Rust help

[jonbondave]

I am pretty fanatical about rust, so today i nearly hit the ceiling when i noticed rust had developed in between the hammer and the firing pin of my 19-2. also some in the firing pin cut out in the frame. And ideas at how best t get into these tight spaces would be appreciated! Thanks.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Pipe cleaner works great with some Birchwod Casey Barricade, as does a nylon bristled brush like those sold at Harbor Freight, or an old hard bristled toothbrush.

 

[jonbondave]

ooh pipe cleaners! hadn't thought of that. but what about betweeb the hammer and firing pin, that space is too tight to effectively get anything inside of. Should i buy a new rivet and disassemble it? or just keep it smothered in corrosion X and keep an eye on it?

 

[66f100]

Try some dental floss, lube it really good and use new ones until they come out clean.

 

[jonbondave]

damn! this place is full of good info. Thx Guys, I'll pick up some pipe cleaners after work. and go at this thing head on.

 

[Gun 4 Fun]

Don't forget the nylon bristled brush. Those little bristles get into some small areas. So will a dental pick, but be careful with one of those! You don't want to scratch it.

 

[jonbondave]

Well the good news first. the rust on the frame was just red drip from the hammer, I had put some corrosion x in the openings and it killed some rust in there and it dripped out. the bad news is, I don't really think I can get it all out of the hammer. I'm happy the corrosion X is flushing it out, but it's frustrating to not be able to really get at it. So short of pulling out the hammer andtaking out the firing pin not much i can do to get in there. I was able to get everything else cleaned up. Whats your opinion of the hammer? It's not on the surface at all, just in between the firing pin and and interior walls of the hammer itself. I even tapped off the sideplate and all the other internals are pristine.

 

[tom turner]

It's really not going to ruin anything in the next 100 years or possibly many more, nor is it really going to be noticeable to anyone but you.

It sounds like you've done a fantastic job of lubricating and protecting that area so I think that gun is good to go, especially because you care for it better than most! Plus, these revolvers were designed to take a lot of abuse (which yours has obviously not had to endure. So, there are three choices . . .

1. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."

2. Pay to have someone remove the firing pin and buff that area properly.

3. Learn how to do this task yourself and get the minimal tools needed to do this job (this way you can do it on other S&W revolvers too so they can remain pristine).

4. Find a brand new "virgin" case hardened hammer and firing pin and have a gunsmith install the parts AND do a really good trigger job so the new hammer will return to how it is currently.

T.

 

[jonbondave]

Thx Tom, I like option 3 the best. But if there's no rush, that's good all the same. The gun is a shooter, probably spent most of the 60's, 70's, and 80's on patrol. But, that's no excuse to neglect it!