Naval Jelly in a rusted bore?

[jethro224]

I picked up a CVA with a nasty rusted bore.

Tried cleaning it up with Balistol and steel wool on a jag. That helped a little.

Tried a bit of scotch-brite pad again with Balistol. That also helped a little. But there is still rust, mainly in the grooves.

I probly got at least a 1000 strokes, in and out, in this thing.
Got to thinkin' about tryin' some naval jelly and maybe some more steel wool lapping. :hmm: Have any of you guys tried that? Did it work? Would it hurt anything? Will it take off the blue if it gets on the outside? Would duct tape keep it off the blue?

 

[BLAHMAN]

I wouldn't use ant Navel Jelly. I'd shoot it. You may be surprised as to just how well the gun shoots with the bore as it is.

 

[Birdman]

The Jelly will MOST DEFFINATLY take the blue off the barrel where ever it touchs it. Actually if ya want to deblue a barrel Navel Jelly is one of the quickest n easiest ways to do it IMHO. Like Blahman, I'd shoot it a bit n see what happens, sounds like ya got it pretty clean as it is so give shooting a try, can't hurt anyway n gives ya a good excuse to get out of the house ;-)

 

[DanChamberlain]

Shoot it with good tight patches and the combination of heat and friction should clean it up pretty well. The patches will help you determine if there is significant pitting when you seat them.

Dan

 

I have used Naval Jelly on garden furnature and things of this nature - never on a firearm, so please take my comments understanding these limitations. I found Naval Jelly to actuall "set" the corrosion more than eliminate it. But if I could make a reccomendation - try using Flits Compound impregnated in tight cleaning patches to attack that rust in the bore. Or, maybe even some lapping compound on a lead slug. Midway carries a bore lapping kit sponsored by David Tubb that may be worth a look.

 

[boar]

I been lucky on get used guns. I had one 45 Junkar pistol that my brother bought for me for 20.00 that they didn't clean after shooting. I cleaned it with WD40 and 20ga wire brush, it came out good. The worse was a 45 Italy kentucky, I had to use a damped cloth patch with valve lapping compound on it. The bore never got like new, but it would shoot. People that don't know or are to lasy shouldn't have a black gun. Dilly

 

[spud]

I used that flitz compound to clean up a bbl. that looked like 40 miles of bad road turned it into a fair shooter Spud

 

[FTW]

I have a .45 TC had a really rusty bore.I used a dry loose patch the first time,blew rust out the nipple.Used bronze brushes on the bore and breech plug.Oily patches after that.Still had some in the grooves so degreased with acetone then Brichwood Casey blue and rust remover.Dripped some in the bore and plug thruogh the clean out screw and nipple hole.swabbed it around with patches,oiled again.Still shoots really good almost one hole at 50yds. off the bench.I've had this gun over 30 years.

 

[faw3]

Ive tryed something like that in a really bad bore but good muzzle the last few inch's, didnt get a lot of rust out, but it shoots one holer's at 25 yds and seems that shoting it is cleanning it up better than anything else I've tryed. Fred :hatsoff:

 

[wszumera]

I'd try shooting it first and cleaning it good a few times.

Then if the pits are bothering you a bunch, a lead lap to clean it up, followed by shooting it again.

Clutch

 

[wolfe28]

My "new" muzzleloader (the only one I have) is a TC New Englander in .50 caliber. I paid $50 for it, so you can guess how bad the inside of the barrel was rusted, very bad. I got a pack that had a brush and swab in it, and also picked up a can of WD40 on the way home. Once home, I took the barrel off the gun, and sprayed enough WD40 down the barrel so that it dripped out the nipple. I let it sit for about 30 minutes, and then went after it with the brush. I pulled all manor of gunk out of the barrel, along with a lot of rust. Then I got a bucket of hot water and dish soap and went after it with the brush first, and then with a jag and patch. Once there was no more dirt or anything coming out in the water, but the patches were still snaging in the barrel, I dumped some Bon Ami (pot cleaner guarantied not to scratch your good pans) down the barrel and kept with the patch and jag. Cleaned it up with that, rinsed the barrel out, oiled it to prevent rust, and eagerly awaited my next trip to the range.
That $50 gun shoots one hole 3-shot groups at 25 yards, and made the guys at the LGS a little mad they parted with it so cheap.
Good luck
D

 

[jethro224]

Well maybe I'll try shootin' it first. It might not be as bad as I'm afraid. Thanks for all the tips!

 

[renovato]

I wouldn't use naval jelly in the bore as it tends to etch metal somewhat. Any rust remover you use will remove the bluing. If you intend to reblue, I'd suggest Brownell's Steel White. It'll take out the rust and won't harm the metal.

I've restored a few rusted bores in the past. I used oil and steel wool to get most of it. Fired it a bit to see if it was going to be worth the trouble. Then if it was accurate, I let oil soak in it a while and scrubbed some more. Finished off by lapping with compound. It's amazing how well some of those rusty bores shoot once you get them cleaned up. Hang in there and don't let it get you down. Go shoot it a while first.

 

[Slamfire]

Rust can be electro-plated off of any badly rusted ferrous metal by immersing it is water in which washing SODA has been dissolved. Just hook a battery charger to the rusted piece and a length of rebar. It will remove any rust type finish also.

 

[spottedpony]

Rust can be electro-plated off of any badly rusted ferrous metal by immersing it is water in which washing SODA has been dissolved. Just hook a battery charger to the rusted piece and a length of rebar. It will remove any rust type finish also.

This is electrolytic rust removak & heres a link to a good page regarding the process. Electrolytic rust removal I've never used the process to remove rust from a barrel, but have used it for other rust removal projects and it works with no damage to the part being derusted, though if rust pitting is present, its not a cureall. I think if i were to undertake the task of rust in a bbl, i'd get a piece of about 3/16 mild steel rod for the annode, rubber cap on the bore end, (such as you see for automotive vacuum fitting use) add 2 or 3 O rings on the length of the rod to prevent contact with the bore, then hook up as per the link. I have found, in the rusty items ive tried, it takes about 40 amps to really be effective.
This also leaves a black carbon like deposit on the part being derusted that will take a good cleaning to remove.
One thing to note, in some articles ive read, indicate, do NOT use stainless as the annode, due to the gas it emits.

 

[jethro224]

That's some pretty neat info.! Thanks!

 

[Wes/Tex]

Naval Jelly is designed to desolved the surface rust off of iron and steel. It's caustic nature will leave steel with a soft grey color since it has created microscopic pits in the metal's surface. Used in a bore, it will do the same. It would require polishing the bore to make it smooth again. It gets the rust but you'll still have the pits from the corrosion. It also removes not only bluing and browning but the color from color case hardening as well! Not good, Kemo Sabe!! :winking:

 

[Zonie]

Yes, it will do a real number on any browning or blueing on a gun. Browning and blueing is just a form of rust.

As for Naval Jelly lightly pitting the bore, it will do that too but, a number of people over the years have found that a unpolished bore often shoots better than a polished one.
Don't ask me why because I really don't know and I'm not talking about cartridge guns which seem to like a polished bore.
Maybe muzzleloaders like a little roughness because the roughened surface holds the bore lube better???

zonie