HELP!!! My AK is rusting!!!

[hondamanr]

Hey guys,

I have a WASR 10 that is starting to rust and I am freaking out! I have been shooting Yugo surplus ammo which I know is mildly corrosive, but everyone on the forum said to just clean it after every range trip and you'll be fine. Well, I've cleaned the gun immediately after every range trip and it is still rusting. Any info would be greatly appreciated!

A pic of the muzzle device:


A pic of the gas tube:

[HK4113]

what do you use to clean it?

[SJgunguy24]

If you used any regular gun cleaning solvent then that's what you'll end up with.
When shooting corrosive ammo, you want to flush with hot soapy water. Many say windex but it's the water that kills the salts. If you want to drop the extra coin for windex be my guest. I'll still reccommend hot soapy water.

[oldyeller]

I have been shooting the Yugo surplus in mine, I use windex/small bottle brush to remove the primer salts, then WD40 it down to remove the windex- so far so good with that process.

[hondamanr]

I use Hoppes #9 to clean it and cheapo gun oil after it's dry.

[SJgunguy24]

I use Hoppes #9 to clean it and cheapo gun oil after it's dry.

Water water water water. Screw the hoppes until after you flush with water. I use hot soapy water because it evaporates and then you clean as normal.

[timdps]

Its normal, nothing to worry about- its an AK.

Sorry, bad joke...

[Alex$]

Couple questions come to mind:

What did you clean exactly?

What did you clean it with?

If you brought it back home from the range and ran some cleaner down the barrel, well that is not going to help with the areas you have pictured above.

If you did clean the areas above, did you clean it with a solvent that will get rid of the salts that cause rust? (sounds complicated, but it isn't)

What you have shown in the photos is generally the result of not cleaning properly after shooting corrosive ammo. (mildl or not)

The corrosive salts are airborne when you shoot. If the part of the rifle is exposed to the salts it will retain some of the salts. If you do not clean the salts off, they can rust.

So, clean the salts off, no rust caused by salts.

Use water to flush out the salts and then let the parts dry completely, (not really complicated is it?). Once dry do your normal cleaning. What does that mean for an AK?

Strip parts down and pour a good amount of water on them after shooting corrosive ammo:

Muzzle/flash hider
Gas tube base
Gas piston
Bolt carrier
Bolt
Upper handguard/gas piston guide
Interior of all receiver parts

[hondamanr]

thanks for all the input guys! i'll be sure to water everything down before cleaning next time...

any suggestions for getting rid of the corrosion and rust that is on there already?

[SJgunguy24]

thanks for all the input guys! i'll be sure to water everything down before cleaning next time...

any suggestions for getting rid of the corrosion and rust that is on there already?

Um, hot soapy water and don't be suprised when you see the pitting. The rust is the salts that have absorbed H2O from the air.

[Gowking]

The only corrosive ammo I use is for my 5.45x39 Bulgarian AK 74's. After the range I strip them down completely including removing the buttstock. I use 2 teapots to boil water and pour the first one into a pitcher that I added some soap to. Pour that over everything, down the barrel, gas tube, gas block, etc. and scrub with a brush. Next I rinse with the second teapot to get all the soap off. The metal will be steaming hot as the water evaporates off so wear gloves! I then liberally spray a mixture of boiling hot water and Ballistol on all the metal parts and let it air dry which will happen pretty fast. The Ballistol will get into every nook/cranny and leaves a protective film on the metal to prevent rust. After the parts dry I clean the barrel as normal with Hoppes #9, etc.

Both my Bulgarian AK 74's have unfinished NoDak receivers and there is no rust on them whatsoever.

-G

[Garand1911]

try this ....

[Richard Erichsen]

A garden hose will do wonders after a range trip as step one in clearing the salt deposits. Industrial 10%+ ammonia if you have it (cleaning supply stores have it cheap) is more potent then Windex but generally overkill for salts alone, more on what it does well in a moment. "Ed's Red+" home-made cleaning solvent (use it outdoors, it's potent) with ammonia mixed in does it all in one step, in no particular order.

Higher concentration ammonia is effective at removing copper fouling, so it's useful for more than one purpose shooting Yugo surplus. From the images, it doesn't look like you cleared the corrosive salts and moisture combined with those salts leading to rust. The weapon needs to be completely flushed through the gas system and barrel, then dried completely before storing. In dry climates, you can even skip a cleaning or two with no ill effect since it's moisture + corrosive salts that do the damage, not salts by themselves.

As a final counter-measure, obtain some silica gel to put in your gun case to absorb moisture. Following the above regimen you'll be rust free from now on.

R

[JPurp]

You should be able to get rid of the corrosion/rust with a brass wire brush. They sell brushes with the other gun cleaning supplies.

Me personally I would scrape off what corrosion I could with a screw driver or a cleaning pick then hit it with the brass brush.

-JP

[SJgunguy24]

You should be able to get rid of the corrosion/rust with a brass wire brush. They sell brushes with the other gun cleaning supplies.

Me personally I would scrape off what corrosion I could with a screw driver or a cleaning pick then hit it with the brass brush.

-JP

No, don't use a screwdriver, you run the risk of messing up the plating. The last thing you want is that corrosion working under the plating and damaging the underlaying metal. Hot soapy water will wash that crap out and use a nylon brush. There will be pitting since the damage is already done.