Rust on stainless removal?

H

hot sauce

New member
So I found a older Beretta 92 Inox "italian made" unfired at the gun store today.:D The price was right so I put it on layaway. Anyway, it looks like someone kept it in the foam padded case and didnt let it breathe. It appears a few little speckles of rust have started to form on the slide. Does anyone know how to get the rust off without hurting the rest of the finish? Thanks.
 
A little off thread here, but the pink erasers are also very good on stainless where there is powder, such as the front of the cylinder on a 6 shooter!
 
Scotch Brite pads can be rather coarse and I'd be a bit concerned about scratching the surface. I'd try Flitz first. I've used it on stainless and even on blued guns and it works fine without being too abrasive.
 
Try fine bronze wool, from Brownells. It should knock off the rust without altering the surrounding steel finish. Bronze wool or a real copper penny are about the only things I've tried on rust spots in blued finishes that do not thin the blue, so I'm thinking they should not affect the appearance of stainless either.

(Do NOT use ordinary steel wool, as supposedly fine particles will embed in the gun finish and, themselves, rust.)
 
White vinegar to eat the light rust, leave it on for 10 minutes or so, and then wipe off. Repeat until stubborn rust dissolves. The vinegar acid eats the oxidized metal (rust), leaves the good metal alone. Finish with a dab of gun oil on the finger, then wipe with a clean cotton cloth or patch. If the rust is heavy, then the metal wool should work better with the vinegar.
 
We use to use oxalic acid to remove rust stains on dacron fabric (Sailcloth), it was diluted and the rust stains just disapeared. I wonder about that for stainless.
 
The steel wool does not "imbed" itself, but leaves smears on the surface.
The nice little scratches that are a typical stainless 'brushed' finish get some carbon steel smear deposited in them.
The carbon steel then rusts and stains the stainless steel.

Even after machining stainless is pickled to remove any carbon steel from cutting tools and aid in forming the protective surface.
 
Whatever you do, start with the mildest approach first like the Flitz or Simichrome polish, or maybe the eraser, and work from there. If it works, then you save yourself the possibility for further damage from a harsher method of removal. Steel wool should be used with the caveat that you don't want any of the bits or filiments getting into the guns moving parts or insides.
 
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