I just took delivery and she is in beautiful condition until I removed the factory grips to install Hogue X Tamers.






I cleaned it up easily with Kroil and a Q-Tip. Please advise this S&W newbie!

Unfortunately, that's classic with stainless (and blued) guns wearing Hogue synthetic grips. Moisture and dirt get under the grip and boom, that's all she wrote.

People often think that Stainless steel is rust proof, it is not, it is just corrosion resistant.

I have a 1006 pistol and a 629-4 that experienced that issue, and after learning my lesson, I now keep a coat wax on the frame under the grips of all of my guns.

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Conrad
SWCA #1830 SWHF #222

Yes, rubber grips are notorious for trapping moisture and allowing rust. Stainless steel isn’t rust proof, it’s rust Resistant.

I typically remove the grips when I do a deep cleaning (once or twice a year). It ‘s a good idea to wax the frame under the grips while you have them off.

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"I also cook."

I don’t like to bash Hogue because I believe they are a good company and they are good people but the main reason I don’t like their Monogrips is that clip gets rusted pretty easily. It’s probably cost prohibitive but it would be nice if they could make a stainless clip.

After cleaning it up some more, I would use some Corrosion X oil on the rusted areas. I usually let the Kroil sit and brush a couple times a day with a bronze brush for a period of at least 3 days to get rid of the rust. Wear gloves when using Kroil because it will penetrate into you if you don’t and it is nasty stuff.

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Accuracy supercedes Speed

So are you advising that you would keep her? How do I remove the rust best? I will then wsx

Heck yeah keep her.
You can clean that rust up just fine as I described above.
What length barrel?

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Accuracy supercedes Speed

Gray scotchbrite pad with oil.

Most people do not know there are two common grades of stainless steel. 300-grade is truly stainless and usually will not corrode but 400-grade, the type guns are made from, contains some carbon as a hardener and will corrode. But as you learned, while it can be a shocking sight, it cleans up fairly easily.

Ed

6.5" Ported

I bought some of these:


And, combined with some 3-in-1 oil, they worked perfectly for cleaning rust off my recently acquired M30 while not damaging the bluing.

The other thing you can do is coat the area under the grip with Renaissance Wax or Rust Inhibition Grease (RIG). Either should slow that down quite a bit.

Update: I just didn't feel right with this rust not being disclosed. The FFL offered a refund and I accepted. I did purchase a replacement this morning: 629-4 Ported. They removed the grips while on the phone and said no rust or pitting. The finish is not quite as good but expect it is 90%. The price was a lot less too! Thanks for everyone's advice and suggestions.

When ''stainless'' first came out it was advertised as ''rustless''. They soon

changed the name to stainless because it STAINS LESS

Don't worry, that's just surface rust. It'll clean up with little effort. When I bought my 629-3, I discovered similar rust beneath the Hogue grips and other places where the sun don't shine. Have at it with some penetrating oil, a brash brush, or scotch pad, or a rag and some elbow grease... then oil it very lightly or wax it as others have suggested.

Well, doesn’t it RUST LESS too?

Guys, he traded the rusty one for a clean one .

A coating of wax under the stocks to repel moisture is a great idea, as noted above. If the gun gets wet, remove the grips/stock panels, dry and re-wax. Also, for future rust removal be sure to use bronze wool or something else besides steel wool; the latter will embed small particles in the gun that will make it more likely to rust. Enjoy!

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Alan
SWCA LM 2023, SWHF 220

Respectfully, this thread reminds me of two famous literary quotes.

''tempest in a teapot'' and ''much ado about nothing''

sw282: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. I'm sure the seller will be reposting it on GB. He received it today just incase you want to bag it.

What barrel length was it?

Thanks. l already have one. Not a finer shooting 629 out there... A friend

of mine in Texas owes his life to his 629-4 Power Port... He stopped a charge

from a 280 pound Alaskan Black BEAR @ 12feet a few years back... l

don't think he'll want to be giving his for a little staining either

6.5”. It is relisted with the exact description. No mention about the rust. He did tell me he was going to use 0000 steel wool and clean it up.