a Mossberg 500A 18 in bbl, ghost ring sights, cruiser set up, looks like a parkerized finish, but I could be wrong.....

The finish is not blued, or stainless, it has a rough finsih, almost green-ish.

Not a bad deal, but it has some brown marks i assume are rust, and what looks to be white paint on the end of the barrel.......

Does this sound like a possiby saveable gun, or should I look around further?

Thanks in advance.....

Jon