Colt Commander rescue... Help!

[Al Thompson]

Buddy purchased an abused Combat Commander and had a local reblue it. He promptly decided he didn't like it. I purchased the Commander at a good price and promptly stripped it down.

The "rebluer" apparently didn't do a very good job. The innards have a reddish brown stain and the springs (magazine catch, leaf, firing pin and ((apparently)) the mainspring) have what looks like rust to me coating them.

My plan is to install a decent trigger, good sights and a beavertail safety. I can't do all of this right now - funds.

Other than soaking the Commander down in oil and letting the plater (APW) deal with the rust, what can I do to put a halt to this? I seem to remember that one of the steps in bluing is to halt the process. IIRC, it involved boiling the piece or something along those lines. Any thoughts?

 

[Al Thompson]

Man, google didn't help much on this one. On the Brownell's web site, it was jentioned that "red sludge" tends to form when te salts in the tank get depleted.

This stuff, especially on the springs, looks like rust to me.

 

[1911Tuner]

Rusty Innards

Hey Al...Sounds like a slight mess. If you've got a brass tumbler, toss the small parts in with clean corncob media and let it shake overnight. That should scrub the surface without messin' anything up. When the parts are clean and shiny, warm everything in an oven for a few minutes at the lowest
setting...on bake...until they're just at the point of being uncomfortable to handle and drop everything into a cup of warm oil and leave it for an hour.
That should stop any rusting process and clean the surface well enough for you to check for pitting. Toss the springs. They're cheap. Post your findings and we'll figger out what to do from there.

 

[dfariswheel]

I'd pitch all the springs.

Once a spring has any rust at all on it, it's fatally compromised.
New springs are cheap.

To "hold" the gun until you ready for the plater, boil the parts in PURE water for 20 minutes.
Before putting the parts in, let the water boil for 10 minutes to remove excess oxygen.

After boiling 20 minute to "kill" any bluing that might leach out of cracks and crevices, IMMEDIATELY spray the parts absolutely DRIPPING wet with plenty of WD-40 or another good water displacing oil.
Make sure to get plenty into EVERY hole or threaded area.

After allowing to soak for a few minutes, wipe down with cloths, and apply a heavy coat of CLP Breakfree to "hold" the parts until you're ready for the plater.