rusty woes

M

mwells72774

New member
after shooting my H&R Huntsman in 45, I scrubbed the fire out of the bore. I used the TC bore cleaner, the liquid. Followed by the foam from TC. Looked purdy. After that, I ran an oiled swab (Mil grade CLP) and gave it a good coating for storage. Went in and looked today, looks like rust is already starting to form after 3 days.

Need advice on cleaning procedures.
 
Time to scrub !!!

If the stated timing is correct, it's not too late. I suggest giving it a good swabbing the then plenty strokes with the right size bore brush. Your rust is in what I refer to as the "green" stage and hasn't really taken root. I'd scrub it with plenty of Ballistol but if you don't have that and certainly don't wait to buy it, use mineral spirits. ... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
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cleaning

where is this rust forming?
Personally I use very mild cleaning agents
Hot soap water, rubbing alcohol and have used mineral spirits.
Plain old 3 in 1 sewing machine oil in the barrel afterwards.
Never in over 50 years have I seen signs of surface rust.
But then I am in a dry climate humidity wise.
 
Use soap and hot water to scrub it out.

Run a patch with Ballistol on it thru the bore to protect it after cleaning.

Advice: Throw out all of the fancy black powder cleaning liquids. Nothing works as well as hot water and soap.



Willie

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If you're using a slotted jag to clean with throw it away. Use a patch jag that gives you a tight fit in the bore. Forget the foaming crap and use hot soapy water. After it drains a few minutes spray it out with WD-40 and run a light coat of Bore Butter or vegetable oil in it. Just make sure if you use a petroleum based oil in the bore to wash it out before you load it. Petro lubes and bp fouling don't like each other.
 
HOT water and soap is great. My preference is Simple Green for cleaning. After everything is clean to my satisfaction, I run a mop with Ballisol inside the barrel and all over the entire gun. I don't like WD-40 or Bore Butter either. Bad experiences with both! I'll never use either one on a gun for long term storage again. I agree with Hawg in that you don't want a petroleum based product. I've had guns stored for YEARS coated with Ballistol and when I got them out, ran a dry patch down the barrel and they were perfectly clean.


Birch
 
Hot soapy water right off the bat, followed with Ballistol. Before I used Ballistol, I had to check for rust after a few days. That was my motivation to buy the Ballistol. I started carrying an old canteen with 50/50 Ballistol and water in my kit, and really use it when I'm out shooting the revolvers. No more cylinder binding, with just a quick wipedown between loading cylinders.
 
Your best way !!!

is the TC foam crap?
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I would never say that and mostly because I don't use it. Most of these products are water based and even though I use some, there are others that I shy away from. My first pass solvent for cleaning and soaking, is mineral spirits and it's water based as well. I stopped using hot water and soap, a long time ago but that is just me. ... ;)

In whatever we do, most of us stop when we find a solution that works for us. There are tons of "stuff" out there that are probably great product, that I will probably never try. In time, we all find our way ... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
I start by washing with hot, soapy water.

No reason to use the expensive solvents for the bulk of the hard work when cheap soap and water will do.

After I'm done with the soap and water, I take my gun over to the air compressor and blow off all the water. Don't want to leave any residual water on/in the gun to cause rust.

Next I clean again with Ballistol.

Finally, I oil.

Steve
 
I have never used Ballistol. I've always been a hot water and soap kind of guy.
But after looking it up on the manufacturer's web site it seems this wonder liquid can do just about anything!

I'm curious, I might order some to try out. Is it available only online or can this be picked up at major store names?
 
^^^ I buy it by the case from Dixie Gun Works.

You want to use it two ways:

(1): Straight, in which case it is a clear liquid, used for mopping down a bore as the last step in cleaning, splashing on a rag to wipe down exteriors, etc.

(2): Mixed with water, whereupon it makes a milk-white emulsion. This is great for scrubbing out bores, etc. Heat this stuff up and you have a super good bore cleaner.

It really is good stuff.


Willie

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WD-40 leaves a film. Put it in the oven instead.
Click to expand...

Any film it leaves is removed by the Lube as its applied before the WD dries. How ya gonna stick a rifle barrel in an oven?:confused:
 
When I first started shooting BP I tried the TC bore cleaning stuff too, IMO its crap at best. I still have 3/4 of a bottle around here somewhere thats about 10 years old, I saw it somewhere about 6 months ago and thought "that stuff needs to go in the trash" then it got lost in the shuffle again. I'll back up what the other guys are saying, soap and water does best and it's the cheapest. Bore Butter is a good bore lube though, but its only one of many options. I still pick up a tube here and there when I see it on clearance after deer season.
 
Is it available only online or can this be picked up at major store names?
Click to expand...

AFAIK it's only available from a dealer.

Here is the real test for me. I'm a carpenter by trade and have tons of tools. I have a big jointer/plainer in my pole barn. The table is raw milled steel. I've tried every kind of oil there is to keep it from rusting. It's exposed constantly to condensation (I live in Michigan). Ballistol is the only thing that ever worked! I've even used it to thaw frozen locks. It won't freeze and is perfect for moving parts on guns in below zero weather. What I like most is it will not dry out and get gummy like petrolium products. It also works well to protect leather, wood, etc. I use it on my guitar fingerboards and to keep wood hammer and slege/axe handles tight when the heads get dried out and loose.

I like to carry one product that does everything, not 15 different ones! :D

FWIW...

Birch
 
^^

For what it's worth:

I lost my house in Hurricane Sandy.

I had a small machine shop, with lathe, Bridgeport, five Kennedy boxes of precision tools, multiple spindles, arbors, chucks, rotary tables, etc. About... $100K worth of precision equipment.

All of it went under 8 feet of salt water. Make that a mix of salt water, mud, diesel fuel, and sewerage.

A week later I was able to get back to the house. My machine shop was in ruins. In the interim I had managed to have Dixie Gun Works send a case of Ballistol to a UPS store that was far enough away that they were receiving boxes. I also managed to buy about a dozen large heavy duty plastic tubs from a local commmercial fishing supply, each able to hold about 25 gallons of water.

I took all of the tools, tooling, chucks, micrometers, etc., and put them into the tubs. I filled each one with fresh water from a hose, and poured a half of a bottle of Ballistol into the tub. Stirred it with my hands to make the milk-white emulsion, and walked away. I had (and still have) more pressing things to do....

For the lathe and milling machine, I hosed them both off with garden hoses, sprayed them with a mixture of Ballisol and water from a pump-up garden sprayer, then did the same with a gallon of WD-40, and finally covered them with spray-on aerosol white lithium grease.

I came east a week ago and went into the garage, and found the boxes still full of white water, with a crust of ice on each one. Bear in mind that it's nearly 4 months later. I poked into a few of them and dragged out... perfectly fine tools. No rust, no corrosion. In the spring after we finally get other things rebuilt I will take each tup, drain it, dry the tools, and place them into new tool boxes.

The lathe and milling machine seem fine too.


Ballisol is good stuff.


Willie

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