I recently inherited some antique firearms of value with rust damage from years of storage. I’m glad I found your video as I now have the confidence to be able to restore and preserve them for the next generation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge-I am now a subscriber and I look forward to learning more from you.
When I have a gun that needs some rust care, I start with Hoppe's No. 9 or a little gun oil. I let it soak and then I use a paper towel or blue shop towel. For very light rust, even the light abrasion from the paper helps remove a good deal of rust. This video is a great tutorial for several levels of rust!
I inherited a couple of antique guns (one pistol and one rifle) from my father and they both have some surface rust. I've made sure they were both well oiled for protection from the air, but I plan to use your methods to remove some of the surface rust. Thank you for your excellent demonstration.
Thanks Jim! I like the copper penny on flat surfaces and brass wool on contours. I've used 0000 steel wool, but it's really easy to go too far with it.
Great video I have been watching how to correctly take care of old firearms for a while, this has been the best so far. Thank you for doing this. You have a real good way of not skipping details and explaining
Just found your channel, lovely video , the biggest culprit of rust on firearms is not wiping them down after handling them, I'm a carpenter by trade and it's the same with tools like planes and wood chisels, in my local gunshop I keep telling the owner to wipe down his firearms after people handling them, on some you can clearly see rusted hand prints, enough rambling great video keep up the great work, cheers from Ireland ☘️
I just learned of the penny trick yesterday, and now the brass wool thing today. Also, it's great to learn what to look for so I know when it's time to stop scrubbing. These tricks will come in handy, thanks!
Been using this technique and a couple others for over 30 years. When I show my customers this process on their own guns, I always tell them that Im giving em ten thousand dollars worth of education for free, and the price of their amazement. Though...I will tell you that the penny tip is one I have never heard until this vid. Fun stuff Mark
I think sharing this stuff was a good idea for people to learn how to remove spot rust without doing damage. I've been a little surprised at some of the negative comments and dislikes this episode received though.
I live in a humid climate and guns rust overnight if not properly oiled. I handled a Colt Target revolver and neglected to wipe it off and a thumbprint rusted into the sideplate permanently. At least I can prove it is my gun!
Another great video Mark. Really enjoy the detail you go to in demonstrating the right way to get success with these old girls. The copper coin is one I will try on my old 32-40. God bless.
Great video. Many thanks. After cleaning up my rifles I use a thin smear of ACF50 all over it to prevent rust for up to a year, it does not have an issue with a hot barrel or affect interior surfaces. I live in The Lakes and Wales UK, both really wet regions of an already pretty soggy island. 😎👍 Though simply ensuring the rifle is throughly clean and dry every time is the best maintenance. Prevention first. 👍😎
Thanks again, great review on touch up. I like to buy some "antiques" and your comment about not totally refinishing and cold blueing is really true about the collector folks. I have done the refinish with a buffing wheel and Brownell's polish, but comments on line still say "original finish" is much preferred. Even though I thought it turned out pretty good! Its a custom.
My wife's the Colt collector in the family. I'm not sure she'd let me throw it in the truck to take quail hunting, but it'd sure be fun to sneak it out some day and give it a try.
I am a huge fan of car wax on my non-cerakoted rifles. A spray on wax will give you a level of waterproofing to prevent the rusting even when hunting in wet conditions. For low use firearems, once every couple of years. For heavy use firearems, once a year. Takes less than 30 minutes and preserves your blued finish
@@endutubecensorship I never gave it any thought before you asked but upon reflection, I actually did degrease it. My thought would be follow the process you would follow for applying it to your car. Clean the surface thoroughly, dry it, apply the wax with a moist cloth, let it dry and buff it. Its a good thing to do while watching a football game.
I know that the 10/22 is common, I have the first year, but I think they probably made a million of them, that year. It has one little pit next to the front sight, I cleaned that spot out and OXPHO-BLUED it neutralized it, then gun oil. I have several surplus guns and used the same thing. Good show and advice.
Thanks, learned a lot, I have some ranch rifles that are rust pitted and don't look nice but are by no means a collector piece. Looking to improve them in spare time!
Great rust removal video. I've worked on a few Winchester 1890s and 1903s. I start by removing all the old oil residue using Powder Blast, acetone, or Lectra Clean. The removal of that old caked-on oil residue can reveal rust that is hiding as "patina." I've used steel wool before but I am now using something called Big 45 Frontier Rust Remover along with CLP or Ballistol. Never seen it scratch a firearm yet.
Very helpful. I have a bolt-action Marlin .22 given me by my parents on my 12th birthday (1956!), not fired for decades and sadly now showing surface rust, which I hope to remove, leave the rifle to my son.
Thanks for sharing some of that knowledge sir. I'm gonna be doing some resto work on an old Glenfield model 25 and my grandfather's 1942 98k. ...And I definetly don't want to do anything stupid with a family heirloom.
Real nice job, there. A little patience goes a long way. Most guys I know would just take it to the wire wheel on the electric grinder and take it down to bare metal, then slather some cold blue on it.
I am fascinated by the care you take for your weapons; thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us viewers. You know, I don't own any real firearms, unless you count a pellet gun, so this is video was hugely informative. It is an eye opener for treatment of rust and preserving the finish on any metal surface. Even though I don't own any firearms many of my friends do, and it is a treat when I go shooting with them. I am a supporter of Second Amendment rights, and I cringe at the huge contention over this important element of our Constitution. Gun enthusiasts like yourself are NOT the problem; I am sure your weapons are secured properly and you practice gun proper gun safety. I don't have the answers to the very real gun violence plaguing many urban areas of our Nation, but I hope that enthusiast/experts like yourself will work with others to come up with a workable solution to gun violence that has an impact on the problem, yet leaves gun enthusiasts like yourself free to pursue their passion. Neither side of this issue is satisfied with the status quo. Thanks again for the great video.
Thank you very much! The issue of gun violence in urban areas is so foreign to us out here where nearly everybody owns and uses guns, but gun violence is non-existent. Seems like crime is more the result of societal decay than the availability of guns and I don't pretend to have the answers for that. Thanks for watching and commenting!
My experience with CLP is being able to put it on the rust and leave it overnight. Wipe it off the next morning with a wet CLP patch. I've never had to use abrasives.
Thanks for the tip! If the rust has only recently appeared, it's usually quite easy to remove like you describe. If it's been there for a while, it'll usually take a little more work.
@@thecinnabar8442 When I saw that poor old Model 65 in 32/20 I was in tears Mark. I would have boxed her up for a trip to Bloomfield, NY and given that girl the 'Full Turnbull Treatment.'
Rust is definitely a pain. A simple way, can be to grab your bore brush and a drill. The fabric bore brush for a 12 gauge makes a decent polishing/cleaning wheel. Fits right in the chuck of a standard drill and at that point you basically made a polishing gun. It's been a game changer for me.
Thanks for the tips… I really like the penny trick. I think I’ve seen somebody use a pencil eraser before and I thought it turned out pretty good but I’m not nearly as smart as you when it comes to the finish on a gun.
Great video, I have to find me some brass wool and copper pennies. Thanks for sharing. P. S. I have an 1892 in 44/40 that someone cleaned up with a disc sander. OMG!
Mostly I keep my projects to conservation. Wfh that in mind, Evaporust is a great choice. So is a good boil - both do a great job of converting that active rust to black oxide. Might take a few passes. Depends on the severity of the rot. Then some light work with a carding wheel. Leaves any existing finish that remains, intact. Made an irreversible mistake with a wire wheel and a martini Henry as a young man. Never again!
I had a half round/half octagon, half length mag tube Lightning with a pistol grip in 32-20. Sold it to help with the down payment on my first house. Wish I still had it.
So, never had a true collector's piece to work on but I always used pennies (I actually found a package of small copper flat bar stock at a craft store that I cut into pieces) and aluminum foil. Crumple the aluminum foil and with that and the oil it will take the rust off and literally not damage anything else it's so soft. Work the penny first. If, after the penny, when you start with the aluminum the spot immediately turns a distinct grey/silver with the aluminum foil, you stop and use the penny again. The rust will always hold a small amount of "shavings" of the aluminum but you should see that reduce with each pass not build. You don't want that to build up aluminum in the rust or you are not removing rust, just adding aluminum and that you don't want that, so back to the penny for a couple of strokes. As you said, you will feel it "grabbing" at first, but once the aluminum foil is sliding without "dragging", you should be there and you finish by "polishing" with cotton (a cotton round from the drug store, a cleaning patch, or an old T-shirt just as long as it is bright white), it's not really polishing but it is lifting the aluminum which has smeared on the surface off and once the white cotton is no longer showing grey/silver. I picked up a "hurricane" 1957 Glenfield Model 90 on the Gulf Coast once for a song. The bore was perfect and the stock and feed lips (especially once I disassembled it) showed it had been VERY lightly used but unfortunately it had a significant amount of rust on the barrel and magazine tube. Because the aluminum is so mild and there were only a couple of minor pinpoint sized pits (spun a tooth pick in the pits to make sure I got the rust scale out), the barrel retained most of its factory blue and smoothed surface under the rust. A little touch up with cold blue and then a quality oil to seal the pores and from a few feet away its "perfect" (up close you can tell but its now a nice accurate shootable firearm again).
Hello, I think you mentioned not wanting to boil a collectable gun because a collector can tell that it was boiled and that would reduce the value of the gun. I'm guessing you were talking about boiling the gun in bluing salts. Sir, I would not presume to tell you anything about guns, but you didn't talk about spot "rust bluing" that is used in conservation of collectable guns. That process, as you know, converts the red rust to black. To do that on a spot of rust you first de-grease the area were the rust is, then you get a tea kettle with clean water in it, and set it on a hot plate. You then set the gun up in some way so that the rust spot is hit by the stream of steam that comes out of the whistling cap on the kettle, (any kettle with a spout will work too). The hot stream will make the rust turn blue (black). Then you use a soft wire brush or steal wool to take off (card) the lose black oxide. For heavy rest spots this steam process and carding may have to be repeated a few time to convert the rust all the way down to the steal. In the end you will end up with only the spot where the was, converted to a rust blue, and none of the original blue around it will be effected (assuming the surrounding blue is sound in the first place) . Of course, the entire gun could be de-greased and boiled in clean water, then the rust spots carded.
Thanks for the tip. I boil, or more accurately steam, guns with more extensive red rust regularly. However, I don't use that method on small spots of rust, like on these guns, unless I believe the rust has gone through the bluing. Check out our episode, "Rust Conversion on Damascus Barrels" where I boil and card a set of rusty shotgun barrels.
I wish there had been youtube or access to information like your video when I was kid coming up. I inherited a lot of guns when my grandfather passed away in 1998. I ruined 3 high value antique guns with my rust removal, as a 16 year old I did a pass with a grinder on a really bad spot lol. The local gun smith/gun shop gave me a lot of grief and to add injury to insult they basically stole and then destroyed 6 firearms from me that day I came into the store. They wouldn't hand them back and called the ATF agents from the big city. Those rude folks cut the guns up and I got them back in a sealed box in a bunch of pieces. I was young and had no education on firearms so I had no clue they were illegal. I'm just now getting back into firearms and opened up that box for the second time to see if I could figure out what type of guns they were and truly fix some of the rusted antiques.
@@thecinnabar8442 It really is a shame but I had no idea what to do to fix them. Grand father was a military educated career guy and gunsmith but I had no interest while he was living. All of the real deal military weapons were cut up because of my stupidity but I have a bunch of his military handguns that ive researched (19 to be exact). I went to a gunshop and they offered me $13,000 for 17 handguns, paid in two installments. I'm trying to a find knowledgeable person to make sure it's a fair deal. If that seems fair, I'd appreciate your time. 9 are USA military Colt M1911 pistols 2 Japan military pistols, haven't figured out markings. 3 British Revolvers style guns 1 USA revolver Smith and wesson 1 German gun Mauser called broomstick handle 1 German luger pistol.
It sounds like you could potentially have a valuable group of handguns. Of course, the condition and rarity of each particular example will have a dramatic impact on value. I'd like to help, but I'd have to be able to see them in person to give an adequate appraisal. My contact information is on our website: www.CinnabarGunworks.com
@@thecinnabar8442 I understand you would have to see them. The distance makes that impossible. I understand the shop needs to make good money too. I just want a fair price for both of us. If this information sounds legit to you id appreciate your time, sir. They said $13,000 would be 60% of the online comp rate. They are also 50 magazines for the USA military m1911 handguns in the deal. They said all are functional but 3 colts are well worn and have some pitting at the end of barrel which drops the value on those 3 ($500 per well worn colt). The Japanese pistols don't have huge value because ammo is obsolete and you can't shoot them. Plus the Japanese pistols had ammo in magazines and they corroded and lowered the value of these particular guns ($800 per jap pistols). Said it puts corrosion inside the magazine. The British revolvers aren't extremely valuable either ($600 for British revolver). The Smith and Wesson is no different than any other S&w revolver of that time ($400). the value is from the 6 good condition colts and the German pistols. The revolvers aren't particularly valuable.
Great restoration do’s and don’ts Mark. Hopefully I never have to use what I learned, but now I know how to do it. Thanks. Had to return a brand new Colt Lightning reproduction in 45 Colt to the dealer because of pin hole pitting on the length of the barrel and magazine tube and two rust spots on the receiver. Very disappointing. But down the road I’ll know how to take care of that using your video. When you get around to working up some loads for the 1895, perhaps you can show us your method for slugging a barrel. Until next time. Oh, and here’s a TH-cam channel you might be interested in, Target Suite.
Bronze wool and Ed's Red Bore Cleaner works well or motor oil or ATF. The recipe for Ed's is as follows. Equal parts of Acetone and Automatic trans fluid and Mineral spirits (paint thinner) not the new low VOC crap it has water in it and does't mix well and lastly K1 kerosene you can also add lanolin as well. if you buy all the ingridients in quart cans and mix in a gallon container you can refill the quart cans and you will have 4. quarts so you can give it to your buddies too. it works well on shotguns and removes wadding fouling etc. cleans the outside and the wood too. I use it to remove powder fouling in barrels prior to using a good bore cleaner because it's way cheaper. Just like Hoppes it won't remove copper. Other than the fact that chicks dig the smell of Hoppes it really ain't worth a damn in the gunsmithing world and it actually makes me $$ you think your barrel is shot out and i replace it in some cases it's just carbon and copper build up that hoppes won't remove. Throw that barrel in a bluing tank and the hot salts will eat out the fouling and copper and sometimes the barrel looks really good underneath all that stuff. I always oil the outside of my firearms with mineral oil laxitive from Wal-Mart and those blue shop towels you were using in the video. The mineral oil makes your bluing looks darker and the paper in the shop towels is a light abrasive and acts as a polish cloth and most furniture polishes etc. are a mineral oil based product anyway. Back in the days when i used to do hot tank salts bluing i used the mineral oil and paper shop towels on all the parts and barrels i did. it makes the firearms look beautiful and jet black and it's cheap to use.
Great video! Am I correct that knowing how far to go with the rust removal means that you should stop even if there is rust still remaining but that removing it would result in bare metal?
That's great! I love the rust bluing process. Makes a beautiful finish and anybody can do it with a small investment in equipment and a little practice.
Great video as are all of yours. I like using the Frontier Big 45 nickel scrubber for rust and lead removal. Do you not like it, or do you just prefer the brass scrubber better? I have also found, that contrary to normal usage. If you leave a little oil on the metal and go over it with cold blue, it sort of blends the finish. I don't remember the brand I use right off.
Great video I learned a lot! I got most of the rust off of my shotgun barrel but there are still little red patches of rust that I cannot get off with the steel wool I’m using. The rust seems to be smooth with the barrel now and no matter how much I scrubbed it was still on there. Is this normal to have a little rust left over? Thank you so much!
Typically, the longer the rust has been on the gun, the more permanent it becomes and the more difficult it is to get off. Once the red rust has replaced the bluing, it's impossible to get off without leaving bare metal in its place. When that happens, it's time to consider a cold blue touch up or a complete refinish.
Mark thanks for the video. Question, when you are done cleaning the rust and before you put the wood (stocks) back on, do you leave a thin layer of lubricant on the spots you just cleaned? Thanks again.
Hi, great channel. I have a 1940 ithica model 37 shotgun. Wondering your thoughts on the value and if I should bead blast the entire gun and reblue? It will be staying in the family. The rust is not near as bad as the colt lightning in this video but has spots all over the barrel and the receiver has a large rash spot right atop the engraving. None appear pitted too bad
Are you a proponent of Mark Novak's method of boiling rust damage? I used it with success on a reproduction black powder revolver that was very nice except a spot on the barrel that looked like a finger print.
I am certainly glad I found your channel, this video was exactly what I was looking for. Have a few older firearms and need this exactly. One of them is a Model 1889 Remington SXS 12 gauge, grade 1. I do have a question concerning that gun that I hope you can help me with. I received that gun from my step dad many years ago, it is missing the hammers and their screws. Not having any luck finding them. Do you have any suggestions? Appreciate your channel and thank you. Daniel
@@thecinnabar8442 I have been, I was reaching out and hoping you knew of a source. Appreciate your reply and I enjoy the content in your videos. Thanks
I would just boil that 1890 and 1895 in distilled water for ~30 minutes, the heat will convert the rust (Fe2O3) back to gun blue (Fe3O4). Then, you can wire brush the excess off, and have a nice rust blue finish (minus some pitting) on the gun.
Yes, rust conversion works very well I have a couple of episodes showing the rust conversion process. It's a great process, but overkill for light spot rust removal like is present on these firearms. I reserve rust conversion for firearms with more widespread and heavier rust issues.
Thanks Ron! There are quite a few on the desert on the other side of the lake you see in the opening scene of this video. When the water holes dried up late last summer, a young stud horse came in off the desert and spent a couple of months in our hay fields. Luckily we didn't have any horses there.
Me too! I'm still working on it, but many other projects have popped up and gotten in the way of working on the 44 rimfire ammo. Thanks for watching, Landon!
So could a person use stranded copper wire from an old electrical cord to make a copper pad/bundle to do something like the penny, should work well on round barrels. Everyone is always throwing away damaged electrical devices and cords. Let me know what you all think!
Not bad, but my experience is it will come back, always like a cancer. 2 choices that will work. Bead blast, polish, parkerize, then hot blue. Or, sand, polish moly resin paint, like Norells.
You certainly wouldn't want to use anything like that for spot rust removal. It'll take all the bluing off that it touches, just like Evaporust does. Sounds like it'd be great if you were taking the bluing off a firearm to bare metal to refinish, though.
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
I recently inherited some antique firearms of value with rust damage from years of storage. I’m glad I found your video as I now have the confidence to be able to restore and preserve them for the next generation. Thank you for sharing your knowledge-I am now a subscriber and I look forward to learning more from you.
Great! Just take it slow 'n easy and use good judgement about when to stop. Glad this episode helped.
@@thecinnabar8442 Is there a big difference between Brass & Bronze Steel wool, or would that be the same?
When I have a gun that needs some rust care, I start with Hoppe's No. 9 or a little gun oil. I let it soak and then I use a paper towel or blue shop towel. For very light rust, even the light abrasion from the paper helps remove a good deal of rust. This video is a great tutorial for several levels of rust!
I inherited a couple of antique guns (one pistol and one rifle) from my father and they both have some surface rust. I've made sure they were both well oiled for protection from the air, but I plan to use your methods to remove some of the surface rust. Thank you for your excellent demonstration.
Good luck! Be sure to use a "light hand".
Good job Mark. I knew of the penny trick but you taught this old dog a new one with the brass wool. Thanks.
That’s the one I knew about too. The Copper Penny.
Thanks Jim! I like the copper penny on flat surfaces and brass wool on contours. I've used 0000 steel wool, but it's really easy to go too far with it.
I use brass or copper wool to clean the barrel too.
Great video I have been watching how to correctly take care of old firearms for a while, this has been the best so far. Thank you for doing this. You have a real good way of not skipping details and explaining
Thank you very much Ken. I was afraid this episode might have been too long and people would lose interest before it finished.
@@thecinnabar8442 No way!
I’m 61 and my grandfather always said Only a fool doesn’t learn something every day. Thank you very informative 👍👍
You're very welcome! Glad you liked it.
Just found your channel, lovely video , the biggest culprit of rust on firearms is not wiping them down after handling them, I'm a carpenter by trade and it's the same with tools like planes and wood chisels, in my local gunshop I keep telling the owner to wipe down his firearms after people handling them, on some you can clearly see rusted hand prints, enough rambling great video keep up the great work, cheers from Ireland ☘️
Welcome aboard, David!
I just learned of the penny trick yesterday, and now the brass wool thing today. Also, it's great to learn what to look for so I know when it's time to stop scrubbing. These tricks will come in handy, thanks!
You are one of the few that knows about pennies. None of my gun friends have ever heard of this. I have used them for years. Nice vid.
Thanks Will
Been using this technique and a couple others for over 30 years. When I show my customers this process on their own guns, I always tell them that Im giving em ten thousand dollars worth of education for free, and the price of their amazement. Though...I will tell you that the penny tip is one I have never heard until this vid. Fun stuff Mark
I think sharing this stuff was a good idea for people to learn how to remove spot rust without doing damage. I've been a little surprised at some of the negative comments and dislikes this episode received though.
@@thecinnabar8442 Well...it takes understanding of what is happening and then the patience to pull it off.. Your doing fine. The haters will hate.
I think occasional rust is something every firearm owner faces from time to time. Good solid advice sir. Thanks much.
I live in a humid climate and guns rust overnight if not properly oiled. I handled a Colt Target revolver and neglected to wipe it off and a thumbprint rusted into the sideplate permanently. At least I can prove it is my gun!
Another great video Mark. Really enjoy the detail you go to in demonstrating the right way to get success with these old girls. The copper coin is one I will try on my old 32-40. God bless.
Thanks Jason! Good luck with the 32-40.
I did this job many times. Mostly with collector guns like 98k´s But the trick with the Penny was new for me. I have to try this. Thank you Sir :-)
You're very welcome! Glad you found a new trick. I really like the penny for flat surfaces.
A likable fella. I appreciate the information and your patience!
Thank you very much Rob!
My fav video so far. Excellent as always!!
Thanks Rick. This one's probably the most useful episode on the channel. Thanks for watching!
Another good video Mark. Good reminder to go with the original polishing marks. Looking forward to your 38-72 loading process.
Thanks Mark!
Great video. Many thanks.
After cleaning up my rifles I use a thin smear of ACF50 all over it to prevent rust for up to a year, it does not have an issue with a hot barrel or affect interior surfaces. I live in The Lakes and Wales UK, both really wet regions of an already pretty soggy island. 😎👍 Though simply ensuring the rifle is throughly clean and dry every time is the best maintenance. Prevention first. 👍😎
Wow, really nice work! I love your thoroughness in explaining and demonstrating your work. Thanks for sharing!
You're very welcome, John!
Thanks again, great review on touch up. I like to buy some "antiques" and your comment about not totally refinishing and cold blueing is really true about the collector folks. I have done the refinish with a buffing wheel and Brownell's polish, but comments on line still say "original finish" is much preferred. Even though I thought it turned out pretty good! Its a custom.
Man that Colt Lightning would be super fun to take small bird hunting. Get some of that Snake shot, load the tube and go to town. Great video!
My wife's the Colt collector in the family. I'm not sure she'd let me throw it in the truck to take quail hunting, but it'd sure be fun to sneak it out some day and give it a try.
I’ve been using a Penny, Thanks for the Information
I am a huge fan of car wax on my non-cerakoted rifles. A spray on wax will give you a level of waterproofing to prevent the rusting even when hunting in wet conditions. For low use firearems, once every couple of years. For heavy use firearems, once a year. Takes less than 30 minutes and preserves your blued finish
I hadn't heard of using car wax. Thanks for the tip.
Do you have to degrease the surfaces before applying the car wax?
@@endutubecensorship I never gave it any thought before you asked but upon reflection, I actually did degrease it. My thought would be follow the process you would follow for applying it to your car. Clean the surface thoroughly, dry it, apply the wax with a moist cloth, let it dry and buff it. Its a good thing to do while watching a football game.
@@FlyRiverFly Thank you very much for the reply!
That's what I thought the procedure would be but figured I'd ask.
True. I use tire black tp protect steel from moisture
This video was very helpful. I just inherited my dads 1977 Winchester 94 and has some rust on the receiver. Thank you!
Glad it helped
@@thecinnabar8442
Would PB Blaster oil or Rustoilum rust blocker work instead of Kroil?
Thanks I learned a lot. I will try that out, have ordered brass wool and kroil. Go easy on finish also . Thanks again
Excellent rust removal tips! Thanks for sharing.
I know that the 10/22 is common, I have the first year, but I think they probably made a million of them, that year. It has one little pit next to the front sight, I cleaned that spot out and OXPHO-BLUED it neutralized it, then gun oil. I have several surplus guns and used the same thing. Good show and advice.
Thank you!
Thanks, learned a lot, I have some ranch rifles that are rust pitted and don't look nice but are by no means a collector piece. Looking to improve them in spare time!
Best of luck on your projects!
That Colt Lightning 1/2 Octagon Barrel Is Sweet 😀😊
Great rust removal video. I've worked on a few Winchester 1890s and 1903s. I start by removing all the old oil residue using Powder Blast, acetone, or Lectra Clean. The removal of that old caked-on oil residue can reveal rust that is hiding as "patina." I've used steel wool before but I am now using something called Big 45 Frontier Rust Remover along with CLP or Ballistol. Never seen it scratch a firearm yet.
Thanks for sharing those great tips, George! I'll keep an eye out for that Big 45 Rust Remover.
Your 1895 dual barrel is so Awesome !
Thanks, it's one of my favorites.
Very helpful. I have a bolt-action Marlin .22 given me by my parents on my 12th birthday (1956!), not fired for decades and sadly now showing surface rust, which I hope to remove, leave the rifle to my son.
Thanks for sharing some of that knowledge sir. I'm gonna be doing some resto work on an old Glenfield model 25 and my grandfather's 1942 98k. ...And I definetly don't want to do anything stupid with a family heirloom.
Glad it was helpful. Just be sure to use a light hand. Best of luck!
Real nice job, there. A little patience goes a long way. Most guys I know would just take it to the wire wheel on the electric grinder and take it down to bare metal, then slather some cold blue on it.
Fantastic! I like to use Gibb’s oil…might want to give it a try. The 100% copper penny works great.
I am fascinated by the care you take for your weapons; thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience with us viewers. You know, I don't own any real firearms, unless you count a pellet gun, so this is video was hugely informative. It is an eye opener for treatment of rust and preserving the finish on any metal surface.
Even though I don't own any firearms many of my friends do, and it is a treat when I go shooting with them.
I am a supporter of Second Amendment rights, and I cringe at the huge contention over this important element of our Constitution. Gun enthusiasts like yourself are NOT the problem; I am sure your weapons are secured properly and you practice gun proper gun safety.
I don't have the answers to the very real gun violence plaguing many urban areas of our Nation, but I hope that enthusiast/experts like yourself will work with others to come up with a workable solution to gun violence that has an impact on the problem, yet leaves gun enthusiasts like yourself free to pursue their passion. Neither side of this issue is satisfied with the status quo.
Thanks again for the great video.
Thank you very much!
The issue of gun violence in urban areas is so foreign to us out here where nearly everybody owns and uses guns, but gun violence is non-existent. Seems like crime is more the result of societal decay than the availability of guns and I don't pretend to have the answers for that. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@thecinnabar8442 Crowding is a curse. Too many rats in a single cage.
My experience with CLP is being able to put it on the rust and leave it overnight. Wipe it off the next morning with a wet CLP patch. I've never had to use abrasives.
Thanks for the tip! If the rust has only recently appeared, it's usually quite easy to remove like you describe. If it's been there for a while, it'll usually take a little more work.
Great Valentines Video Mark, if that wasn't an ack of love I don't know what is... God Bless!
Thanks Wesley! Gotta treat 'em like a lady!🙂
@@thecinnabar8442 When I saw that poor old Model 65 in 32/20 I was in tears Mark. I would have boxed her up for a trip to Bloomfield, NY and given that girl the 'Full Turnbull Treatment.'
Rust is definitely a pain.
A simple way, can be to grab your bore brush and a drill.
The fabric bore brush for a 12 gauge makes a decent polishing/cleaning wheel. Fits right in the chuck of a standard drill and at that point you basically made a polishing gun.
It's been a game changer for me.
Thanks for the great tip, John!
@@thecinnabar8442 no problem 👍
I used these tips on my dads 1945 Browning A5 , The penny worked great on the barrel
Great to hear!
Thanks for the tips… I really like the penny trick. I think I’ve seen somebody use a pencil eraser before and I thought it turned out pretty good but I’m not nearly as smart as you when it comes to the finish on a gun.
Great video, I have to find me some brass wool and copper pennies. Thanks for sharing. P. S. I have an 1892 in 44/40 that someone cleaned up with a disc sander. OMG!
Oh no! I'm planning to do an episode on properly polishing firearms. Maybe it'll help you to be able to clean up that old 92.
Mostly I keep my projects to conservation. Wfh that in mind, Evaporust is a great choice. So is a good boil - both do a great job of converting that active rust to black oxide. Might take a few passes. Depends on the severity of the rot. Then some light work with a carding wheel. Leaves any existing finish that remains, intact.
Made an irreversible mistake with a wire wheel and a martini Henry as a young man. Never again!
I had a half round/half octagon, half length mag tube Lightning with a pistol grip in 32-20. Sold it to help with the down payment on my first house. Wish I still had it.
So, never had a true collector's piece to work on but I always used pennies (I actually found a package of small copper flat bar stock at a craft store that I cut into pieces) and aluminum foil. Crumple the aluminum foil and with that and the oil it will take the rust off and literally not damage anything else it's so soft. Work the penny first. If, after the penny, when you start with the aluminum the spot immediately turns a distinct grey/silver with the aluminum foil, you stop and use the penny again. The rust will always hold a small amount of "shavings" of the aluminum but you should see that reduce with each pass not build. You don't want that to build up aluminum in the rust or you are not removing rust, just adding aluminum and that you don't want that, so back to the penny for a couple of strokes. As you said, you will feel it "grabbing" at first, but once the aluminum foil is sliding without "dragging", you should be there and you finish by "polishing" with cotton (a cotton round from the drug store, a cleaning patch, or an old T-shirt just as long as it is bright white), it's not really polishing but it is lifting the aluminum which has smeared on the surface off and once the white cotton is no longer showing grey/silver.
I picked up a "hurricane" 1957 Glenfield Model 90 on the Gulf Coast once for a song. The bore was perfect and the stock and feed lips (especially once I disassembled it) showed it had been VERY lightly used but unfortunately it had a significant amount of rust on the barrel and magazine tube. Because the aluminum is so mild and there were only a couple of minor pinpoint sized pits (spun a tooth pick in the pits to make sure I got the rust scale out), the barrel retained most of its factory blue and smoothed surface under the rust. A little touch up with cold blue and then a quality oil to seal the pores and from a few feet away its "perfect" (up close you can tell but its now a nice accurate shootable firearm again).
Thanks for the tutorial
Great vidio really enjoyed it but did you kown scrunched up cooking foil is also great for removing rust very gentle
Thanks for the tip!
Hello, I think you mentioned not wanting to boil a collectable gun because a collector can tell that it was boiled and that would reduce the value of the gun. I'm guessing you were talking about boiling the gun in bluing salts. Sir, I would not presume to tell you anything about guns, but you didn't talk about spot "rust bluing" that is used in conservation of collectable guns. That process, as you know, converts the red rust to black. To do that on a spot of rust you first de-grease the area were the rust is, then you get a tea kettle with clean water in it, and set it on a hot plate. You then set the gun up in some way so that the rust spot is hit by the stream of steam that comes out of the whistling cap on the kettle, (any kettle with a spout will work too). The hot stream will make the rust turn blue (black). Then you use a soft wire brush or steal wool to take off (card) the lose black oxide. For heavy rest spots this steam process and carding may have to be repeated a few time to convert the rust all the way down to the steal. In the end you will end up with only the spot where the was, converted to a rust blue, and none of the original blue around it will be effected (assuming the surrounding blue is sound in the first place) . Of course, the entire gun could be de-greased and boiled in clean water, then the rust spots carded.
Thanks for the tip. I boil, or more accurately steam, guns with more extensive red rust regularly. However, I don't use that method on small spots of rust, like on these guns, unless I believe the rust has gone through the bluing. Check out our episode, "Rust Conversion on Damascus Barrels" where I boil and card a set of rusty shotgun barrels.
@@thecinnabar8442 Thanks
Thank you for the video.
You're very welcome Juan!
Top stuff mate great video
Thanks for watching Dean. Good stuff to know, but hope you never have to use it. 🙂
I wish there had been youtube or access to information like your video when I was kid coming up. I inherited a lot of guns when my grandfather passed away in 1998. I ruined 3 high value antique guns with my rust removal, as a 16 year old I did a pass with a grinder on a really bad spot lol. The local gun smith/gun shop gave me a lot of grief and to add injury to insult they basically stole and then destroyed 6 firearms from me that day I came into the store. They wouldn't hand them back and called the ATF agents from the big city. Those rude folks cut the guns up and I got them back in a sealed box in a bunch of pieces. I was young and had no education on firearms so I had no clue they were illegal. I'm just now getting back into firearms and opened up that box for the second time to see if I could figure out what type of guns they were and truly fix some of the rusted antiques.
Wow! What a shame. I hate hearing stories like that.
@@thecinnabar8442 It really is a shame but I had no idea what to do to fix them. Grand father was a military educated career guy and gunsmith but I had no interest while he was living. All of the real deal military weapons were cut up because of my stupidity but I have a bunch of his military handguns that ive researched (19 to be exact). I went to a gunshop and they offered me $13,000 for 17 handguns, paid in two installments. I'm trying to a find knowledgeable person to make sure it's a fair deal. If that seems fair, I'd appreciate your time.
9 are USA military Colt M1911 pistols
2 Japan military pistols, haven't figured out markings.
3 British Revolvers style guns
1 USA revolver Smith and wesson
1 German gun Mauser called broomstick handle
1 German luger pistol.
It sounds like you could potentially have a valuable group of handguns. Of course, the condition and rarity of each particular example will have a dramatic impact on value. I'd like to help, but I'd have to be able to see them in person to give an adequate appraisal. My contact information is on our website: www.CinnabarGunworks.com
@@thecinnabar8442 I understand you would have to see them. The distance makes that impossible. I understand the shop needs to make good money too. I just want a fair price for both of us. If this information sounds legit to you id appreciate your time, sir.
They said $13,000 would be 60% of the online comp rate. They are also 50 magazines for the USA military m1911 handguns in the deal. They said all are functional but 3 colts are well worn and have some pitting at the end of barrel which drops the value on those 3 ($500 per well worn colt). The Japanese pistols don't have huge value because ammo is obsolete and you can't shoot them. Plus the Japanese pistols had ammo in magazines and they corroded and lowered the value of these particular guns ($800 per jap pistols). Said it puts corrosion inside the magazine. The British revolvers aren't extremely valuable either ($600 for British revolver). The Smith and Wesson is no different than any other S&w revolver of that time ($400). the value is from the 6 good condition colts and the German pistols. The revolvers aren't particularly valuable.
Awesome guns thanks for your information👍👍
Great information thank you for sharing!👍🏾😀❤️🇺🇸
You're very welcome Jeffry!
Great info on rust removal!
Wow. What a craftsman!
Thanks Yogi!
Excellent video, thank you.
Thank you, learned a few new things
You're very welcome! Glad it was helpful.
Great restoration do’s and don’ts Mark. Hopefully I never have to use what I learned, but now I know how to do it. Thanks.
Had to return a brand new Colt Lightning reproduction in 45 Colt to the dealer because of pin hole pitting on the length of the barrel and magazine tube and two rust spots on the receiver. Very disappointing. But down the road I’ll know how to take care of that using your video.
When you get around to working up some loads for the 1895, perhaps you can show us your method for slugging a barrel. Until next time.
Oh, and here’s a TH-cam channel you might be interested in, Target Suite.
Thanks Dogbone! I'll check that out.
Bronze wool and Ed's Red Bore Cleaner works well or motor oil or ATF. The recipe for Ed's is as follows. Equal parts of Acetone and Automatic trans fluid and Mineral spirits (paint thinner) not the new low VOC crap it has water in it and does't mix well and lastly K1 kerosene you can also add lanolin as well. if you buy all the ingridients in quart cans and mix in a gallon container you can refill the quart cans and you will have 4. quarts so you can give it to your buddies too. it works well on shotguns and removes wadding fouling etc. cleans the outside and the wood too. I use it to remove powder fouling in barrels prior to using a good bore cleaner because it's way cheaper. Just like Hoppes it won't remove copper. Other than the fact that chicks dig the smell of Hoppes it really ain't worth a damn in the gunsmithing world and it actually makes me $$ you think your barrel is shot out and i replace it in some cases it's just carbon and copper build up that hoppes won't remove. Throw that barrel in a bluing tank and the hot salts will eat out the fouling and copper and sometimes the barrel looks really good underneath all that stuff. I always oil the outside of my firearms with mineral oil laxitive from Wal-Mart and those blue shop towels you were using in the video. The mineral oil makes your bluing looks darker and the paper in the shop towels is a light abrasive and acts as a polish cloth and most furniture polishes etc. are a mineral oil based product anyway. Back in the days when i used to do hot tank salts bluing i used the mineral oil and paper shop towels on all the parts and barrels i did. it makes the firearms look beautiful and jet black and it's cheap to use.
Great tips! Thanks Mark!
Great video! Am I correct that knowing how far to go with the rust removal means that you should stop even if there is rust still remaining but that removing it would result in bare metal?
I did a marlin that the ammo tube and barrel were rusted together. In the end I rust blued it and turned out nice
That's great! I love the rust bluing process. Makes a beautiful finish and anybody can do it with a small investment in equipment and a little practice.
Enjoyed the video! One question regarding the lightning…why not boil the barreled action and card to covert the rust?
I use boiling on guns with more extensive rust, but not for spots of rust.
Very good informative video! Have you ever used copper wool? I've started using it instead of 0000 steel wool and it works well for me.
I'll have to give that a try.
Hey! Younger me being a coin collector is finally paying off! got several pennies from 50's and 60's
Great video as are all of yours.
I like using the Frontier Big 45 nickel scrubber for rust and lead removal. Do you not like it, or do you just prefer the brass scrubber better?
I have also found, that contrary to normal usage. If you leave a little oil on the metal and go over it with cold blue, it sort of blends the finish. I don't remember the brand I use right off.
Thanks Jim. I haven't tried Frontier Big 45 nickel scrubber, so I don't have an opinion about it. Thanks for watching and commenting!
@@thecinnabar8442 It is worth a try.
Thanks so much can you do a video on a Winchester model 1897
I do have plans to do an episode on the model 1893 and 1897's in the future. It probably won't be for a while though. Thanks for watching, Landon!
Your welcome sir
SUPER VIDEO THANK YOU SIR
Great Job!!
Thanks Gustave!
Yeah I have an old very rusted break action shotgun given to me many many years ago. It would be great to be able to restore such a gun
Thank you for the tips
Great video I learned a lot! I got most of the rust off of my shotgun barrel but there are still little red patches of rust that I cannot get off with the steel wool I’m using. The rust seems to be smooth with the barrel now and no matter how much I scrubbed it was still on there. Is this normal to have a little rust left over? Thank you so much!
Typically, the longer the rust has been on the gun, the more permanent it becomes and the more difficult it is to get off. Once the red rust has replaced the bluing, it's impossible to get off without leaving bare metal in its place. When that happens, it's time to consider a cold blue touch up or a complete refinish.
@@thecinnabar8442 okay I see now, either way your video helped me get most of the rust off of my barrel. Thank you so much for your help!
Very good.
What was the brand or where to buy the "soaking" oil? Thanks! Great great video, great information.
Any good gun oil will work. I mostly use Break Free CLP.
Mark thanks for the video. Question, when you are done cleaning the rust and before you put the wood (stocks) back on, do you leave a thin layer of lubricant on the spots you just cleaned? Thanks again.
Yes, most definitely.
Nice gentleman I learned something
Thanks Michael!
what did u use besides kroyel, also can i use copper wire?
great video
The fore stock on that 1895 is very similar to the fore stock on a Savage 99 EG.
Yes, those schnabel forends on the Savage 99's and the Winchester 1885's and 1895's are quite similar.
Hi, great channel. I have a 1940 ithica model 37 shotgun. Wondering your thoughts on the value and if I should bead blast the entire gun and reblue?
It will be staying in the family. The rust is not near as bad as the colt lightning in this video but has spots all over the barrel and the receiver has a large rash spot right atop the engraving. None appear pitted too bad
Hi nice video. Is the brass/ bronze wool also 0000?
The finer the better, but it isn't as critical as with steel wool because it's softer.
Are you a proponent of Mark Novak's method of boiling rust damage? I used it with success on a reproduction black powder revolver that was very nice except a spot on the barrel that looked like a finger print.
I am certainly glad I found your channel, this video was exactly what I was looking for. Have a few older firearms and need this exactly. One of them is a Model 1889 Remington SXS 12 gauge, grade 1. I do have a question concerning that gun that I hope you can help me with. I received that gun from my step dad many years ago, it is missing the hammers and their screws. Not having any luck finding them. Do you have any suggestions?
Appreciate your channel and thank you.
Daniel
Sorry, I don't know of anybody reproducing them. Watch EBAY and GunBroker and local gun shows for used parts. Good luck
@@thecinnabar8442 I have been, I was reaching out and hoping you knew of a source. Appreciate your reply and I enjoy the content in your videos. Thanks
I would just boil that 1890 and 1895 in distilled water for ~30 minutes, the heat will convert the rust (Fe2O3) back to gun blue (Fe3O4). Then, you can wire brush the excess off, and have a nice rust blue finish (minus some pitting) on the gun.
Yes, rust conversion works very well I have a couple of episodes showing the rust conversion process. It's a great process, but overkill for light spot rust removal like is present on these firearms. I reserve rust conversion for firearms with more widespread and heavier rust issues.
Good job Mark! Are there any wild horses in your area?
Thanks Ron! There are quite a few on the desert on the other side of the lake you see in the opening scene of this video. When the water holes dried up late last summer, a young stud horse came in off the desert and spent a couple of months in our hay fields. Luckily we didn't have any horses there.
I hope to see you shooting your 1866 one day even if it is only 1 round
Me too! I'm still working on it, but many other projects have popped up and gotten in the way of working on the 44 rimfire ammo. Thanks for watching, Landon!
GRA 8 VID. WHAT DO U USE ON PRE 1900 COLLECTOR GUN WOOD AND PRE 1950 COLLECTOR GUN WOOD, IF ANYTHING ?
So could a person use stranded copper wire from an old electrical cord to make a copper pad/bundle to do something like the penny, should work well on round barrels. Everyone is always throwing away damaged electrical devices and cords.
Let me know what you all think!
It may work, but I'd try it somewhere like under the stock where it doesn't show first.
The anvil 036. Gunsmith shows conservation of old firearms.
What do you do about copper getting embedded down in the corrosive pits?
I would try a good gun solvent and 4 ought steel wool.
Instead of a copper penny, can you use a copper heavy gauge wire?
Tried that copper penny trick and ended up scratching the receiver on my Marlin 336.
Not bad, but my experience is it will come back, always like a cancer. 2 choices that will work. Bead blast, polish, parkerize, then hot blue. Or, sand, polish moly resin paint, like Norells.
Rust 911 is a better bang for the buck as it comes in concentrated form and can make up to 16 gallons of pretty much the same stuff as Evaporust.
You certainly wouldn't want to use anything like that for spot rust removal. It'll take all the bluing off that it touches, just like Evaporust does. Sounds like it'd be great if you were taking the bluing off a firearm to bare metal to refinish, though.
After the rust is removed should you wax or oil the barrels?
Yes, very definitely.
Ever use heat to remove rust? Not a lot obviously but if you were to heat up the oil with a heat gun?
You using silikriol or aerokroil?
In what case would you use electrolysis?
1951 marlin 30-30 restoration can you help , need new screws for entire gun
Try Homestead Parts or Jack First Gun Parts. Good Luck!
What state are you in?
Oregon
Salty sweaty fingers most likely left salt and did a number on the lower tang of the Colt Lighting.
The key is, it's not just good, it's good enough!
Exactly. Knowing when to stop is critical. Easy to get carried away and then have to use cold blue for touch up. Thanks for watching!
Where do I get the brass wool?
I got mine from Homestead Parts. They're an excellent source for Winchester parts, too.
Why can't you use Navel Jelly and reblued the smoothed finish?
You certainly can but rebluing a firearm is a rather dramatic overkill for a spot of surface rust that can easily be removed using these techniques.