I'm in crises.
I don't open my gun safe all that often, and the other day I idly wondered if I actually remembered the combination, then I wondered just where the combination was written down (not inside the safe, and I could do with fewer comments and less laughter from the peanut gallery), and so I found the combination and opened the safe.
Rust has attacked a few firearms.
Having recovered enough to actually do something about it besides kick myself for being an absolute idiot, my questions are:
1. What's the best way to remove rust from a firearm?
2. What's the best way to prevent this kind of thing from happening again? Keep the humidity low inside the safe, sure - but how to do that?
My thanks to everyone who knows an answer and responds.
8 comments:
If rust is on the bluing, yer screwed. There is no best way to remove it, you'll be able to get it off (typically fine steel wool and oil) but the bluing will be gone. Light rust on the shiny metal can be removed the same way, usually without much damage to the finish. And check your bores - rust in the bore is a BAD THING, and needs to be treated quickly. Best bet would be one of the abrasive bore cleaning compounds, and a lot of elbow grease.
Preventing rust -
First thing, all metal surfaces should have a thin film of oil on them. My last step when cleaning a gun for storage is to wipe the outside metal with an oily rag (easy to make, spray a soft cloth with gun oil, put in ziplock bag, repeat a few times) and the bore gets a oiled cotton mop passed thru it.
For the safe, get a couple of those perforated metal canisters filled with silica gel. Used to be a double sawbuck or so apiece. Every few months, when making a pizza, put them in the oven after you take the pie out and let them bake as the oven cools down, or bake them for a few hours on their own.
Brass Wool, NOT steel wool, not brass colored steel wool but real brass wool and WD-40. Gently rub into rust and the rust will disolve. Wipe off and cover with gun oil. This worked on mine...Joe Roy.
To keep the humidity low in my safe I use Damp Rid, a dessicant made for use in closets, drawers, chests, etc. I also open my safe for several hours at least one day a week.
To prevent rust on my guns I use Eezox. It's the best rust preventive I've ever found, and I think I've tried just about everything out there short of cosmoline.
When I clean my guns the last step is to run a patch wet with Eezox down the bore then wipe down the outside. I stand the gun muzzle down for a while before lightly wiping off any excess with a rag and putting the gun in the safe.
On those rare occasions when I do get a spot of rust I wet the spot with bore cleaner and rub off the rust with 4/0 steel wool. Then I degrease with TCE and apply some cold blue. When that's done I wipe it down with Eezox.
I don't know the right way, but as a kid, I refinished a .22 my dad had stored in the water treatment room of our house. You know, where all the salt was stored.
I removed all the rust with steel wool and re-blued it.
Hmmmmm. You have high humidity down there, Jack?
Glen: In the summer we do. In winter, not so much.
The brass wool came in, and I have a can of WD-40. I also have gun oil - natch, right? Anyway, I'm off to work.
Others have already given all my tips...LOL I do run a low wattage heater in the safe. It sits by itself on the middle shelf. https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/golden-rod-gun-safe-dehumidifier?storeId=10651&lcab.rdr=TRUE&categoryIds=104792580%7C104730480%7C472735080&displayTab=Description&ds_e=GOOGLE&ds_c=Nb%7CGeneric%7CCatchAll%7CDSA&gclid=CjwKCAjw07qDBhBxEiwA6pPbHju5PkJyHic5E-bRG6T3GDoXUh6AaIS8XEbMWZDv3vbrHeEktFQKsRoCc9kQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
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