Safe way to remove rust

[-hanko]

I pulled a shotgun out of deep storage yesterday and discovered that it had some rust(not too bad, but spots) on the trigger, in the barrel and a few other places. What is a safe way to remove the rust without damaging the surrounding bluing?
I know what to do once it is off, just not sure how I should approach removing it.
Thanks!

Classic rust removal on a blued gun is to oil the rusted area (any good quality motor oil or gun oil will work) and then rub out the rusted area with 0000 steel wool. It does work, and it won't remove the remaining blue.

If you want to keep the surrounding blue, I'd be real hesitant of commercial 'rust removers'...a lot of them do a good job removing a blued finish when I want to refinish a gun

If you have some safe queens you can't get to on a regular basis, the best long term preservative, short of cosmoline, is Rig grease.

hth

-hanko

[metalhead357]

Don't use WD40 on your firearms. WD40 has fish oil it will cause the firearm to rust more. If you do use WD40 Use other oil after your done.

Ohhh JEEEZ...Stop the 'net rumors. FISH OIL DOES NOT CAUSE RUST. WD40 is a WATER DISPLACING SPARY....which means it...uh...displaces water...the oil is in there as a protectorant.

The fish oil does not cause rust; any WATER or MOISTURE left by the WD40 NOT displacing water or moisture is therebyu TRAPPED under the fish oil............

Fish oil....rust Yeah, and guns cause crime

[Pulsar]

WD40 still is a lousy gun oil, it tends to leave a film that is rather unsightly, and it just doesn't lubricate as long as oils sold specifically for guns.


And there really isn't any difference between squeeze bottle CLP and spray can CLP. The squeeze bottle is more for getting lube in that one spot, and the spray can is more for giving the gun a protective coat.

And I happen to like the smell of CLP, but not as much as my co-worker who was a marine corps armorer, he said he used to not like food inless it had a hint of CLP to it

[savasyn]

Then I can pretend to be a Marine for a few minutes as I smell of CLP and am about to go eat

[cseabass]

eze-ox SP? tends to work well... stink but use tha, some clp and a couple of stiff nylon brushes works well....

[sloguy]

ajax22 has the right advice. pure copper will not damage blueing. small scrap of copper pipe from the hardware store would work great. copper wool would work great, specially if wet with wd40.

wd40 turns to varnish with age. funny thing is that fresh wd40 'and a day of soaking' actually breaks up the old solid wd40. it is its own cure.

besides that its fine as a rust inhibitor( but there are better) i use it to loosen the junk in a guns action. left overnight its easier to spray out with brake cleaner that way. its cheap and its a spray. its value is its conveniance and ease of application.

i had never heard of the molasses trick. im gonna go test that one right now.

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

MedalHeah357.
Im NOT spreading RUMORS!
WD40 Does causes RUST. The FISH OIL HAS ACID JUST LIKE YOUR HANDS HAS OIL AND ACID WILL CAUSE RUST.
Take your dry firearm and spray it with WD40 and put it up for a few days and see if it dont RUST!
Unformed people like yourself are the Rumors!
In gauge your brain and think before you start typping. Or at least know what your talking about before you type.
As far as the faces, Dont be a Dumb Donkey.

[sloguy]

MedalHeah357.
Im NOT spreading RUMORS!
WD40 Does causes RUST. The FISH OIL HAS ACID JUST LIKE YOUR HANDS HAS OIL AND ACID WILL CAUSE RUST.
Take your dry firearm and spray it with WD40 and put it up for a few days and see if it dont RUST!
Unformed people like yourself are the Rumors!
In gauge your brain and think before you start typping. Or at least know what your talking about before you type.
As far as the faces, Dont be a Dumb Donkey.

i just dont believe that wd40 can cause rust. ill admit it can evaporate really fast and not protect as well as other products, but cause rust? im having a hard time believing that. can you point to a credible source of this? whats the ph on wd40?

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Like i said it will. Get a bare piece of medal spray it with WD40 and see. Not only the Acid in the oil, But the moisture in the Spray from the Airesol.
And for the rest of you that dont believe it. PLEASE soak your firearms in WD40 that is if you want them to RUST!

[sloguy]

Like i said it will. Get a bare piece of medal spray it with WD40 and see. Not only the Acid in the oil, But the moisture in the Spray from Airesol.
And for the rest of you that dont believe it. PLEASE soak your firearms in WD40 that is if you want them to RUST!

your saying that if i spray a gun with wd40 it will rust within how many days?

what if i spray a gun and then seal it in plastic? you are saying that the moisture and acid contained in that spray will rust the gun?

[Desert Rat]

WD-40 is great for displacing water. Works great when your engine gets flooded out. Remove ignition wires, spray WD-40 on contact surfaces, reinstall, back in business.

Thanks guys! I'll see if I can find one of those kitchen scrubbers on my way home tonight.

So, what is WD-40 actually good for? It's not a lubricant, it doesn't prevent rust and apparently actually promotes it. I know it's suppose to "displace water", but what are the practical applications of that?
The stuff has been selling for years but everybody seems to be using it wrong.

[metalhead357]

WD40 Does causes RUST.

The FISH OIL HAS ACID JUST LIKE YOUR HANDS HAS OIL AND ACID WILL CAUSE RUST.
Take your dry firearm and spray it with WD40 and put it up for a few days and see if it dont RUST!
Unformed people like yourself are the Rumors!
In gauge your brain and think before you start typping. Or at least know what your talking about before you type.
As far as the faces, Dont be a Dumb Donkey.

Well now I getts to play spellchecker...its ENGAGE not In gauage

think what you will; been storing auto parts, fishing parts, AND GUN PARTS in WD40 for years (20+) and still no rust; MUCh closer to what the other fella said--it can/will varnish over...But does not CAUSE rust. I can/will certainly agree finger prints left on guns can do so---but that is more from the moisture CAUGHT IN THE NATURAL BODY OILS....very much like the same with WD40. Again, anything caught UNDER the WD40 can cause rust.

If WD40 CAUSED rust- they wouldn't have been in business for longer than any of the other brands mentioned so far......

So If In your OWN experience WD40 has *caused* rust then I'd dare say you didn't clean & dry your gun well enough prior to putting on the WD40; but if you're talking from "what you read on the 'net" about it causing rust--its a load...a big load of horse pucks. So correct me if I'm wrong but nothing you've said indicates that you yourself have used it as such and such results--just a blanket statement that it causes rust---Which is absolutely false. My granfathers firearms were stored for 50 years just that way before I got them...add in my 20+ of doing the same and I can say with absolute certainly and absolute clarity that WD40 doesn't cause rust........ we're not talking just guns either but his drill bits, cold chisels & drifts, hand crank drill and plenty of other stuff~ The ONLY thing he used was WD40.

Nothing, nowhere, anywhere indicates Fish oil as an Acidic oil that will be harmfull to metal..........

But as many have noted-- there ARE better ones out there NOW. 50 years ago you pretty much had yer' choice of WD40 (non aresol), Grease, axel grease, cosmo, 3-in-1.....and aint much else. NOW certainly you have more choices AND I'D EVEN SAY BETTER ONES.

But hey; dont believe me- go use search elsewhere--A guy over on Amback even ran his own personal tests on close to 10 products to see how long they each lasted under time & a daily spray down of water. Guess what....WD40 DID NOT come in first...but it faired ok....just ok.

So, personal attacks aside-- my brain IS fully ENGAGED and I'm not talking from out my donkey hole; personal experiences of two people DIRECTLY (myself and my grandfather) have seen it otherwise from what you're claiming............please for the sake of us all...please post where you got this info about fish oil...more specifically WD40...that these cause rust.......

So personal attacks NOT aside....cool it.....I certainly didn't attack you personally- JUST THE SO-CALLED INFO you spewed forth like holy writ without backing up a blanket statement...so get over yourself

[rg_1111@yahoo.com]

Sloguy,
Im saying it will rust in about four days.
Why would you seal your gun in plastic? I don't ,Do you.
If sealed in plastic and no air i dont think it would rust.
WD40 Fish oil has Amino Acid, Aerosol Moisture, Air = RUST!
I just don't know why you and Medalhead don't understand.
Thirty years ago i sprayed my .22 rifle with WD40 and yes it rusted.
For Those That Want To Use WD40 Go Ahead If you Want a Rusty GUN. IM NOT!!!


your saying that if i spray a gun with wd40 it will rust within how many days?

what if i spray a gun and then seal it in plastic? you are saying that the moisture and acid contained in that spray will rust the gun?
__________________

[dw1784]

I have heard of the fish oil rumors, especialy among fishermen, but looking at the MSDS table from the WD40 website it's possible that's it's a tall tale or maybe from the old formulation.

from the MSDS data, the ingredients are aliphatic hydrocarbons and low vapor preasure aliphatic hydrocarbon, petroleum base oil, carbon dioxide and 10% nonhazardous ingredients. It's none water soluble and ph is listed as "not applicable".

see also, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WD-40

[metalhead357]

Sloguy,
Im saying it will rust in about four days.
Why would you seal your gun in plastic? I don't ,Do you.
If sealed in plastic and no air i dont think it would rust.
WD40 Fish oil has Amino Acid, Aerosol Moisture, Air = RUST!
I just don't know why you and Medalhead don't understand.
Thirty years ago i sprayed my .22 rifle with WD40 and yes it rusted.
For Those That Want To Use WD40 Go Ahead If you Want a Rusty GUN. IM NOT!!!

Wow..... Ok... REAL S L O W and by the numbers......

You din't clean/dry YOUR gun well enough or didn't cover it weel enough with WD

People seal parts in plastic to prevent rust...it cuts down on the AIR circulating around the part(s) taking ONE of the factors in rust creation out of the equation

I DO understand...I understand YOU had a bad experience with the stuff and now want all to believe your shortcoming with the stuff is relelvant to all.

Did you Leave it in a High humidity area?, did you wipe OFF the WD after you sprayed the gun? A LOT of factors you're not saying...as well as- did you only lightly spray part of it and then let it sit for 30 years with NO additional coats?

Many have for years...as have I..... Still use it on PARTS for guns though I did make the switch to grease for long term storage.

Its MeTAL_HEAD...as in Heavy metal; the music for those in the know though I would love a medel

Rg...Dude, c'mon...just face facts dude.... you had a bad play with the stuff and now you're trying to make everyone fearful of the stuff... I'm sorry for you & the gun but THAT is why we're all here to passalong GOOD info...and even stories like yours to find out what went wrong and how to make it NOT happen again.