Light Rust on Stainless rifle...how to remove

[Bigeclipse]

Hey all,
I have a brand new Remington Mountain SS used on ONE hunting trip. So I found a few very faint, very small (smaller than a pin head) spots of rust near the tip of my rifle barrel. You can tell they are surface only...not very deep at all. First of all...I dont get it...I wiped it down after hunting...it wasnt wet...and this was only 1 DAY of hunting followed by 1 DAY of sitting before I noticed the rust so it wasnt like it sat very long before I noticed even "IF" I had left it wet, which i did not. I mean I know these stainless guns can still rust, but dang I thought they were supposed to be better than blued guns at rust prevention. Ive left blued rifles wet for a few days maybe even a week in warmer weather than this and no rust or corrosion formed. RANT OVER haha.

I am wondering what you all think is the best way to remove it, with out dramatically changing the finish. The barrel has a very few scratches on it anyways so I am not REALLY concern about looks but you cant see these scratches from a few feet away and if i can keep the marks from this rust removal to be similar to that I will be very happy. The rifle gets used and is meant to get a little dinged up so again not TOO worried about buffing the rust out and creating some fine buffing marks into the finish if the outcome removes the tiny spots of rust

By the way...I missed a Buck this sunday at 15 YARDS LMAO...It was very windy and I was in a tree stand that was swaying back and forth. I was using my 4.5-14 power scope watching a field when the buck came out of nowhere behind me. since the buck was so close it was very hard trying to keep the buck in view of the scope with the swaying tree. Ultimately i am happy i missed as opposed to wounding the deer...lesson learned...dont sit in swaying tree stands lol.

 

[Dr. Vette]

As funny as it sounds, it may not be rust. I've seen other forms of dirt look like rust on a stainless barrel.

I assume you've tried wiping it with gun oil and it won't wipe off.

I've also had success putting the part in a ultrasonic cleaner. It often works well, but be sure to put a very thin coat of oil on it afterwards and oil the inside of the barrel. With my cleaner I can stick a foot or so of the barrel into the tank without much of a problem. I usually cushion the crown as well as the edge of the tank so the barrel doesn't get new scratches on it.

 

[Bigeclipse]

As funny as it sounds, it may not be rust. I've seen other forms of dirt look like rust on a stainless barrel.

I assume you've tried wiping it with gun oil and it won't wipe off.

I've also had success putting the part in a ultrasonic cleaner. It often works well, but be sure to put a very thin coat of oil on it afterwards and oil the inside of the barrel. With my cleaner I can stick a foot or so of the barrel into the tank without much of a problem. I usually cushion the crown as well as the edge of the tank so the barrel doesn't get new scratches on it.

It could be mud as we did get really muddy on the quad. BUT i tried wiping off the barrel with a textured sponge and it wouldnt come off. Unfortunately I do not have a sonic cleaner to test your theory.

 

[MudRunner2005]

If a rag and gun oil won't get it off, try some (0000) 4-Ought steel wool, and some penetrating oil, like Kroil or AeroKroil. And very lightly buff the rust off with the wool. Don't mash down too hard or you can score the finish. It's worked fine for me for many years now.

 

[ultraedge]

Try Boretech carbon remover. What I thought was rust on my ss barrels was actually deposits exiting the muzzle brake. It is easily removed with carbon remover. I wiped them off and they look new until shot again. Gary

 

[Bigeclipse]

Try Boretech carbon remover. What I thought was rust on my ss barrels was actually deposits exiting the muzzle brake. It is easily removed with carbon remover. I wiped them off and they look new until shot again. Gary

I don't have a muzzlebrake though but I will try the carbon cleaner

 

[westcliffe01]

Citric acid will fix it and it is safe. Stainless steel is easily contaminated by contact with carbon steel. It may not be the stainless steel rusting, just the carbon steel smeared onto the surface by contact. To prevent this, stainless should be passivated (treated with an acid to etch off any contaminants and force the growth of a good stable layer of chromium oxide to protect it.)

Having said that, 416 Barrel steel is a low grade stainless steel and will rust under the right conditions. Any form of salt is more likely to attack it. In winter when the roads are salted and the outside of our vehicles covered with salt dust, is the greatest risk. Calcium chloride will attack 416 for sure and that is what is generally used on roads.

 

[Bigeclipse]

Citric acid will fix it and it is safe. Stainless steel is easily contaminated by contact with carbon steel. It may not be the stainless steel rusting, just the carbon steel smeared onto the surface by contact. To prevent this, stainless should be passivated (treated with an acid to etch off any contaminants and force the growth of a good stable layer of chromium oxide to protect it.)

Having said that, 416 Barrel steel is a low grade stainless steel and will rust under the right conditions. Any form of salt is more likely to attack it. In winter when the roads are salted and the outside of our vehicles covered with salt dust, is the greatest risk. Calcium chloride will attack 416 for sure and that is what is generally used on roads.

Westcliff
When you say contaminated by carbon steel...are you refering to the manufacturing of the rifle itself may have had some carbon steel contaminants embedded into the barrel...just trying to understand where this contamination could have come from if that is indeed what it is. I found it very odd that there were only a handfull of little tiny pin sized rust spots and they were all near the tip of the rifle in one spot say the size of a quarter. I have seen other blued rifles rust and when they do they tend to get a little rust almost everywhere so maybe this is like what someone else said "MUD" that worked its way into the stainless steel OR maybe it is this so called contamination you are talking about. Either way, I will give the citric acid a try. Do you mean get actual citric acid from somewhere or simply try lemon/orange juice? Hope that isnt a dumb question...

 

[Tikkamike]

To prevent this, stainless should be passivated (treated with an acid to etch off any contaminants and force the growth of a good stable layer of chromium oxide to protect it..

exactly right!

 

[MudRunner2005]

Westcliff
When you say contaminated by carbon steel...are you refering to the manufacturing of the rifle itself may have had some carbon steel contaminants embedded into the barrel...just trying to understand where this contamination could have come from if that is indeed what it is. I found it very odd that there were only a handfull of little tiny pin sized rust spots and they were all near the tip of the rifle in one spot say the size of a quarter. I have seen other blued rifles rust and when they do they tend to get a little rust almost everywhere so maybe this is like what someone else said "MUD" that worked its way into the stainless steel OR maybe it is this so called contamination you are talking about. Either way, I will give the citric acid a try. Do you mean get actual citric acid from somewhere or simply try lemon/orange juice? Hope that isnt a dumb question...

What did I do or say wrong? I'm confused...

The steel wool and RemOil or Kroil has worked well for me for over 12 years now (when I got my first stainless rifle)...Might not work for everyone, but for my rifles it has worked just fine.

Also, a thorough wipe-down with a silicone rag and remoil, before putting them up, helps, too.

 

[Bigeclipse]

What did I do or say wrong? I'm confused...

The steel wool and RemOil or Kroil has worked well for me for over 12 years now (when I got my first stainless rifle)...Might not work for everyone, but for my rifles it has worked just fine.

Also, a thorough wipe-down with a silicone rag and remoil, before putting them up, helps, too.

lol when I put "MUD" in quotes I was talking actual mud/dirt...not your name so you didnt say anything wrong lol. I am just seeing everything people have tried. I want to try the steel wool thing last as that may score the finish a bit which is fine...but I might as well try all other things first that dont score the finish before I try that.

 

[MudRunner2005]

lol when I put "MUD" in quotes I was talking actual mud/dirt...not your name so you didnt say anything wrong lol. I am just seeing everything people have tried. I want to try the steel wool thing last as that may score the finish a bit which is fine...but I might as well try all other things first that dont score the finish before I try that.

Sorry, I just get a little paranoid when people say "mud" out of the blue, cause they're usually talking about me. LOL

No big deal.

Yeah, if you press down too hard it can, but if you use the really fine 0000-ought wool you should be fine.

 

[westcliffe01]

It probably does not help much speculating how the barrel could become contaminated. It could be from the profiled barrel having been put into a carbon steel rack after machining. The "cart" with the barrels on it might have passed a point where someone was grinding on some carbon steel, and the little CS berries struck the barrel, and initially they are invisible. Similarly, some form of finely divided CS powder from some other process may have blown onto the barrel. The possibilities are endless. Unless the component is passivated before assembly and non contaminating materials used for all assembly fixtures / surfaces and air filtration applied to the assembly area, there is always risk of contamination.

The second question: For the same reason as above, you want to use a chemically pure citric acid and dissolve it in DI or distilled water, since water out a well or city water system has so much crap in it, including iron... Ideally use a glass container/bottle, since that is inert.

"Fruit" contains all sorts of stuff, including whatever the tree gets out the ground, so while it might be "natural" it is not "pure"...

Westcliff
When you say contaminated by carbon steel...are you refering to the manufacturing of the rifle itself may have had some carbon steel contaminants embedded into the barrel...just trying to understand where this contamination could have come from if that is indeed what it is. I found it very odd that there were only a handfull of little tiny pin sized rust spots and they were all near the tip of the rifle in one spot say the size of a quarter. I have seen other blued rifles rust and when they do they tend to get a little rust almost everywhere so maybe this is like what someone else said "MUD" that worked its way into the stainless steel OR maybe it is this so called contamination you are talking about. Either way, I will give the citric acid a try. Do you mean get actual citric acid from somewhere or simply try lemon/orange juice? Hope that isnt a dumb question...

 

[westcliffe01]

I would never recommend steel wool for use on any stainless barrel, since contamination of the stainless through CS is then guaranteed... Unless of course you immediately passivate it afterward and if you do that, you could have skipped the steel wool step in the first place.