Rust Removal

[Cattywompuss]

Call me a dummy or a goody two shoes, but I've never needed a serious rust remover. I never let it get that far. But when I recently purchased three estate guns I found that my newly obtained .40 squirrel gun was not cleaned by the owner prior to his passing. Can't blame him. Gent might have passed on the range or simply put this rifle up expecting to clean it later and sadly never got to it.

I removed the lock and found rust. Everywhere. Freakin Everywhere. The lock is pretty one, but again... rusted all to the devil and back. So today I stumbled upon Loctite Naval Jelly. Man, this stuff is fabulous. If you got rust, get some. But be warned, the label clearly states "Will remove blueing".

FYI: there was zero fouling inside the the other two guns I purchased and the rest of the estate that I helped assess looked clean as a whistle. Can't help but be sentimental and think this was the last gun old boy shot. Thankfully she is rust free again.

 

[FlinterNick]

Well, first thing is the rifling is probably going to be pitted and uneven after rust removal. The rifle will always suffer from the effects of fouling after 2-3 shots.

For removing the rust I would clean it out with a scotch brite soapy steel wool (the kind used to clean cooking pans) until the removable surface rust it cleared out.

Then I would take a few patches and melt some Emory compound on them and swab out the bore until the rust is removed down to to surface. To polish up the switch from Emory black to Tripoli brown wax.

Consequently the rifling will be worn down no matter how you do it.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Well, first thing is the rifling is probably going to be pitted and uneven after rust removal. The rifle will always suffer from the effects of fouling after 2-3 shots.

For removing the rust I would clean it out with a scotch brite soapy steel wool (the kind used to clean cooking pans) until the removable surface rust it cleared out.

Then I would take a few patches and melt some Emory compound on them and swab out the bore until the rust is removed down to to surface. To polish up the switch from Emory black to Tripoli brown wax.

Consequently the rifling will be worn down no matter how you do it.

Should said, the bore on this gun is not dirty. Only the lock. Bore is pristine. Old boy just never got around to taking the lock out after he last shot it.

 

[FlinterNick]

I would just use carbide paper 400-1500 grit with honing oil to remove rust and pits. If the springs are rusted you may need new ones, the screws are generally the hardest part.

 

[user 34300]

Loctite Naval Jelly is horrible stuff. It also etches the good metal. It l leaves a rough surface on the good steel.

IF used inside a barrel you might's well cut to the chase and replace the barrel.

Next time try Evaporust. It only attacks rust. You will be amazed at how well a nasty rust ball is cleaned up.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Thanks for the info Scota. All seems well thus far on this lock. No visible damage to the metal. Again, I've never had a rusted barrel gun so provided I continue to do my part I'll never need a rust solvent in a barrel.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Loctite Naval Jelly is horrible stuff. It also etches the good metal. It l leaves a rough surface on the good steel.

IF used inside a barrel you might's well cut to the chase and replace the barrel.

Next time try Evaporust. It only attacks rust. You will be amazed at how well a nasty rust ball is cleaned up.

According to my buddy who is an aerospace machinist Evaporust is molasses suspended in a carrier agent. Says it works great but the exact same effect can be achieved with raw molasses. Though there are more modern chelation agents he gave a big thumbs up to naval jelly. Says the only risk of doing damage is if you don't ever wash it off. Though he said a big advantage to it is the thickness of it so that you can say, not cover the finished surface on the outside of a gun lock while coating the rusty interior.

 

[RAEDWALD]

If you don’t need to keep the bluing then save money and just cover the rusty parts in household vinegar for a few days and scrub off the soft black residue. All the brand names are just fancy ways of packaging acids. Vinegar (acetic acid) will do fine if you can wait a few days.

 

[Bnewberry]

I use Evaporust on anything that I want to remove rust from. I have not needed it on a muzzleloader yet, but I would if I had a rusty one to salvage.

The only possible downside I have encountered is that it may leave a black finish on some steels. I have had this happen on an old knife that I left soaking for a few days.

I have read that there is a gel version of Evaporust but I haven’t seen it in my store “Tractor Supply” but that is what I would try for the inside of a lock.

 

[Okie Hog]

Evapo Rust is really good stuff. i used it for years in cleaning other folks neglected guns. Stuff does a great job on rusted bores. The pits remain to collect fouling, lead, etc.

 

[Cattywompuss]

I use Evaporust on anything that I want to remove rust from. I have not needed it on a muzzleloader yet, but I would if I had a rusty one to salvage.

The only possible downside I have encountered is that it may leave a black finish on some steels. I have had this happen on an old knife that I left soaking for a few days.

I have read that there is a gel version of Evaporust but I haven’t seen it in my store “Tractor Supply” but that is what I would try for the inside of a lock.

The black coating left behind was a definite downside to using it on the inside of the lock. I intend to gently polish the inside surfaces to a nice shine so that after finish would be a downside.

I believe you could create a gel version of Evaporust by letting a little blackstrap molasses dry out a bit. With Evaporust being primarily molasses. Or, you could just use straight molasses with it being pretty darn thick as is.

A downside of vinegar is both efficiency(time) and the need for immersion. Don't want to affect the outside of the lock which is browned and has a good patina already.

 

[Osseon]

If you don’t need to keep the bluing then save money and just cover the rusty parts in household vinegar for a few days and scrub off the soft black residue. All the brand names are just fancy ways of packaging acids. Vinegar (acetic acid) will do fine if you can wait a few days.

Replace days with hours. Get a brush and work it for a few minutes every hour or so and it will be done in an evening.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Replace days with hours. Get a brush and work it for a few minutes every hour or so and it will be done in an evening.

Replace hours with minutes and use naval jelly

 

[eggwelder]

Evaporust smells like muratic acid to me, not ‘lassie buns. Have my doubts about molasses being the active ingredient.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Evaporust is non-acidic and operates between 6.1 and 7.0 ph. It would have to be so diluted as to be ineffectual to contain muriatic acid at that pH.

 

[eggwelder]

Smells like muratic but not molasses. SDS sheet protects name of chemical. Just don`t believe it`s molasses or any other baking ingredient.
I use evaporust and it`s very effective.

 

[Cattywompuss]

Name of chemical would reveal that it's a chelation agent, of which molasses is a fantastically cheap source. Molasses doesn't smell like a cane field, yet can be rendered from it. I wouldn't want to tell the world my product was molasses either.

SDS sheet also tells you that Evaporust is about as dangerous as blackstrap molasses.

Not sure what a lassie bun is, but I know molasses is good on baking powder biscuits.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Replace hours with minutes and use naval jelly

AH but you must be very careful around people with Naval Jelly, especially little ones, since it's phosphoric acid base. Evaporust has a lot less risk for some people. I submerge items overnight, and go to sleep. Awaken the next day, and voila, rust gone.

LD

 

[Cattywompuss]

AH but you must be very careful around people with Naval Jelly, especially little ones, since it's phosphoric acid base. Evaporust has a lot less risk for some people. I submerge items overnight, and go to sleep. Awaken the next day, and voila, rust gone.

LD

That's a fair point. My youngun would sooner pick up a copperhead than touch my stuff so no worries for me.

 

[RAEDWALD]

Ah Americans, with their love and trust in expensive branded products. Can I interest you in my bottles of oxy-hydrogen liquid for black powder fouling softening and removal? Only ten of your republican dollars plus postage. Cash accepted......