Deep rust on old shotgun

I have never seen anything in this bad of shape worth saving. But I am going to try. My neighbor has a Rem model 58 his dad was given by his dad. That may have been the last time it was oiled. It was in an expensive case for the time but moisture (or blood) was on the barrel  and receiver. Those 7 spots have rust scabs that  are deep. Any magic solutions to try? I've been soaking in Rem oil and G96 with limited  success .

Len,

You're pretty much stuck with the pitting.  However, #000 steel wool wetted with Brownell's Oxpho-Blue will remove almost all of the surface rust (you can rub hard without removing the old blueing).  Once that's done, just follow the instructions that come with it. I have an old copy of "Gunsmith's Kinks" that describes the blueing processing in detail.  I'm currently restoring a Rossi .32 cal. revolver with the same process.

There's a product called Evaporust which you can buy at most autopart stores by the gallon, it chelates rust and leaves no deposit. You want to apply it for as little time as possible, like a few minutes at a time, because it will literally pull the carbon out of the steel.

I have no idea what it will do to bluing, probably not good for it though. Of course, the spots took care of that long ago though.

Oxpho-Blue is a tried and true solution that will not harm the steel at all. You don't even have to do anything to stop the blueing process.  Just wipe the gun down with a dry cloth and oil it as usual. It comes in 4 oz. bottles that will treat quite a few guns.  I even re-blued an entire rifle (Stevens Favorite) with it for a friend.

Oxpho-blue it is. I have Ospho and straight phosferic acid here but both made me hesitate to use on a shotgun.
Thanks everyone..

Hey Len,

Show us some before and after pix if you can. 

Kroil makes a product called Exrust....
https://www.kroil.com/order-kroil-products/

I have used the Evaporust and it pretty much works as advertised

OldShooter43 wrote:Oxpho-Blue is a tried and true solution that will not harm the steel at all.

I think this is a combination of Oxalic acid and Phosphoric acid. Oxalic acid is a very effective rust remover, aggressive even. Phosphoric acid reacts with rust to form Iron Phosphate, which forms a black impervious layer. I guess there's some sort of bluing in it too.

Personally, on a large and deep rust area, I'd focus on removal first, then consider smoothing and refinishing, instead of a one-and-done approach. Evaporust is super-safe and if it doesn't work to satisfaction, there isn't anything to undo - it will have simply started the job.

I have been looking into several choices mentioned here. Some have hazmat fees required. Then there is the wire wheel on the grinder.

Personally, I wouldn't use a wire wheel grinder on a shotgun barrel (or any other barrel for that matter).  However, since the 4 oz. bottle of Oxpho-Blue is out of stock at Brownell's and no one other than a gunsmith needs a 32 oz. bottle, good luck with pursuing other solutions.

I ordered Oxpho-blue on eBay. Says Brownells.

I was going to suggest eBay as a possible source but you beat me to it.  I'm going to be at the All Navy Eastern Regional pistol championships at MCB Quantico for the next four days - as a worker, not a shooter.  When I get back I'll send you the little "tricks of the trade" from "Gunsmiths' Kinks".  It makes a big difference on the final bluing result.

Jim E.

Hi, Len;

Here's a scanned copy of the pages in "Kinks".  Hope it's readable.

Jim

Hi, Len;

Here's a scanned copy of the pages in "Kinks".  Hope it's readable.

Jim[url=https://servimg.com/view/20077106/11][/url]

Sorry for the double post.  I haven't figured out how to delete things yet.

v

Yikes!!  I'd get started with steel wool and gun oil on the polished steel parts first to see how much of that rust comes off easily. I actually have 3M synthetic steel wool pads and some Homax fine bronze wool that I'd use initially.  Neither one of those sheds steel fibers like the steel wool does.  Kroil oil is probably a good bet for the job.  If you want to try to polish out some pitting, use polishing compound on a buffing wheel rather than a wire wheel.Once you have the Oxpho-Blue you can just wipe off the residual oil/polishing compound and continue with it.  Hope you've got lots of patience!

Len
I have actually done quite a bit of shotgun restoration,  and one thing I'm looking at that has not been brought up is there is one rust area on the barrel that appears to have a particularly bubbled up area. I doubt you have the equipment but I would want to know the wall thickness of that area before I invested to much time on it. This may or may not be a shootable gun. Of course it's not in my hands ,only looking at the  picture . Not trying to rain on your parade but it is a concern. 
Tom

That's a very good point.  Most Remington auto loaders have fairly thick barrels but you still don't want to thin them very much, especially in the area within 6" to 10" of the chamber where the peak pressure occurs.

That's what it looks like after soaking about a week and working on it with steel wool. If it was on my boat I would have massaged it with a peening hammer. I'm pretty sure it's never being fired again.

If those pictures you posted were after using oil and steel wool on it, I'd say it's a lost cause.

i wonder what sonic cleaner would do to bolt?