Copper wool on bluefor rust spots........

Just a quick rant......copper wool, which is supposed to be the gentlest and softest material on blue, still puts scratches on blue!

I used oil and copper wool on a blue GP100 to get some rust spots off......and it still put fine scratches on the blue that was still there

Luckily the gun came to me with plenty of dings, scratches and scrapes, so I wasn't all broken up about it. Also, if there's rust damage on blue, I don't feel fine scratches are any worse. I still like to avoid adding to the eyesore.

But if copper wool still scratches blue, what won't?

Let the oil (I like ATF) soak for 24hrs sometimes ya can rub it off with ya finger , If pitted the least little bit I rub very litely with the finest brass wool (0000) very localized .

I`ve often thought of coating it with a good grease & trying it but never have ???

Just try different lubes & soak times , I start with an old tee shirt before going to the wool !

Are you sure it was copper wool? A lot of stores sell copper coated steel.

I use regular 0000 steel with no issues.

It was the copper Chore Boy, it is pretty course but I figured since it was copper it wouldn't be as hard on the blue.

Luckily I tried this on a gun that is far from new looking, and was already loaded with scratches. I buffed on the scratches with a dry cloth and it looks like some of them came out, maybe some of them are not scratches in the blue, but just copper "scratches" laying on top of the blue.

Even some of the Chore Boy "copper" pads are steel with a copper wash over them.
As noted, start by a good soak of oil, then a coarse towel to buff things, before a resoak and very fine steel wool. It is what I've done in the past.

Those oxides of iron just don't bond real strong to the underlying steel. Keep in mind, bluing rubs off just from in and out of holsters. Chore-girls are too coarse.

Pencil erasers can remove quite a bit of the red stuff and are pretty easy on finishes.

Think how hard the copper pipes are in your house! Think how "shiney" those copper brushes make the bore in your firearm! Copper is "not" what you want to use on bluing. Oil and 0000 steel wool used "lightly" are the best to clean up bluing without scratches. As noted above, use an oil impregnated shop cloth "before" the steel wool!..................Dick :wink:

Thanks for all the replies, the info has been helpful

Luckily I learned this lesson on some "beaters" and not an otherwise nice gun that just had some surface rust. It's a "catch 22" it seems , removing rust from blue.....if the rust is bad enough that it needs an abrasive to remove it, the bluing is usually damaged beyond repair in that spot anyway and so the best we can do is minimize any more scratching. I used the copper wool to get the rust off, was left with freckling where the rust had damaged the blue, and a little light scratching surrounding the damaged areas.

In the future I'll just soak the rust spots with Kroil and then wipe it off with a rag.

I love the look of a blued Ruger like a GP or Six, but these are the reasons I like stainless for guns I actually use The only advantage of rusty and worn blued guns is that I can get them for a lot less than the SS ones :wink:

yessir, one can rub off the blue on ANY gun with a piece of clothe, you rub hard enough and long enough......we too use mostly 0000 steel wool and have brass & bronze wool also "fine" , and they too work most all the time.....gotta remember NOT to use the same piece of "wool" after you wipe off an old lawn mower blade or some other such "shop project", see guys scratch the "$hit" out of the guns with a "used" cloth, wool, towel, whatever.......used to see shop towels come back from the cleaners that still had metal chips in them, so be careful...........

Not certain where the idea came from - of course copper shavings, scrubbers or whatever will scratch metal. You can scratch it with your fingernail too. Bluing is not on top of the metal, it IS the metal. If there is iron oxide red rust, the only thing to do is to wipe it down with oil to prevent more rusting. The iron oxide rust eats tiny pits into the metal. If they are small, a little cold blue might be all you need. A little metal prep and a full re-bluing will look good. If the pits are bigger they will show even after a re-bluing unless you carefully fill and level them.

Personally, my favorite finish is bluing, but my Rugers are all stainless because I know I will be filing and stoning all the razor edges and burrs.
Keep those blued finishes wiped down with CLP.

Carry_up

Lube good with Mobil One. Let it set for 24 hours. Use 0000 steel wool and it works wonders on most metals.

deserttrans said:

Lube good with Mobil One. Let it set for 24 hours. Use 0000 steel wool and it works wonders on most metals.

Click to expand...

My mind went into left field as soon as I saw Mobil One.

Lube with Mobil One, shoot for 100,000 rounds and change oil.

I have had good luck with a stainless steel wool which actually is coarse.

That is, it is composed of flat strands of S/S, so it appears like a ball of wadded-up narrow ribbon.

According to the local gun store which sells the stuff, the flats of the steel wool mostly slide over the metal surface, and therefore essentially "scrape" the surface rust off the bluing.

I have used it with no scratching on the bluing. I did soak the rust with Kroil first, however.

Monty

I tried one of those "Big Frontier" stainless steel rust removers, the flat ribbon type, but it also scratched the blue on some of my guns.

I think my solution will be to stop buying rusty guns