Hey guys,

I have a beautiful stainless coyote rifle that I inherited after my dad died and at some point in time someone handled it and placed back into the case where it has set for a few years. Now it has a fine bit of rust on the side of the barrel that appears to be a thumb print. How can I get this rust off and keep it off?

Any help is appreciated

So many threads on rust removal -- search is your friend.

Gun cleaning solvent/oil and ultrafine Scotch Brite or Norton scouring pads. If you don't get the finest grade of pads -- usually the white and the grey -- you'll mar the finish.

Oil up the rust and let it sit anywhere from a few minutes to overnight. Lightly oil the pad and scrub gently.

This is a basic, least invasive first step that hopefully will do the trick. If the rust has been there a good while don't be surprised if you have light pitting. Little to be done for that short of metal work, and then only if the pitting is shallow.

Best bet is to remove the rust and keep the gun clean and oiled going forward...

Thanks for the quick reply, will also do a little more research

0000 steel wool and a penetrating oil,such as kroil should improve the situation
a pencil eraser sometimes helps....a pre-1983 copper penny (copper content) along with kroil has also worked....go slow and be careful...let us know how it works

__________________
SWCA#2208
KK4EMO

My pleasure; meant to throw a after my first line -- hope it didn't seem curt.

Good luck...

Not at all

I hate to say it but, WD-40 and a bronze bore brush works too. Of course on a stainless gun rust/bluing remover works fine with no scrubbing. Just never use rust remover on blued guns of course.

Use a Scotch Brite or stainless steel wool. Regular steel wool will leave small particles of steel in the sinish that will become seed for more rust. Personally, I use the brass brush on stainless steel or the copper penny on blue with Kroil.

I would made the "penny trick" a pre 82 model. Some of the 82's were zinc. Small date, large date, I forget which. Actually, I'm a 0000 steel wool and oil guy anyhow. Just be gentile. AND NO GREEN PADS. enjoy Mike

Bronze wool from Brownell's and Rem oil.

Whatever you do, DO NOT use Scotchbrite (R) on a blued gun. This is precisely equivalent to using fine sandpaper, which will almost instantly remove the finish right down to bare metal. It amazes me how often I see this recommendation made.

If there is scaly rust it can be scraped off with light oil and a coin. It can be a penny or a nickle, makes no difference. The admonishment to use a copper penny goes back to when 1943 steel pennies were still in circulation! Current zinc pennies will cause no harm. 0000 Steel Wool and oil will likewise cause no damage, unless you really go overboard.

It is a myth that the soft iron wire in steel wool will imbed in the gun metal and lead to rusting. The steel wool is much softer than the gun steel. What does lead to rusting of stainless steel guns is polishing them, which removes the thin protective "passivated" layer from the outside. This exposes free iron molecules in the metal which will then rust more easily than the factory finish. This is why S&W passivates its' stainless guns. The other factor which results in rusting of stainless guns is the failure of many to keep them clean and oiled in the mistaken belief that stainless does not need to be oiled.