.380 Finally succumbed to rust. What do I do?

[7Acres]

Hello gentlemen,
This is my backup that I've always got on me. Last couple weekends of heavy yard work I got the Uncle Mike's holster soaked with sweat and put the gun away at night like I always do, in it's holster. This time the gun rusted up. Don't know why it never has before in the years I've had it. But here's what it looks like now...

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It's obvious to me now that storing it at night in its sweat soaked holster constitutes neglect on my part. No idea why the light bulb never went off about that before. Anyway, I've never dealt with rust on my guns before. Can you guys point me in the right direction on properly removing this rust and get some type of re-bluing on it to protect the surface of the metal better for the future? Also, if you'd like to advise me to ditch the Uncle Mike's in favor of a better holster I'm open to that feedback too.

[Sgtonory]

I know i have seen somewhere where guys where useing black stove paint on there slides to protect it.

[fecmech]

I would just rub it down with 4/0 steel wool with some light oil, that should take care of the rust. If the sweat is a common thing I think I'd have the slide powder coated or one of the many bake on finishes. If it was me I'd just clean off the rust , put a coat of paste wax on the slide and just keep track of the guns condition in the future. It's a pocket gun after all and all it needs to be is reliable. BTW I own an ugly green P3AT myself, great little pocket gun!

[MBTcustom]

Go with it.
My carry gun is for just that. For the first 3 years, my 1911 would rust (albeit not as bad as yours) especially in the summer, and I would just pretend that I was "rust bluing" it.
Just rub it down with 0000 steel wool (enough to get the red rust off, but don't bust it down to bare metal), and let it rust again. Eventually, everywhere that is trying to rust will protect itself using this method. My pistol has not shown any signs of rust in years now.

[EMC45]

My P3AT rusts all the time. I carry it when raking/mowing and sweat a good bit. Normally I will wipe it down to soak up the sweat and then knock back the rust with 0000 SW then run my Marsh brush over it and be done with it. As long as it still fires when it's needed it is ok with me. Rust for the most part is cosmetic.

[nhrifle]

A pad of 0000 steel wool wetted with Hoppes #9 will cure that. Soak the pad and rub gently and it will remove the rust and not harm the finish, plus the #9 will leave a barrier against future rust. I see quite a few rusted guns in the shop every weekend and this works better than anything else I have tried.

[7Acres]

Good to go! Thanks guys!

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[Blanket]

Looks better than mine, the cleaning of my Keltec 380 consists of an air hose, brake clean and steel wool. Ugly as heck but works every time. Is in my pocket all of the time, Russ

[725]

Bronze wool & RIG. Keep a RIG rag in an old baby food jar and wipe the gun down every night.

[JIMinPHX]

I spoke to a holster maker recently who told me that his leather gets impregnated with bee's wax & needs (sp?) foot oil to prevent sweat soak through.

[Southern Son]

I spoke to a holster maker recently who told me that his leather gets impregnated with bee's wax & needs (sp?) foot oil to prevent sweat soak through.

That's probably Neatsfoot oil. Maybe. Possibly.

[Southern Son]

I spoke to a holster maker recently who told me that his leather gets impregnated with bee's wax & needs (sp?) foot oil to prevent sweat soak through.

That's probably Neatsfoot oil. Maybe. Possibly.

How the hell did I do that????

[gofastman]

Try some EEZOX, It wont remove rust any better than regular oil, but its a great protectant
Its the only thing that kept rust sort of at bay on my PF9 that I pocket carried.

[JIMinPHX]

That's probably Neatsfoot oil. Maybe. Possibly.

How the hell did I do that????

Yep, that's it.

[Blanket]

the heater you carry every day will not be a safe queen, no matter what you wipe it down with. Listen to the folks that posted here about options to preserve it the best you can. My plan is to keep it clean internaly and make sure it works, first time, every time. I have a big collection of ugly guns. By the way oily guns make for a mess and ammo that does not want to go bang