Rust

[kirk10100]

Ugh! I got a bit of rust on some of my firearms. I assume it's from the humidity we've been having. Any advice on how to get rid of it? As far as I can tell it is only on the outside of the guns. I keep them in a safe with a moisture absorbing packet. This has never happened before so I assume I perhaps needed to replace the packet. How can I prevent this from happening in the future? Thanks in advance


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[Mike748]

How much rust? Light freckles can be removed by rubbing with a real copper (i.e. old) penny and some gun oil. The copper is soft enough not to mar, but be careful because the floating rust specs will scratch. Wipe often. Heavier rust that has pitted may be more of a problem. You need more than a packet... more like a box of dessicant. Most can be baked in the oven to dry them out for reuse.

 

[Dawico]

Get a plug in Golden Rod and a humidity monitor (both available at Academy). A light works too if it produces heat.

Dessicants are junk if you don't maintain them.

 

[ZX9RCAM]

Get a plug in Golden Rod and a humidity monitor (both available at Academy). A light works too if it produces heat.

Dessicants are junk if you don't maintain them.

This!
I bought a cheap 12" knockoff but couldn't get my humidity below 60%.
I got the large Goldenrod, and it is just below 50% now.

 

[Vaquero]

This!
I bought a cheap 12" knockoff but couldn't get my humidity below 60%.
I got the large Goldenrod, and it is just below 50% now.

I agree, but, there's a difference between humidity in Houston and El Paso.
A little. Been a damp monsoon season in the Chihuahuan desert this year though.

 

[kirk10100]

How much rust? Light freckles can be removed by rubbing with a real copper (i.e. old) penny and some gun oil. The copper is soft enough not to mar, but be careful because the floating rust specs will scratch. Wipe often. Heavier rust that has pitted may be more of a problem. You need more than a packet... more like a box of dessicant. Most can be baked in the oven to dry them out for reuse.

A very light coat of rust. Almost looks like dust.


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[kirk10100]

I agree, but, there's a difference between humidity in Houston and El Paso.
A little. Been a damp monsoon season in the Chihuahuan desert this year though.

It has been very damp for us this year.


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[Mike748]

A very light coat of rust. Almost looks like dust.


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I'd say bronze wool, something very fine like OOOO and gun oil in that case. You didn't say what the guns are... bright blue on a revolver may be more delicate than industrial black on a sig. lots of oil, light touch, check often.

 

[oldag]

Yep, Mike nailed it. Very fine wool (even steel wool can be used if you go easy) soaked in oil. Get the finest wool you can find. Don't spare the oil. Start very gentle and watch closely as you go.

 

[Texasjack]

Rust is an electrochemical reaction - like a battery. Once it gets started, it's very hard to stop. You can get some surface treatments like "Barracade" that are designed to eliminate the corrosion cell, and that will help a lot.

But oil is a weak way to prevent rust. Think of it this way: Oil floats on top of water. If you have a surface with oil on it and you cover it with water, the oil will float to the top and leave the water in contact with the surface you are trying to protect.

Wax, on the other hand, is higher molecular weight than oil and will stick to the surface. Get a paste wax, like Min-Wax, or better yet one of the waxes used by museums like Renaissance Wax. Clean the metal surface, treat with a rust inhibitor like Barracade or Eezox or even WD-40. Wipe down well, then apply the paste wax. Let dry and wipe off excess.

 

[Texan-in-Training]

Found out about this the hard way, yesterday.
Learned my lesson... Fortunately the threat was a paper target.

 

[oldag]

Rust is an electrochemical reaction - like a battery. Once it gets started, it's very hard to stop. You can get some surface treatments like "Barracade" that are designed to eliminate the corrosion cell, and that will help a lot.

But oil is a weak way to prevent rust. Think of it this way: Oil floats on top of water. If you have a surface with oil on it and you cover it with water, the oil will float to the top and leave the water in contact with the surface you are trying to protect.

Wax, on the other hand, is higher molecular weight than oil and will stick to the surface. Get a paste wax, like Min-Wax, or better yet one of the waxes used by museums like Renaissance Wax. Clean the metal surface, treat with a rust inhibitor like Barracade or Eezox or even WD-40. Wipe down well, then apply the paste wax. Let dry and wipe off excess.

If you are going to use wax, apply the wax to a clean surface. Wiping down the surfac with WD40, etc. and then applying the wax will not help the wax coverage/adherence.

 

[kirk10100]

Got some nice steel wool so I'll be working on me guns this weekend. I also looked up the golden rod as a preventive measure. I ran across another device called Eva Dry. It is rechargeable and needs no power supply in the safe. Just place it in the safe and take out every few weeks to recharge on the base. Any one used one of theses devices before?


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[hoghunting]

I've been using the Golden Rod for about 30 years and have never had any rust on my firearms. I also put a Golden Rod in the tool cabinet in my garage as I had some tools rust before using it.

Make sure you get the real Golden Rod and not a copy.

 

[Mikewood]

For long term storage I recommend a grease like Vaseline or if your going to use the gun infrequently a product like Rand CLP which is a heavy oil about like honey. You need to protected the guns themselves and not just dehumidify the air although that helps. Products like rem oil, and WD-40 don't work very well at all for protection. Wiping down the guns a few times a year goes along way to keeping them rust free.


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[AR1911]

After some bad surprises with my machine tools a few years ago, I stumbled onto something that absolutely works to prevent rust: Raw lanolin. If you cast boolits you may already have some. I thin it down a bit with light oil and coat anything that I don't want rust on. It's been 100% effective for close to 10 years - unheated steel building.

 

[Army 1911]

Steel wool will leave behind bits of wool which will then encourage rust. Use bronze wool. Doesn't rust and is a little softer than steel.

 

[TheDan]

Start with just a rag. If the rust just started and is very light you probably don't have to resort to steel wool.