Barrel rust

[joeboleo1]

I have a barrel that has very light surface rust on a few spots on the outside of the barrel. There is no pitting and the bore itself is fine. The barrels finish is an aged "natural" patina ---looks like a dull silver/gray. My question is what to use to remove the surface rust without doing damage to the bsrrel finish, if possible. I wasn't sure if some extra fine black sandpaper could be used or what. Trying to find out any recommendations you may have BEFORE I do anything to it. Thanks in advance. Joe

 

[rabjr]

I would use a fine steel wool with gun oil before using any sand paper. Rub it lightly and evenly over its entire length. If its just light surface rust, it should clean right up.

 

[rabjr]

I should have asked if this was an antique gun. I assumed it is a newer gun. Do not use steel wool on the finish of an antique! :nono:

 

[Okwaho]

when I was carrying a gun in my earlier reenacting days I always carried some reconstituted lemon juice and and some 0000 steel wool and used it in the mornings to remove the surface rust that accumulated on the metal surfaces without affecting the patina.I now use steel wool which doesn'contain any oil.

I also have used it on removal of light surface rust on antique guns without harming the patina.It won't affect deep pitting but then I don't think anything will affect deep pitting short of a grinder. I once got a nice old 1863 Springfield with a fair amount of light rust,deep butt pitting,and a solidly frozen rear leaf sight.It took awhile but I got the rust off and the sight worked perfectly.I never could touch that deep pitting but it did shine a wee bit.Hope this helps :bow: :hmm:
Tom Patton

 

[joeboleo1]

Swampy --- not an antique, it is a newer gun. Thanks for the info guys. I do have some 0000 steel wool handy.

 

[Birddog6]

I use Barricade in a non-aerosol, soak 0000 steel wool in it & very lightly rub. Use your INDEX finger tip on a small piece, as it is very easy to rub off the edges of the flats if not careful. Anything with grit on it (sand paper, auto-body paper, or emery paper) will remove the rust & the patina as well. If you soak a patch in Barricade & wet the rust good first, it will help loosen it.

If unsure, take a piece of metal & clean it well & cold blue it. Rinse & dry it. Mist spray it with 50/50 Clorox & water, put it outside for a day. Rinse it off with water & pat dry with paper towel, & then try the above procedure to remove the rust scale.

Keith Lisle

 

[paulvallandigham]

If you look through a magnifying lens at the rust, you will see that it looks like a flower. It seems to cover much more area than it ACTUALLY does.

Spray the rusted surface with WD40, which will penetrate the rust. You can also use any penetrating oil, like Kroil, Liquid Wrench, etc.

Now dip your 0000 steel wool into a heavy motor oil, and LIGHTLY rub the metal surface. Stop frequently to take the oil and iron oxide off the metal surface with a soft rag, so that the oxide that is those "flowers" will not scratch the metal, either. Re-oil the barrel and continue to lightly rub the surface with the steel wool.

I have also used wooden sticks to burnish rust off metal, provided that the surface was well soaked in oil first. Go SLOW! Clean often! Re-oil often ! All this is to protect the finish under the rust, be it "patina" or some kind of artificial coloring.

I have used this technique to remove lots of flowers of rust on a modern, Blued barrel, where any scratch would have jumped right out at you. The oil helps the oxide(rust) FLOAT on top of the metal, once broken free, leaving a very tiny pin hole in the metal.

In the case of the factory blued finish- really blue/black, I heated the barrel up to about 400 degrees, and wiped on some "cold blue" paste, which sizzled as it touched the metal. Then cooled the barrel and cleaned off the residue under a faucet, dried the barrel, and then heated it up again.

This time, I sprayed the barrel WD40 which burned and smoked, and fumed a lot as I sprayed it on. It also darkened the barrel, and those small spots where I had touched up the bluing.

Heating opens the pores, so that you get a deeper oxide in the barrel surface. I let the barrel drip over night, covered with oil, so that the black color would set into the pores.

The next day, I wiped down the barrel, and inspected it closely in natural sunlight. Because I knew where the pinholes were, I could still find them. But, when I returned the barrel to the owner, he could not see them, unless I pointed them out to him. He was delighted with the restored finish.

There is also a New product out called "Evaporust" which really works well. I would use this on any rust on an original antique firearm, before using any other technique, including the ones I describe using above. :hmm: :v :thumbsup:

 

[joeboleo1]

The lemon juice really seemed to do the trick! 0000 steel wool worked great. Thanks to all for sharing ideas.