Barrel Rust

[Xcobra122]

So, I have a big problem. I pulled my SKS out of storage a couple of days ago and found the barrel severely corroded. I blasted whatever crap would come out with compressed air and soaked it heavily in Ballistol. Then I scrubbed it several times with a Ballistol soaked wire brush and ran patches through until they started coming out clean. However, even after all of that, there is still some gunk in the barrel that I can't get out. Does anyone have any suggestions on what I can use to get it as clean as possible? I really need to get that junk out of there so I can see how much damage there is.

 

[LaneP]

Sounds like it got shot with corrosive primed ammo before getting put away? I would probably try something like JB bore paste and elbow grease.

Many years ago my father bought an 8mm Mauser that had a severely pitted bore. He filled a tin tub with kerosene, stuck the muzzle down into it and wore out about a half dozen phosphor bronze brushes scrubbing the bore back and forth. While the bore didn't look like new, it was remarkably clean and drastically improved over what it looked like before.

 

[ColtPythonElite]

Laugh or cringe, but I cleaned up a heavily rusted Mosin with a cleaning rod and brush on drill. It was still accurate enough to hit a 12" gong at 100 yards....I had nothing to lose, the gun only cost 10 bucks.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

Ive used Naval Jelly to remove heavy rust/scale in bores. On an SKS, you will need to be cautious about getting chemicals into the gas cylinder too. If the bore is as bad as you say, probably want to remove the piston and inspect it and the cylinder anyway.

When you have it all cleaned up, youll need to insure that the gas port is clean and open as well. If its a Yugo, the gas shutoff valve may need to be replaced as it needs to be pretty tight to ensure cycling, and heavily buffing it may cause too much blow-by.

 

[Xcobra122]

Sounds like it got shot with corrosive primed ammo before getting put away? I would probably try something like JB bore paste and elbow grease.

Many years ago my father bought an 8mm Mauser that had a severely pitted bore. He filled a tin tub with kerosene, stuck the muzzle down into it and wore out about a half dozen phosphor bronze brushes scrubbing the bore back and forth. While the bore didn't look like new, it was remarkably clean and drastically improved over what it looked like before.

Yeah that’s exactly what happened. I ran a bore snake through it intending to give it a more thorough cleaning later that day but I got sidetracked and forgot about it. Then it went into storage for three months... not good.

 

[Xcobra122]

Ive used Naval Jelly to remove heavy rust/scale in bores. On an SKS, you will need to be cautious about getting chemicals into the gas cylinder too. If the bore is as bad as you say, probably want to remove the piston and inspect it and the cylinder anyway.

When you have it all cleaned up, youll need to insure that the gas port is clean and open as well. If its a Yugo, the gas shutoff valve may need to be replaced as it needs to be pretty tight to ensure cycling, and heavily buffing it may cause too much blow-by.

Naval Jelly huh? Never heard of it, but I’m willing to try. Getting chemicals into the gas system won’t be an issue, I’ll just take it off. I’ve already had it apart once since the corrosion happened and I didn’t find any problems. It’s just the barrel that has issues as far as I can tell.

 

[NIGHTLORD40K]

The stuff is basically concentrated acid in gel form. I apply it liberally to an undersized bore patch, slather it in there (muzzle down in a bucket), let it do its thing for a few minutes, then rinse and scrub with soapy water, followed by foaming Hoppes bore cleaner, then brass bore brush, then more Hoppes. Repeat if necessary.

Good luck!

 

[Blue68f100]

The best cleaner I have ever found is "Butches Bore Shine". It come in a glass jar and needs to be used a well ventilated area. I will not remove rust but will remove about every thing else. JB Bore shine is a non-embedding compound that will work well on surface roughness. I always thin mine when I use it to polish/shine a bore to remove roughness.

Navel Jelly is a phosphoric acid solution so be careful using it. And neutralize after words.

I would try Vapor Rust. Remove the gas system so you can plug the bore and fill it with solution. If I recall it's a very mild citric acid solution.

 

[drband]

Evaporust. You can find it at Harbor Freight or Walmart. Works well. Will not harm the bore.

might damage the blueing though, now that I think of it.

 

[Xcobra122]

Evaporust. You can find it at Harbor Freight or Walmart. Works well. Will not harm the bore.

might damage the blueing though, now that I think of it.

That’s probably not an issue. If I plug the muzzle and the gas port it shouldn’t affect any bluing.

 

[243winxb]

Could not see daylight thru a 1903a3 barrel. Used Hoppe's #9 with patch and bronze brush. 20 minutes later, i could see the pits. Soaking over night is better, but the owner wanted to sell it. So had to clean it before making an offer.

 

[jak67429]

Don't forget to disassemble and clean the bolt and firing pin. Really sucks if the firing pin gets stuck and it goes full auto when dropping the bolt on a full mag.

 

[skeeterfogger]

SKS. Might just consider amount of work and possible outcome to new one. At least that way you wind up with some salvageable spare parts you can keep or sell. It's not like SKS are really anything special. IMO

 

[Xcobra122]

SKS. Might just consider amount of work and possible outcome to new one. At least that way you wind up with some salvageable spare parts you can keep or sell. It's not like SKS are really anything special. IMO

Normally, I would agree with you but this one is a little sentimental, which is why I'm not happy with myself for letting it get in the shape it's in.

 

[Xcobra122]

Well, with a combination of Hoppe's #9, foaming bore cleaner, WD-40, a lot of soaking, and a metric ton of patches I finally got it clean. I don't think there are any serious pits. I can see some small discolored spots in the bore, but for the most part it's pretty bright all the way through. I guess I got lucky this time. I'm seriously considering selling what's left of my surplus ammo just to be sure this doesn't happen again.

 

[boom boom]

Well, with a combination of Hoppe's #9, foaming bore cleaner, WD-40, a lot of soaking, and a metric ton of patches I finally got it clean. I don't think there are any serious pits. I can see some small discolored spots in the bore, but for the most part it's pretty bright all the way through. I guess I got lucky this time. I'm seriously considering selling what's left of my surplus ammo just to be sure this doesn't happen again.

For a spare barrel and receiver, you can still buy a SKS barrelled receiver from Sarco for about $100 or so, the last time that I checked. I think these are the Chinese pinned type but haven't looked these up on the new website yet. https://www.sarcoinc.com/original-chinese-sks-barreled-receivers/