Unknown tool used to remove rust on blued guns.

V

Venom1956

New member
I had to use some steel wool last night to remove some surface rust on the outside of my SR9 barrel. I forgot to wipe it down after I handled it... :o So now the barrel has a bunch of scratches on it. but I'm not to worried it happens.

It got me thinking about a smith I saw using some sort of metal 'thing' to remove surface rust and that brownish hue from a blued shotgun. I looked like one of those curly things you put on top of a present all the curls were different sizes and it didn't seem to harm the bluing at all. He said it was also coated in some sort of chemical. I asked him where I could get one and he said 'trade secret.'

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I am going to buy some brass brushes in case something like this happens again. I figured I would get one of these if I could find it.

thanks
 
Copper, brass, or bronze wool can be obtained at any super market, sold for scrubbing pots. It does no harm to the blue (unlike steel wool if used too aggessively) and leaves a copper/brass residue in small rust spots that will take cold blue nicely. With some luck, and if the rust wasn't too deep, the surface will appear as good as new.

Jim
 
Sounds like a Frontier pad - http://www.big45metalcleaner.com/

brillo.jpg
 
So now the barrel has a bunch of scratches on it. but I'm not to worried it happens.
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Carding with fine steel wool is part of the blueing process which means that fine steel wool shouldn't hurt blued finishes unless you get very agressive with it. OR unless you allow the removed rust particles to build up on the surface or in the steel wool while you're working. Rust is abrasive and rust particles will abrade blued finishes very rapidly if they are rubbed around on the finish. A lot of people want to use oil during this process but that will hold all the removed rust on the surface or in the steel wool and will make finish damage much more likely.

Use 0000 steel wool. Degrease the steel wool and the finish before you start with something like Gunscrubber and let both completely dry. Then dust the steel wool out frequently during the process and make sure that the rust particles don't build up on the surface while you're doing the rust removal.
 
Big Frontier45

Have not used this stuff on blue/rust yet, but it is great for getting lead out of revolver barrells. Been around long enough Elmer Keith and Skeeter Skelton endorsed it. If those 2 liked it, I like it.

Pray and Shoot Daily.
Lee Jones(Celtgun

Have your musket clean as a whistle, hatchet scoured, sixty rounds powder and ball, and be ready to march at a minute's warning.
April19,1775
 
Thanks all That Big 45 Frontier looks exactly like what he was using! Bingo! I saw him running it over the outside of a 870 that looked quite brown... someone had left it in a *gasp* soft case! After just a few wipes it was back to blued I couldn't believe how well it worked! I mean I can't fix the pitting but god it took care of that discoloring and rust. You know if that is only available online or can you find that retail? How long does one of those things last? should I get a bunch or just two?

Johnska thanks for the heads up I actually dug up a bookmark prior to posting that I believe was yours on how to use steel wool. :D You always have good info.

Since the SR9 barrel was stainless I just wanted the rust of so I grabbed whatever steel wool I had laying around and used it. It already has quite a few draglines from being fired so i wasn't to concerned. That and I might have to replace the barrel anyway it seems to be peening. =(

What would you guys recommend for a nice polish (mildly abrasive perhaps?) not totally sure how polishing Stainless works I've seen what sandpaper does but im to nervous to try that... I wanted to polish the outside of the barrel/ chamber and possibly the feed ramp make them a bit more shiny. :D
 
"Carding with fine steel wool is part of the blueing process..."

Only if rust bluing; the hot tank blue used by most factories does not involve any carding, nor did the Carbona blue used by some old time makers.

Jim
 
Only if rust bluing; the hot tank blue used by most factories does not involve any carding, nor did the Carbona blue used by some old time makers.
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Interesting, I hadn't checked on all the factory bluing processes. I do know that at least a couple of the cold blues on the market call for carding with fine steel wool as part of the process. For example, I've used 0000 steel wool for carding while using Oxpho cold blue, in accordance with the instructions.

I can't say that I've experimented with all the different blued finishes out there, but I've done a lot of rust removal and have never damaged a blued finish using 0000 steel wool dry. Before I figured out that it worked better without oil I didn't have nearly as good success.
 
The cold blues really don't work very well, but used like rust blue, as you describe, they can give some decent results, at least until the gun is handled.

As to steel wool not scratching the finish, quite a few people believe that, but they don't look at the result under magnification. Believe me, oiled or dry, steel wool will scratch bluing or even remove it. It may be necessary to use it under some circumstances, but it is never desireable.

Jim
 
...but used like rust blue, as you describe...
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The instructions for Oxpho Blue, printed on the bottle (and on the Brownell's website), state that " #0" steel wool should be used as part of the process.
Believe me, oiled or dry, steel wool will scratch bluing or even remove it.
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So the carding process (which involves either steel wool or a soft steel carding wheel) scratches a new rust blued finish before the user even gets it?
 
Ok, did a little experiment.

I have an inexpensive .22LR rifle that has a small blued magazine. I removed the magazine and took a 300dpi scan of the magazine. Then I zoomed in on one small area and took a 1200dpi scan.

Then I got some 00 steel wool (2 grades coarser than what I've been recommending) and scrubbed on it hard. Hard enough and long enough that my thumb is sore while I'm typing this. Maybe 2 solid minutes of scrubbing in one area that's just over a centimeter square. MUCH harder and longer than I would ever scrub to remove rust if I were concerned about the finish.

Then I took another 300dpi of the entire magazine and zoomed in on the same area and took a 1200dpi scan.

The white box in the first picture shows roughly where the two 1200dpi scans were taken from.

The pictures are in no particular order--I've mixed up the before and after pictures intentionally.

AA.jpg

AZ.jpg

AB.jpg

AC.jpg


Steel wool, short of aggressive and prolonged rubbing will not damage a typical factory blued finish. RUST, on the other hand, is very abrasive and if you rub rust particles around on a blued finish you will damage the finish without much effort.
 
I had good results with a piece of brass case-just cut it open and you get a little sheet of brass-gently scrub the rust with that-it will leave brass residue on steel which is easily removed with oily cloth.
I tried steel wool once and it damaged blueing-maybe the wool wasn't fine enough:confused:
 
Gentle rubbing with 0000 steel wool used WITH OIL.

Even 0000 steel wool will scratch bluing if used DRY. It won't damage bluing used WITH OIL if you have the slightest comprehension of the meaning of "gentle rubbing".
 
Big Frontier45 Info

Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner
PO Box 90947
Sioux Falls, SD 57109
www.Big45MetalCleaner.com

Good deal, one of the few outfits not ripping off on shipping charges.

Pray and Shoot Daily.
Lee Jones(Celtgun)

"Almost any plan at all, carried out today, beats the best plan in the world, carried out tomorrow." George Patton
 
natman said:
Gentle rubbing with 0000 steel wool used WITH OIL.

Even 0000 steel wool will scratch bluing if used DRY. It won't damage bluing used WITH OIL if you have the slightest comprehension of the meaning of "gentle rubbing".
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There is a post a couple of posts previous to your post on this thread. Please carefully examine the before and after photos of a blued surface vigorously rubbed with 00 steel wool (two grades coarser than 0000 steel wool) without the use of oil. Then tell me which of the pictures are before pictures and which are the after pictures showing the scratches you say will result from rubbing a blued finish with dry steel wool.
I tried steel wool once and it damaged blueing-maybe the wool wasn't fine enough.
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It's not the steel wool that damages the finish, it's the rust particles.

Steel wool doesn't scratch typical factory blued finishes when used dry. RUST particles will scratch typical factory blued finishes and that is why rust removal should be done with steel wool but without oil. If you use the steel wool dry and frequently dust off the steel wool and the surface to remove the rust particles then you run much less chance of damaging the surface. If you use it with oil then all the removed rust particles build up in the oil and will damage the finish as you rub them around on it.
 
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