Unbeatable bore rust

Have any of you guys encountered unbeatable rusting of the bore?

I've been scratching my head for quite awhile on why my bore keeps rusting, albeit slowly over multiple shoots.

I do absolutely everything I can and what others suggest to combat it, but it always ends up coming back after scrubbing it out.

I'm not really asking for cleaning and storage advice. I can't imagine doing something else that would work better than what I'm already doing, but wondered if there's anyone here that just "lives with it" and whether I can expect major pitting 10-20 years from now.

Try Molasses? VERY weird but works wonders. Mix up some feed store type molasses 8-1 water to molasses. Plug the breech end and fill the barrel and let it set 2-3 days. Then scrub and clean. I have restored INRESTORABLE cylinders etc, rusted so bad you could hardly see the nipples. LIKE NEW. BUT it will dim the bluing so use protection. Let us know if you decide to try if it works. Shouldn't but it does.

HighUintas said:

I'm not really asking for cleaning and storage advice. I can't imagine doing something else that would work better than what I'm already doing, but wondered if there's anyone here that just "lives with it"

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You shouldn’t expect different results if you just continue to do whatever it is you doing. Unless you change things up I would imagine you will have to live with it. Wish you luck.

Only experienced it the 1st and only time I tried Pyrodex.
Finally stopped after a few weeks of checking every few days..

52Bore said:

Only experienced it the 1st and only time I tried Pyrodex.
Finally stopped after a few weeks of checking every few days..

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I was going to post something similar, but wasn’t in the mood to be called mean, hateful and quick to judge…..

When I have issues with rust I find it’s been humid where I stored it.

Pyrodex has not rusted any of my guns. I use room temp water and window cleaner. Dry well and Ballistal full strength . I did get some rusting when using other oils. Even that was not bad if I stayed on top of it all.

It's said to be a no-no but I hose down my bores with WD40 after cleaning with hot soapy water. YMMV

After cleaning the gun, just shoot it again before it has a chance to rust.







Seriously.

azmntman said:

Try Molasses? VERY weird but works wonders. Mix up some feed store type molasses 8-1 water to molasses. Plug the breech end and fill the barrel and let it set 2-3 days. Then scrub and clean. I have restored INRESTORABLE cylinders etc, rusted so bad you could hardly see the nipples. LIKE NEW. BUT it will dim the bluing so use protection. Let us know if you decide to try if it works. Shouldn't but it does.

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That's really strange. Is that to remove the rust without having to scrub it with steel wool?

SDSmlf said:

You shouldn’t expect different results if you just continue to do whatever it is you doing. Unless you change things up I would imagine you will have to live with it. Wish you luck.

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Not that I won't try something new, but it seems like I've tried everything.

52Bore said:

Only experienced it the 1st and only time I tried Pyrodex.
Finally stopped after a few weeks of checking every few days..

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No pyrodex has been used! Only BP

rich pierce said:

When I have issues with rust I find it’s been humid where I stored it.

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I live in Utah and it's not particularly humid in my house. I have no issues with any metal objects rusting in my garage and some of our laundry is hung there to dry. I don't store my gun out there.

I have zero issues with rust on the outside of the barrel and my lock.

Here's my process in case you're wondering.

Clean asap. In some cases I might have a couple hour drive home before I can clean it but so so immediately when I get home.

Take barrel out. Rinse with cool water.
Fill up bucket with clean cool water and put a really tight patch (2 patches) on the jag and work it up and down the bore for about 5 minutes with the breech in the bucket.
Use 2 new patches and do it again.
Rinse a couple times with clean water ( I've tried distilled also)
Dry bore with 2 patches, replacing the 2 patches a couple of times.
Douse it with WD-40, in the touch hole and down the bore. 1 patch up and down a couple times to make sure it's coated and squirt oil violently out the touch hole.
Sit barrel bore down for a couple hours.
Patch out the wd40.
Use CRC sp-350 in the bore for rust protection.

I have tried acetone and alcohol after dry patching to help dry it. I've tried a bit of soap when cleaning. I've tried hoppes BP cleaner.

HighUintas said:

Fill up bucket with clean cool water and put a really tight patch (2 patches) on the jag and work it up and down the bore for about 5 minutes with the breech in the bucket.

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Try HOT water.

HighUintas said:

Patch out the wd40.
Use CRC sp-350 in the bore for rust protection.

Click to expand...

With HOT water you will not need WD40 to remove moisture (though I do not believe the WD40 could be causing the corrosion). I have never tried CRP sp-350, but from your experience, why not try something else. I am a fan of rust protection products that form a dry film, like Eezox or Barricade, though I have no idea if either will help with your particular corrosion challenge.

High, who made the barrel? i think if i had one rusting after your method of cleaning, which is what many of us do, I would find a heating wand that would fit your bore and use it.
different alloys rust differently of course so it would be interesting to know the maker, letting us figure out the steel used.

No clue why molasses works but it will get all the rust out. Seems maybe you have a cr_p ton oF rust in there that yer just cleaning. Molasses may just get it ALL OUT. Nothing to lose. Try it and then use a nylon brush and clean as usual. Let us know.

AZ struck a note in my empty head! are you actually seeing rust in the bore or is it just brown patches you are seeing.?
i was using some kind of lube, can't remember what, but even with the bore shining like new the patches came out brown.
almost drove me sane!

Are you sure it's rust ? Sometimes after a few weeks I'll run a dry patch down the bore and it has light orangeish /brown streaks that I don't believe is rust but either leached lube from patches or oxidized oil from petro based gun oils, etc.

Even light flash rust will feel slightly gritty on a dry patch, so if a dry patch slides down smooth and slick , it's likely not rust.

HighUintas said:

That's really strange. Is that to remove the rust without having to scrub it with steel wool?

Not that I won't try something new, but it seems like I've tried everything.

No pyrodex has been used! Only BP

I live in Utah and it's not particularly humid in my house. I have no issues with any metal objects rusting in my garage and some of our laundry is hung there to dry. I don't store my gun out there.

I have zero issues with rust on the outside of the barrel and my lock.

Here's my process in case you're wondering.

Clean asap. In some cases I might have a couple hour drive home before I can clean it but so so immediately when I get home.

Take barrel out. Rinse with cool water.
Fill up bucket with clean cool water and put a really tight patch (2 patches) on the jag and work it up and down the bore for about 5 minutes with the breech in the bucket.
Use 2 new patches and do it again.
Rinse a couple times with clean water ( I've tried distilled also)
Dry bore with 2 patches, replacing the 2 patches a couple of times.
Douse it with WD-40, in the touch hole and down the bore. 1 patch up and down a couple times to make sure it's coated and squirt oil violently out the touch hole.
Sit barrel bore down for a couple hours.
Patch out the wd40.
Use CRC sp-350 in the bore for rust protection.

I have tried acetone and alcohol after dry patching to help dry it. I've tried a bit of soap when cleaning. I've tried hoppes BP cleaner.

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You are cleaning your rifle darn near exactly how I clean my hook breach rifles other than a little dawn soap in my water, then RemOil for my protectant. Everyone seems to have their own cleaning ritual that works for them. Like SDFMLF said, try a different final lube, there's a ton of stuff on the market, I prefer the stuff that will leave a dry film such as my RemOil.

SDSmlf said:

Try HOT water.

With HOT water you will not need WD40 to remove moisture (though I do not believe the WD40 could be causing the corrosion). I have never tried CRP sp-350, but from your experience, why not try something else. I am a fan of rust protection products that form a dry film, like Eezox or Barricade, though I have no idea if either will help with your particular corrosion challenge.

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I have not tried barricade but have always heard good things. I'll try that. I've tried a couple others. Hoppes, Lucas, ballistol (now know ballistol is water soluble and will allow rust over time). I did use hot water before but was seeing flash rust spots so I now use cold.

deerstalkert said:

High, who made the barrel? i think if i had one rusting after your method of cleaning, which is what many of us do, I would find a heating wand that would fit your bore and use it.
different alloys rust differently of course so it would be interesting to know the maker, letting us figure out the steel used.

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Colerain. It's their standard 58 barrel round bottom grooves. It's very rough... Lots of chatter marks on the lands but most of the rust seems to form in the grooves, which I think have a very rough finish.

azmntman said:

No clue why molasses works but it will get all the rust out. Seems maybe you have a cr_p ton oF rust in there that yer just cleaning. Molasses may just get it ALL OUT. Nothing to lose. Try it and then use a nylon brush and clean as usual. Let us know.

Click to expand...

I definitely get it all out when I scrub the rust. I use tight grey 3m pad on the jag and then super tight steel wool. Gets it free of rust. The patches then only have a slight bit of grey after cleaning and drying and piling, but it slowly comes back over multiple shoots (weeks or couple months)

deerstalkert said:

AZ struck a note in my empty head! are you actually seeing rust in the bore or is it just brown patches you are seeing.?
i was using some kind of lube, can't remember what, but even with the bore shining like new the patches came out brown.
almost drove me sane!

Click to expand...

kyron4 said:

Are you sure it's rust ? Sometimes after a few weeks I'll run a dry patch down the bore and it has light orangeish /brown streaks that I don't believe is rust but either leached lube from patches or oxidized oil from petro based gun oils, etc.

Even light flash rust will feel slightly gritty on a dry patch, so if a dry patch slides down smooth and slick , it's likely not rust.

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It's definitely rust. I have a bore scope. Even minute amounts of rust show orange on the patch, even though a patch going down feels very slick.

<<<Colerain. It's their standard 58 barrel round bottom grooves. It's very rough... Lots of chatter marks on the lands but most of the rust seems to form in the grooves, which I think have a very rough finish.>>>

Try polishing the bore with 4/0 steel wool over an oily patch. Oil the bore liberally, and scrub at least 15-20 strokes. Dry patch and check the bore for roughness. repeat until the roughness begins to smooth out. The oil with 4/0 steel wool will polish the bore without doing any damage.

I had the same problem with a new bore. Couldn't get it clean, or get rid of the rust. The next range trip, after polishing the bore, I used a few spritzes of Windex, in the bore to dissolve the fouling. Rinse with 91% alcohol, and after it's dry, a couple of spritzes of WD-40 allowed to set, muzzle down, while cleaning the lock. Dry the bore and coat with Vaseline. This is the first time, with this barrel I have not had any rust after cleaning. I allowed the rifle to sit in a humid basement for several days before checking for rust. No rust.

Vaseline is not a petroleum product. BTW, it is a wax, similar to paraffin, produced as a by product of petroleum distillation.
IMHO, it's still best to get as much of the Vaseline, as possible, out of the bore before shooting.

HighUintas said:

, ballistol (now know ballistol is water soluble and will allow rust over time).

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I do not know where you came up with this but it is total hogwash. You must have talked to someone who doesn't like it.

Is it water soluable, yes, it is mineral oil, but it is still oil and results since it was invented prove this wrong. I have used it extensively over the last 20 years or so and there are guns tucked away that have not been touched in several years and no rust (Yes, I need to thin the herd, but I like them all).

And it smells good! (Had to throw that in there!)

Rough bore is the likely reason. As above, steel wool or scotchbrite or better yet lapping compound will improve shooting, accuracy, and cleaning.