Living
in the disgustingly humid state of Florida (where just the other day it was 111
degrees), anything here tends to rust. From
the humidity to my acidic sweat, if it’s metal and I touch it, it will tarnish
or rust. For me, it doesn’t matter with
the brand: Mossberg, Ruger, Mosin, SCCY, Smith and Wesson, Taurus, and my AK have
all rusted. The only things that have
not are my snub nosed S&W 19-3, and my Russian SKS (which is a factory
refurb, and whatever black paint they coated it in will not let any rust develop.)
Anyway,
back to the point at hand. I really
started to look into the rust issue when my Mosin Nagant was turning brown/orange. I looked online for a wonder product, ordered
something on a whim, and I am pleased!
Before
you attack any firearm with the methods suggested, if your rust is bad, and
your firearm comes with a lifetime warranty, look into sending it back. I have had rust issues with my M&P9 and
CPX-2 and both Smith and Wesson and SCCY took care of it without a cent out of
my pocket. (SCCY
Warranty Review)
Fortunately,
I have only had to deal with surface rust, and minor pitting from more extreme
rust. Before you treat your firearm for
rust prevention, you need to get the rust off first. I use Hoppe’s 9 Bore Cleaner. This tends to dig in a little more to get the
rust off, but is still safe enough for most firearm finishes, plus it smells
great. Put some on a cotton gun patch,
and wipe the rusted areas down. I would
change the patches frequently, because the last thing you want to do is push
the rust around.
After
you have gotten all the rust off, I would wipe the firearm down with a
microfiber cloth to try to get the firearm as dry as possible. Do one more pass with the Hoppe’s to check
again, and wipe it down one more time.
Here
is where the magic happens. Now that
your rust is gone, how do you protect it?
RIG
Universal Gun Grease! This stuff is
amazing! Coat your ENTIRE firearm with
this (the metal parts) with a thin layer.
This stuff really does a great job at keeping rust away. Simply apply some to a clean cotton patch, and
coat your firearm. Make sure you get the
nooks and crannies, as well as slide serrations and other places you typically
touch. Avoid touching any of the coated
metal after until you need to.
If
you plan on taking the gun to the range, wipe if down with a microfiber towel
first, and then make sure to reapply it after you are done cleaning it.
I
even have a layer on my carry guns, while they are being carried.
If
you are storing them, make sure they are in a cool (air conditioned) and dry
place. If possible, avoid hard cases
with foam linings as they may trap in moisture and speed up the rust
process. RIG isn’t going to work
forever, so you need to take care with proper storage and handling after.
Never
touch a firearm without wiping it down. Sweat
and oils in your hands and fingers can destroy finishes in certain
situations. Always wipe down and coat
them with RIG.
To
sum up:
- See if your rust is covered under warranty
- Remove rust with Hoppe’s 9 Bore Cleaner if light enough
- Coat with RIG Universal Gun Grease once rust is removed
- Store in cool, dry place
- Wipe down and recoat after handling firearm for best results
- Reapply RIG after cleaning from the a range visit
These
steps should keep you rust free. It has worked
wonders with my Mosin. It’s been rust
free for a while now. I use this method
with all of my firearms, even the ones that have remained rust free from the
start (like my SKS), but the method works, and I hope it works for you!
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