Rust- various coatings, how to prevent it and what to do about it.

[checkmyswag]

I am constantly concerned about getting the most durable possible finish on the firearms I get.

Yes, I take care of my stuff, but in harsh conditions...how much would some rust hurt their operation? If one noticed rust, but couldn't have it professionally refinished, could you just sand it down, hit it with some high temp paint and be back in business?

Why don't all guns rust where the metal parts are worn?

How does bluing compare to stainless to parkerized?

Specifically, looking at a mini-14 stainless vs blued but this is an ongoing general concern of mine.

I don't have any rust now, but trying to figure out if I'm being overly cautious in wanting stainless/parkerized everything and what to do if I encounter rust in the future, especially while hiking or hunting for extended periods (weeks).

 

[ltc444]

On blued guns my father showed me a trick which I have used over the years.

On a small dot. take a penny and rub the rust. It will remove the rust and spread blue over the damaged area.

 

[Mike38]

Being concerned about rust, you’ll probably be happiest with stainless steel guns. But even SS can get little rust dots on it if neglected. If you keep a light coat of a quality gun oil on a blued gun, it shouldn’t rust unless you live next to an ocean.

If you are overly concerned, you could look into a coating called “Black TriNyte”. I have a Remington 700AWR-I that is stainless coated with Black TriNyte. It feels and looks like Teflon in a cooking pan. I bought this rifle new in 1997, and have never wiped it down with an oily cloth. It doesn’t need the protective coating of oil. I’ve been out hunting and been caught in rain and snow, all I do is wipe it off with a dry rag, and it’s good to go. Still looks like the day I bought it.

 

[natman]

I am constantly concerned about getting the most durable possible finish on the firearms I get.

Yes, I take care of my stuff, but in harsh conditions...how much would some rust hurt their operation? If one noticed rust, but couldn't have it professionally refinished, could you just sand it down, hit it with some high temp paint and be back in business?

You could, but it would look awful.

Why don't all guns rust where the metal parts are worn?

Because humidity varies from place to place and some people keep their guns oiled.

How does bluing compare to stainless to parkerized?

Bluing comes in a distant third. It is possible to improve bluing's rust resistance considerably by coating the metal with a couple of coats of Johnson's Paste Wax.

Parkerizing is better than bluing and holds oil better.

Stainless is the best and if you really want a rust resistant gun, get a stainless gun and have it coated.

 

[C0untZer0]

Corrosion tests for lubricants / protectants:

http://www.6mmbr.com/corrosiontest.html

I have heard that Scheafer Oil's Penetro 90 is a good rust-removal solvent:

http://www.schaefferoil.com/penetro-oil.html

Corrosion tests for Robar Poly-T2 and NP3+:

Cerakote tests:

http://www.cerakoteguncoatings.com/testing/



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[AK103K]

Believe it or dont, but paint is very good at keeping rust at bay and protecting whats underneath. The finish on many military guns is paint over parkerizing, which historically has worked very well.

I have a shotgun that had been painted over 25 years, and when the paint was removed, there wasnt a speck of rust under it. The finish was pristine for the most part. The only spots where it wasnt, was where the paint had worn down due to use, which was basically the carry points. Ive panted a lot of "working" guns over the years with the same results.

If you dont want to paint, or have the gun finished in one of the resistant finishes, Eezox is your next best bet. Anything Ive used it on has been rust free for a number of years now, even things kept in a damp basement with little or no attention.

 

[C0untZer0]

I remember my armorer putting a black spray coating on the M16s, he did all the rifles for some upcoming inspection.

I asked him what it was and at first he said it was a special coating, but then he later admitted it was basically spray paint.