Unbeatable bore rust

waksupi said:

WD40 will leave a residual build up. I made a lot of money over the years cleaning guns that wouldn't function, because of the buildup in the mechanisms. Shotguns that were used in wet weather were the main victims of WD40. It will show up brown looking at the bore with a scope, and as brown residue on a clean patch. It will actually form a varnish build up where used if not completely removed before oiling.

Click to expand...

Gunsmiths will tell you, do not use WD40 on shotguns in particular, as it builds up a film!! Even a major gun magazine recently posted a paragraph telling people not to use it!

springfield art said:

Interesting. I always knew there were some unusual tips here, but this one is really new to me! Wonder what chemistry is happening there? Thanks. Probably have to go to Farm Supply for molasses like that.

Click to expand...

I can't expound on how it works, but the diluted molasses reaction against the rust is called chelation. I can say that diluted molasses from the grocery store worked just fine for me. I didn't clean a rifle bore but it made a heavily rusted miniature sewing machine look terrific. Every speck of rust disappeared. Be careful if you do it, I would bet it will remove blue or brown finishes too.

Turned the cylinder a very light grey blue on the ROA spare I saved. It was so bad you could barely see the nipples. Use care and remove the rust easy and cheap. Very watery and will get in all nooks n cranny's. We found an old lock on an abandoned (1800's) RR bed. It cleaned up near as new, course no clue what the original coloring may have been. If we had a key I'm betting it would have worked.

Can't beat the cost, per above post grocery store stuff may work as well, so $.399 for a jar of grandmas' molasses? I would suggest you give it a try and report back. If it don't work ya still got enough to make some cookies!

Per several posts above, the gun may not have been cleaned before shooting the first time and if so it could ALWAYS produce some orange redish patches after a good cleaning. had a few like that and they DID clean, just a mental thing when you run a dry or lightly oiled patch before loading.

At one time, I tried using Bore Butter for a patch lube. Continuously would get brown cleaning patches. Could never get clean white patches. Thought it was rust. Now I use only diluted Dawn for lube. Bore comes perfectly clean.

I'd just like to say every Gunsmith I know Loves it when customers use WD-40. My great friend, a 50 year Smith, says he put 2 kids through college thanks to WD-40.
It leaves a varnish like finish on the surface, and rust often forms under it. I've seen it many times on modern trigger assemblies and revolver innards.

I've always used hot water, wrap a towel around the barrel, so the moisture will dissipate sooner.
But there are as many ways to clean a barrel as there are members here.
Ditch the WD-40, use ANYTHING else.

azmntman said:

Per several posts above, the gun may not have been cleaned before shooting the first time and if so it could ALWAYS produce some orange redish patches after a good cleaning. had a few like that and they DID clean, just a mental thing when you run a dry or lightly oiled patch before loading.

Click to expand...

I'll definitely try cleaning it with molasses next time I see some rust come back.

How diluted should it be? Just soak? And for how long?

My barrel was clean when I shot it the first time. I built the rifle using a new barrel. There was a little bit of rust in there when I got to cleaning it before shooting the first time, but I scrubbed it all out before.

Dawn Powerwash and water for patch lube
Dawn Powerwash and warm water for cleaning
WD40 to dry barrel
PB Blaster to finish final cleaning and oiling
Ballistol spray for final oiling

8 parts water to 1 part molasses soak 2-3 days then brush and clean

azmntman said:

8 parts water to 1 part molasses soak 2-3 days then brush and clean

Click to expand...

I've never tried it, but I've heard too many sing its praises for it not to have merit.

I once owned an Italian percussion pistol. I could clean and clean and still rust. I finally figured out the drum ( a bolster that screwed in like a drum, actually) was protruding into the bore so my cleaning jag was stopped short of reaching the breech plug. That end of barrel never got cleaned! May be something to check…. Molasses? My brother dug a hole and lined it with heavy plastic sheeting. Did the molasses trick on an engine block. It works.

HighUintas said:

Here's a video of my bore I just took. This is after multiple rounds of 3m pad and 0000 steel wool scrubbing, VERY tight on a jag. It is vastly improved compared to where it started a year ago. I unfortunately don't have any pictures from then.

I just did another round a couple days ago, being a little more aggressive. We'll see how it cleans up next time.

Yes.... I need to polish that breech face!


ML bore video

Click to expand...

Dang. I like that video. Got a newbie question to ask.what kind of bore scope is that?

oldschoolhunter55 said:

Dang. I like that video. Got a newbie question to ask.what kind of bore scope is that?

Click to expand...

Yea the ability to look in the bore is great but can also breed anxiety and tail chasing. I just use it to gauge how well my cleaning practices work or look to see if there's something majorly wrong with a CF chamber like a burr or similar... and nothing more. Let the target tell you if your barrel has problems!! It's also useful for looking inside CF cases to see if you have case head separation starting, but that's easy to do with a sharpened paperclip as a probe.

It's a cheapo teslong from Amazon. The flexible shaft model that will fit a 22 bore and connects to smart phone or tablet and uses a free app. I don't know what models they sell now, but this one is from around 2020 I think. It works great for the price. I think I paid $40 for it. This one goes all the way to my breech with a couple inches to spare, but my barrel is 36".

Here are my thoughts about rust in a new barrel. I had that problem with a bore that was rough from machine marks both lands & groves. I used the old standard 0000 steel wool to smooth it out and experienced rust just like the OP. What I found out was it was steel wool particles trapped in the machine marks that was rusting not the barrel steel.

I finally switched from steel wool to fine valve grinding compound on tight patches to polish the bore, once the machine marks were gone and the bore smooth & shiny the rusting stopped.

Ballistol smells so good, I am not allowed to use it in the house so it lives in the detached garage.

What is the PH value of molasses? It could be a mild acid like citric acid used to clean brass cartridge cases or a mild base.

I think the brown stains the OP sees coming out of a cleaned bore is oxidized compounds found within the CRC rust inhibiter chemical he is using.

Try using a synthetic oil as anti rust inhibitor.

HighUintas said:

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.

Click to expand...

When I first got into BP I was learning about single action Colts and Remingtons. Never experienced rust of any form both Pietta and Ubertie. I thought the same would apply to Flint locks. Now I don’t own a Traditions CVA or any of the others that have factory blued barrels but I come to realize those barrels are significantly less prone to rust as compared to a Rice Barrel Green Mountain or other in that class. Simply they are made of softer steel more prone to rust. I have a bunch of flint locks and they all run unless a good oil is used in the barrel after cleaning. Even after scrubbing until the sun sets it you don’t coat the barrel with a good rust preventing lubricant I have found the formation of rust the next morning especially when the humidity is mild. There’s a bunch of smart people on the forum here and they probably can tell you if they haven’t already that it’s due to the composition of the barrel. So I would bet that whatever material say nickel as an example is of lower quantities in a flint as compared to an unmentionable. The typical flint lock barrel are soft in a sense and more prone to corrosion. It’s the barrels composition the steel used to make them. I have been using this stuff named Corrosion X following cleaning. It’s become extremely expensive but it works. Other lubricants will to even motor oil. The problem is you have to wipe it out well before shooting. BP and oil is messy. Store the rifle muzzle down to keep any excess from gathering at the breach. It is amazing how fast rust forms on and in the barrel. BP residual only adds to the problem. So clean everything well barrel and lock after shooting and apply a corrosion inhibitor would be my recommendation.

bpd303 said:

Here are my thoughts about rust in a new barrel. I had that problem with a bore that was rough from machine marks both lands & groves. I used the old standard 0000 steel wool to smooth it out and experienced rust just like the OP. What I found out was it was steel wool particles trapped in the machine marks that was rusting not the barrel steel.

I finally switched from steel wool to fine valve grinding compound on tight patches to polish the bore, once the machine marks were gone and the bore smooth & shiny the rusting stopped.

Ballistol smells so good, I am not allowed to use it in the house so it lives in the detached garage.

Click to expand...

Agree the higher the polish of the barrel the less rust you will develop but I have done that too and it will rust as well just not as coarsely. The obvious reason is you get a better clean when the barrel is smooth and polished not rough it’s almost like porous and holds all the nasty stuff like salt that BP leaves behind.

LME said:

If you are getting flash rust don't worry . I have the same problem and the cure is after the barrel is dry I use machine oil and a couple patches to oil the barrel. I check it in a few days with a clean patch to see if I got it good enough. I wipe the barrel clean and oil it again. I have no more problem. I have rifles bought in the seventies that shoot as good as ever.

Click to expand...

Totally agree!

springfield art said:

Gunsmiths will tell you, do not use WD40 on shotguns in particular, as it builds up a film!! Even a major gun magazine recently posted a paragraph telling people not to use it!

Click to expand...

wd40 is kerosene with light oil. It’s a water displacement fluid.

Siringo said:

wd40 is kerosene with light oil. It’s a water displacement fluid.

Click to expand...

Yep. Water Displacement formula #40!