I purchased a six inch 57-1 a bit ago and recieved a pair of wooden grips in the mail today. When I removed the hogues to put on the new ones I noticed some rust spots on the inside of the grip frame and the main spring inside the grip frame. Please tell me I can remove this before it gets worse and how to do so. I will take some pictures and post them soon. Thanks. Tony.

brass scraper and oil

Try copper wool (Brownells) with plenty of Rem Oil or Kroil. Some people say 0000 steel wool is OK, but others say the bits of steel can get embedded and then rust, so I stick to copper.

What they said.
Also note this is a common problem with rubber stocks as they tend to trap moisture (sweat) from your hands underneath. I recommend that anyone who uses them take them off and clean under them regularly .

0000 steel wool and oil. Anyone who believes the dead soft fine wire which steel wool consists of can embed itself in solid heat-treated steel simply isn't capable of rational thought!

This is a myth begun by people who couldn't understand why stainless steel rusts, it just isn't so.

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Gunsmithing since 1961

Soak it in the automatic transmission fluid mixture as described in several other threads on this forum. ATF will dissolve the rust and leave the blue. Better yet, sell the gun to me since it is ruined.

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Randy
Provenance nerd

Remove the rust with 0000 steelwool and Simi-chrome polish. Then reblue if the spot is hidden under the grip. Then I'd put some heavy oil or a light coat of gun grease in that area. Bill

A good friend and I often swap/loan pistolas for periods of time. A 27-2 of recent loan had hogues on it. When I removed them to install some "real" grips there was some rust forming. Fortunately it cleaned up OK. I'd cautioned him about this before. When I return it I will lightly grease the frame before reinstalling the rubbers.
ALL SHOULD KNOW! Rubber grips trap dirt/sweat/blood/water & trash.......Remove and clean/lube regularly.

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S&W Accumulator

Do not use steel wool or any abrasive cleaners, as they will remove blueing. As mentioned, use a brass scraper and solvent.

You can make a scraper from a fired rifle cartridge casing by flattening the mouth with a hammer. WD40 or ATF make excellent solvents.