Raw onions for rust removal?

[spazzymcgee]

I had a friend tell me that rubbing half of a raw onion on a gun with rust (On the rust spot, of course) will remove said rust. He said that it worked for him. Anyone ever hear of this? And if anyone has a gun with rust, are you willing to try it for the good of Gun-Owner kind? I would try it myself, but have no guns with any rust.

 

[TurtlePhish]

Uh... wut.

I've never heard this before. Ever. But hey, maybe it works. Could be an as-yet-undiscovered method of cheap, easy rust removal.

 

[T Bran]

Maybe you just cant see the rust because of all the tears in your eyes from the process.
Just a guess.
T

 

[BemidjiDweller]

I have an old 311 that I could try this on, trouble is I won't be near it with an onion in a week or two.

 

[UnclesNucleus]

It works for grills.

 

[ole farmerbuck]

Maybe you just cant see the rust because of all the tears in your eyes from the process.
Just a guess.
T

Thats good!

 

[Lucifer_Sam]

Its just another way to put an acid on rust. Same as vinegar, naval jelly, ect.

 

[natman]

Most chemical rust removers can't tell the difference between rust and bluing.

0000 steel wool and oil.

 

[4v50 Gary]

Just use a copper penny with oil to scrape off the rust.

As for the onion, eat it. That's why Gawd put them on the planet.

 

[bigfatdave]

What kind of onion should I use for this?

Sweet? Red? Spanish? Vidalia?(sp?)

Should I use green onions for little rust spots? Green or white end?

Can I use grilled onions? The Mrs is always taking onion off of things when we eat out, there's a selection to scavenge from and I don't know which ones to use!

 

[mesinge2]

What is going on here?

Onions on rust, boiling our Glocks, its all very confusing.

But you did you try peppermint oil for a lube? It leaves the gun minty fresh!

 

[tightgroup tiger]

I would be afraid my handgun would have onion breath after shooting it. Would Listerine help this? It would probably smell like alchohol and if a cop smelled it's breath you could loose your CCW.

ALCOHOL AND GUNS DON'T MIX!

just funnin with ya. I have never heard of this but I supposed the acid in an onion would have some minute affect on rust.

There are a lot of better products on the market for dealing with rust than an onion.

 

[hang fire]

Ditto on the vinegar, it will also remove blueing, real quick.

 

[Fat_46]

There may be something to this, but I wouldn't trust it to remove just the rust.

Basically, onions contain amino acid sulfoxides that form sulfenic acids. When you cut an onion enzymes that were kept separate now are free to mix with the sulfenic acids to produce propanethiol S-oxide, a volatile sulfur compound. When that mixes with moisture it can produce a weak sulphuric acid.

Could it work? Probably. However, there are probably better ways

 

[berettashotgun]

FAT_46
~ Is everyone in COON RAPIDS this well informed?
That is pretty durn sharp.
I have used muratic acid on old tools and aircraft parts (ferrous) to remove severe corrosion/rust - work fast and rinse with deionized water.

 

[Fat_46]

My degree is in animal science, specifically non-ruminant nutrition. Which basically means I had to take a ton of biochem classes. Now I'm a computer geek, so when I get a chance to use my college I feel a strange sense of accomplishment!

 

[Clark]

I have been using this stuff lately.
It is a lot faster than rubbing oil on a gun.


Why am I buying so many rusty guns?

 

[don p]

Strawberry onions work best Yep they only get harvested during strawberry season. Don't believe me google it:banghead:

 

[fletcher]

I could see this being plausible. I used to use diluted HCl to clean rust from rusted-over fracture surfaces for examination. Perhaps a particularly acidic onion could do the trick in a pinch... is gun cleaning going "bubba"?

 

[SleazyRider]

Old-time farmers used to tell me about freeing up rusty tractor engines by pouring Coca-Cola down the spark plug holes and "lettin' it set fer a spell." And they're right. Next time you have a Diet Coke, read the ingredients: contains phosphoric acid (same as Navel Jelly rust remover). Yikes! I cleaned up a rusty old black powder barrel with it once, and it worked well. Just keep it away from the bluing/browning.

 

[ObsidianOne]

Old-time farmers used to tell me about freeing up rusty tractor engines by pouring Coca-Cola down the spark plug holes and "lettin' it set fer a spell." And they're right. Next time you have a Diet Coke, read the ingredients: contains phosphoric acid (same as Navel Jelly rust remover). Yikes! I cleaned up a rusty old black powder barrel with it once, and it worked well. Just keep it away from the bluing/browning.

I'm not sure how that works... I'd imagine it'd hydrolock.

 

[Old Dog Man]

Using Vinigar on gun rust

Vinigar is made from acetic acid, I worked in an acedic acid plant and saw what it did to steel and I don't believe I'd use it on my guns. Al

 

[SleazyRider]

I'm not sure how that works... I'd imagine it'd hydrolock.

Nope. Remove the plugs, pour the Coke down the holes, let 'er sit, then---without putting the plugs in---tow the tractor in gear with another tractor. The excess Coke comes flying out of the plug holes and out the exhaust. THEN install the plugs and off you go! Crude but effective. Works on Honda 550 engines as well!