A friend of mine, of advanced years and failing health, asked me to see what I could do about the rust forming on his Ruger Security Six. It's what he carried for years as a NJ LEO.

The spot shown is the worst, but there are minor spots in other areas as well. It's been stored in a gun rug in a semi-heated garage.

Any pointers to clean up and preserve the finish would be greatly appreciated.

Some 0000 steel wool, with some oil/clp/etc., will remove the rust without harming the finish. Then wipe down with oil afterward. There might be some pitting but keeping it oiled will prevent further rusting.

Try some Flitz and steel wool (0000 good to start with) or a fine fiber pad.
Good Luck.

I have cleaned lots of things with white vinegar
Mostly from an unheated barn.
Lathe tools, clappers, dead centers,one church key left out on patio table.
mix bag of different metals.
Some stainless has carbon in for strength and it will rust a bit.

I am NOT an expert, but I have used Evapo-Rust to remove rust from a Gewehr 98 firing pin. It works through a chelation process that does not affect non oxidized iron. I have no idea what it would do to whatever finish is on your friend's gun. I suspect it would not be friendly to a blued finish.

PLEASE don't use steal wool. It will leave steal residue in other places and rust onto the S/S. If you do use that, use 0000 BRONZE wool, available in hardware stores and marine stores and it's cheap and it's softer than S/S and won't put micro scratches in it.

I would either let it soak with clp or something similar and try rubbing it with a patch first and your finger nail.

The other option is cleaning it with NEVRDULL wadding which won't harm the finish and will clean and bring the shine back on it and then wipe it off with a microfiber. I'd go the nevrdull route also available at a hardware store for around $7

This message has been edited. Last edited by: jimmy123x,

Inquire with RUGER. Possibly bead blast?

I've successfully used Corrosion-X to remove rust spots before. Coat the rust spots with it and let it sit for at least 24 hours - then use some bronze wool (softer than the stainless steel) and it should come right off. I've heard others have success doing the same thing with Kroil. Good Luck,

Jerry

Evaporust. Avoid steel wool, you will change the finish. Once you've removed the rust, treat it with Eezox.

Good advice here.

For this type of firearm, you might consider something like Jasco Prep and Primer [or similar product], to neutralize the rust and prevent it from returning.

It shouldn't change the stainless finish- other than maybe making it a little grayer. It will eat bluing off, and peel the epoxy finish on Browning Hi Powers.

I have used it to remove the rust, and then had the firearm frame cerakoted so there were no visible signs of the problem.

I also filed/sanded the pitted areas, and then treated them again, to remove the pits as much as I could.

Good advice in here- consult it, but think carefully before doing anything.

Many of the options posted so far are good, but if this was my gun, I would go bead blast.

I did the white vinegar thing as a test and it removed the staining and surface rust.

The deeper pits are now black. I'm going to work on it a bit more with CLP and bronze wool and then finish up buffing the whole thing with Flitz.

He didn't ask me to restore it, just stop the rust.

Good advice here’s. I say it all depends just how deep the rust/oxidation is. I’ve used everything from steel wool with penetrating oil, to scotch Brite pads, to bead blasting. At least it is “ stainless” so a re-surface is all it needs and not a coating or metal treatment afterwards..... there are “knife erasers” that work well also.

quote:

Originally posted by PHPaul:
I did the white vinegar thing as a test and it removed the staining and surface rust.

The deeper pits are now black. I'm going to work on it a bit more with CLP and bronze wool and then finish up buffing the whole thing with Flitz.

He didn't ask me to restore it, just stop the rust.

''

Nevrdull does both (remove and stop the rust), I'd use that long before you use something abrasive. It works great and is easy to use. Bronze wool and flitz are both abrasive. Nevrdull will bring the rust out, make it beautiful, and protect it. Nevrdull is produced for the sole purpose of cleaning and protecting a variety of metals and sells for $5 a can and will take those spots off in the picture in less than 2 minutes.


Vinegar is an acid and will always blacken stainless.

Just use some mother’s chrome&mag polish on a buffer wheel or just with a terry cloth if you can’t get a buffer wheel on a drill or bench grinder. That stuff will clean off the rust easily and give you a nice shine on the pistol

That wipe-down/polishing cloth with impregnated mild abrasive - whatever they call it - would take off that surface rust. But the sides of the topstrap have some spots that look pitted, especially at the upper right hand corner of the frame "window." You can't replace missing metal.