doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Cleaning finely rusted metal surfaces?

I used WD 40 , Kroil, and 0000 steel wool on a CHE Parker action and it came up very nice! Even had colors in a few area's. The metal was brown inside and out prior to hand polishing. The softer barrels had to be polished inside and out and then rust blued.
bill

I fully know that this is in contention but being old gives me some license to say what I think.
With one caveat, WD-40 should never come closer to a gun than vermouth comes to gin.
If one wishes to free up a rusted part, it has some place but far below BreakFree.
If allowed to remain in moving parts until dried, it will cause more problems than is solves.
I sincerely advise it not be used on guns and other fine working mechanisms. It is NOT a lubricant and has no lasting quality other than becoming a hard coating that gums up the works.
All one needs is an oil and then clean with an oil remover.

Best,
John

Jim (Italiansxs) is right. That's why I said; "For a gun that has virtually no case color left, but has some very light discoloration from 'freckling', you might try some Simichrome, Blue Magic, or Flitz polish." The dark spots left from under freckling is about the same thing as the blueing.

Also, while I'm not certain, I suspect a blueing remover may take off case colors. Anyone have any experience with that?

John Mann says it well.

My dad (best engineer & clock-restorer I know) taught us 'D-40 just turns to gum.
Many shooters I meet here like BreakFree.

I've used Kroil and LPS-1 too, but for the last few yrs
have had good luck with something called "Four Way Action",
Share Corp. If you find the aerosol version, beware the intense 'cherry' nose !
They also have a penetrating oil, which I suppose hasn't
the cleaning ingredient, tri-chlor, or whatever's in there.

I haven't harmed any stock with it yet, as I did yrs ago to a nice '40's Winchester,
-sold on some other hi-tech stuff at the time-
But, wouldn't trust it to run off on Fr polish or other fine oil finish.

Something Remington had recently seems to be gone. "XLP" ???
I liked this all-'round cleaner/lube for the semi-'s and pistols. Perhaps it was a menacing compound...?
Now that Maryland devolves to Cali-chusetts, what'll be next.. after kangaroo leather upland boots, etc?

Best to All,
T.

I think the point of this thread is being lost. It is not about cleaning a gun after shooting. It is about getting rid of those pesky dark grey spots found on old guns that have been left in the garage or closet for years and then sold.

When we buy these project guns, we may want to deal with cleaning up the action both inside and out. Cleaning with WD40 and cotton T shirts or steel wool is a start and is inexpensive to use. Once finished, the WD can be removed and an appropriate lubricant can be used before putting the gun in the safe. This way the WD is no longer there to dry up. My experience with WD has been with hinge pins on doors, not guns. It evaporates within a month leaving the hinge dry and the doors squeaky. The residue seems to somehow contribute to the squeekiness. It is not a long term solution for any type of lubrication but it will start a car with a wet ignition, clean a lot of things and apparently will start a balky lawnmower. I did not use WD on the gun I am trying to freshen up.

Back to the real point of this thread started by StormsG. Chuck's thoughts are intended for guns that have long lost their case color and there are a lot of nice guns out there that have none left. Some guns are just filthy with some oxidation that can be removed with many of the above suggestions and come out pretty nice. That is not what I am working on. The Husky has no case color except some on the hammers between the hammer and the action where it was impossible to reach or that would be gone too. Now this is a nice gun with some engraving which seems rare on this gun. I don't see this as a collector type gun except I cherish the oddity of its design. I bought this one because I had never seen factory engraving on this low end gun. BTW, it was imported by SARCO, Stirling, NJ.

Unfortunately, you cannot see the engraving if you do not clean up the dirt and rust. I have gotten rid of most of the dark grey spots but there are still lighter smaller ones all over the action. This is what I want to remove if I can without ruining the metalwork completely. Steel wool and oil does no further good.

I have even tried fine sandpaper and oil with no luck. Even a chemical might not work but it is worth a try. Has anyone had success with this short of sanding or filing down the metal substantially? I am willing to have fairly shiny metal uncoated and let a patina form from that point. Any suggestions?

Builder;
Personally I think the spots you are referring to are in fact small rust pits & nothing short of sanding them out will remove them. I would still try the boiling water which is a part of the rust bluing process & then you will have to decide if it is livable or if a total refinish is called for.