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How To Clean Rust Off Of Your Gun


silentcropduster

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I own a stainless 1911. I have some some rust like spots on the frame where the outline of the grips are. Its not bad and its pretty small, but it does bother me.

I used some Hope's 9 bore cleaner w a microfiber cloth and it will not come off. I also used some Hope's 9 lube oil, still there.

Any gun experts on here have any ideas?

sent from double thumbin' it

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rust and blueing remover at most gunshops

 

dont use steel wool,it will discolor it

 

stay away from toothpaste, a proper stainless cleaner most stores will work too

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The proper way to remove rust from a blued steel gun is to gently scrub it with 0000 steel wool and gun oil.

It doesn't remove blueing, it will polish. That's how blueing is polished. Touch up with a blueing pen.

 

Stainless steel is like a kitchen counter top with a high nickel content. A firearm is stronger CRES - corrosion resistant steel. The surface can rust, even if passivated to remove the top exposed iron from the surface. Trick is not changing the surface finish of the firearm. I'd try mild acidic liquids first to remove the rust. White vinegar or lemon juice. I keep a bottle of the white vinegar around to soak hardware parts in. edit: If it's real bad, I might try a very fine scotch brite pad (the white one) from the hardware or automotive store, wet with the vinegar.

 

Do not use steel wool on aluminum. Big mistake.

And don't use aluminum anything on titanium. Bigger mistake. Not even ever touching it.

Hell, don't even assemble bare aluminum and bare stainless steel (CRES type) together.

Not unless you're trying to build a battery. It will eat a hole right through the aluminum (when wet).

 

edit again: I think I'll look for some sort of firearm brand rust remover. Might be good to have around. But that will remove blueing, of course, since blueing is technically a corrosion of the steel surface. Hoppe's and Birchwood make liquids. And there are a couple of brands of cloth type rust removers.

Edited by ReconRat
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I'm not being argumentative reconrat, gun stuff is one of the few areas I'm pretty well versed- custom stuff has been my career, fulltime job, for 20 some years- steel wool is not how steel is polished prior to bluing. taking steel wool, even wood workers grade, (its oil free-finer more consistent than 0000, often rusts into a hard biscuit before you use them up) and its expensive is risking scratching a highly polished metal surface. 

Steel wool, MOST brands will remove bluing and scratch any finished bluing higher than low end dip jobs.

 

BRONZE 0000 wool if you can find it is amazing! with a light oil, even wd40, and gently rubbed will lift all sorts of rust off polished bluing.

Steel wool risks discoloring many kinds of stainless by literally impregnating steel dust into the pores- and then rust later on creating more headaches.

you can use a simple car past wax on stainless guns as well on interior parts as well.(once rust free)

 

(off topic, bike stuff)

Bronze wool, say 0 thru 0000 grades, will also remove crazy rust and polish bike parts like nobodys business, especially super hard to get places-my dam gl1200 has chrome in places you can't see without disassembling bags, fairings etc (wtf) Also  a bronze brush will get those places hard to get with the bronze wool. I can't suggest strongly enough getting some.

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Medina, I agree with what you say. I've done the 0000 with oil trick on old blued steel weapons, and it removed the rust and not the blueing. Yes, I was very careful. Yes, I had doubts. Found the info in a turn of the century (1900) gunsmithing book. Bluing and salt browning is finished with 0000 and oil. No idea what is used before blueing. Other than cleaning. It left a bare spot where the rust had been. It did not appear to change the adjacent bluing at all. I blued the spots with a good blueing pen and can't see the touch up.

 

I'm not a gunsmith, I'm an ex-engineer with experience in materials and surface coatings.

 

I saw that bronze/copper/brass wool on-line, and wouldn't mind having some around. Looks useful. Might as well, I'm a big fan of bronze brushes on the bike.

Edited by ReconRat
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I own a stainless 1911. I have some some rust like spots on the frame where the outline of the grips are. Its not bad and its pretty small, but it does bother me. I used some Hope's 9 bore cleaner w a microfiber cloth and it will not come off. I also used some Hope's 9 lube oil, still there.Any gun experts on here have any ideas?sent from double thumbin' it

Duh don't let ot get rusty in the first place. Problem solved

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