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surface rust

9K views 23 replies 17 participants last post by  scsu74 
#1 ·
Have a bit of surface rust on my 226. Any options available?

I'll post a few pics a bit later
 
#3 ·
0000 Steel wool and gun oil, will rid it of the orange scourge, then get a Rig Rag.
 
#7 ·
Soak/saturate in oil or CLP and then use a rag. That may do it.

Only if it doesn't should you think about using steel wool.
 
#8 ·
Since rust tends to make tiny pits and pores, using a fne abrasive like 0000 steel wool, cleans the surface but can leave rust in those pits.

I would first use a dilute phosphoric acid like Jasco Metal-Prep or Metal Etch (Home Depot or Lowes - look for the green fluid). This converts the ferrous oxide to ferrous phosphate. Try it on a small inconspicuous spot first. Clean surface with hot soapy water, apply etch, let sit 30 seconds (or whatever time is called for), and rinse of with hot water. Dry and apply oil etc.

This can remove the rust without any abrasion to the surface and more importantly, help prevent it from coming back due to the rust in those pores.
 
#13 · (Edited)
A coating, like Nitron, or any number of conversion or plating processes can help protect a surface from rust (oxidation). Earlier SIG P226's had the folded carbon steel slide which rusts easily if the protective coating wears or for whatever reason doesn't completely seal the surface. A humid, moist environment, and salt (sweat) which is conductive and supports electrolysis will promote oxidation more vigorously.

Later SIGs have milled stainless steel slides, and stainless steel resists rust due to the addition of chromium (and other alloys), oxygen combines with the chromium to make chromium oxide and this thin film of oxide protects the undderlying steel from further oxidation (rust). Stainless steel can still rust, just not nearly as likely as most other steel alloys.

SIG's "Nitron" coating goes on the SS slide to further protect it.

There are numerous stainless alloys, some more corrosion resistant that others, and having different other properties as well (hardness, tensile strength, machinability and more), not sure what alloys SIG uses. And when frames are made of stainless as well, it will typically be a different alloy and hardness than the slide so as to help resist galling. Oh, forgot, some stainless alloys are magnetic, some not, so while a magnet can be off assistance in sorting some stainless, or determining if a frame is nickel or stainless (as pretty much all the stainless SIG uses is magnetic to the best of my knowledge) it is not always a sure test for determining if a steel is stainless.

Hopefully this will help confuse everyone :confused::rolleyes:
 
#12 ·
Rust Remover

I tried this stuff on some old reloading dies a couple of weeks ago;

Evapo-Rust Rust Remover - Evapo-Rust Super Safe Rust Remover
Evapo-Rust Evapo-Rust Info - Evapo-Rust

I picked up the smallest container @ Wallyworld, was about $15.00 +/-

Worked well, seemed benign, no chemical smell whatsoever. They say it is non-toxic and biodegradable.
I suspect it could have simply been water, TSP (Tri-Sodium Phosphate) and maybe a dash of Dawn detergent. But, there was no smell to it at all.

I have also used the Jasco cleaner, but it is either muriatic or battery acid. I'd be concerned about the remaining finish, unless I was going to completely strip it and cerakote it, something along those lines.
 
#18 ·
I have also used the Jasco cleaner, but it is either muriatic or battery acid. I'd be concerned about the remaining finish, unless I was going to completely strip it and cerakote it, something along those lines.

No it's not.

It is dilute phosphoric acid, along with surfactants and detergents. Phosphoric acid is what is used to do the conversion coating on phosphated parts.

Battery acid is dilute sulfuric acid, besides being used in lead acid batteries, it's probably the most common electrolyte used for anodizing aluminum - it attacks steel.

Muriatic acid (same as hydrochloric acid) is used (diluted) in some household cleaning products for lime and scale etc, adjusting ph in pools and much more. It will corrode steel, but attacks rust much faster so it is useful in removing rust in many applications - I would not use in on guns either . . . but that was not what I was recommending.

None of the normal surface abrasion methods of removing rust, whether 0000 or finer steel wool or a pencil eraser, will not remove rust in pores or pits - that's why I would first use dilute phosphoric acid (Jasco Metal Prep is simply a convenient source). Again, apply to an inconspicuous spot with a Q-tip first.
 
#20 ·
I have found brass and ss scrub pads in the grocery store, for pots and pans with no soap I think the name is chore boy
 
#24 ·
On my SSE I used a copper brush and it removed it fine, since then I have made a point of coating the exterior with EWL-30. No problems since.
 
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