Can I clean a gun with a wire brush?

C

Cards_fan

Inactive
I'm sure that many of us have heard that question or seen the consequences of someone trying. This past weekend I was cleaning the garage and found an old tool box with some rusted old tools. I sat down at the work bench, oiled them up, and used some steel wool to make them serviceable again. Then it hit me how many people do the exact same thing with old firearms thinking they are somehow improving them. My question is what is the worst case you have ever seen of some "garage cleaning"?

Mine would be the butchering of the finish on a m1917 colt that had some minor wear. A friend of mine gave me a call after the fact and asked me take a look to see what could be done. He showed me a before picture and the finished product which made me feel a little sick. An almost pristine pistol with only some light rust had lost most of its finish. A rag and a little oil was all that was needed but he had used sand paper and steel wool which was all it took to remove virtually all of the bluing.
 
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If the gun is already so far gone that nothing can harm its value, a wire wheel or brush won't hurt it any and at least will remove live rust. The problem is that some folks give that "treatment" to guns that have only a little bluing wear, converting a $2000 gun to a $50 gun at 1500 rpm.

Jim
 
Reminds me of what my cousin did.

He calls me up one day asking where to get a gun reblued/finished. I asked him what gun it was and he said it was his grandfathers old Winchester lever action. I told him that it was a pretty rare gun, which it is, and that refinishing it will ruin the collectors value. Well to make a long story short, there were specs of rust on it and he went at the whole thing with steel wool and removed all the bluing from the gun. So he turned an old valuable collectible Winchester into a shooter in a matter of minutes.

I picked up a Carcano last year which had specks of rust on it, and all it took to remove it was a rag and some gun oil. I coated it heavily, let it sit for about 30 min, and it came right off.
 
Using a tooth brush to remove rust doesn't work well. Once something is pitted, or rusted, the only way to get it smooth again is to remove more metal. All around bad situation.

I have a revolver that was in a gun bag for years. when I pulled it out there was a rust spot on the barrel. Just cosmetic. I keep it oiled and it is still is a good shooter, just not pretty.
 
Wire brushes:

Never use any wire brush or other tools where the metal is as hard or harder that the metal part on which you are working. On Gun Steel, use aluminum, brass, copper or plastic.
 
I use steel wool from time to time, but I use #0000 with oil. You would have to be scrubbing the hell out of bluing to take it off.
 
0000 steel wool will remove light rust without removing blueing. For heavy pitting I have a special soft steel brush that will remove pitting rust while only lightly damaging the blue. Like scrub at it as hard as you can for 5 min. without oil and barely scratch the blue. A touch up behind with 0000 cleans and blends the scratches and the guns still retain a nice blue and look. Sometimes if the blue wears a little too much because of heavy rust i use light touch up of cold blue with the 0000 wool.
 
are you saying that wire brush should not be used only on blued revolvers? but on the stainless steel ones it is okay to use them?
 
Don't use a wire brush on any gun finish. There are tools and products that are made for this task.
On a stainless gun redoing the finish is an interesting process depending on the finish desired.
 
Once years ago on "Antiques Roadshow" this guy brought in a China Cabinet that he had bought for about $75.00 at a garage sale. He takes it home and he and his son begin trying to restore the thing by stripping the damaged finish off. After they "restore" it they take it to "Antiques Roadshow" which has made a stop in their community. The appraiser looks at it is really awed by it's construction and craftsmanship and then he asks the question. "Did you refinish this China Cabinet?" The man says proudly yes he did! The appraiser says well do you know how much this cabinet is worth? No the man says. It should fetch about $200.00 due to the rarity of the wood and quality of the craftsmanship,(wait for it) but it could have fetched as high as $15,000 before you stripped the antique finish off of it which is what made it really valuable to begin with. Hint- history is always expensive so be careful next time you reach for the "Homer Formby's" finish remover and other caustic items.
 
are you saying that wire brush should not be used only on blued revolvers? but on the stainless steel ones it is okay to use them?
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While I personally wouldn't use a wire brush for either, it would be OK to use on stainless. Stainless isn't an actual finish, it is stainless all the way through. Blued guns are carbon steel underneath the blued finish which can rust easier, which is why it requires a finish.

I have refinished stainless guns a bunch of times and for a brushed finish I either use scotchbrite pads or wet-dry. Alternatively you could bead blast or polish the stainless as well.
 
I gave up just using a rag and oil long ago when I realized the wonder that is #0000 (that's FOUR zeros, quadruple-aught) steel wool. I just soak an edge in CLP and it takes any imperfections while leaving the blue intact. It makes all of my guns look almost brand new every time and it's the only thing I use other than Hoppes down the barrel.
 
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