OM Blackhawk Cleaning

[dddddmorgan]

So I happened into my first OM Blackhawk 3 screw, serial number puts it at 1971. I'm a happy camper!

It's a 6 1/2" bbl in 357.

When I first handled the revolver it felt terrible, the trigger was horrible and it basically felt like the gun was full of mud.

I decided this was the time and reason for me to be bold and take the old girl apart; I'm sure glad I did since the thing was basically full of mud. Completely grimy with old grease and grit it was a wonder the poor old thing worked.

To the point: I polished the tarnish off both sides of the hammer and cleaned everything thoroughly and got the rust and gunk out of where the gate pivots.

My question is, since I found a little rust in the gate pivot do you think I need to go back again after a while to check? I got it thoroughly excoriated with Ed's Red and a soft brush.

 

[contender]

Congrats on getting your first OM!

And yes,, they often are found to be gunked up by previous owners who fail to understand they need to be cleaned occasionally.

It'll never hurt to do a double check after a bit to assure you got it completely cleaned of any rust.

 

[Enigma]

Lube that area from time to time, and you should be golden.

 

[dddddmorgan]

What about Evan-Rust?

I use it all the time but not on anything blued like a revolver. Will it eat the finish?

This is a shooter grade so a bit of less than perfect is no problem, I just don't want to have to mess with the cold blue stuff.

Thanks for the input.

 

[peachhead]

Congrats on the OM.
If that's the only rust you found consider yourself lucky!
Just keep it clean and you should be fine. A little ballistol (or whatever you're preference is) goes a long way.

 

[dddddmorgan]

I do believe in a proper application of Ballistol on almost everything.

 

[contender]

I've never used "Evan-Rust" on anything. But I have used "Evaporust" on blued gun parts w/o any blueing loss.

But using Ballistol should pretty much keep things just fine.

 

[dddddmorgan]

"Evan-Rust" stoopid auto korect!

Yes, I meant Evapo Rust.

 

[Enigma]

"Evan-Rust" stoopid auto korect!

Yes, I meant Evapo Rust.

If you soak your blued parts in Evapo-rust for any length of time, the bluing WILL come off. AMHIK.

 

[rugerguy]

...ONE drop of Kroil, where needed............

 

[dddddmorgan]

I have Kroil, I like it and use it often.

The gun actually came from a family member. My son in law gathered it up along with all the ammunition he could find from his parent's house when he was home visiting. His father is bi-polar and not good about medication or any other treatment so it was time to go.

I assumed the boy wanted to clean it up and load some ammo to shoot but it turns out years ago the father turned the gun against him and by the grace of God missed so the Blackhawk holds nothing in the way of good memories so that's how I came by it.

Judging by the freckling in the blue and the gunk I think the gun lived at the bottom of a closet in a holster.

Well she is safe and happy now and the son in law is happy with what I gave him. He was going to give me the gun but I "traded" him, all is well.

I think I'll check everything in a couple of months, a thorough disassembly to make sure none of the nasty red stuff returned.

 

[contender]

Ah,, so it was Evapo-rust!

I have never left any parts in it more than overnight,, so if Enigma says it can happen, I'd defer to his experience.

 

[dddddmorgan]

Yeah, I was just thinking of dabbing it on with a Q-tip and letting it sit for a few minutes. I have lots of experience with the stuff and I've seen it take the shine off different things and even "stain" some stuff after an overnight soak.

 

[arfmel]

You could take the grips off, the cylinder out, and drop the entire gun (less the grips) in an ultrasonic tank filled with a mixture of automatic transmission fluid and mineral spirits. Run it for 10 minutes and see what comes out of the innards of the Blackhawk. I bet there's all kinds of gradoo in there.

For the rust freckling some 4 ought (0000) steel wool used gently with oil will remove light freckling without hurting the blue. It will remove anodizing from the grip frame and ejector rod though so be careful with that.

 

[dddddmorgan]

I have an ultrasonic cleaner that I think I'll use next time I disassemble the gun.

I've heard about rubbing out the freckles, I have some bronze wool since that's what I first heard about, I'll use that and the beloved Kroil.

Maybe I should take some before and after pictures...

 

[Johnnu2]

I remember the old days when we would take everything wood off the gun (no plastic then) and soak the whole gun in kerosene for a few days; then blow it out with an air compressor..... worked very well back then when life was a whole lot simpler (and so were we).

J.

 

[arfmel]

If you can get bronze wool, so much the better. Nobody around here carries it.

 

[rugerguy]

good points above and the old kerosene, as well as 'Kroil' , with the brass or bronze wool, works for us, for longer than I can remember, and at the three shops we had , all had a tub of mineral spirits, to put the guns in , sans any wood grips...........
...and yes the Ace and True Value stores around here usually carry bronze ( brass) wool.

 

[Enigma]

Bronze wool is usually available at marine supply stores, or Brownells also carries it - or used to, anyway.

 

[Uncle Howie]

If you can get bronze wool, so much the better. Nobody around here carries it.

Bronze wool is usually available at marine supply stores, or Brownells also carries it - or used to, anyway.

My local True Value Hardware carries bronze wool in the paint section.

I was pleasantly surprised to find it!