Removing rust on blued surfaces--do NOT use oil!!!

J

JohnKSa

Administrator
Use 0000 steel wool DRY.

The removed rust is an abrasive, if you put oil on the metal surface or on the steel wool, the removed rust is retained and rubbed on the surface which can damage the finish.

If you use the steel wool DRY, shake it out frequently and keep the surface of the gun dusted off the removed rust doesn't get rubbed around on the finish. Keeping the steel wool free of rust particle will minimize damage to the remaining finish.

You can oil the metal surfaces AFTER the rust has been removed but you want them to be as dry as possible while you're actually using the steel wool.

I'm posting this because I see a lot of people recommending the use of oil and steel wool to remove rust and I know from experience that is much harder on the finish. I used to have a friend with a gun shop and I would go over all the used guns each week to keep them oiled and rust free. Since they were out in the customer area, not behind the counter, they had been handled and some would build up light surface rust. I would oil them if they weren't rusty and remove the surface rust if they were rusted. It was easy to see the difference between using the steel wool with oil and without.
 
I'm not trying to argue, just trying to understand...

If you don't use oil with steel wool, aren't you basically damaging the surface anyway? I thought the use of oil provides a suspension, much like soap does when you wash your car. It keeps the dirt in suspension while the sponge does the cleaning. Then, it washes off taking the dirt with it without scratching the surface.

Is it different in the firearms world?:confused:
 
If one were to frequently rinse the surface and the steel wool with oil as one frequently rinses the sponge and surface while washing a car, one might be able to achieve a good result using oil.

But it's much easier and much less messy to simply use the steel wool dry and dust it and the surface off frequently to keep the rust particles from building up.

I can tell you from experience that using oil is definitely much harder on a blued finish than just using the steel wool dry.
 
I don't use steel wool at all. Even the relatively soft steel wool can, and will, damage a blued surface as it is too abrasive. Unless the rust is so bad the finish is beyond recovery, I use bronze, copper, or brass wool, which won't scratch the surface or remove bluing.

Jim
 
That's also a viable solution, but I've had very good luck with steel wool. As long as it's used dry and the rust particles aren't allowed to build up, it's surprisingly hard to damage a blued finish with it. When used with oil, however, you really have to be careful.
...it is too abrasive.
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I understand what you're saying, but strictly speaking, steel is not abrasive. Steel wool works because the edges of the wool are sharp, not because the steel wool is abrasive in the conventional sense. Iron oxide (rust), however, is abrasive and even if you use a bronze/brass/copper wool, you still need to make sure that the rust particles don't build up in the wool or on the surface of the metal or the finish can be damaged by the rubbing.
 
Thanks for the clarification, John. I just thought that if you keep the surface coated with oil as you use steel wool, the chance of the rust particles causing damage will be nil. I'll have to keep that in mind...
 
There is always the big wire wheel, but only if used dry.
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:eek: :D

If you used a wire wheel where the diameter of the wire was similar to the diameter of the steel strands in 0000 steel wool, I suppose that would work ok. ;)

If you get coarse enough steel wool then you're going to have troubles with the steel cutting/scratching the finish. With 0000 steel wool, the strands are so flimsy that they're not going to damage the finish unless you're careless with it. Or unless you get an abrasive material embedded in it.

Having tried it both ways and noted a BIG difference, I thought it would be helpful to pass along the information. I'm not trying to convert anyone and I would encourage those who are skeptical to do a careful experiment on their own and do what works best for them. I will say that I've gotten some good feedback from those who have tried it as I describe besides the results I've seen myself.

Best,

John
 
Rouge is iron oxide, AKA 'rust'.
It will polish steel, if slowly.
If there are any contaminants in the rust (like salt) they will also act as an abrasive.
The lack of control on particle size does not help either.

I still prefer a brass brush, followed by oiling to prevent further damage.
 
One of the best smiths that I ever had the pleasure to meet was a firm believer in 0000 steel wool for the removal of surface rust on a blued surface.
This gentleman built some of the sweetest rifles that I ever had the pleasure to put my hands on. The bluing on the metal of these rifles showed your reflection like you was looking into a puddle of water, Colt and Smith and Wesson would have been jealous. More then once I watched him use 0000 steel wool on the metal of one that someone failed to wipe down letting the metal aquire some surface rust. If anything, when he was done the bluing looked brighter and I don't recall any damage being done to the bluing.
Regards
Bob Hunter
www.huntercustoms.com
 
It is all in the touch I guess. You can lightly work it on the surface carefully, or you can go to town and rub as hard as you can and presumably have a different outcome. I don't remember any problems with steel wool four ought on blued guns. As I recall, I have used it dry, but I pretty much have used it for spot touch up, not scrubbing down the whole gun. If the whole gun was rusty, I would not buy it in the first place, unless it was some collectable antique and they are typically in that condx. I agree something like brass brush or softer than steel should be tried first, as you can go harder if needed, but if you start too harsh, too late to go back!
 
Steel wool, as it is usually supplied, is lightly oiled.

One very old method of removing light rust, by light rust I mean the haze that can form on highly polished steel, not red rust, is to use 0000 steel wool slightly dampened with turpentine.

Bob
 
Rust Removal

Thanks to all- I am trying to remove small ammt. of rust from 1831 Springfield- modified for Civil war use w. percussion cap. Also, do any of you know a good site to get a sale value for mid 1800's firearms?
 
I'll agree that it is important to remove the rust as it comes off, whether wet or dry. Aside form that I politely disagree. Your argument seems to assume that if you use oil, you HAVE TO keep all the rust around forever. It's easy enough to wipe off the rusty slurry and apply fresh oil. If you don't use oil you're rubbing DRY rust on your bluing between cleanings.

I've done literally hundreds of guns and reasonable rubbing with 0000 steel wool and oil will not scratch bluing. Period.
 
*ahem* Hey, John. You wanna take this one? I mean, since this thread's been revived from the dead and all from 3.5 years ago, maybe you've changed your mind...
 
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