870 disaster. Seeking any possible advice.

L

LockedBreech

New member
Hey guys. I left town for five days and my basement bedroom flooded, going un-noticed for three days. I lost my iPod dock and some assorted stuff. The true pain was when I opened the Plano case holding my 870. Having sat wet for three days, it was covered in rust stem to stern. A clean put away with gun oil did nothing. I soaked it with WD-40 and rubbed all the rust off with an abrasive pad, but the entire gun except the synthetic stock is pitted.

What do I do? It was just a baby gun, only 100 shells in :(
 
Well in all reality and all things considered, buy a new one. An 870 synthetic is only 300 at most shops or less. I would save the headache and buy another, keep the pitted one as a rainy day beater.
 
You COULD go all out with 0000 steel wool, oil, etc to smooth it all out......remember, bluing IS a form of rust....or you could salvage what you can and maybe need a new barrel
 
Do you have flood insurance? It would be nice to make your 870 problem their 870 problem.
BigJimP is in the biz, perhaps he has some insight.
 
parkerize

Too bad. We had an ice machine line fail when we were out of town for a week, been there. Didn't get to my den, but the kitchen/dining room was a wreck.

You might consider parkerizing the gun. Its a fairly course finish anyhow, and durable. I haven't had one done in a while, but fairly affordable compared to the various space finishes now popular.
 
Depends on what is the cause of the water in the basement ...

If was a pipe in the wall that broke / water heater leaked, etc .. - the gun and the other things are all covered for replacement cost on a typical renters or homeowners policy. If you are a student away from home / your parents homeowners policy may cover it ( minus the deductible in either case of course).

If the water came in from puddles on the ground / rain soaked the ground - came in thru foundation, from a river, lake, etc ...then it is "Flood" and you need to have a FEMA national flood insurance policy ...to get any coverage..

Where did the water come from ??
 
In three days its probably mostly, if not, entirely surface rust. I would definently take very some very fine grit sand paper and some steel wool to it. After you get it nice and shinny, then get some wonder blue or some other cold blue at the local gun shop and apply it. It wont be as nice as the factory finish, but i have cold blued an entire gun with pretty good results. Just make sure you follow the directions exactly and you will be just fine.


and it you are lazy and dont want to cold blue it, just get some rhino truck bed liner and roll it on...:)

How bad is the pitting? I would try to save it. If it is monor pitting, it isn't a problem.
 
My buddy gave me an older wingmaster that was blued, but by the time I got it (and lack of care) the gun had some pits and the bluing was FUBAR. I went to my local smith and they bead blasted it and applied a nice matte blue, looks a lot like parkarizing but darker. Not sure how bad the pits are but if its a working gun it may fill in the deeper ones and cover the smaller ones.
 
You might try sand basting and a quick dip, or a coat of paint (remember the CZ75's of 30 years ago?):)
 
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What prestigous handcrafted shotgun do you own, sir? The 870 is a fine shotgun and IMHO one of the few good deals still out there.

Your situation sucks. Get it bead blasted. Don't spend more than it's worth.
 
Baltz, if it helps pretend its a Beretta Silver Pigeon. Not a beater to a college kid.

Thanks for the advice everyone. The source of the water was a busted sprinkler line (basement bedroom) Used WD 40 and scrubbed off the rust. Pitting is substantial but not terrible. I am considering parkerizing for about two hundred. Worth it?
 
I am considering parkerizing for about two hundred. Worth it?
Click to expand...

If it's safe to shoot I wouldn't parkerize it. It's worn in now, no use throwing money at it. Keep it oiled and see if you can shoot it out in this lifetime. If you do, buy a fresh new one.
 
sounds like it's time to send iit out for a refinish with something more rust resistant. As has been stated it's only surface rust. It happens slowly over a 100 years to a rusty patina or in 3 days in a wet basement:) Even so, it should smooth out at refinish without any major problems. Now if you'd left it for months and months you'd probably have much worse pitting issues that may have required a new barrel. rc
 
I've seen a number of guns that were found in the water and after cleaning off the rust they worked fine though not pretty !:D
 
You're telling me that it rusted that bad in 3 days? =O Heck I had a rifle stolen once and it was recovered like 2 weeks later. I clean it up after the po po let me have the darn thing back. The stocks kinda swollen up. But the rest of the gun is fine. Shoots like a dream.
 
I'd recommend bead blasting, after using masking tape to protect the interior. It gives you a smoother matte surface than sand blasting. Degrease and cold blue (my favorite is Brownell's Oxpho Blue). The result looks very much like parkerizing on my 870, which got that exact treatment a few years back.
 
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