I was not sure where to place this topic, so moderator please move it if there is a better place for it.
I have a 12 gauge shotgun barrel with two small areas of surface rust in the bore. I have scrubbed with a brush using Hoppe's bore cleaner, and some rust came out but there is still some left. I'd like to know if there is a product I can apply to gently dissolve or remove the surface rust so I don't have to spend hours scrubbing it.
Thanks!

Try a Tomlinson tool.

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SWHF #448

So...you suggest that I send it to a machine shop in Mississippi?
I was hoping for something that would be cheaper than just buying a new barrel.

EEZOX and Kroil seem to be held in high regard for that purpose.

You could try BROWNELLS - SHOTGUN BARREL POLISHING FLEX HONE

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Jorge

Take a cleaning rod without the handle and wrap a 12 gauge brass brush with 40 steel wool. Put a gob of Flitz or any metal cleaner on the steel wool. Using an electric drill scour the bore where the rust patches are and they should disappear.
Note: it the rust has caused pitting honing the bore will be required.
Jim

No.

A Tomlinson tool: Tomlinson Gun Cleaner Kit (for 20 gauge shotgun) :: Horace Kephart

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SWHF #448

Well, OK. But Googling it I found that the tool hasn't been made since WWII. A few (worn out) examples are available on a spotty basis on-line. Can you point out a source for a good one?

Shotgun with light rust in the bore..

Shoot it and then shoot it some more.. little to no significance...

You may well be right. But the crotchety old geezer in me doesn't like the idea of a rusted bore.
I ended up wrapping some bronze wool around a tornado brush, oiling the bore, and rubbing back and forth for a few minutes. It sure made the bore shine like a mirror, but when I run a clean patch through it I can still see some red marking. But alot less than before. So at least no harm done.
I will make more of an effort to find some Kroil or Eezox.
This barrel has some sentimental value since it is the one that originally came with my M870 and is the one I hunted with as a youth.

Not something I would waste any time worrying about nor any effort to fix.

I would try some simi chrome polish on a bore mop on a drill

My Dad bought a double barrel shotgun in 1939 at a Pawn shop for $8. He got it so cheap because it had a rusted and pitted bore. The gun dates to 1915, and I guess it probably was fired at one time with black powder.

The Pawn shop was clueless - its a Parker.

Fast forward 70 years or so - it's mine now after Dad passed. And after he shot dozens of deer with it. He had a minor repair made about 20 years ago and the gunsmith offered him 2 grand for it....pitted and all.

I shoot it once a year and clean it after the range session - just like Dad did. It is still pitted and rusty.....still puts the slugs down range into the target.

Forget 'bout it....

Try J.B. bore cleaning paste. It will probably take out the rust quickly.

Extended treatment with a Product like Shooters Choice and repeated cleaning will eventually remove most of the rust from the pits. However, only honing will restore the smooth surface. Scrubbing it will still leave rust in the bottom of the pits.
I have an old Western skeet double with moderate pitting that I did not hone, and it shots OK with plastic wad skeet loads.

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Science plus Art

I'm not an expert but the Hoppes tornado brush seems to work well on removing wadding residue, etc. It wouldn't hurt to saturate the rusty spot with a good penetrant like Kroil. As already posted, a mild abrasive like JB's bore cleaner with some steel or bronze wool on a bore brush might work.
TORNADO BRUSHES | Brownells

This. I'm gonna try it myself.

One of the police turn in 870's I have was really fouled with both lead and residue from the shotgun shells. Took some 4/0 (OOOO) steel wool and wrapped it around a 12 guage bore brush. Attached it to a variable speed drill and slowly went back and forth up and down the barrel. The **** that came out of the barrel had to be seen to be believed. Got a bore mop and swabbed out the barrel and it looked as good as my 870 slug gun which was used to hunt deer in upstate new york. Try it and see if it works for you. I'd take a bore mop and liberally soak it with some kroil, wrap it with some 4/0 steel wool and have at it. Frank

I like Italiansport and Frank46 use the steel wool to clean out residue and polish a shotgun bore.

In the old pre internet days I recommended it to a gun writer who hated cleaning a shotgun after a long south american dove hunt. He was happy.

The wad and shot slide past imperfections in the bore and it is not critical.

A piece of scotchbrite pad wrapped onto a worn 12ga bore brush or even a 16ga or 20ga brush for use in a 12ga bore works wonders for removing plastic & powder fouling and rust.
A liberal amt of oil to go along with the brush and spun with an electric drill as already mentioned it removes rust and debris and polishes the bore nicely.

Pitting is something else.
You can mess around with a simple split mandrel & grit paper spinning up and down the bore courtesy of the same Black & Decker.
But results will be slow is coming and uniformity in bore dia will suffer over the length of the bbl(s).
It's really a job for bore honeing to remove pitting and then followup with a light polishing to brighten things up.
You have to watch bbl wall thickness too when you do this.
It'll increase the choke spec by increasing the bore dia. Can be a little or a lot.
Sometimes done specificly for that purpose and called 'backboreing' .

Not always cost effective on everyday common shotguns, but not as costly as one might think.