My sister asked me to help her clean some of her ex husbands firearms for her. I haven’t seen them but she said some of them have “a lot” of rust on them.  Is there a product/technique to remove excessive rust?

Naval jelly.  But it will also remove some finishes, including blueing.

You might have some luck with Kroil and a toothbrush.  

If it's real bad, skip the chemicals and elbow grease and have them blasted and cerakoted.

0000 steel wool with some oil works, too.  But, like the previous post, if the rust is bad enough, then finishes will be destroyed, anyway.  Depends on if they want them to look good again, or just function.  My dad's 100 year old H&R shotgun... we weren't going to refinish it, so I just cleaned off the rust as best I could, and coated it with WD40 Rust Inhibitor.  It's not the regular WD40, this stuff is amazing.  So, at least it'll probably not get any worse than it is now.

For thicker rust spots I use a solid copper penny (1981 or earlier) to rub the rust off without destroying the bluing.  Then use a copper bore solvent to remove the copper marks.

I found the Hoppe's field wipes worked great on some of my tools that had rust from a garage fire.  So of course they quit making them.  But Corrosion-X works great too.


https://www.amazon.com/Corrosion-50010-Guns-4oz-bottle/dp/B0009H1AM6

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003HFTI0S/?coliid=IY1DAEPPK1YJN

https://www.amazon.com/Corrosion-X-90104-Heavy-Duty-12-Ounce-Aerosol/dp/B0009H1AMG

My method in the shop was.........

Liberally soak the area with Kroil or CLP Breakfree.  Give it a few days to fully penetrate, soften, and lift the rust.
Apply more, then scrub with a brass "toothbrush".
Wipe off.
To prevent further rust and to continue to "work" any remaining rust keep a light coat of CLP on it.

Many people claim 0000 steel wool won't harm the bluing, but it WILL unless used VERY gently and with plenty of lubricant oil.
I've seen a lot of guns with what appear to be craters around a spot that was rusty.
That's caused by the steel wool bouncing over a hard rust spot and abrading the surrounding blue.

No matter how light the rust is there will be pits and missing finish.
People talks about "seed rust" and that it can be easily removed with no damage.  
No it can't.  Rust is rust and it WILL leave pits easily seen with slight magnification.

The above method is the best I've found to remove rust and not harm the original finish.  Other methods, beware.
Using products like Naval Jelly that are acids WILL remove bluing and etch the steel.

Another method people have used with some success is to boil the parts in pure water.
This converts the red rust to a black oxide that in many ways is like rust bluing.

Big 45 Frontier gun rust remover

Used this on a Colt Python blued 6" revolver. It didn't damage the intact blued surface that wasn't attacked by rust.

It worked for me but use at your own risk.

I removed some of the barrel of my old M37 Ithaca over 20 years ago.  Made it nice/short for hunting rabbits/grouse in the brush.

A couple years back I was moving stuff in one of the sheds and "found" the barrel piece.  I'd just held onto it, cut it, put it in a box and forgotten about it.  It rusted. where I'd held onto it.  

To prove a point I grabbed some 0000 steel wool and 3n1 oil and went to work.  Oil on the steel wool, rub lightly, every now and then wipe off the rusty/oily residue and check the finish.  More oil and more light rubbing if needed.  I keep hearing 0000 steel wool will damage bluing, just haven't seen it happen, yet.

You can see the rust on the right end of the barrel piece.



After the cleanup.



Something I tried the other day, but do not have enough time after the work to decide if it will be a long term type of "fix" for surface rust on a gun/magazine was to use some Never Dull polish.  It wiped the rust right off the "new" magazines I bought a few weeks back.

Typical rust under the soft rubber sleeves on the magazines (CZ75 .40 S&W) as received.



After wiping down with the Never Dull "wads."



Don't have any pictures of rusted guns "repaired" with anything because I've never let one of them rust.

Neither of the above methods will "fix" a rust pit.  Get the rust (orange looking particles) out of the pit, sure, but the pit will still be there.

I just use Iosso bore paste or Flitz paste. I found the flitz to work the best in removing rust. I just put a dab on a toothbrush.

I've yet to damage the finish on a firearm using 0000 steel wool and CLP.

Even high polish/ blued.

Evaporust is what you seek,  will not damage plastic or painted surface. And it will completely remove it.

Call me old school, but I've found Flitz paste to be super powerful at polishing and removing rust without ruining the metal underneath being that it's not abrasive at all. If it's something like my gas block (inside) or piston head or whatever it may be, the paste removes it, polishes it, and apparently leave a protective coating. I can use a patch, those blue automotive paper towels, a buffer/dremel, or microfiber clothes. Paper towels work but they leave those weird fibers.

I'm not sure what's in Flitz, but I've become a huge fan recently to clean, polish, protect rusted parts or parts that can be largely targeted by rust. Zero elbow grease or soaking required and it's non abrasive.

Evaporust will take care of rust, but only use if the metal is in the white. Evaporust will remove blueing/parkerizing along with the rust. I don’t know if it’s safe on nitride.

If it’s just surface rust, try Eezox. If it’s worse, the move up to the steel wool. If it’s real bad, consider blasting and refinishing.

ETA: however you get rid of it, use Eezox to prevent reoccurrence.

Same here.  With good lube like CLP, 0000 steel wool polishes, it will remove rust but has never damaged steep surfaces, even mirror finish blued steel.

I guess if you are ham fisted enough, use enough pressure and use the 0000 with no solvent/lubticant, it might be possible.  I've never seen that.

Start with Bronze wool first.

B

Electrolysis

He gets it, bronze wool trumps steel wool for rust removing.  The steel wool supposedly leaves behind trace particles that will eventually start the cycle of rust again.  The copper penny trick works well too and as mentioned pre-1981 to be safe.

I used the Harbor Freight rust away soak on my 1960s lathe chucks and centers.

Keep being told that Brake Fluid is great for rust removal .... yet, to try it... but will ASAP !   Comments, please !!!

Have been  told that Brake Fluid is great for rust removal..... have yet to use it, but am eager to learn!  Comments, Please !

I think I read somewhere here on Arfcom that olive oil is useful for this purpose, and is used by some gunsmiths on antique firearms. It is supposed to be slightly acidic.

This is what you seek:





amazon link

Coca-cola works, seriously

My experience also. Everything I’ve put in Evaporust came out black and then would flash rust almost immediately if not oiled.

Evaporust. Shit is awesome.

I've had good luck with vinegar. Acidic but not too acidic. Easy on bluing. Soak for a while. A little 0000 or a scotch bright to clean it up. Rinse and oil immediately.

Uncle put his guns in case in the garage while building a new house.  In Alabama,  in the summer.  Rust everywhere.

Broke out the trusty kano kroil and a brass brush.  Took care of it very well.

Let the kroil set a bit before starting the brushing.