Rust stopping oil

[Carbon 6]

I'm not sold on that 'test'. I cleaned and dried my barrel well and slopped it in Balistoil, rusted in days. I can't believe Balistoil held back rust for perfectly for 3 months !!!

I agree. I've seen a lot of tests and they all are different.

 

[Griz44Mag]

Has anyone besides me, tried using kerosene for cleaning junk out of the bore? Bought a new traditions rifle not long ago, and the bore didn't have grease but was actually almost red and it appeared to be rust. I cleaned it with kerosene and it appears okay. Left it set for a few days, and tried cleaning it again and the patches came out clean. Except for the Smell, kerosene seems to be a very good cleaner. I know if you leave it set for a long time in a kerosene lamp that it evaporates and leaves a hard film and it takes Alcohol to dissolve it. Anyone else ever tried this for cleaning?
Squint

I use a mixture of equal parts - red Miracle oil (red) - Mineral spirits - Coleman camp fuel. The camp fuel is basically kerosene that has been highly refined to remove the odor and impurities. This combo provides excellent gentle cleaning and good flushing results. It leaves behind a thin coating of the red miracle oil and is a decent protective coating. I use it to wipe down wood as well - followed with a dry cloth.
The other good thing about cleaning with this is if you put it in a sealed container all the gunk and suspended particles of crap will settle to the bottom and it can be re-used over and over for economy reasons. If it gets too old I will add a touch more Colemans as it will have a tendency to evaporate out of the mixture.
I have been using this on all of my firearms for more than 30 years with no adverse effects or issues. And it doesn't stink like kerosene or diesel.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Has anyone besides me, tried using kerosene for cleaning junk out of the bore? Bought a new traditions rifle not long ago, and the bore didn't have grease but was actually almost red and it appeared to be rust. I cleaned it with kerosene and it appears okay. Left it set for a few days, and tried cleaning it again and the patches came out clean. Except for the Smell, kerosene seems to be a very good cleaner. I know if you leave it set for a long time in a kerosene lamp that it evaporates and leaves a hard film and it takes Alcohol to dissolve it. Anyone else ever tried this for cleaning?
Squint

Not kerosene but diesel I have used lots for rusty tools. Works like a charm.
Walk

 

[user 34300]

You must use something that contain water to clean BP or corrosive primer residue. Both contain corrosive "salts" that are not dissolved by liquids that lack water. If you decide to use a solvent that lacks water the only thing cleaning the salts away is your elbow grease. It cold be moose milk, GI bore cleaner, Balistol and water, a commercial PB cleaner, Windex with ammonia, whatever, you need the water to do a good job. If the water remaining in the bore is a concern use alcohol or WD-40 to displace or remove it. After that use your preservative.

 

[shdwlkr]

kroil works with rust so why wouldn't prevent also?

 

[Felix the Cat]

I can't help but wonder where the hot water system developed. In my life time I have used the hot water method maybe 10 times because the weapon I was to repair was so abused and dirty; and even then I sometimes wished I had avoided it.

The need to use hot water to clean the bore comes from the use of chlorates in primers and caps.. it was very difficult to remove with oil based solvents, but would dissolve readily in hot water..

There is however another effect of boiling out barrels that is worth considering, and that is the effect on blue. It has been noticed that many old guns that had been rust blued are turning brown, and this has been attributed to the switch away from boiling out guns in the 1960s. Blue is really a modified form of rust. Rust bluing is carried out by inducing rust on the barrel and then boiling it to change the red ferric oxide to blue ferro ferric oxide. Boiling out a barrel "resets" any brown on the barrel back to blue..!

If you take a shotgun back to Purdey or Boss in England, they will strip it and boil all the metal bits as part of the refurbishment and maintenance routine..

Rather than use a tank of boiling water, I use a drain pipe over a pot of boiling water to steam a barrel back to blue.. try it - it works!

 

[Sunbeam]

Well I cleaned my cannon, Hawken and pistol today with :-

Warm water / soap,
(dry patch),
IPA wash,
(dry patch),
IPA patch,
(dry patch),
Standard gun oil on wool mop,

I must say, it is quicker this way as I'm not taking ages not getting burnt with the boiling water and hot barrel.

I'll go back to the barrels in a few days and dry patch and re-lube them all. Hopefully they will all be totally rust free

I have some RIG grease on order, so will swap the standard gun oil for the RIG on the next clean.

 

[eugene nagel]

Try turpentine.

 

[Felix the Cat]

Try turpentine.

I would be wary of using real turpentine for cleaning or preserving anything metal. Depending on the source of the turpentine, they can be quite acid and can also contain long chain polymers that dry to a form of varnish! It's great for wood, but not metal!

Stick to chemically pure solvents that are Ph neutral and will not leave random deposits to gum up the works!

My preference for treating antique items for long term preservation is Renaissance Wax. It is a museum grade preservative wax blended with a high quality solvent and is specifically designed for the long term preservation of both wood and metal. Even if you are shooting, a layer of Wax between the metal and the wood will preserve the interface and inhibit rusting. It will also protect against fingerprint damage..

You can get Renaissance wax in the States from Midway or Amazon, and a little goes a long way.. Trust me I'm a Scotsman!

 

[Sunbeam]

Renaissance wax instead of RIG?

I now have some Renaissance wax being watched on Ebay ;-)

 

[Griz44Mag]

Renaissance wax instead of RIG?

I now have some Renaissance wax being watched on Ebay ;-)

The wax is for the wood, not the metal.

 

[DNS]

The renaissance wax is good for both metal and wood. Use rig inside the bore, wax on the outside. Have done it this way for years with no rust.

 

[Okie Hog]

The renaissance wax is good for both metal and wood. Use rig inside the bore, wax on the outside. Have done it this way for years with no rust.

Renaissance wax is really good stuff. For many years i used Renaissance wax on my antique Colts and Winchesters. Those guns were untouched by human hands for periods in excess of two years while i worked overseas. No rust, no nothing.

 

[Felix the Cat]

If you look at where antique guns rust, most serious corrosion happens where the stock is touching the metal. I have lost count of the number of rifles where you find a line of rust pits along the "tide line" at the edge of the wood. You also find deep pitting at the lower end of the barrel below the breech where the gun has become wet and then put away and the moisture has collected at the lowest point..

You NEED to take old guns out of the wood when you first aquire them and at regular intervals thereafter.. Coat the barrel and action where it is under the wood with either grease or wax to protect the metal before you close up the gun. The worst situation is where you have punky wood up against the metal. Moisture is held in the punky wood and becomes acidified and kicks off rusting. Mineral oil is the last thing you want in these circumstances as this can often cause stock wood to break down. Wax or grease stays on the surface and stops the rust process starting.

Since we abandoned chlorate primers, rusting in the bore is less of an issue these days, unless of course you are using BP substitutes such as Pyrodex which contain perchlorate! The only occasions I have had bore rust has been as a result of using Pyrodex.. never again!

I use Birchwood Casey BP cleaner and then follow up with either a UK product from Napier or BP "Sheath". We have just got RIG in the UK.. I will try it!

As Okie says Renaissance Wax on the outside and gun oil on the inside..!

 

[lyman54]

I can't help but wonder where the hot water system developed. In my life time I have used the hot water method maybe 10 times because the weapon I was to repair was so abused and dirty; and even then I sometimes wished I had avoided it.
I have seen pristine weapons that was cleaned with water and oiled rodded before loading and signs of flash rust on the swab. I am not saying everyone but at least 80%.
I swab, swab with olive oil until satisfied, disassemble once a year and use chassis grease on works and springs. On the stock I use boiled linseed oil cut with mineral spirits.
I am by far, no expert.

Original Colt loading and cleaning manual said to use hot water , dry and oil. I've always used that with good results. However muskets are not as easily cleansed. My Zouave never stops showing dirty patches until I plugged both ends and almost filled it with Fluid Film and let stand for a week. A bit messy but like a new bore.

 

[David Veale]

I've taken to using denatured alcohol for cleaning; it dissolves both oils and water, can't create rust, evaporates with zero residue, and is relatively cheap. Any oil/grease/lube with embedded dirt gets taken off, as do any water droplets. Then I've been following up with either neat's foot (in my rocklock) or light mineral oil oil in my modern guns. Only problem is that the neat's foot is fairly thick and seems to pick up dust easily, but I think that's true for most natural oils that don't oxidize or harden. Anyone know how mink oil compares?

 

[Carbon 6]

Anyone know how mink oil compares?

If you are concerned with staying " all natural", consider Fluid film, it is solvent free and consist of an all natural lanolin base. Or you could just use pure lanolin AKA wool wax. You also don't have to kill the animal to extract it, making it a renewable resource.

 

[David Veale]

If you are concerned with staying " all natural", consider Fluid film, it is solvent free and consist of an all natural lanolin base. Or you could just use pure lanolin AKA wool wax. You also don't have to kill the animal to extract it, making it a renewable resource.

There's a product called Lanocote that I once used aboard our sailboat as a corrosion inhibitor anywhere stainless was touching aluminum -- and which works exceptionally well. Very sticky though. We raise sheep and I'm quite familiar with it! Really like the idea of using something I can make myself rather than a purchased product (and though I could technically make neat's foot, I have yet to do so). Bear oil is probably close, though I like bears too much to shoot one unless he came after me (used to work with them quite a bit).

 

[Carbon 6]

Really like the idea of using something I can make myself rather than a purchased product

 

[David Veale]

We raise sheep and have processed a number of fleeces ourselves. Lanolin is great stuff, but is closer to a wax than an oil. Oils (stable non-oxidizing, that is) are tough to come by in the natural world, unless you're out on the high seas hunting sperm whales.