Boiling - Rust Removal

[Ray]

Hi, I read somewhere about a process involving boiling a gun and internal parts to remove rust but I forgot the items used, except distilled water being one of them. What about the others components?
Thanks, regards, Ray

 

[steelslaver]

Boiling rusted steel in water will turn the rust from red iron oxide to blue/ black iron oxide. It will not remove it

 

[daveboy]

Distilled water, steel wool, and patience. Degrease the gun, getting all the oil and gunk off of it that you can. Cover with boiling, distilled water and boil for 30 minutes (make sure the water doesn't boil off so much that the gun is uncovered). Remove from water, shake the excess water off, let it cool until you can handle it. Wearing gloves, to prevent oil from your fingers from contacting the metal, scrub the gun with fine (000 or 0000) steel wool that has been degreased (steelwool comes with oil in it so it doesn't rust. Soak the wool in acetone, squeeze, and let dry and it's ready to use). Rub, rub, and rub some more. Keep rubbing until the metal looks smooth and shiny. It's common to have to repeat the process two or three times. Apply some oil after the last scrub to all the metal. The boiling converts the red oxide to black oxide (which is exactly what rust bluing is) and also stops the corrosion. It won't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but it can greatly approve the appearance of a neglected gun.

 

[Phenix]

Boiling rusted steel in water will turn the rust from red iron oxide to blue/ black iron oxide. It will not remove it

That would be a good thing, wouldn’t it?

 

[Phenix]

Distilled water, steel wool, and patience. Degrease the gun, getting all the oil and gunk off of it that you can. Cover with boiling, distilled water and boil for 30 minutes (make sure the water doesn't boil off so much that the gun is uncovered). Remove from water, shake the excess water off, let it cool until you can handle it. Wearing gloves, to prevent oil from your fingers from contacting the metal, scrub the gun with fine (000 or 0000) steel wool that has been degreased (steelwool comes with oil in it so it doesn't rust. Soak the wool in acetone, squeeze, and let dry and it's ready to use). Rub, rub, and rub some more. Keep rubbing until the metal looks smooth and shiny. It's common to have to repeat the process two or three times. Apply some oil after the last scrub to all the metal. The boiling converts the red oxide to black oxide (which is exactly what rust bluing is) and also stops the corrosion. It won't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear, but it can greatly approve the appearance of a neglected gun.

The steel wool won’t rub the blue off?

 

[steelslaver]

Depends on how hard and long you rub, If all you want to do is remove rust, spaying it with Kroil or soaking it in a mixture of Trranny fluid and keroseen with some alchol or acetone for a day ofr so then rubing with bronze wool will do it.

But, no mater what the method if the rust is very thick it will leave pits of varing depth

 

[kev74]

Mark Novak has some VERY GOOD videos covering this on youtube.

It works very well. I have used this process on several rifles and shotguns, including rustbluing which is just a controlled process of getting the initial orange rust to convert to black with the boiling and carding process.

 

[daveboy]

The steel wool won’t rub the blue off?

Fine steel wool, 000 or 0000 will not remove bluing unless you rub so hard and so long that your fingers cramp. You don't need to rub that long or hard to bring out the shine.

 

[Ray]

Thanks folks,regards,Ray

 

[Pisgah]

I've never boiled a revolver to remove rust, but I've boiled many to remove generations of built up grease/oil/crud from the insides. Tap water and Dawn dish detergent...

 

[daveboy]

I've never boiled a revolver to remove rust, but I've boiled many to remove generations of built up grease/oil/crud from the insides. Tap water and Dawn dish detergent...

I have also done that. It works great, but tap water CAN leave some strange deposits, depending on your water's makeup. So, I suggest either distilled water (a couple dollar's worth is all you need), or only boil for ten minutes or so.

 

[hammondo]

I have been fond of Gunzilla for 20 years now. Besides being a terrific CLP it also removes rust. I apply some on the liftgate of my pickup and I can see the rust dissolve into the liquid

 

[peacons]

Electrolysis might be another option. But I'm not sure what the effect would be on the blueing.
But again it will remove the rust, not convert it, but will do nothing for pitting.

 

[Duffer]

Novak's YouTube channel is "Anvil." And I 2nd kev74's endorsement of him.

 

[bph9]

Hi, I read somewhere about a process involving boiling a gun and internal parts to remove rust but I forgot the items used, except distilled water being one of them. What about the others components?
Thanks, regards, Ray

Using any kind of steel wool will start to dull down the bluing and then start to remove it all together. I have done this sort of thing in the past. There is no quick and cheap way to properly do the job.

You can have it professionally re-blued or even hot blue it at home, especially if its as small as a pistol then you will not need to buy expensive tanks that you need when re-bluing rifles.

Off the internet I copied extensive instructions on how to hot blue and how to buy a turkey frier and crock pot and degreasing instructions. You can even buy and mix your own bluing salts but Brownell's has two ready made types of bluing salts for more money of course.

Hot bluing is extremely dangerous both in terms of getting burned and breathing in toxic cancer causing fumes.

The other way is to cold rust blue it. This is not touch up blue but the old fashioned traditional way they used to blue silver soldered double barrel guns. Its long and tedious and requires a humidity box and the bore must be plugged or it will rust. Parts are rusted brown and then boiled in distilled water which makes the rust turn satin blue and then the slag is rubbed off (called carding) It usually takes at least 8 long tedious coats. You cannot get a high gloss finish but it will be a satin blue which is far more durable than any hot bluing.

And there is one last option if you get lucky. Ninety percent of the work is preparation and with todays labor costs a re-blue can easily hit $300. I found one guy who told me if I stripped the gun down and polished the parts he would then just dip it into his blue tanks. It cost me $100 which was way less than if I would have done the job myself at home. He had almost zero labor involved. If he says no you might ask him if you brought him more than one gun all at once (say some of your friends' guns all stripped and polished) if he would then just dip them all for $100 each.

Just remember bluing does not cover or fill in pitting and taking off pitting will usually destroy the gun unless the pitting is very light which it almost never is.

You can get spray on finishes (glorified paint jobs) which may be your best route if the gun has pitting.

And you can forget places that professionally restore guns. Those are for rare guns worth a lot of money and guns that do not have extensive damage. Going to a professional restorer costs a king's ransom.

And last but not least dump the gun for what little money you can get out of it and use that money as a base to save up some money for a used gun in better shape. Usually the best route to go.

 

[-BTM-]

Electrolysis might be another option. But I'm not sure what the effect would be on the blueing.
But again it will remove the rust, not convert it, but will do nothing for pitting.

FWIW I just tried this. I have a large tank with a bunch o’amps for cleaning cast iron - it did not make a dent in the blue on a no-dash 586 barrel or a well-worn model 35 barrel.

 

[mojave30cal]

Novak uses a carding wheel to remove the rust after boiling.

 

[daveboy]

Novak uses a carding wheel to remove the rust after boiling.

So do I. Fine steel woold will do the same thing, but it takes much longer to get the same result.

 

[Autonomous]

I have an old parkerized barrel with a small patch that wants to bleed a tiny bit of rust if neglected.
I touch it with oil and all copper Chore Boy. So far so good and no copper seems to have been left on the barrel.
Has anyone done this with a blued finish?

 

[Markpixs]

I’m a fan of the Big 45 Frontier scrub pads. Not sure how but they clean minor/light rust and save the blued finish. It’s here - 45 - and great for shotgun bores, wad residue.

 

[M1A4ME]

Many years ago I shortened the barrel on my old Ithaca M37 (wish I'd found a spare barrel and cut it instead of the factory barrel, you know how that is.)

I too about 10" off the 30" barrel and saved that piece (for some reason.) It ended up in the attic for well over 20 years. I found it one day, surface rust all over it where I'd handled it during the cutting process.

I took some 0000 steel wool and light oil (probably 3n1 oil but it could have been Mobil 1 in the little squeeze bottle) and very quickly rubbed the rust off. It won't remove pits or get the rust out of a pit, but it will remove light surface rust. Ugly surface rust. You do have to keep a coat of oil on the metal (just like you did before) to keep it from rusting.

Before



After

 

[2152hq]

Carding is the process of removing the oxide that remains after the red rust is converted to blue/black rust.
Ferric oxide to ferrous oxide or the other way around,,,or something close to that.

The stuff you Card off should be loose on the surface. Loose enough that you can actually just brush most of it off with a paint brush, a cloth, your fingers, etc.
If it's hard to remove after boiling,,the water you are using is not soft enough and/or you are not boiling long enough.
But 15min in a rolling boil should usually do it.
The water does have 'life' though. So after using it to boil a number of cycles, dump it and clean the tank, rinse it and refill with clean water and start again. I usually do this when I start to see the boiled parts not quite change over to a complete blue color from the red rust. A few areas of reddish color after a good boiling still appear. Seems to be around 5 cycles when doing 2 sets of SxS bbls at the ssme time along with some misc smaller parts.

Card with 0000steel wool is fine. It must be free of all oil. Much of it is shipped with some oil in it to prevent it from rusting in the packaging. A lot of people use Bronze wool instead.
You won't damage the blue you are building up with it. The steel wool (or carding wheel) is there to not only remove the loose oxide, but to also burnish the surface as well.
Let the material or wheel do the work, No excessive pressure,,it should not be necessary. If it is, there is something wrong with the coating.

Spots, discolorations, streaks, etc cannot be carded away. They are just that and result of contamination from stuff in the water, something in the rusting soln, something on the applicator swab, etc.
Don't grind away at the spots with the wool or goo over and over them with the carding wheel.

CArd the remainer of the part and then take the part and polish the discoloration or streak away with a piece of fine (grey or maroon) scotch brite.
Just that area and blend the polish into the surrounding good blue finish.
You may go right down to what appears to be clean steel. Don't be dismayed.

Now apply a new application of blueing soln OVER THE ENTIRE PART. Not just that polished and damaged area.
No matter if you are Express or Cold Rust bluing,,coat the whole part.
When it's ready for boiling,,do so.
The areaa will nearly blend to color after only one application like this with carding.
Apply another over the entire part, rust, boil and card. You should be just about if not back to complete color again.
Then keep going for a couple more cycles to build color.

 

[kev74]

I’m a fan of the Big 45 Frontier scrub pads. Not sure how but they clean minor/light rust and save the blued finish. It’s here - 45 - and great for shotgun bores, wad residue.

One of those Frontier scrub pads scratched the crap out of the side of my 36.

I'm not a fan.

 

[Markpixs]

One of those Frontier scrub pads scratched the crap out of the side of my 36.

I'm not a fan.

I've found it's better/safer/softer than most steel wools, including 0000. I've used bronze wool from the marina and it's also a good choice. I work lightly with oil and check my work along the way.