Posted: 5/12/2010 1:01:37 AM EDT
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What is the opinion of you guys (and a few gals) on how to remove rust from a firearm? I have never had a rust problem with my guns. Apparently a relative of mine has SERIOUSLY neglected some nice guns and let them get all rusted up. It looks like surface rust, no pitting, but a lot of it.
I am thinking since I have a lot of Break-Free CLP that it combined with some light pressure from some 0000 steel wool should do the trick. Before I try that, does anyone else have experience or know of a better way to remove rust from a gun without tearing the thing up? |
You don't really 'remove' rust.....you just knock it off the gun...and are left with the pits.
I've been known to smash a brass cartridge case flat to make a scraper. Using the scraper to clean up what won't come off with steel wool. Just depends on how bad the gun is rusted. |
| Way back when I was in recruit training the Drill Instructors told us the way to removr rust was with "cold water rinse and CLP." I've only worked on one gun that had rust on most of the reciever, it was an old H&R .22 single-shot that a buddy asked me to clean and try to restore. Unfortunetly it would have cost more to restore/replace missing parts then the actual cost of the gun. All I did was take some Simple Green, a rag, some water and a good amount of CLP and I had it cleaned in 2 days. Of course I should also mention it was gummed up with gunk but the simple green hepled with that. Simple Green, water, brass brushes and CLP is how I would do it. Worked for me so far. |
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Quoted:
You don't really 'remove' rust.....you just knock it off the gun...and are left with the pits.
I've been known to smash a brass cartridge case flat to make a scraper. Using the scraper to clean up what won't come off with steel wool. Just depends on how bad the gun is rusted. This. If its bad enough. CLP and very fine steel wool will work for most applications. It will also do wonders for neglected wood stocks. |
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Use a copper penny, a real one from the 70's or before to remove rust––just like a scrapper.
Another useful item is copper wool––just like steel wool but the copper doesn't mess the bluing up as bad. This is a great product too. http://www.bluewonder.us/BlueWonderGunCleaner.html |
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Other choices for those who are lazy like me, and working on bare steel or aluminum,
Rusteco is on the expensive side, but it lives up to its claims. I think the liquid form is a lot better than the gel. I've bought what I think is the same thing but cheaper and watered down at AutoZone, called "Evapo Rust." These probably aren't worth it unless you have a wide-spread corrosion or a lot of hard to reach places. Cheaper and slower still is a 1:9 mixture of molasses and water. It takes the molasses mix a day or two to start bubbling and telling you it's working but it's also good for the lazy guy with hard to reach areas. None of these leave shiny metal, so you still have some rubbing to do, just less of it, and none of the uncorroded metal is removed. |
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I didn't have any 0000 steel wool on hand but I did find a few brass bristled brushes in one of my gun cleaning boxes. I found a big can of BreakFree CLP that's about the size of a can of hair spray too. That came in handy and the results were fine with me. Didn't even hurt the finish on anything.
Thanks for the ideas guys. |
Just choose your medium carefully. Yes, I do have my own blast cabinet.