Removing Rust From 36

What does the cost and a little time have to do with this issue?
Just do not use steel wool, this is not patio furniture.
Use a t-shirt and some oil. Im done.
 
Local supermarket has Chore Boy pads. And they are all copper, not copper-plated steel. I have even seen it at the local Dollar Tree.
 
Guys, I've been working on guns for a long time. Not looking to completely disassemble everything. Just pop the sideplate and remove some rust. I have copper Chore Boy pads. They look way too aggressive to me. If I'm missing something, let me know, but I'm not some kid who has never worked on a gun before. I'd like to avoid flitz or anything else because I don't want to remove any more bluing than I have to.

So I'll look for the bronze pads tomorrow. But is there anybody here who has used 0000 steel wool to remove rust and NOT had an issue? I've done it a few times, but I admit the rust was lighter than what is on this gun. Not dramatically lighter, but lighter nonetheless.

I'm not talking about using a Brillo pad or a dremel here. If bronze or copper is a better choice than 0000 wool, I'll try it out. But I don't see my friend that often and Monday is the day I will. I'd hate to see the gun deteriorate for another 3 months. Last time I saw it, about 6 months ago, there was no rust. I bet it got wet in the holster and he left it that way.
 
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Mr. kbm, I have never used OOOO steel wool, but seen the results on the fine finish of guns. Get an old cotton T-shirt and some oil and start rubbing. I swear to God I hope you never get a Colt Paterson . And I pray you dont have a B&D bench grinder with a wire wheel. Best, and good rubbing.
 
gmborkovic said:
Mr. kbm, I have never used OOOO steel wool, but seen the results on the fine finish of guns. Get an old cotton T-shirt and some oil and start rubbing. I swear to God I hope you never get a Colt Paterson . And I pray you dont have a B&D bench grinder with a wire wheel. Best, and good rubbing.
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I'll try the oil and patch first, but I think the rust is beyond that. Thanks for your concern, but I wouldn't mess with a colt Patterson. This is a run of the mill j frame that has history for my friend and I would like to remove the rust. It's not a museum piece. If the oil
And t-shirt does the trick, great. I'm not looking to do any more than I need to to remove the rust.
 
It is TRULY AMAZING to see this topic again---and---again---and again.

BOTTOM LINE: Steel wool will remove rust. Bluing is rust---also known as black oxide. Steel wool removes bluing---every time----all the time.

Bronze wool does not remove bluing.

As an aside-----Kleen Bore makes a bronze "toothbrush", for lack of a better description, which will most certainly remove rust from pitting. As another aside, it will also remove "firing residue" (lead and powder residue) from the front face of the cylinder and rear face of the barrel----and from the little nooks and crannies between the rear of the barrel and the top strap. If you have even a modicum of imagination, you should, right about now, be starting to think maybe some of those "unfired" guns we see now and then are really guns which have been cleaned by someone who KNOWS what they're doing.

Last Bottom Line: Bronze wool/toothbrushes work best in concert with a light oil.

Ralph Tremaine
 
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rct269 said:
It is TRULY AMAZING to see this topic again---and---again---and again.

BOTTOM LINE: Steel wool will remove rust. Bluing is rust---also known as black oxide. Steel wool removes bluing---every time----all the time.

Bronze wool does not remove bluing.

As an aside-----Kleen Bore makes a bronze "toothbrush", for lack of a better description, which will most certainly remove rust from pitting. As another aside, it will also remove "firing residue" (lead and powder residue) from the front face of the cylinder and rear face of the barrel----and from the little nooks and crannies between the rear of the barrel. If you have even a modicum of imagination, you should, right about now, be starting to think maybe some of those "unfired" guns we see now and then are really guns which have been cleaned by someone who KNOWS what they're doing.

Last Bottom Line: Bronze wool/toothbrushes work best in concert with a light oil.

Ralph Tremaine
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Does bronze wool only come in one grade? Steel wool comes in different ones.
 
Copper is softer and less aggressive than either brass or bronze, and certainly steel, so Chore Boy would likely have the least likelihood of finish danage. Some recommend scratching rust off with a copper (actually bronze) penny - but lots of luck in finding one. You could just as well use a cartridge case rim or a bore cleaning brush.
 
kbm6893 said:
Does bronze wool only come in one grade? Steel wool comes in different ones.
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Ace Hardware sells fine, medium and coarse bronze wool made by:
Homax
840 West Horton
Bellingham WA 98226
(800) 729-9029

Cleaning stainless guns I use fine almost all of the time.

I would take rct269's blanket assertion that bronze wool and bronze tooth brushes do not thin bluing with a grain of salt. How often and how hard you rub has a lot to do with it. As you know, rubbing your gun once is not going to strip it naked. The last step in bluing is to go over the new blue with oil and 0000 steel wool.
 
Bronze wool comes in Fine (#00), Medium (#1). and Coarse (#3)---from Brownells-----don't know about that from any other source. I have used only the Fine. I bought one package about 20 years ago. I have three pads left. Your experience may differ---especially if you have friends with rusty guns.

Ralph Tremaine
 
k22fan said:
Ace Hardware sells fine, medium and coarse bronze wool made by:
Homax
840 West Horton
Bellingham WA 98226
(800) 729-9029

Cleaning stainless guns I use fine almost all of the time.

I would take rct269's blanket assertion that bronze wool and bronze tooth brushes do not thin bluing with a grain of salt. How often and how hard you rub has a lot to do with it. As you know, rubbing your gun once is not going to strip it naked. The last step in bluing is to go over the new blue with oil and 0000 steel wool.
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k22fan makes a good point. It's rather akin to buffing out a new paint job. I wonder how come it is when you get through buffing, the buffing pad is the same color as the paint?

Ralph Tremaine
 
From what I've read, there are two problems with steel wool
1) It is nearly as hard as the steel the gun is made from so it does more damage to the finish.
2) The super find stuff it leaves tiny little bits of steel wool behind embedded in the pores and pits and crevices of the metal. Since the steel wool is is raw steel with no corrosion resistance at all these bits left behind then rust and make the problem worse.

I bought a bag of the 00 Bronze wool at Ace for just a few bucks and it has worked great for me. That's going to be your best bet.
 
y method for removing rust is a long soak in 50/50 automatic transmission fluid and kerosene, Then a light scrub with copper or bronze will remove any rust. Kroil is great, ATF/kerosene is better. Anything like this has to be completely removed before using the gun. Just like WD40 any real thin penetrating type oil can cause primer failure and they are not designed to be lubricants and do a poor job of that.
 
If you think you have bought some copper Chore Boy pads try a magnet first. The ones I could find were Not Copper, just plated!
 
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