Cleanign up a hazy blued finish

R

rolo550

Inactive
Bought a nice smith model 10 the other day. It has a rusty haze on the surface but not like nasty thick rust. I need to get that stuff off and make it look new again. Do you guys recommend a compound like flitz or brasso, or what would you use to bring this ol beauty back to showroom shine?

Do you use some kind of cotton cloth or do you use like a polishing wheel on a dremel?

thanks in advance
 
0000 steel wool and Ballistol. Oil well, rub gently, the rust will come off. Wipe, oil, repeat until the whole gun is done. Then use paste wax or an oily rag to keep it nice.
 
"...what is paste wax..." Floor wax.
Brasso is a brass polish only. Flitz is a metal polish. You don't need a polish. You need to remove rust. 0000 steel wool and oil will do that. It's faster using as light touch with a fine, brass, wire wheel in a bench grinder though. Eye protection is mandatory.
 
...what would you use to bring this ol beauty back to showroom shine?
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Once the rust has blemished the blued metal, nothing will bring it back to the condition it was. The rust can be removed, however, by the methods suggested. The only way to get it back to looking like it did in the showroom, is to have it re-finished by a qualified gun smith who buffs the pits out and re-blues.
 
Clean

Scorch is right on. The Ballistol will remove rust somethimes even with a wipe down with a cloth. The good thing about ballistol is it won't hurt the wood. It will help it..because it is formulated with mineral oil, not petroleum based.
Had a customer pick up three guns today and asked if I reblued them. told him about ballistol and he ordered three cans(one for each gun)
 
it is formulated with mineral oil, not petroleum based.
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Oh, dear. Another Magic Oil Legend.

"A mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of alkanes in the C15 to C40 range from a non-vegetable (mineral) source, particularly a distillate of petroleum."
 
Clean up

quote
"Oh, dear. Another Magic Oil Legend.

"A mineral oil is any of various colorless, odorless, light mixtures of alkanes in the C15 to C40 range from a non-vegetable (mineral) source, particularly a distillate of petroleum."
it may be a legend to you, but it works, I like it my customers like it..yours may nto
and sorry, I check my chemistry degree at the door
 
My 2c on solvents

I saw questions on earlier posts concerning rust removal, bolt cleaning, etc, and wanted to share. cigarette lighter fluid (before butane) is Naptha. It is available in small quantities (zippo, etc.) but more economical to buy a quart can at an auto supply store. It is a good grease remover, and when it dries, it does not leave any signifigant residue. It will not remove rust.

charcoal lighter is kerosene. it can be purchased more economically by the gallon at anyplace that sells deisel fuel (almost the same). It is an excellent rust remover especially when combined with a light 0000 steel wool rub.

two words of caution


keep you scope lens covers on when using any chemicals, as lens coatings are vulnerable to most of this stuff. use them when stroking your bore with solvent, especially when using a brush which causes the solvent to mist.

Kerosene, and anything that contains it (like wd-40) will remove bluing.(remember bluing is rust)

sorry if this is old news to anyone, I read these questions from posts submitted in 2007 and 2009
 
it may be a legend to you, but it works, I like it my customers like it..yours may nto
and sorry, I check my chemistry degree at the door
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I didn't say it wouldn't work, I said it was a petroleum product, contrary to Internet Expertise. In fact, I use the stinky stuff myself, largely on my BPCR.
 
"Kerosene, and anything that contains it (like wd-40) will remove bluing"

You better call up the WD-40 folks and tell them to fix their FAQ...in the question on sports equipment.

"Use WD-40 to clean and protect your gun. It will prevent corrosion and it won't damage bluing."

www.wd40.com/faqs
 
Kerosene is also 25% the ingredients of Ed's Red. Ed's Red has been used on guns for decades and will not harm gun bluing. I know folks who soak parts in straight kerosene for cleaning without any problems.
 
Hello, about kerosene..there are different grades..there was a write up in The Fouling Shot about a fellow who used cheaper gas station grade for E.R. ended up pitting bore.
 
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