Posted: 9/13/2008 2:44:53 PM EDT
So, I ah, took a bit of a dunk while taking photos on my way out of town: I was carrying at the time, and rushed home to clean it off - it'd already started rusting on the exterior. I field stripped, cleaned, and relubed, and got on the road. At the hotel, I detailed stripped all but the slide, saw rust all over the place, and cleaned and relubed it. Got home today, took everything apart, and there still seems to be some rust here and there. I'm especially worried about the sights, as there's a nook between the sights and the slide that i can't get to except by "flossing" with patches, and I suspect it's already started to rust into the dovetail. So...what to do? I'm guessing a soap/water bath to remove the salt, dry, and then immerse in CLP for a while. |
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I had good luck with washing one in soapy water and rinsing. Then I put it in the oven at 150 or so. When I was sure it was dry, while still REALLY hot, I oiled the shit out of the whole thing and let it cool. The gun sucked in the oil. I had very little to wipe off after it cooled. Seemed to cure the rust problem. |
I'd skip the soap. Fresh water and a hairdryer should remove the salt. CLP and then you might try Brownells 082-000-013BC "Rust Release", 1 gal, 21.95. That should remove all the rust in any inaccessible places. I used it on an old S&W .32 cal I was going to reblue and it did a good job. Got all the rust out of the pits. ETA: after you use it on your handgun you can soak your tools, etc. It's supposed to "clean up 325# of rusted metal." |
I did that too, and it seemed to work... JUST MAKE SURE there are no plastic parts when you do it.... I had melt my sights off and ended up buying a new set... (got tritium this time around). 
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Salt Away. (There are similar brands) It's a formula for cleaning fishing reels and boats, I've used it on shotguns with good effect. It gets into all the nooks and crannies and chemically deactivates the salt. You can get it at Boater's World or Cabela's. I'm sure other marine supply places have it. |