light Rust Removal

If you're lucky and it's really light, extra-fine steel wool and some light oil. Whatever you do, stay away from rust-removing chemicals. Real bluing is iron oxide, and the chemicals will strip it right off along with the rust.

That includes Hoppe's Bench Rest 9 Copper Solvent. Don't ask me how I know; it's a sad story. d8-)

-- Ed Huntress

Thanks, Ed. Sorry to hear you may have learned the hard way. :-( Al

I'm the proud owner of a two-tone classic, a Hi-Standard Supermatic, with a light-blue muzzle brake.

-- Ed Huntress

I wouldn't even start with the steel wool. I'd first try something like cloth from an old pair of levis and some 3 &1 oil. Scrub the rusty areas with the oil wet cloth, wipe clean and re-asses the problem. You may have removed the rust if it was light enough, but in any event the area will now be clean enough to make a better decision. If you use steel wool, re-read the above, and use the finest available and don't be aggressive with it.

Bruce-in-Bangkok (correct Address is bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

Thanks Bruce. I picked up some 0000 steel wool (extra fine) today and also a can of 3n1 oil. I already had oil but one can't have too much 3 in 1 so got another can. I do like your idea of starting out even lighter than the steel wool and then progressing as needed.

Al

st on them. =A0How

he bluing as well?

As ED says rust and bluing are almost the same thing. Just ferric oxide and ferrous oxide. So I would try some experiments on some rusty scrap metal and see if any of the cold bluing compounds will convert the one oxide to the other oxide. I think that hot bluing will do that, but I would certainly try it on something other than a gun first.

=20 Dan

DON'T USE STEEL WOOL, except as a last resort. First, slap your friend...twice! Second, unload the guns. Try a cloth with a bit of gun oil, Kroil, WD-40, PB-50 or blaster.

Thanks to all who replied. I'll let you know how it turns out. I looked on Brownell's and they do have the bronze wool in three different coarsenesses, should it be needed.

Very familiar with several of the oils mentioned above.

3M anyway color codes their pads, and white means no grit.

I use thick white pads bought in the paint dept of an auto parts store for diswashing. Works very well, no scratches.

Joe Gwinn

Yeah, I like those too. They disappeared from supermarket shelves around here around five years ago. Now all they have is the Scotch-Brite bonded to synthetic sponges, which I don't like. Thanks for the tip on where to find the plain ones.

BTW, some of the off brands' no-grit pads are green, but 3M's green pads have grit. If you're looking for the no-scratch type, beware.

-- Ed Huntress

I don't like those sponge pads either.

I buy the big pads and cut them up with scissors.

Yep.

Joe Gwinn

Does anyone above 50+ find it disturbing that we once could buy firearms via mail order and blood wasn't flooding the streets? Now we can't and blood is flowing.

Ah for a return to the simpler times. Outside of getting our foot off of the neck of our black citizens, we have not marched forward as a society, I say we have marched retrograde.

Wes

And does anyone remember that we used to hang murderers? Is there a connection here anywhere? Cheers,

Bruce (bpaige125atgmaildotcom)

I believe that we have lower murder rates than ever before. (more or less).

1976 -- 18,780 murders per 214,000,000 population 2006 -- 17,034 murders per 299,000,000 population

If we go back in history, I recall, possibly incorrectly, that murder rate was higher in those older times as well.

neck of our

I recall when you could order directly from the want ads in Popular Science or Popular Mechanics a submachine gun that had the barrel welded closed. On the same page you could order a new barrel from a different ad.

We not only used to hang murderers, but rapists, kidnappers, horse thieves, and some say even adulterers.

Now, a hangman's noose is alleged to be a symbol of racism. Perhaps that's because of the percentage of the above crimes committed by blacks.

About a year ago two crosses were burned in Durham, NC. One paper mentioned -- one time

-- that a note was found near one of them that said something to the effect of "GANGS BEWARE"! I never saw that mentioned again. However, plenty was said about the cross burnings being racist and everybody and his brother assured the NAACP that they would do all they could to catch whoever did it. I'm not sure if they ever caught them or not. The "authorities" couldn't or wouldn't stop the gangs from running rampant in Durham, but they could surely condemn those who might have been able to do so! :-( We don't want to

*scare* the little gangsters! The killings go on in Durham, Raleigh, and in between! Every few days there are one or two more bodies found. But you'd better not spray paint "racist" remarks in an "expression tunnel"! Still haven't heard what they plan to do with the four who admitted involvement in that event. Probably found that one or two were sons of a doctor or lawyer and we have to handle this with "kid gloves." :-)

Check for the 1950's.

Al, good question, I looked and could not find anything.

. And you a computer geek. Try

1950 - 4.6/100,000 1960-5.1 1970-7.9 1980-10.2 1990-9.4 2000-5.5 2007-5.9

Cheers,

Schwiek (goodsolderschweikatgmaildotcom)

Congrats.

The difference in numbers, does not strike me as huge.