Rusty 30-30

[DevLcL]

I recently aquired an old winny 30-30. Its been sitting in a damp garage for many years until a few days ago when I spotted it and begged the owner to let me rescue it. The insides are beautiful, if a little dusty. The outside, well, thats an entirely different novel. The barrel has spots of rust running its length and the action/body/whatever-you-call-it is almost covered. It shoots just fine and none of the moving parts are affected by the rust. I basically have two questions. 1. How do I go about cleaning this up 2. A better question might be: Is my best option to just keep it clean and prevent the rust from spreading and be thankful it works?

-Dev

 

[Ohen Cepel]

Could be a great project gun if you wanted to have it redone (chromed, parked, etc)

I'm not a pro. However, I would put a good coat of oil on it to be sure it's stopped rusting. After that I would take it to some one for an opinion. Hard to tell over the net. I doubt it's worth much so spending the cash might not make sense unless it means something to you, or like I said you want a project gun in which case you're into it cheap.

Don't take anything sharp to it. Maybe really light steel wool, but even then take it easy. Just hard to say without seeing it.

If nothing else, you have a good shooter that you won't mind draggin up a tree.

 

[kahr404life]

0000 steel wool will take off the rust if used gently. Oil that sucker to keep off the rust.

 

[Sistema1927]

0000 steel wool
+1

Additionally, if you end up getting down to bare metal, and you don't want to go to the expense of a refinish job, you might find that a little cold blue will do the trick. I have oftentimes been amazed at how nice some of the older weapons clean up with a little bit of care. I think that it has something to do with the quality of the steel.

 

[TrafficMan]

from what i have read on the net the post 64 Winchester model 94's don't take well to bluing due to the material they used (stamped vs milled) -- you can run the serial number here to find out the date of manufacture:

http://armscollectors.com/sn/winlookup.php?file=win1894.dat

if it's a pre 64 model i would definately have it refinished!

 

[Chawbaccer]

Use a phosphoric acid type rust remover, let it soak in and take the blueing right off too. Then give it another coat and let it set until it has a nice French gray color, kinda like its in the white. Makes it look old timey, like a well used gun.

 

[DevLcL]

Acorrding to TrafficMan's link this 30-30 was made in 1980. So, I guess I will scrub away..lol. I really like Chaw's idea but I think it might also look cool to get it chromed or something, I dunno, maybe Im just thinking too hard about that chrome AK in lord of war or whatever, the new nicholas cage movie... I wonder if thats a real gun?...

-Dev

 

[Onmilo]

No Winchester 94, early or late, blue all that well using conventional salts.
These rifles have a lot of nickle in the action.
Try using blueing salts that are designed for stainless steel coloring, they tend to produce the best finish and even this stuff can turn your receiver purple if you aren't careful with vat temperature, and positive everything is well polished and grease/oil free..

 

[Bwana John]

Clean off the rust with 000 bronze wool and Hoppes #9. Degrease and finish with Hi-Temp engine or BBQ grill black spray paint.

 

[Rupestris]

No Winchester 94, early or late, blue all that well using conventional salts.
These rifles have a lot of nickle in the action.
Try using blueing salts that are designed for stainless steel coloring, they tend to produce the best finish and even this stuff can turn your receiver purple if you aren't careful with vat temperature, and positive everything is well polished and grease/oil free..

Onmilo,
You sound like toy know your stuff. Do you do this often? What would you charge to tear down a Winchester 94 and reblue if you do?

 

[Onmilo]

Thank you, I still do gunsmithing but I am here for pleasure, not business.
In addition to gun work, I am a machinist and also occasionally drive tractor trailers in addition to working a plot of farmland.
I have enough to do now without the Fed-Ex guy bringing me more.
However, I will look on my AGA list and see if I can find a guy willing to do the work and close to where you live.
Give me a day or two and I'll see what I can do for you.

 

[Rupestris]

Thank you, I still do gunsmithing but I am here for pleasure, not business.
In addition to gun work, I am a machinist and also occasionally drive tractor trailers in addition to working a plot of farmland.
I have enough to do now without the Fed-Ex guy bringing me more.
However, I will look on my AGA list and see if I can find a guy willing to do the work and close to where you live.
Give me a day or two and I'll see what I can do for you.

Eh, no worries. The gun I have is a late 70's model with some rust pitting on the sides of the receiver. I only paid $180 for the rifle and can't bring myself to spend that to have it refinished. Williams wants $220 for a polished blue job.
I'm sure it'd be a sexy little 94 afterwards but that would go against the reason I bought it. Its my kick-around rifle. I work in the coatings business and can paint the reciever in a solvent resistant automotive finish that can withstand heat up to 200 degrees for next to nothing. I might just go that way knowing that it can be stripped and refinished later if I ever get the urge to re-blue.

 

[belton-deer-hunter]

dang yall :banghead:


i wish yall would let me know next time yalll find a old beat up 30-30 seems like people find them and they are gone like the wind i would like one but cant find them around here seems like yall always got one if yall find one and it is availbe please let me know i am intrested in finding one thanx :banghead:

as for the job jsut use steel wool like they said i ahave a old savage 49a as my project gun right now and findoing the parts i need is hard it is cheaper to go buy a new one but mine is a family airloom still sreems hard to spend more on a gun then it is worth

 

[Rupestris]

dang yall :banghead:

i wish yall would let me know next time yalll find a old beat up 30-30

The rusty one is my second Winchester 94 in .30-30. The first one was a like-new late '90s production with Weaver rings attached. I only paid $175 for that one. They're out there. Just keep your eyes open and put the word out that you're looking for one.

As you can see, the older one has rust that looks like it was stored in a cloth/fabric case. Only the receiver is like this. The owner I bought it from got it at a pawn shop 20 years ago and it sat in his safe 'til I bought it last year. It is like new internally. I doubt it's had more than a hand full of rounds put through it.

 

[BusMaster007]

I had my Dad's circa '69 Winchester Model 94 'matte' finished because of the deteriorated condition it was in when I got it.

It came out great, with the receiver turning a really interesting 'olive bronze' color.
Totally worth the refinish job for about $150.00.
I added a Ram-Line synthetic stock; large-loop lever ( Rifleman style ); a Lyman No.2 tang sight; bbl. band swivel; and sight hood.
It came out way better than I anticipated.

I call it my "Combat Cowboy" rifle.

 

[The Jackal]

Use Break Free, it removes rust quite well. I used it on my old Marlin 30-30. Spray it on, let it set for at lest a few hours then wipe it off. Repeat until rust no longer shows on th rag. It may take many times to do this, but no wool is needed. I removed several hard rust spots with no wool at all. Just be patient.

Once it is done use the break free ergularly after each cleaning. It will lubricate your rifle and keep rust from returning.

 

[Gewehr98]

You're $hittin' me!

Degrease and finish with Hi-Temp engine or BBQ grill black spray paint.

"add a lil' duct tape, and she'll look good as new!"

Winchester Model 94 rifles above serial # 2,700,000 have a cast receiver and don't use a normal blueing process. That doesn't mean they can't be refinished back to original condition. Before I'd do a Krylon paint job on a rifle that still has that nice a stock and forend, I'd send the action to somebody who can do it right.