Rust!

[Blammer]

Ok, I have a rifle that has rust pretty bad on it, it's an old milsurp one that I'm not to worried about.

I can take some 0000 steel wool and work it off but then the blueing will be gone and no protection.

this rust is under the wood stock.
some of it is pitted already.

Is there a "blueing" in a bottle that I can apply that will inhibit rust and protect it? I don't want to have to break it down a bunch just to check and oil it.

what would you do?

[Sweetpea]

Remove as much rust as you can, maybe use Evaporust.

Cold blue as needed.

It IS a milsurp!

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/419877/birchwood-casey-perma-blue-cold-blue-3-oz-liquid

Brandon

[Uncle Grinch]

Try this link for more info on removing rust.....

http://www.lasc.us/Brennan_Remove_Rust.htm

[462]

Oxpho-Blue, available from Brownells, is an excellent cold blue. I think their site has directions and tips, if not, their catalog does.

[Nickle]

Oxphoblue and 4 ought steel wool works pretty good on this.

[nhrifle]

If all you are trying to do is to remove the rust and not hurt the finish that is there, take a pad of 0000 steel wool and dampen it with Hoppes 9. Buff the area gently and it will remove the rust and leave the bluing alone. I see rusty guns in the shop all the time and it works every time unless the rust has been allowed to thrive, at which point we have a discussion with the customer about a complete teardown, polish and reblue in the hot tanks. An added benefit is that the Hoppes will keep new rust from forming.

[texassako]

If you are trying to keep the old bluing since the rust is under the wood, then bronze wool is the way to go. Cuts the rust but not the old blue, except for some cold blues. It is not hard enough to scratch steel.

[Green Lizzard]

i have an old two trigger frank wesson made in 1859 no blue no rust, keep it oiled

[tomme boy]

Pre-64 pennies to get the rust off. Works for me anyway.

[Reverend Al]

+1 on the Hoppes #9 and 0000 steel wool! Just lightly burnish it lightly, and don't press too hard and it will only remove dirt and light rust without damaging the remaining original blueing that is left on the gun. And again, the Hoppes #9 is also a very good rust preventative and will protect the metal surfaces after you treat it ...

[flounderman]

Don't waste your money on cold blue. Lees rust blueing just requires a tank of boiling water and some acetone to degrease with, and fine steel wool. Mark lees rust bluing will give as good a blue as the hot salts and cheaper and a lot less problems. Metal doesn't have to be polished and the blue lasts longer if it isn't polished too smooth.

[Shooter6br]

Van's blue is great product

[Shooter6br]

I used a flat black emamel for a rusty 6.5 Jap 30 years age Still doing great

[wiljen]

steel wool then a heavy coating of LLA and put it back in the stock. LLA was originally sold as a rust preventative.

[Smokepole50]

First off, cold bluing is a waste of time and money.

If you only want to remove some light freckling then fine or order you some bronze wool. I have ordered it from Home Depot before. Use the bronze wool to remove the rust and not the old original bluing.

As for the pitted area under the wood you need to get all the corrosion out of the pits. Steel wool and a small brass or stainless wire brush will accomplish that. Bluing remover might also help with cleaning out the pitted areas. Next clean the area several times with Acetone from Lowe's wearing gloves to protect your hands and the barrel from hand oils. When you think you have cleaned it enough, clean it again. Any oil will cause a problem in the next step. Next, heat the barrel slightly with a propane torch and apply a browning solution. I now like to use one called Laural Mountain Forge but I have used Birchwood Casey as well. You want the solution to sizzle slightly when applied with a q-tip. Protect the rest of the rifle from this solution with tape as it will eat old bluing, it is phosphoric acid. Once you have the area coated, lightly buff off the residual yellow residue with de-greased oooo steal wool and repeat the heating and coating process until you have a nice plumb brown finish. On subsquent coatings I fine a gentle rolling actionof the q-tip adds to the browning better then a rubbing motion which will remove the previously applied coating. At this point you can oil it good and stop or you can boil the barreled action in distilled water and the finish will turm BLACK or RUST BLUE. Once you have applied oil you can not go back and make it blue unless you start all over.

[Cosmiceyes]

I would break it down,use a small metal military cleaning brush on every part I could get to,then I would get a 4 inch tube of PVC with a end cap glued/screwed in place long enough to drop action with BBL in it where it could get submerged in piss of your kind.Have a party with plenty of beer,and fill 'er up.Leave for 24 hours.Rinse off,flush piss unless you need to blue another one.Oil gun down with a cloth.You will be bluing with a early form not since cattle urine was used.Then it was called browning.I heard about it in class at Colorado School of Trades.So I did a old wall hanger pistol in a coffee can,and it works.As Gomer Pyle would say"Surprise surprise surprise"!Use break cleaner for best results,as you would mold blocks. :)'s

[uscra112]

I've never actually done it, but I've read that you can do "spot" rust removal electrolytically. No time to research it now, I've gotta be up early, but do some mousing around on the 'net and I expect you'll find it. I do rust removal on all kinds of stuff in a plastic tub. Strong solution of washing soda, distilled water (I use rain water), a sacrificial electrode of mild steel, (I use rebar), and a 1 amp battery charger. Positive on the sacrificial electrode, negative on the part.

What I remember of the "spot" trick was you wrapped some iron wire around a Q-tip to form the sacrificial electrode, dipped the Q-tip in the solution, being sure that it thoroughly wets the iron wire, and then stroked the offending "spot" with the charger hooked up. (Being careful not to short it by letting the iron wire touch the part.)

[Multigunner]

I've cleaned rust from an 1880's double barrel shotgun and mainly used balistol and soft cloths.
On the crustiest spots I made a scraper from a popcycle stick and gently broke up the softened rust.
Also a very fine flexible bristle brass brush I'd used to recondition suede leather.
The result was that the original finish looked fine, with the only bare spots being those at the edges and those remained dark gray rather than polished bright as steel wool might have left them.
The old style bluing found on most antiques is a controlled rusting process. If red surface rust is gently removed the residual rust soaks up the balistol , turns black and becomes part of the finish.

An old shotgun barrel I have here looked rusty as a railroad spike. After the same treatment it looked almost new. The finish on some of these old guns is as thick as a fingernail. If you scrape away the surface you sometimes find reddish brown rust under the blue black upper layer.