Steel wool rant (short)
 

Many people advise using steel wool to remove rust from blued steel. Forgive me in advanceif I shout--do not use steel wool on a Luger's surface under any circumstances! Never, ever!! :jumper:

I recently picked up a very low 3-digit serial number Old Model commercial. It had areas of bad rust pitting, which I knew about when I bought it. Whoever had removed the rust, had scrubbed it with steel wool which spoiled and degraded the surrounding areas of otherwise perfectly good blue.

Steel wool is metal (steel, after all!), abrasive, and will affect the finish.

If I recall, the dearly missed Tom Armstrong suggested soaking rusted parts in a good penatrating oil until the rust is saturated, then scrub away the rust with new burlap.

End of rant.

--Dwight

Dwight,

Rant away. If you can save one collectible gun from damage or destruction, its worth it.

John

Depends on what grade of steel wool they used and oil.

yes, i agree, 0000 steel wool won't hurt, I have used it a number of times, now 00 steel wool or probably 000 would mar the finish.

Even better is to use brass wool, it is even softer.

So, going to send the luger back?

I would ask for some money back if not disclosed by the seller.....


Ed

Whoever had removed the rust, had scrubbed it with steel wool which spoiled and degraded the surrounding areas of otherwise perfectly good blue.

Yes..exactly what steel wool will do without oil. If used with oil 0000 steel wool is perfectly safe for light surface cleaning. I have even used a courser steel wool & OIL on pretty heavily encrusted areas with no damage to bluing.

I have never liked the brass wool as it tends to impregnate the surface with brass leaving a gold sheen on the pistol.

If I recall, the dearly missed Tom Armstrong suggested soaking rusted parts in a good penatrating oil until the rust is saturated, then scrub away the rust with new burlap.

I once had a Luger so rusted I had to hammer it apart with a ball peen and wooden dowell. I soaked it in Kroil for 2 weeks and it didn't touch the rust. I chose to chuck up a wire wheel in my bubba lathe/drill and whisked away the rust in no time and the Luger is now completely in brite white steel.

May I sneak in here and suggest Charles Danner, the Luger will look better than the day it left the armory !! If it is unacceptable to make a gun better, then by all means, live with a rusty POS.

Harry

Not going to send it back, would never even consider "restoring" it, and it is not a "rusty POS". I bought it in full knowledge of its condition, and paid an appropriate price. Examination prompted the observation, and I stand by it.

--Dwight

Dwight, Harry is a pretty gun lover (no offense Harry) so that does not surprise me.

I did not think you would send it back, but you know i had to ask :)

I am happy for you, a low digit gun (even if commercial {{hah, hah, so are all my american eagles}}

Ed

Cleaning with oil afterwards will remove the 'gold sheen'. I use a copper brush to remove light rust; it leaves the same 'gold sheen', which then wipes right off with a light oil impregnated rag.

I use 00 or 0000 steel wool as a final step (sometimes even a fine wire brush) when I rust blue. As long as you don't rub the heck out of it, it won't hurt the finish at all. I have also used 0000 to clean up surface rust on old guns without harming the finish. I believe that the trick is to use fresh steel wool, turn it, change it, whatever it takes to avoid rubbing the loose crud around. The same thing applies if you use rags, burlap or whatever: If the rag gets built up with loose rust particles and you keep rubbing it around, it will act as an abrasive and you might damage the finish.

When I clean the rust off of an old gun, I soak it in Kroil and scrape off any rust scale with a broken piece of plexiglass (nice and sharp, but won't leave scratches). I prefer to polish it after it's clean and dry, as it keeps the gunk from accumulating in the steel wool. The brass wool might be a bit more gentle, but steel wool works fine for me and is way easier to find.

Here's a gun I cleaned up a while back, it had a light surface rust all over but I couldn't see any damage to the finish after polishing gently with 0000 steel wool (the edge wear was already there):

In contrast to the Astra, here's an example of steel wool polish going wrong. It had obviously had more rust than the Astra, but I could tell by the remaining spots that it hadn't been more much more than surface rust. I guess the previous owner "fixed it up" for resale, it was sure clean and shiny... :rolleyes:

usually a good penetrating oil does wonders on light rust.PBR blaster is good stuff! I like to use wet sand 600 grit if needed or desired. but then it needs to be touched up. but for bad pits, I would just soak the rust and not steel wool or sand it

Aero Kroil is an even better product.

I have carefully and sensibly used steel wool on many many firearms for over 50 years.

It can be abusive if you don't pay attention.
It is useful if you are careful.

For mild rust spots (not deep pits), I've used suade leather and taken it off. Yes, it does take a lot of rubbing but, this is my prefered method. I've done it twice and works for me.