My Father just gave me a 12 ga. LeFever Nitro Special SxS manufactured in 1923 that was owned by his father. I remember going dove hunting with my Dad about 50 years ago when I was 12 and we shared it that day. May not have been used much since, and wasn't used a lot prior to that either.

It's a little rusty outside and in the bore, but it locks up tight and if there's pitting, it's likely minor. Not really valuable, but because it has sentimental value I'd like to clean it up. Not really interested in a restoration, just want to get it back in service. I've always kept my firearms in good shape, so never had to deal with this. Suggestions as to best methods? Looks like some of the YouTube videos could get me in trouble.

Oil and OOOO steel wool. Try it somewhere as inconspicuous as possible and use a really light touch.

Unless someone else recommends against it for reasons I'm ignorant of, I think Kroil is probably the best place to start. Won't hurt the finish, and it dissolves rust. I've used it on a number of vintage firearms with no ill effect.

Please DO NOT use steel wool. Spend some time on Youtube wathcing Mark Novak's video's. Do that and you will understand how to properly convert any red rust to Black Oxide and it is a very simple process. Note the name for the process is Rust Bluing and it is a period correct method of "bluing" firearms like shotguns. Basically you take the parts that are rusty and BOIL THEM IN WATER. it may require 3 or 4 cycles of boiling and brushing of the black dust that results but the end result is that any of your current bluing will be preserved and with the application of a water displacing oil to the finished product you'll have some very good rust protection. Note, Black Oxide or Rust Blue is a hard lattice sort of like a sponge so when you apply some water displacing oil to it you saturate that lattice with oil. BTW WD-40 started live as Water Displacing Oil Formula 40.

Absolutely zero help, just an anecdotal aside...
I have a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 ga. My father traded a Jersey Milk cow to a neighbor for it, decades ago.
Dad and the neighbor are both gone, but the SxS is still a “sweet 16”

I was gonna say what Scooter did. Boil the entire gun(metal) for 45 mins at a time until all of the red rust is black.

Or you could try evaporust, is is a chemical solution that does the same thing.

I had heard of the steel wool and oil approach, but was suspicious of the approach.

I had considered Evapo-rust, but parts have to be submerged and preferred to hear some success stories. Sealing the end of a pvc tube might work as a good container. ETA: apparently Evapo-rust will attack the bluing.

Boiling the parts is something I’ve never heard of. Curious how that might work with the barrels.

I’ve also read about Ezeox, but have no experience with it.

quote:

Originally posted by hudr:
Absolutely zero help, just an anecdotal aside...
I have a Lefever Nitro Special in 16 ga. My father traded a Jersey Milk cow to a neighbor for it, decades ago.
Dad and the neighbor are both gone, but the SxS is still a “sweet 16”

What a great story. Thanks

quote:

Boiling the parts is something I’ve never heard of. Curious how that might work with the barrels.

Boiling the parts will not harm blueing, only converts the red rust, when you are done boiling it several times, just flush the water out with wd40 and you are gtg.

I boiled several tools to see how it turned out when I first saw mark Novak on Primer videos about “conservation 101” and it does work. I’ve done one revolver completely and it worked to remove the rust. Didn’t know evapo-rust ruined bluing

You can add me to the LeFever Nitro Special owners list too. I’ve got my Dad’s 12 gauge. Nice heirloom. Good luck cleaning yours up.

get a good crusty stiff type rag, or even a peice of burlap,

not knowing how long or how much, or what you consider rusty (fingerprints and minor flash or rusted like a piece of steel found in the ground from 100 yrs ago?) it's hard to say what to do,


I have read and seen pics of what folks have done by boiling parts,

and I have used 0000 bronze and 0000 steel wool to clean up rusty spots on blued guns,


the 0000 works, just keep it wet with oil,
it will remove the rust, but you will still see where the rust was

quote:

Originally posted by MikeinNC:
I was gonna say what Scooter did. Boil the entire gun(metal) for 45 mins at a time until all of the red rust is black.

Or you could try evaporust, is is a chemical solution that does the same thing.

Evaporust will strip the bluing.

quote:

Originally posted by JoshNC:

Evaporust will strip the bluing.

Yeah someone else said that but then deleted the post...in my second post I mentioned I didn’t know it stripped off blueing....

Wasn’t anything wrong with the post...odd that it disappeared..

quote:

Originally posted by YellowJacket:
Oil and OOOO steel wool. Try it somewhere as inconspicuous as possible and use a really light touch.

For the love of god, NEVER USE STEEL WOOL ON A FIREARM. If you need to use something like that, use 0000 BRONZE WOOL which is softer than steel and doesn't leave rust spots from dust.

Jimmy, I’ve used 0000 steel wool and gun oil for removing rust from secondhand blued guns for years with no ill effects. If you use it right it won’t hurt a thing.

I’ve read that regular steel wool shouldn’t be used on stainless steel because it contaminates the stainless and can cause it to rust, but never tried it myself.

Steel wool will clean it, but it will also remove finish. You definitely want to convert the red oxide to black oxide which is what is on that gun from the factory. To understand this, you need to understand the chemistry involved. You want to move an electron, passivating the iron oxide. Boiling and then using a carting wheel is the best way to do this.

Like I said, steel wool and oil will give you a passable result, It's what pawn shops and auction houses do to make em look purdy for the sale, but it will no way be professional and will be discernable to the trained eye.