I have this lovely little 31-1, with a rust spot on side plate, near rear of cylinder. It’s a little pit that can be felt with a tooth pick. I would like to stop the rust from doing any more damage. Please advise.






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I use RB-17 to remove rust/corrosion as it does not affect bluing. Then just wipe the gun down with oily cloth occasionally. Guess you could also wax it (Renaissance) versus the oil but oil works fine to prevent further oxidation.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

Jeff, I had not heard of RB-17 until now. Googled it. Looks like good stuff, but I don't see any sellers of it, except for the manufacturer, pjsproducts.com. And their sales mechanism seems a little odd - send them an email, they will email a payment link, then ship. How do you get it?

Yes, finding RB17 isn't always easy. Sometimes shows up at LGSs and gun shows. The good thing is a little goes a long way; I've had the current bottle several years. I've never ordered from PJ's Gun and Metal Care - RB-17
but don't know why that wouldn't work.

Jeff
SWCA #1457

I've made brass scrapers from .223 shells--flatten them in the vise and scrape away. You can use larger cases, like the .25-06 if you want a larger "handle."

I soak in Kroil at least overnight, scrape and wipe off residue (you don't want the rust to form an abrasive paste and grind off your bluing), reapply kroil, repeat until satisfied.

I've also had good luck with the "big 45" stainless steel wool balls, particularly for larger projects like rusty old lever guns, shotguns, etc. that don't have a high collector value.

I use the steel wool dry, when a powder starts to form from the rust I stop, blow out the steel wool ball with a compressor, carefully clean off the rust dust, and start again. When I'm done for the day with that gun (2 or 3 scrubbings), I'll wipe it down a couple of times with kroil then leave it overnight, degrease and start again until I'm satisfied with it.

For your small patch of rust, I'd try soaking and scraping. Good luck!

Spray a little WD40 on it, let it soak for a day. Rinse and repeat. So not scrub at it, or you will be sorry.

Just a thought, what about replacing the side plate with a nice used one? I've seen them for sale on eBay. I'm wondering if this method would work from a fitment standpoint though. Anyone have any thoughts or experiences?

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ken
SWCA #1959

Could you elaborate on what I will be sorry about?

I imagine he means don't "scrub" too hard, as you can wear through the bluing and make a worse problem. That tiny spot I would just soak in Kroil, and start with paper towel to rub it out, (that may be enough). If not move to bronze wool and Kroil and "lightly" rub. Wash good with Kroil and let sit overnight, then clean, dry, and give it a coat or two of Renaissance Wax.

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H Richard
SWCA1967 SWHF244

Correct. It is easy to over do the scrubbing, and end up damaging the bluing. All you really need to do is keep it wet with penetrating oil for a while, and scrub with a tooth brush.

leave it alone, its not that bad to screw with, and you might make it worse, (been there, done that,) just keep it oiled.

Rust is an oxide an actually harder than steel but very brittle. If you break the rust loose and rub it around you are in effect rubbing you gun with an abrasive. Iron oxide, aluminum oxide. Use something like Kroil to loosen it up then lightly wipe it away. The small brass scraper can help move it, but letting it soak for a day with penetrating oil will loosen it up.