Dos and Don’ts: Removing Rust From Your Handgun

[mmckee1952]

Dos and Don’ts: Removing Rust From Your Handgun

By: Keely Sharp

Most modern handguns are coated that is meant to protect the surface from becoming rusty. However, in the case that you do ever need to remove rust from your handgun, here are some tips.

THE DON’TS:
1) Don’t use lubricant or oil iron oxide will turn into particles, cause more harm to help because the particles are they more abrasive than the coating on the gun.

2) Don’t soak the handgun in sugary cola (i.e. Coca Cola or Pepsi)
Small components of the gun can be degraded by the phosphoric acid. Also, it gunks up the gun.

3) Don’t use abrasive brushes
If you use a brush with bristles that are more abrasive than the gun, then you could destroy the finish,

THE DOS
The best tools for cleaning the rust off a gun are: copper wool, copper bore brush, copper brush, clean (dry) cotton cloths

1) Use a dry cotton cloth to wipe off gun
This removes anything on the surface of the gun, and also ensures that it is dry.

2) Separate major polymer and steel components
Because a lot of pistols contain polymer, it’s important to separate the polymer pieces from the steel.
A clean, dry cloth should suffice for surface sediment on polymers.
For removing ingrained dirt from polymer components, use a plastic scrub brush. A clean toothbrush can work. If the dirt is really ingrained in the polymer components, you can use warm water and a drop of dish detergent.
Keep polymer components separate from the steel ones. You want to keep the steel components completely dry during the hardcore rust removal process.

3) Use a copper/brass brush to remove rust from steel components
This will remove the tough rust, dirt, and salt particles that can be embedded in the steel.

4) Once all components are clean and dry, reassemble and store.
Once both your polymer and steel components are completely dry, you can reassemble the pistol and store it in a dry place.

Preventative Maintenance — Keep Rust From Coming Back

The easiest way to prevent rust from returning is to wipe down all surfaces of the gun with a dry cloth. The accumulation of moisture — especially salt water — accelerates the oxidation of steel and iron surfaces.

The drier the gun, the less opportunity there is for rust to form. If you put unused handguns in a safe, consider placing a desiccant in the safe. Desiccants can remove excess water from the air.

So, the principle lesson in preventing rust is to keep it as dry as possible. Regular cleaning and maintenance — to the order of once or twice a month — should be sufficient for most people.

Read More:
http://concealednation.org/2017/01/how- ... a-handgun/

My Thoughts:
I read once that if you can find a penny that’s made all of copper, it’s a useful item to scrape off surface rust on a gun.

[M1A4ME]

I've used 0000 steel wool with a few drops of 3n1 oil, or lately Mobil 1, for as long as I can remember.

Oil the 0000 steel wool, lightly rub the rusted area, wipe off the brown/dirty oil residue with a rag and inspect it to see if you need to repeat.

No re-rusting issues in the area of the removed surface rust.

No damage to the finish (blued, stainless and parkerized finishes) if lightly rubbed with the oily 0000 steel wool.

I tried the copper wool once, didn't see any improvement over the steel wool.

As they say, you mileage may vary, but what I do has worked for me for a long time.

I seldom see rust on one of my guns (I'm an over luber) but I did have some rust on the rear night sight on my P07 one time a couple years ago. Took it off, it never re-rusted. Had some light pitting on my stainless steel Colt 1911 grip safety. Never saw it again after removing it.

Oh, it you let it sit till it pits, the pits don't go away/clean up, you just get the rust out of them and from around them.

Had some rust under the grip on my Colt Combat Commander over 30 years ago. Took care of that the same way (first gun of mine that ever rusted - really hurt my feelings at the time).

I've helped several other people over the years that don't realize you have to keep a coating of oil on the surface of gun metal, or it will rust.