Codenamedave:

Dude, I stopped! But, in my defence, I did search other forums to get recommendations on how to clean the rust off the gun. Kroil was never mentioned. However, Ballistol, Breakfree, Hoppe's #9 and RemOil got many hits. I had Hoppe's #9 so I used that.

Other recommendations were quite explicit, too - particularly the use of a razor blade to get between the rust and the steel. This approach worked the best of all - cause soaking didn't do a thing. I was able to remove, in one pass (in most cases) almost all of the rust pile with no scratching. The bronze wool (which I failed to include in my list of tools and supplies) was OK but really, I preferred the 600 wet or dry dipped in the Hoppe's #9 - less apparent scratching. The Herters files were used as picks to clean rust out of historic nicks and gouges and to smooth some sharp edges I came across that were also from historic damage. The result is a clean and smooth surface with no scratches but where the bluing has been thinned or removed.

Just FYI, I have personally designed and built many high speed tape drives back in the day. I am pretty competent as an engineer, I know what tight tolerances are, I know how to assemble complex machinery, and I know how to use tools and not damage equipment.

I know your comments are intended to help and I take them in that spirit.

Thanks
u2jimbo