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Thread: Surface Rusted Barrel.... please help

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    Surface Rusted Barrel.... please help

    I found the worst thing possible on my C-Sharps 1874 today..... rust. The rust was pretty bad and formed where the barrel was laying against the case that it was in, there are no deep pits though. What are my options on getting this fixed? I have tried to clean it but I知 pretty sure the rust goes into the bluing so I知 guessing the barrel will have to be polished and re-blued?

    Should I try to send this back to C-Sharps to have them work on it or should I send it to another well known gunsmith for these types of guns?

    Thanks I知 advance for the help!

  2. #2
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grease groover View Post
    I found the worst thing possible on my C-Sharps 1874 today..... rust. The rust was pretty bad and formed where the barrel was laying against the case that it was in, there are no deep pits though. What are my options on getting this fixed? I have tried to clean it but I’m pretty sure the rust goes into the bluing so I’m guessing the barrel will have to be polished and re-blued?

    Should I try to send this back to C-Sharps to have them work on it or should I send it to another well known gunsmith for these types of guns?

    Thanks I’m advance for the help!
    If it was mine
    gently gently with fine fine steel wool till the rust is gone
    clean it off with rubbing alcohol and a soft cloth
    touch up blue with Birchwood Casey paste blue
    ditch the case !! unless it is wood ------- I have yet to see a modern case or bag that wont accelerate rust.

    my caveat - sending it off to a gunsmith would cost me several hundred dollars and could take up to a year - If the innards are ok it will not shoot any different than before and if you do the touch up with care you will struggle to see it - so you have a slight sign of use - so - not the end of the world . get out there and shoot it.

  3. #3
    Boolit Grand Master


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    Try to scrub the rust out with OOOO steel wool and WD-40. If that does not bring back the finish you want hen you will have to send it out to be reblued. There are a number of good gunsmiths that reblue firearms, just remember that you get what you pay for.
    Old enough to know better, young enough to do it anyway!

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  4. #4
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    Another vote for WD40 and 0000 steel wool .I keep my steel wool really wet with WD40 and wipe off the surface with a white rag as I go to see my progress . Good luck with your project .

  5. #5
    Boolit Master
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    Don’t use steel wool, it’s harder than any bluing that may remain. Fine bronze wool is better. Use Lots of any fluid to suspend the rust particles and keep turning the wool pad to a clean section, you don’t want to grind the rust into the remaining bluing.

    You can get it on Amazon.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
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    Plus one for bronze wool. NO steel wool. If you have a small "pit", use the edge of a penny to scrape off the rust. Use plenty of oil.

  7. #7
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by WALLNUTT View Post
    Plus one for bronze wool. NO steel wool. If you have a small "pit", use the edge of a penny to scrape off the rust. Use plenty of oil.
    Yup. I use an old penny, pre 1982 I think is copper vs zinc.

  8. #8
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    metricmonkeywrench's Avatar
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    I cant recall the name at the moment but there is a stainless steel pad for guns (old west something or other) I used with a lot of Hoppes to clean up my Muzzle loader

  9. #9
    Boolit Buddy KMac's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by metricmonkeywrench View Post
    I cant recall the name at the moment but there is a stainless steel pad for guns (old west something or other) I used with a lot of Hoppes to clean up my Muzzle loader
    Frontier 45 is the name of the pad.
    " My people skills are just fine. It's my tolerance for idiots that needs work."

  10. #10
    Boolit Mold
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    Thanks for the replies guys! I’m feeling a little less stressed now. I went ahead and picked up some fine bronze wool from Amazon and I’ll try that first since it’s less abrasive than steel wool. If that doesn’t work then I might go the OOOO steel wool route and if it removes blueing I’ll try the cold blue. If all that fails then I guess I’ll send it out. The picture below is a section of the barrel that has the rust. This is after I cleaned up the barrel with copious amounts of bore butter and a nylon brush. You can see that there is still some rust spots left.

    Also, the rifle is not going into that case again unless it’s going on a trip! Maybe I’ll hang the rifle on my wall....

    Click image for larger version. 

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  11. #11
    Boolit Mold
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    Those frontier pads have some good reviews, went ahead and picked those up as well, might try those before the bronze wool.

  12. #12
    Boolit Master
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    Quote Originally Posted by Grease groover View Post
    Those frontier pads have some good reviews, went ahead and picked those up as well, might try those before the bronze wool.
    Your call, but since we know that the bronze wool won’t harm the bluing I’d suggest trying it first vs an unknown. I’d also stay away from the bore butter and similar if you don’t know what abrasive it contains. It’s not going to get meaningfully worse over the next couple days, you can go slowly on this.

    I’ve used the Frontier pads for heavily leaded barrels, they work great for that.

  13. #13
    Boolit Mold
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    @JimB

    That’s a fair point. Still freaking out a little over it and I’m a little desperate. After reading up on everything it’s seems like everyone suggests to stay away from bore butter anyways even for clean/preserving. I’m going to start to use break free instead to preserve and just simple water and maybe the vinegar windex to clean.

  14. #14
    Boolit Grand Master
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    +1 on the bronze wool. Always do a water based cleaning first, followed by your preference of gun cleaning solutions, and an oil preservative. Eezox, Fluid Film, RIG, WD-40 gel, or the best - Boeing T-9. Never store in a case. As you can see, it wicks preservatives from the metal and bares the metal for rust to form.

  15. #15
    Boolit Grand Master

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    l would start even milder with a small clean piece of burlap cloth and oil. wrap round a file and use a draw file type movement. By wrapping around a file it will help stop brightening / rounding the corners.

  16. #16
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    Just going by the photo I'm seeing, it should clean up very easily. After you clean it you need to put a protective coating of something on the metal. I've found carnauba wax to work well. A thin coat, let dry a bit, buff with a clean, soft cloth.

    DG
    Last edited by Der Gebirgsjager; 02-04-2021 at 01:53 PM. Reason: typo

  17. #17
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    Guys, something that the old machinists did, and some still do, is put a piece of camphor in the case. It helps prevent rust. Most of it is made in China or India. I got mine from Amazon. Search on Camphor Tablets.

  18. #18
    Boolit Grand Master

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    chalk was also used but it needed to be changed out every so often

  19. #19
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    Quote Originally Posted by KMac View Post
    Frontier 45 is the name of the pad.
    That's the one I believe, I got turned onto it by when trying to clean out a rusted bore on a ML, a single strand about 6in long wrapped around a old bore brush did wonders to clean up the internals of the barrel. I subsequently used the pad to clean up my rusted RCBS press handle (no loss of blueing) and my Second Gen SAA that was gifted to me but stored badly, that had significant surface rust on the barrel and cylinder and some pitting from sitting in a holster.

    Just my experience's with the product, your mileage may vary

  20. #20
    Boolit Mold
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    Thanks everyone for the info! So just to make sure I do this correctly. When I start to scrub the barrel with the bronze pad I need to keep the area soaked in some kind of oil (WD-40?) and use very light pressure until the rust is removed. Afterward hopefully there will still be blueing present and I just need to keep the area well oiled?

    If this doesn’t work then I’ll resort to more drastic measures! Hopefully it’ll work!

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BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
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