From time-to-time we all get a little rust on our firearms. I never really worried too much about it until I had a neighbor who passed away who had asked me to take care of his firearms for his boys until they were old enough to have them. The firearms were in horrible condition and only one of them was really what I would call a "quality" firearm - a Marlin 39A .22 lever action.
Nevertheless, I found myself with the task of restoring a couple shotguns and a rifle. All three had, apparently, been stored in less-than-desirable locations as they were covered with rust. A couple even had some fairly deep pitting.
I called a friend of a friend that I knew restored guns. I wasn't about to pay him $200 to restore a $40 shotgun, but I thought he might give me a couple tips. Indeed he did! I'll pass them along to the members of this site to pay it forward, so to speak.
The "magical" cure for surface rust on guns (and even some rust that has done a little bit of pitting) requires two elements - Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner and a Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner (links below). Please note, I receive no compensation from either of these companies so I'm not pushing them to make money.
The Blue Wonder gun cleaner is a gel-based cleaner which is fairly unique. It also has the ability to remove nasty lead, copper and powder residue deposits without damaging the bluing or other surfaces of the gun.
The Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner is made of a "proprietary alloy containing stainless steel, nickel silver, monel (a corrosion resistant nickel based alloy), and zinc." It's much easier on the finish of guns than steel wool but still has exceptional cleaning qualities.
To clean rust from the exterior of a gun simply squeeze some of the Blue Wonder gun cleaner onto the Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner and scrub lightly. You should start to see a rusty-looking film form on the weapon. After cleaning an area of the weapon with the Blue Wonder and Big 45 wipe it clean with a soft, lint-free cloth. You should see a remarkable reduction in the rust on that section of the weapon. Clean the weapon in sections keeping the surface "wet" with the Blue Wonder cleaner. Do not allow the cleaner to completely dry before wiping it off with the cloth.
Blue Wonder can also be used inside the barrel of a gun for regular cleanings or for removing stubborn copper, lead or powder residue deposits. Simply apply Blue Wonder to a bronze barrel brush and pass it through your weapon's barrel as you would normally. Do not use a polymer brush. Try to rinse the bronze brush off under cold water as soon as possible after running it down the barrel. I like to let the Blue Wonder sit while I rinse off the bronze brush.
After allowing the Blue Wonder to sit inside the barrel for about 5-7 minutes dip a cleaning cloth in a liquid solvent and run it up and down the barrel a couple times. Switch to a dry cleaning cloth and run it up and down the barrel until it comes out clean.
Blue Wonder: http://www.bluewonder.us/BlueWonderGunCleaner.html
Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner: http://www.big45metalcleaner.com/
Nevertheless, I found myself with the task of restoring a couple shotguns and a rifle. All three had, apparently, been stored in less-than-desirable locations as they were covered with rust. A couple even had some fairly deep pitting.
I called a friend of a friend that I knew restored guns. I wasn't about to pay him $200 to restore a $40 shotgun, but I thought he might give me a couple tips. Indeed he did! I'll pass them along to the members of this site to pay it forward, so to speak.
The "magical" cure for surface rust on guns (and even some rust that has done a little bit of pitting) requires two elements - Blue Wonder Gun Cleaner and a Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner (links below). Please note, I receive no compensation from either of these companies so I'm not pushing them to make money.
The Blue Wonder gun cleaner is a gel-based cleaner which is fairly unique. It also has the ability to remove nasty lead, copper and powder residue deposits without damaging the bluing or other surfaces of the gun.
The Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner is made of a "proprietary alloy containing stainless steel, nickel silver, monel (a corrosion resistant nickel based alloy), and zinc." It's much easier on the finish of guns than steel wool but still has exceptional cleaning qualities.
To clean rust from the exterior of a gun simply squeeze some of the Blue Wonder gun cleaner onto the Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner and scrub lightly. You should start to see a rusty-looking film form on the weapon. After cleaning an area of the weapon with the Blue Wonder and Big 45 wipe it clean with a soft, lint-free cloth. You should see a remarkable reduction in the rust on that section of the weapon. Clean the weapon in sections keeping the surface "wet" with the Blue Wonder cleaner. Do not allow the cleaner to completely dry before wiping it off with the cloth.
Blue Wonder can also be used inside the barrel of a gun for regular cleanings or for removing stubborn copper, lead or powder residue deposits. Simply apply Blue Wonder to a bronze barrel brush and pass it through your weapon's barrel as you would normally. Do not use a polymer brush. Try to rinse the bronze brush off under cold water as soon as possible after running it down the barrel. I like to let the Blue Wonder sit while I rinse off the bronze brush.
After allowing the Blue Wonder to sit inside the barrel for about 5-7 minutes dip a cleaning cloth in a liquid solvent and run it up and down the barrel a couple times. Switch to a dry cleaning cloth and run it up and down the barrel until it comes out clean.
Blue Wonder: http://www.bluewonder.us/BlueWonderGunCleaner.html
Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner: http://www.big45metalcleaner.com/