Cleaning an improperly stored gun

4406v

I just picked up a New in the box 1967 Winchester '94 in 30-30.The story is the guy won it in a raffle brought it home and stuck it up in the rafters of his garage.46 years it hung there till he died. It is unfired and perfect except for a little light rust staining on the receiver.Is there some way to clean it or polish it without harming the bluing?

Henry0Reilly

Light rust removes easily with 0000 steel wool and gun oil; really light rust might come off with just an oily rag.

charliemeyer007

It's already damaged, the trick is not to cause more. Course cloth soaked in Kroil. Rub gentlily after the oil coated metal has soaked over night. If you pull the wood use proper fitting screw drivers to keep the screws nice.

competentone

The rust damage is already damage to the bluing. What you want to do is remove the rust (red oxide) since that has a water molecule attached and is "unstable," but you don't want to affect the adjacent bluing.

The suggested steel wool will cut the metal and affect the adjacent bluing -- sometimes that gives an OK look as it will help to blend the appearance.

Personally, I prefer to target the rust itself by using a piece of copper (or sometimes steel) and "scraping" the rust off. The red oxide will be "swelled" off the surface of the metal and can be removed with careful action with minimal damage to the surrounding blued metal.

This will result in a spot of bare metal where the rust was, but looks better to me than red rust spots, or the generally lightened bluing one gets if buffing with steel wool.

11b6r

Would agree on Kroil- great stuff. Remove wood, wet metal with Kroil, let set for a day. Use coarse cotton cloth, switch to clean spot as needed.

If you need to be more aggressive, find a COPPER Chore-Boy pot scrubber (not copper plated steel) Wet with more Kroil, rub lightly. Copper is softer than the steel. Gun will take on a coppery hue. Wet with more Kroil, then rub with soft cloth, copper will come off easily.

While 0000 steel wool is very fine, it is still as hard as the bluing, and with pressure WILL remove bluing. The receivers on the 94's changed to an alloy that does not blue (do not know the date of change off top of head) and recievers were iron plated to take blue. Anything that goes thru the plating layer will leave a surface that will not blue.

asphalt cowboy

I would remove the wood first, but as charliemeyer007 mentioned use proper screwdrivers so as to not molest the screws.

Coat the rust areas with Kroil, wrap it in plastic and let it set overnight or longer. After it has set awhile scrub the bejeebers out of it with a swatch of burlap. Burlap is soft enough it won't do any damage the the remaining blue yet coarse enough to lift the rust. The fibers will also fray which helps get down into the pitting to lift rust out.

cpermd

Burlap and Kroil

62fuelie

I have made scrapers out of brass cartridge cases by hammering the case mouth flat and putting a slight bend in it this gives room to use the case body as a handle. I prefer to use brass wool instead of steel wool as it is not as hard and doesn't dig into the surface as aggressively.

TRAP55

Burlap and Kroil does the least harm and works best for light powder rust. If it's a little heavier that that, fine copper wool and Kroil. When you "think" you got it all, and with the wood removed, hose it off with non-chlorinated brake cleaner from the auto parts store. Any rust still on the metal will turn neon orange. Repeat as needed, finishing with a rinse of brake cleaner, then a good wipe down with a silicon based gun oil like CLP.
You can get copper or bronze wool at ACE Hardware, if it's not on the shelf, tell em you need some and they'll get it. No Kroil? auto trans fluid works well too.

drsck

As other folks have said, DON"T USE STEEL WOOL! Kroil and pulling the wood off will work best, especially if you use a coarse cloth. The key is to use something that will not scratch the metal and to do that you need something that is softer than the metal--NOT another piece of steel. Someone suggested a copper pot scrubber and that will work, but be very gentle. Another great item that all gun folks should have around is BRONZE WOOL. It's just like steel wool, only softer and generally--repeat generally--will not scratch the metal. However, like any abrasive material, it will hurt the blueing if you are too aggressive. You can find bronze wool at good hardware stores and Brownell's. Best of luck--let us see some before and after photos.

4406v

I'll re-post before and after pictures. Thanks for the great advice!