Rust Monster - a 12HD monster

[LedJedi]

ya, i have a stainless finish inside and out with a poly body. That's definitely the way to go. I just didn't realize my pistol was even in a position to get wet. Will definitely clean it up when I get to the house.

[Excaliber]

I just didn't realize my pistol was even in a position to get wet.

It might not have gotten wet in the sense it got splashed. The rust may have developed from very high humidity inside the box from moisture on lures, sinkers, etc. that were put in there while still wet. It wouldn't take much in a closed box that would keep the moisture from dissipating.

[NcongruNt]

i was breaking down my gun today to leave the frame in the truck and take the slide and ammo in with me when I noticed a LOT of rust on the front muzzle and even going down about an inch into the barrel.

The only thing I can think of is the last time I went fishing I must have somehow got some salt water on the front of the muzzle even though the gun was in my tackle box the whole time.

If you spend a lot of time around salt water or sweat profusely with IWB carry, the best solution is a stainless gun which requires less care, but still takes some maintenance to keep it rust free in these conditions. I carry only stainless or other highly durable finish (e.g. Glock tenifer guns because my sweat is chemically active enough that I can rust a blued gun with IWB carry in 2 or 3 days - even in less time wherever there's a bit of holster wear.

If you stay with regular steel, it's really important to do a field strip and oil wipe inside and out (including the barrel) whenever the gun is exposed to wet or salt air conditions. It's a real good idea with stainless as well.

The well oiled parkerized and baked on finishes recommended by the folks here are excellent recommendations and will certainly protect much better than a blued finish, but they won't solve your inside the barrel problem. Another option would be to go with one of those finishes and install a stainless barrel. You'll still have to keep it lightly oiled, but it'll be a lot more forgiving if you slip up a little once in a while.

Another thing I might suggest is treating the gun with Microlon Gun Juice. It is a permanent dry lube solution that fills the pores of the metal and coats it with a microfilm that does not come off. I have treated 3 of my guns (one rifle and 2 pistols) and have been very happy with the results. Feeding and ease of cycling is improved (especially on the bolt-action Mosin-Nagant), and cleaning time has been cut to about 1/4 of what it was previously. Since the pores can not pick up dirt, there is nowhere for it to get stuck, and cleaning is reduced to a blast of gun scrubber and a wipe down with CLP. Barrel cleaning is reduced to a couple of passes of a brush and a few patches to get everything slick and shiny. This also has the effect of inhibiting rust, as there is a permanent smooth and lubricated surface and nowhere for rust to start. It's inexpensive, and one treatment does it for life.

You can check out the list of dealers on their website at http://microlon.com

And no, I'm not affiliated with the company in any way. I just like the stuff.

[LedJedi]

Knocked the rust off easily with some CLP.

Thanks for the advice on the Gun Juice. I ordered a 4oz bottle and will give it a shot on mine and on my buddy's 1911. That sounds like exactly what he's looking for.

So you use the gun juice on the inside parts as well? what about in the barrel?

It doesn't effect color right?

[Zero_G]

Didn't make it into the 4e MM.

Keith

[NcongruNt]

Knocked the rust off easily with some CLP.

Thanks for the advice on the Gun Juice. I ordered a 4oz bottle and will give it a shot on mine and on my buddy's 1911. That sounds like exactly what he's looking for.

So you use the gun juice on the inside parts as well? what about in the barrel?

It doesn't effect color right?

Yes, I use it on everything metal. The barrel, chamber, and lugging is the primary reason for treating, so most definitely the barrel. From reports I've read around the web, people have experienced a small increase in muzzle velocity, and barrel life is greatly extended. It worked wonders for the bolt on my Mosin-Nagant, as the action was markedly smoother. They also have a grease that is good for applying to the slide rails and other componentry such as bolts, trigger assemblies, etc. The way the gun juice works is that the heat and pressure of firing sets the stuff on the barrel and nearby parts. I discussed various questions about the stuff with a rep from Microlon, and basically the gun can be cold-treated as well, though it takes a considerable amount of time to treat that way, as you have to let it set an hour or so and re-apply the ten or so coats that is recommended. Some people use a hair dryer or heat gun to accelerate the process to a few minutes or seconds, respectively. The grease simply keeps the coating element in contact with the non-barrel parts so that the long wait of cold-treating and re-application effort is mitigated to a single treatment. Aluminum and stainless take more coats, as they're more porous, and they recommend 20 treatments for these materials.

As far as color is concerned, I'm not aware of any affect on the color of a finish. It is a microfilm, and is transparent. I've not seen any change in color with my guns, which include matte blued steel, hi-gloss blued steel, parkerized steel, and unfinished aluminum. My Hi-Power is parkerized, and during the application on the slide, the finish looked a little off, but after I finished and oiled the gun as normal, that disappeared. I noticed this same effect with the slide on my PA-63, which is polished blued steel, but to a lesser effect than the Hi-Power. It is probably just the application media that does it, as the Gun Juice works as a suspension liquid that frees up grime and dirt from the pores of the metal so that the microfilm binds uniformly. The PA-63 probably displayed it to a lesser amount because it had a smoother finish with less gunk in the metal itself to remove.

You can read my correspondence with the Microlon rep in this thread:

http://www.texasshooting.com/TexasCHL_F ... =23&t=7907

[Kalrog]

Didn't make it into the 4e MM.

WHAT?!?!?!?!?

Wizards of the Coast (Matel) must be smoking something to get rid of the Rust Monster.

[T3hK1w1]

Maybe not, but I have proof that they are still around
This one was nibbling on the M39 that followed us home last weekend

[Vic303]

Go to www.polygunbag.com and order a 3-pack of their pistol sized bags.

[Excaliber]

Go to http://www.polygunbag.com and order a 3-pack of their pistol sized bags.

Neat product - thanks!

I had used a similar product some years ago with great success, but hadn't been able to find it since.

Brownell's also sells tabs of a rust inhibitor releasing material for use in enclosed spaces like toolboxes that are seldom opened. They have worked very well for me. They can be found at:

http://www.brownells.com/aspx/NS/store/ ... POR%20TABS

[NcongruNt]

LedJedi: How has it gone with the Microlon treatment? I treated my carry mags and LCP because of the rust they were accumulating, and have had no issues since. I'm interested to see how it went with you and your friend.

[LedJedi]

man, i have to be honest. I've had that can of gun juice sitting on my desk at home for weeks. I even stalled while i ordered a heat gun to make sure I applied it correctly. Now the heat gun is sitting there next to the can of gun juice.

The next slow saturday/sunday i get i'm going to do the application, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.

If it's any consolation... the box the gun juice came in is pretty :)

LedJedi: How has it gone with the Microlon treatment? I treated my carry mags and LCP because of the rust they were accumulating, and have had no issues since. I'm interested to see how it went with you and your friend.

[Purplehood]

Rust Monster - A 12HD monster

It has been so long since I played a game of D&D that I didn't even notice the reference until someone called it above. Thanks for the laugh.

[LedJedi]

just wanted to give an update on this.

I broke down this weekend and did the treatment to 4 pistols. I put 2-3 coats on all parts of each pistol and then did one 12 gauge shotty and used about 1/4 of the $40 can I ordered so net cost is about 2.00 per gun.

Application was actually really easy. I was expecting it to be a pain which is why i put it off so long. The instructions suggested coating the weapon and then firing it and re-coating, etc. Heat bonds the substance to the metal. I wanted to do multiple coats on multiple guns and the fastest way i could think to do that was using a heat gun (which i bought for the purpose) on max heat.

I cleaned the guns well (they're pretty clean most of the time anyway, but did a quick rub down to get daily grime off) and then slowly worked the heat gun over the surface. After the first pass the parts were too hot to hold with bare hands. When i wiped on additional coats immediately after the fluid would immediately evaporate but i went over it again with a quick pass of the heat gun just to be safe.

There WAS a very slight but noticeable change in finish color on all guns. The stainless steel guns got ever so slightly darker. The blue'd shotgun was a bit of a puzzle. It actually seemed to make the little rust spots more visible after using the treatment, but after letting it cool and going over with a bit of oil it's no longer noticeable. Two other pistols that belonged to a buddy of mine were finished in something i didn't recognize or maybe not finished at all. Both were VERY prone to rusting (the same gun i mentioned starting this thread). The original finish on that pistol was very dark. The treatment actually lightened it a bit but actually looks better now that it's coated.

There is a very noticeable "slickness" to the surface of the metal now and the slides actually work smother. If i didn't know better i would say the claims of the product to "seal up" the metal this making it impervious were actually true. I'll reserve judgment on that though for a few weeks. We want to sit back and what what happens to the the guns over the next few weeks, especially my buddy's pistol that will turn orange from rust within a week.

Overall application was a breeze. I would say though that for small parts or doing anything other than a barrel or slide I would suggest using some sort of "spray" delivery method for better/easier coating of uneven or small areas. Maybe one of the little airbrush kits used for model painting with an extra fine tip would work well. You would use more of the product per coat due to the waste of an airbrush but it would be much easier to coat complicated parts like the frame to my buddy's 1911 which was kind of a pain in the buttox.

Will report in a few weeks on the effectiveness of rust prevention. Will probably end up doing a YT video too.