Still getting rust

[VEARL]

Bought a t.c. Hawking flintlock. Put barrel in boiling hot water and let it sit for a few minutes. Then i started pumping it with a patch. Got it finally dried with no signs of rust and oiled it down.. Went back to check it today. Once again their is rust. What can i use to get rid of the rust in the barrel.?247330

[super6]

How long have you had the rusting problem? What kind of oil are you using, Are you using detergent to wash the barrel then a hot water rinse???

[Elroy]

You might try CLR (calcium, lime,and rust)..Is your barrel rusted from breech to muzzle,or just in the breech?.If is is just in the breech I would run a tight fitting brush plumb to the bottom of the barrel,and just spin it in place till it clears out..

[ShooterAZ]

Boiling water can cause it to flash rust. Tepid soap and water is gonna be a lot better, and then after its dry I follow with patches with Rem Oil. Before shooting it again, I will remove the oil with a few patches soaked with 99% Isopropyl alcohol. This is what has worked for me for many years, but I'm sure you'll get a lot of other opinions on this. I don't recommend boiling water at all.

[drago9900]

I just use cold water, use alcohol to get the oil out then clean it. Dry with patches then use alcohol or WD40 to help get out water in the threads and other spots. dry and oil well, check the next day. Rig grease works well too.

[drago9900]

Remember anything that removes rust will take off the blueing to so be careful.

[Edward]

Boiling water can cause it to flash rust. Tepid soap and water is gonna be a lot better, and then after its dry I follow with patches with Rem Oil. Before shooting it again, I will remove the oil with a few patches soaked with 99% Isopropyl alcohol. This is what has worked for me for many years, but I'm sure you'll get a lot of other opinions on this. I don't recommend boiling water at all.

Boiling water causes flash rust in all of my barrels (9) last count,which is why I too use tepid not hot too for the last 30yrs /Ed

[LAGS]

I had a barrel that kept Rusting like you mentioned.
I degreases the barrel with Acetone, then Boiled it in Distilled Water for a half hour.
You cant use Tap Water because it contains minerals that will cause more rust.
I dried and recleaned the bore with Degreased steel wool on a cleaning Jag .
It still might have red rust in it, but any Flaky rust will be turning to a black powder.
Degreases the barrel again with Acetone and boiled it again in the distilled water.
What you are doing is Basically turning the Red rust to Black Oxide.
This is the same way you do Slow rust Bluing, but you are not adding any Acid to promote new rust.
But you are converting any existing rust to a non active rust.
Once you boil the barrel enough times, you clean with Acetone, then oil it really good.
The Bore may be a little darker, but that will wear off with cleaning and shooting over time.

[Tom W.]

I've been using very hot tap water and shaved Ivory soap ( never a detergent) to clean my T/C with, followed by plain hot tap water to rinse. My water heater puts out some very hot water. The barrel will flash rust is just a few minutes on the inside. I used to use WD- 40 but since then I use patches with RemOil on them after the barrel has been dried. It works better and doesn't harden to an orange crud that is almost impossible to remove.
When shooting at the range sometimes I'll run a patch soaked with Hoppe's #9 down the bore and another dry one or two behind it, just because...

[charlie b]

I stopped using hot water for that reason. I used tap water followed by WD40 for a long time. Now days I use Ed's Red to clean it. And I oil the bore before storage. Before shooting I use alcohol to get all the oils out. If I don't pull the clean out plug then I put a plastic tube on a fitting in place of the nipple to get solvent/alcohol through the firing channel.

When I used CLP for my cleaning and storing it was not unusual for a patch to come out rust colored due to the CLP.

You also need to clean the patent breech chamber as well. If not it will rust up and show on your patches.

[Idz]

Ballistol is a water soluble oil that works well on muzzleloaders

[Buzzard II]

I use tap water and a bit of Ivory liquid dish detergent. I use Pro Shot brushes the ones with brass wire. I clean the patent breech with a .30 caliber brush as it is tapered and a bore brush does not get in there. Never hot water. I dry the barrel with an air hose and coat it with Kroil to store it. I wash it out with alcohol before shooting. While shooting I clean it with Ballistol. I remove the nipple before washing the bore and re-apply anti seize to the threads after they are dry. Bob

UPDATE: Seems that Breakfree Collector is much better than Kroil to protect a gun barrel. so I'm going to start using it.

[curator]

VERAL:

Ok, what type of powder are you shooting? Pyrocr@p? Clearshot? Shockey's gold? 777? Real black powder rarely causes this degree of after rust. A thorough cleaning with warm water and soap removes about 95% of chlorate (corrosive) salts from black powder substitutes, but that last 5% can continue to cause rusting. A second cleaning a few days after the first then a good wipe down with an anti-rust lube like RIG or Automobile ATF will usually prevent more rusting.

[Bird]

I always clean with hot tap water and brush followed by dry patch and then immediately with a patch soaked in alcohol. The alcohol evaporates taking any water with it providing the barrel/metal is hot. Then immediately followed by a couple of passes with an oiled patch. Never a problem with rust even in my humid climate.

[Beagle333]

I use warm water, not hot. Then RemOil patches. No rust here in the swamp.

[AntiqueSledMan]

Gentleman,

I've always used hot tap water with "Dreft Baby Soap" for cleaning, followed by hot clear tap water patches for rinse.
I always pour a couple quarts of HOT tap water through a funnel down the muzzle after the rinse patches.
Mine are all hooked breach so I let them stand for an hour, muzzle down then run a patch full of
Thompson Center Bore Butter through the bore. Has worked for me the last 40 years.

AntiqueSledMan.

[waksupi]

I stopped using hot water for that reason. I used tap water followed by WD40 for a long time. Now days I use Ed's Red to clean it. And I oil the bore before storage. Before shooting I use alcohol to get all the oils out. If I don't pull the clean out plug then I put a plastic tube on a fitting in place of the nipple to get solvent/alcohol through the firing channel.

When I used CLP for my cleaning and storing it was not unusual for a patch to come out rust colored due to the CLP.

You also need to clean the patent breech chamber as well. If not it will rust up and show on your patches.

Ed's Red is fine to finish up, but water is needed to fully neutralize the salts of nitrate.

[SSGOldfart]

Ballistol is a water soluble oil that works well on muzzleloaders

I use ballistol mixed 50/50 with water,no rust problem here,everything rust in East Texas,but not my muzzleloaders, I do check them a lot.just to be sure.good luck.

[redhawk0]

I clean with warm water first, then patch with a mix of 1:1:1 Murphy's oil soap: Isopropal alcohol: Hydrogen Peroxide. Followed by another warm water rinse. Then patch with oil of 1:1 ATF:Kerosene

No rust on my Flinter in 25 years.

redhawk

[rmark]

I use hot tap water followed by several patches to dry then Hoppes no.9.

[charlie b]

Ed's Red is fine to finish up, but water is needed to fully neutralize the salts of nitrate.

Probably why it works for me. I haven't used real black for more than 40 years.

[jimb16]

Warm, soapy water and a wire brush to start. Then warm clear water with patches until no trace of residue remains. Then the wire brush again along with patches and clean HOT water. When I'm sure the barrel is clean, I run WD40 patches down the barrel with just enough sprayed into the barrel to mist out of the flash hole or cap nipple. Then I dry patch once to remove the excess. This has worked for me for the last 50 years, so I'm not gonna change now! Never any rust in my barrels.

[waksupi]

I'm really against hot water in a barrel. Sets fouling harder, and since I quit using it years ago, no flash rusting.

For those using patches to dry the bore, use pieces of paper towel instead. Much better job done quicker. The quicker picker upper!

[masscaster]

I always used Baking Soda and water. Mix it until it's a murky water, use a few patches with it, then some clean patches.
Follow this up with a couple patches of Marvel Mystery Oil. I also use this oil as a whole wipe down, leaving a light film.
The Soda kills all the Ph in the powder, and the oil preserves.

Jeff

[Eddie2002]

I just had to deal with the same problem. One of my Kentucky pistols had some rust forming in the barrel so I went after it with a bronze brush, warm water and dish washing soap. Got most of it scrubbed out but there was a residue of rust I couldn't move. Went back in with the brush and a little liquid CLR cleaner which looks like it pulled the residue out. After that I swabbed with a soapy patch, rinsed the barrel then hit it with a spray of Rem oil and a couple patches. So far it looks good.

[OverMax]

Everybody cleans their barrels different as do I. Just saying: I'm not anal about flash rust nor do I make a custom concoction to coat the bores with.
After a detergent soap wash & tap water rinse. Than I simply melt a little Ox Yoke Wonder Lube in a tuna can and cleaning patch apply to the bores. Not bloviating here but I have a rifle or two here that have never been shot/fired but did have had their barrels cleaned as a preventive long ago. No doubt their bores coated with patch lube {only once} such bores are as bright and shinny today as they were on the day of there purchase_early (80s)

A tid bit of a Tip: After every use. Clean the barrel _no excuse's for not do'ing.

[waksupi]

I always used Baking Soda and water. Mix it until it's a murky water, use a few patches with it, then some clean patches.
Follow this up with a couple patches of Marvel Mystery Oil. I also use this oil as a whole wipe down, leaving a light film.
The Soda kills all the Ph in the powder, and the oil preserves.

Jeff

Baking soda is salt.

[SSGOldfart]

Wow never knew there was so many says to clean a muzzleloader??? For years it was Murphy soap and water,then came barstol and water.

[Buzzard II]

Seems that Breakfree Collector is better than Kroil, especially for long term storage so I'm going to be using it instead.

[bigted]

I'm really against hot water in a barrel. Sets fouling harder, and since I quit using it years ago, no flash rusting.

For those using patches to dry the bore, use pieces of paper towel instead. Much better job done quicker. The quicker picker upper!

I am with you! Stopped using warm or hot water long ago. In winter I use slightly warmer then plain cold water just so my hands don't freeze.

[megasupermagnum]

I doubt it helps the VEARL, but has anyone else noticed increased rust this year? I don't have air conditioning, so it does get hot in the house from time to time. Every year there is a time, usually in July, where I have to oil ALL guns whether I've shot them or not. After that one and only time I never have to clean them again until I shoot them without problems. This year has been horrible. I have not changed a thing, yet I am getting rust. I do not let the rust set in, but I've now oiled everything I own in June, twice in July, August, and now I'm noticing a rust thumb print on a shotgun I handled, but did not shoot two weeks ago.

Either my CorrosionX expired, or it is TROPICAL.

[dondiego]

I doubt it helps the VEARL, but has anyone else noticed increased rust this year? I don't have air conditioning, so it does get hot in the house from time to time. Every year there is a time, usually in July, where I have to oil ALL guns whether I've shot them or not. After that one and only time I never have to clean them again until I shoot them without problems. This year has been horrible. I have not changed a thing, yet I am getting rust. I do not let the rust set in, but I've now oiled everything I own in June, twice in July, August, and now I'm noticing a rust thumb print on a shotgun I handled, but did not shoot two weeks ago.

Either my CorrosionX expired, or it is TROPICAL.

I once noticed that all of the firearms that I had recently used started to rust. I later found out that my friend had poisoned hands. Some kind of acid was excreted in his sweat and any ferrous metal that he touched rusted quickly! It was so bad that I had to pound fired brass out of his Ruger #1 in 22-250. From handling the cartridges, the acid had rusted the chamber and when he fired it the roughness of the chamber locked the brass in place. He can't handle firearms with out gloves now. He is banned from touching my firearms period!

[megasupermagnum]

I sure hope I haven't turned acidic!

[Theditchman]

I cover mine in Boiled linseed oil then wipe it down leaving a thin coat and I.ve never had a rust problem..

[waksupi]

I once noticed that all of the firearms that I had recently used started to rust. I later found out that my friend had poisoned hands. Some kind of acid was excreted in his sweat and any ferrous metal that he touched rusted quickly! It was so bad that I had to pound fired brass out of his Ruger #1 in 22-250. From handling the cartridges, the acid had rusted the chamber and when he fired it the roughness of the chamber locked the brass in place. He can't handle firearms with out gloves now. He is banned from touching my firearms period!

That's a real thing. I've had idiots stick their fingers in the muzzle guns at gun shows. I run them off in short order. I never understood why people do that to other people's guns.

[Fly]

My so many ways people combat rust inside a barrel. Very interesting.

Fly

[gnoahhh]

My cleaning protocol, for guns with detachable barrels: I take them into the shower with me along with the cleaning rod and a fistful of patches. "And away go troubles, down the drain."

[Tom W.]

Tmi..,..

[siamese4570]

I guess everybody's got their own method. Here's mine. Pump warm soapy water thru the barrel using a snug fitting patch, then rinse with hot water. Next run a few dry patches thru the barrel to dry it. You do get some flash rust at this point. To completely dry the barrel I run an alcohol soaked patch thru the barrel and the a couple dry patches. At this point, the barrel is still warm and I lube it with bore butter. Been working for me for a long time.
Siamese4570

[Eddie2002]

For long term storage I patch and wipe down all the metal with 5/30 wt motor oil. For cleaning I bronze brush two or three strokes with dish washing detergent and warm water then run patches until they come out clean. After that I'll oil the bore with Rem oil or motor oil depending on how long I'm storing the fire arm. I'm storing everything in the house so it gets AC which also keeps the rust down. I also will check the bore for rust 3-4 days after cleaning just to make sure I did it right and peace of mind.

[rfd]

ay, caramba! NO boiling water, NO hot water, NO warm water - use plain tepid tap water for a good barrel that has been properly maintained. we do not want to open the "pores" of the metal and invite flash rusting, which will always occur sooner or later, typically sooner as the patches come out the muzzle reddish brown, which means you have failed. diligence, plain water, and oil, are yer gun's best friend, and yours, too.

"what tepid tap water?" the stuff that flows out yer house sink's faucet.

"aren't there salts in some water softener systems?" yes, but in amazingly minute amounts, we're not allowing the water to linger, and it will get swabbed out and followed by gun oil. if this is still of concern, use distilled water for gun cleaning ... but that's a waste of money.

"what about using moose milk?" i was an MM advocate for years but have decided to fully separate the water from the moose. one issue with making/using generic moose milk (water + water soluble oil) is that THIS water needs to be salt/mineral free because it will linger on the metal, which means using distilled water for the mix. plain water for the slosh cleaning, followed by a good gun oil, is honestly all that's needed once a gun has been well maintained and is in a form of "metal equilibrium".

have the barrel and lock been maintained well? meaning, addressing the bp residue immediately after the last shot of the day is taken by simply removing the flint/nipple and spritzing the entire lock and swabbing the tube with some manner of "proper gun oil" (ballistol, CLP, whatever - not WD40!) with a few patches, and leaving the patched jag down the tube 'til yer back at the ranch and can do the barrel and lock justice. oil keeps the gunk soft and is a barrier to prevent air from activating the gunk into corrosion and rust. in doing so, cleanup is SO easy and fast and complete. there is no need for any kinda "bore cleaning concoctions". just maintain responsibly and immediately with plain water and oiled patches. your precious gun will thank you decades later.

IF the gun has not been well maintained, THEN the use of gun cleaning concoctions, along with copious amounts of elbow grease and gobs of time, will most likely be required to bring the gun back to life and ready for continued proper maintenance.

YMMV, do enjoy.

[indian joe]

ay, caramba! NO boiling water, NO hot water, NO warm water - use plain tepid tap water for a good barrel that has been properly maintained. we do not want to open the "pores" of the metal and invite flash rusting, which will always occur sooner or later, typically sooner as the patches come out the muzzle reddish brown, which means you have failed. diligence, plain water, and oil, are yer gun's best friend, and yours, too.

"what tepid tap water?" the stuff that flows out yer house sink's faucet.

"aren't there salts in some water softener systems?" yes, but in amazingly minute amounts, we're not allowing the water to linger, and it will get swabbed out and followed by gun oil. if this is still of concern, use distilled water for gun cleaning ... but that's a waste of money.

"what about using moose milk?" i was an MM advocate for years but have decided to fully separate the water from the moose. one issue with making/using generic moose milk (water + water soluble oil) is that THIS water needs to be salt/mineral free because it will linger on the metal, which means using distilled water for the mix. plain water for the slosh cleaning, followed by a good gun oil, is honestly all that's needed once a gun has been well maintained and is in a form of "metal equilibrium".

have the barrel and lock been maintained well? meaning, addressing the bp residue immediately after the last shot of the day is taken by simply removing the flint/nipple and spritzing the entire lock and swabbing the tube with some manner of "proper gun oil" (ballistol, CLP, whatever - not WD40!) with a few patches, and leaving the patched jag down the tube 'til yer back at the ranch and can do the barrel and lock justice. oil keeps the gunk soft and is a barrier to prevent air from activating the gunk into corrosion and rust. in doing so, cleanup is SO easy and fast and complete. there is no need for any kinda "bore cleaning concoctions". just maintain responsibly and immediately with plain water and oiled patches. your precious gun will thank you decades later.

IF the gun has not been well maintained, THEN the use of gun cleaning concoctions, along with copious amounts of elbow grease and gobs of time, will most likely be required to bring the gun back to life and ready for continued proper maintenance.

YMMV, do enjoy.

ahhhh finally !!! I bin tryin to get guys away from rusting their barrels with heavy detergents and hot water for years - its a tough job but somebody gotta do it !!

Tap Water and a litle bit of a rub is all it takes to clean a BP gun - do it like he sez here and it will get easier as time goes by - I reckon the barrel "seasons" - but one hot water and detergent scrub will take it right back to square one and flash rust it as well. (why would we wanna do that eh?).

I came to the same conclusion as rfd about moose milk but right at the start - its great patch lube - does nuthin - zippo - zilch as far as cleanup goes.

Only thing we do different is WD40 works fine for me - only thing I use - so long as the gun is not going into long term storage - after a couple months of being unloved I take em down and patch out with proper gun oil - or better still go shoot it.

All of the commercial "Black Powder Solvent" bore cleaning concoctions out there are a frivolous waste of money - ideas dreamed up in the marketing department in order to separate ya from yr hard earned dollars -- spend it on caps or powder or take the missus out for dinner. :D

[rfd]

temporary use of wd40 is fine, but it ain't a proper good gun oil. been there, done that, and learnt a lesson, because the human problem that can occur is forgetting that temporary spritz of wd40 that ya done a week ago that never got followed up with a cleaning and real gun oil use. wd40 will do in a pinch, but it ain't a long term good gun oil, so i won't have it around me gunz.

[indian joe]

temporary use of wd40 is fine, but it ain't a proper good gun oil. been there, done that, and learnt a lesson, because the human problem that can occur is forgetting that temporary spritz of wd40 that ya done a week ago that never got followed up with a cleaning and real gun oil use. wd40 will do in a pinch, but it ain't a long term good gun oil, so i won't have it around me gunz.

We are in a very dry environment here (think Arizona / New Mexico I guess) so storage is pretty easy and rusting very slow to take hold
Sometimes wondered whether we get a different formulation of WD40 downunder - its a super effective paint stripper .

[dondiego]

We are in a very dry environment here (think Arizona / New Mexico I guess) so storage is pretty easy and rusting very slow to take hold
Sometimes wondered whether we get a different formulation of WD40 downunder - its a super effective paint stripper .

Kills wasps too!