How to Remove Rust off your Firearm

A firearm requires care and maintenance to keep it in good working condition and to extend its life. Firearm experts recommend cleaning your gun as often as you use it. This is to prevent dirt build-up that may cause your gun to malfunction.  

New firearm owners may not be aware of this, but if you use your firearm regularly and never clean it, dirt and fouling can affect the performance and accuracy of the firearm. It can also cause it to malfunction increasing your risk of injury. 

If the moving parts of your firearm have rust on them, it could potentially cause your firearm to not function at all. Carry guns are especially prone to rust and corrosion because they come into contact with human sweat. 

Besides that, the carry gun holster does nothing to prevent rusting. Cloth and leather holsters collect moisture, which contributes to gun rust and corrosion. 

To remove rust from your gun, you need gun cleaning equipment and solvents that can get rid of the rust, dirt, and any fouling. There is a huge array of gun cleaning solvents, so it might be helpful to find out which ones work best for the type of firearm you have.  

You can learn much more about the best gun cleaning solvents by reading user reviews. With that in mind, here is how you remove rust from your gun. 

Step 1: 

Disassemble the gun to see what areas are rusted. Take safety measures before doing that by making sure that the firearm is not loaded. It would be incredibly dangerous to work with a loaded gun. 

Step 2:

Use brass, copper, or soft steel wool to remove the rust. Make sure to apply some gun oil on it to help loosen up the rust. The amount of oil to use depends on how rusty the gun is. If you are dealing with deep rust, use plenty of oil. If it’s just surface rust, you may not need the oil at all. 

Once you have poured some oil onto your cleaning wool, run it over the rusted areas. Then take a clean rag, preferably made of cotton, and wipe off the oil. 

This should remove all the rust from the gun. If this does not remove all the rust, use a bronze brush to get rid of the remaining rust from the gun. 

Step 3:

Apply more oil to ensure that all the rust is out along with any dirt and fouling. Then reassemble the gun. 

Firearm cleaning tips

• Don’t use hard steel wool or a steel brush to remove the rust as it’s going to remove the finish as well
• Don’t use lubricants or oils that are not formulated for gun cleaning
• Never attempt to clean a gun when it is loaded for safety purposes

Conclusion

Removing rust from a firearm is not rocket science. As long as you follow the correct steps on how to do it, the cleaning process is pretty straightforward and easy. Just make sure to use the proper tools and lubricants when getting rid of gun rust.