Quick Tip: Easy Way to Remove Surface Rust from Your Firearm (Video)

Hey folks,

Just wanted to share a quick video I put together over on my YouTube channel The Hobby Gunsmith — it shows an easy and safe way to remove surface rust from a firearm using nothing more than 0000 steel wool and a bit of gun oil.

A lot of us have run into rust issues, especially on older guns or those that haven’t been out of the safe in a while. This method has worked really well for me over the years — no harsh chemicals, no special tools, just a simple, no-nonsense solution.



If you get a chance to watch, I’d really appreciate your thoughts — and if you have your own go-to method for rust removal or firearm maintenance, I’d love to hear it.

Thanks for taking the time, and shoot safe!
– The Hobby Gunsmith

(I haven't watched your video yet.)
I was shown something decades ago by a guy that became relatively well known way before the internet. He worked at the gun shop I worked started out at.
If you have a gun made before the mid 60s, it was probably rust blued rather than the current method of hot bluing with tanks. (What I am going to describe does also work on newer ones, although the results on rust blued guns are more pronounced.)
This is hopefully before any visual rust is apparent. Clean the exterior of the gun with what ever you usually use. When done with whatever cleaning process you use, wipe the entire gun down with a clean white cloth (old t-shirt, etc.) If you did your cleaning properly, you should end up with a pretty clean cloth. Wipe it down until it is clean, with no signs of oils or solvent.

Now..........take another old t-shirt, apply a bit of auto-transmission fluid on the rag. Enough to turn the rag a light pink. Not dripping wet, but enough such that your fingers are wet when you touch the rag.
Here's the important part--start rubbing down the gun, and I mean RUBBING! Almost like you are trying to rub the existing bluing off. Press down hard with the rag and get with the program. Rub down the entire gun. Then, look at the rag where it was contacting the metal. It will more than likely be a shade of brown, maybe a hint of orange. That's rust that you've just removed from the surface that was still down into the micro-pores of the bluing. The first time I was shown this I couldn't believe my eyes. Personally I suspect that is the remnants of the rust bluing process that didn't quite stop when the gun was first blued.
The guns take a brand new shine.

Like I mentioned, even newer guns will provide the same results.

Awesome, Thank You for the information.