Thread: Rust removal

Any recommendations on what to use to remove rust of without taking of the blue? Or am I better to remove the rust and blue and then re blue the barrel and receiver? I have been told to soak it in coke but I am not sure if I was being spun a yarn. Thanks for you help

Get some fine steel wool and drop on lots of light oil like 3 in 1 and rub it off. Done it heaps of times.

Surface rust is easily removed with oil and steel wool without removing the blueing. Coke is an acid and will remove the blueing first!

A piece of brass with smooth edge will rub it off and leave the blue, very carefully!

Or even better use brass wool rather than steel ie goldilocks - its softer so wont affect the blueing or steel

Originally Posted by omark

Or even better use brass wool rather than steel ie goldilocks - its softer so wont affect the blueing or steel

This! I’ve used copper wool quite successfully on scungy old rifles (can’t remember where I got it though!)

Thank you for all your help I will see how I get on. Sadly the rust is extensive.

Originally Posted by AWBates

Any recommendations on what to use to remove rust of without taking of the blue? Or am I better to remove the rust and blue and then re blue the barrel and receiver? I have been told to soak it in coke but I am not sure if I was being spun a yarn. Thanks for you help

A good question. After trying many remedies I succumbed to some marketing burb and bought several ‘Big Frontier Metal Cleaning pads’. These are designed for cleaning rust off blueing.
I was very sceptical initially however they work extremely well and do not scratch or damage blueing.
So it looks like swarf that would come off a lathe. It’s coiled ribbons of metal. According to the packet, proprietary alloy containing stainless, nickel silver, monel and zinc.
I have used it as an example on a as new Browning .22 pump that had perfect blueing on the receiver sides but had a few small pinheads on rust. I thought why not try Big Frontier 45 before doing anything more expensive. It worked perfectly without any damage to the blueing.
I’ve since tried it on another project to test on a more aggressive rust situation and all I can say it is quite remarkable stuff.

I ordered it out of the US and it’s not cheap. However it goes a long way and for those jobs where you need some magic it’s the bees knees. By the way I have no connections with the company or resellers of.

Originally Posted by Southcity

A good question. After trying many remedies I succumbed to some marketing burb and bought several ‘Big Frontier Metal Cleaning pads’. These are designed for cleaning rust off blueing.
I was very sceptical initially however they work extremely well and do not scratch or damage blueing.
So it looks like swarf that would come off a lathe. It’s coiled ribbons of metal. According to the packet, proprietary alloy containing stainless, nickel silver, monel and zinc.
I have used it as an example on a as new Browning .22 pump that had perfect blueing on the receiver sides but had a few small pinheads on rust. I thought why not try Big Frontier 45 before doing anything more expensive. It worked perfectly without any damage to the blueing.
I’ve since tried it on another project to test on a more aggressive rust situation and all I can say it is quite remarkable stuff.

I ordered it out of the US and it’s not cheap. However it goes a long way and for those jobs where you need some magic it’s the bees knees. By the way I have no connections with the company or resellers of.

Thank you I will check it out! Shame no one locally has it