Removing rust

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Jadecristal

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My father (also a member here, though he had lots of interests in life, and so didn't post a ton) was recently killed in a head-on collision on his way home from work.

In the process of going through some things, I found a patch of rust on a Remington 870 - left side of the receiver, most of the way up, a bit above the trigger. Some of it wiped away with a damp paper towel, but I'm a bit lost as to how to deal with removing the rest of it without damaging the receiver.

Any suggestions? I can post a picture if people really think that it would help.
 
Flitz metal polish. Doesn't matter if you use the paste or the liquid. That will take off most, if not all the rust.

Put a good coat of gun oil on the whole shotgun, especially on the receiver. Sounds like it needs a complete break down and cleaning.

Depending on the damage to the receiver, if any after the Flitz, you may want to try some liquid bluing, or have a professional reblue the receiver.
 
When I am repairing old milsurps and come across some rust, I use some #0000 steel wool and some Tru-flow lubricant. Spray the metal down with tru-flow and let set for about 5 min. then rub the metal with the steel wool. Go in small circles and keep plenty of tru-flow on the gun. Tru flow is a blend of penetrating oil, teflon, and silicone. It will remove the rust and not harm the remaining blue on the firearm. Good luck.
 
Sign at the USMC sniper school:
"The average rounds expended per kill with the M16 in Vietnam was 50,000. Snipers averaged 1.3 rounds. The cost difference was $2300 v. 27 cents."

Something is wrong here or maybe marines are math impaired.

27cents divided by 1.3 rounds equals $0.2076923 (cost per round) times 50,000 equals $10,384.615

Kind of a stupid sign anyway because for our reported kills, we expended 50,000 rounds not all of which were fired to kill the enemy. Some were lost when our ammo dumps were blown up, some were used for training (even state side) and some were captured some for recon and some for H & I. And, most of the snipers used M-14 (7.62 NATO) not the M-16 which used 5.56mm ammo.
 
Jeans...

This old man I know turned me on to using an old pair of Levi's. It'll take some rubbing, but it works out pretty good (same principal as a buffing wheel).
 
.
Truly sorry for your loss.

All the above advice is spot on -- except, IMHO, for the steel wool. I would urge you to use the same grade of brass wool instead. Steel wool will leave microscopic fragments that rust and leave discolorations.
 
I'm horribly sorry for your loss. On the rust--DON'T act aggressively---it's not getting any worse if you do nothing but keep her oiled. Start with an old tee-shirt or cotton sock and oil. The MOST aggressive thing I'd do would be take 0000 steel wool--and that stuff is very soft--with plenty of oil.

You could re-finish the whole gun--but why. Wipe it off after use. After the rust is cleaned off, you could de-greese and use a gun blue 'touch up' pen (like a magic marker) on the 'bad' spot-but I wouldn't. You could also put a little car wax over the spot to keep moisture out in the field.

I'm less agressive on rust--it happens--and you really can't make it better.
Enjoy the gun and the connection to your Father it represents.

take care-Mike
 
Sorry to hear of your loss.

I had at one time stored my 1187 in a soft gun case with a synthetic inner liner for a week after shooting it during an outing under cold temperature conditions. The cold surface must have attracted moiture (condensation) when the gun was put in the case and kept their for a few days. The synthetic inner liner keeping the moisture in the case. After about a week, I opened the case to clean the gun and found a streak of light rust on the left side of the receiver. I had removed it using Flitz rust remover with good results. I did not use an excessive amount for fear of removing the finish.

I no longer keep cases with synthetic inner liners in them.
 
Sorry about your father.

First I'd try some oil and a soft cloth like a diaper.

I would then progress through the following combinations until the rust was removed -

denim and oil with elbow grease and patience
an old soft toothbrush and oil
copper pad and oil
0000 steel wool and oil

and finally flitz/wenhol/coper polish

Clean your final surface well and oil.

Good luck
 
Let's clarify a couple things if we can - my definition of "oil" is "Breakfree CLP." Unless I'm forced to use RemOil, which is the other thing I bought a long time ago. As lame as it is, I don't really know how to break an 870 down; I have an AR and a couple semi-auto handguns, but haven't really managed to ever even shoot a shotgun yet. :( I can rip the AR apart pretty fast though.

Also, when I'm advised to use say, a tshirt and oil, does that mean a tshirt and Breakfree will work, or do you consider that the same thing? As an aside, the rust was VERY "surface" - it almost looks 3D above the surface.

I seriously almost hate firearms that aren't coated in nice things that prevent rust Almost Forever, like my Glock and AR. As long as I don't scratch the nice protective stuff off.

Dad also had a S&W stainless .22 revolver, which I'm going to go over real good too with CLP, though I don't see any rust-like spots on it. I'm paranoid.
 
I, too, am sorry to hear of your loss. It is the cycle of life, it is inevitable, but it still sucks when it comes around.

In regards to your question:
In my experience, NEVR DULL works pretty well, though requires some time. Will also take off some of the surrounding blue though.

And.....what's up with Post #6?
 
0000 steel wool has always worked well for me.just go slow, and be gentle, and the rust should dissapper without any harm to the bluing.In fact, if done carefully, it will actually shine up the blue a bit.Using a little RemOil with it will help also.If that makes you a little nervous, try the oil and T-shirt like others suggested.If thats enough, great, if not, then you can go on to the 0000 wool.
 
Get some Eezox and use when rubbing out the rust spots. Stuff is the BEST rust preventer.
 
Start soft--lots of 'oil' (really--even synthetic motor oil--CLP or rem oil will work, too). Tee-shirt, diaper, socks--all cotton. If largly de-oiled, car wax will provide some non-perm but cheap protection,

Gun Blue is a heart breaker--I prefer park myself.
 
I second the use of Eezox. my sweat is very acidic, and has been responsible for rust on several different guns. one time, it caused several rust spots on a brand new stainless steel 1911 on a hot, humid afternoon of shooting. after removing the rust (I think I used Flitz), I covered it with some eezox. never had that problem again, and I do a LOT of summer time shooting.
sorry to hear about your loss. :(
 
Sorry to hear about your Dad my deepest condolences to you and your family.

The 870 is a fairly simple shotgun to break down and go through if you need help send me a PM me and I can walk you through it.

Best regards:)
 
Thank yous and THR

Firstly, thank you - to everyone for condolences. It's been a couple weeks, but sometimes I still sit here, and it feels funny, like a dream. It's harder on my mom.

I'm trying REALLY hard to take the high road, like I think I should, and not go into a screaming fit. I just got the accident report a couple of days ago, and confirm that the person who hit my father has a WI driver's license, despite the fact that his ID card that the county sheriff has on the report is merely a consular ID card from the Mexican consulate in Chicago. Apparently our state will issue a DL with just a consular ID card. Then, there's the matter of the (presumed) liable party having no insurance. I'm thankful, yet again, that my father was smart enough to cover himself against that. Then the words, "Alcohol found on scene" in the report. The tox-screen from the coroner isn't done yet, or at least I don't have it. I thought all that wasn't really important, earlier, but in retrospect, it hardens my anger with those in our country illegally, and who choose to do stupid things. I'm seriously considering getting some actual face time with my representative over the process of issuing a DL without proof of citizenship/something. Would it really matter, if those who are criminally inclined choose to break the law anyway? Probably not, but I can try. ...I don't really want to degenerate into a political rant here.

Mostly, I miss him. If I'd known, I'd have come home from college the weekend before, and tried to make it the best time I could have. I only live 40 minutes away, and don't really have an excuse. My grandmother had a plane ticket to come visit, and she ended up coming to a funeral (driving) instead, with his sister. I'm happy there was nothing bad between us at the end - no yelling at each other, hateful words, or anything else. It doesn't mean we saw eye to eye on everything, but who does? He still loved me in spite of any disagreements. If you do anything, make a note - our time is short, and our lives easily snuffed out. Be gentle with those you care about, and let them know often that you love them, for today may be your last together.
 
I am so very sorry about your father. Prayers sent for you and your entire family. God Bless and Keep you all.
 
Jadecristal - I am so sorry for your loss. My thoughts and prayers are with your family and your father.

I will attempt to stay on the high road here, but the circumstances of your loss are just plain old wrong. We need to push back on who is allowed to drive on our roads.

I think it is a great testament to the power of family that you are interested in preserving your father's firearms.

A fine firearm - like your father's 870 - and the ability to keep and bear it is the finest legacy we can all hope to continue to pass on to our children.

Without the recognized right to effectively defend ourselves from tyrants...all other rights only exist at the whim of whatever Ruler is in place.
 
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