I have a 22 single shot that was handed to me as a gift. The young man just had a baby and his wife didn't want the guns in the house. He left it in a padded gun case and the darn thing rusted all over the action. How can I bring this little rifle back to life. I was thinking maybe some emery cloth type sand paper with oil and then re-blue. opinions ! This 22 wasn't even shot 50 rounds. He gave me the rest of the 1 box of ammo.

Ken

This question always depends on the amount and depth of the rusting.

My advice is to alawys start out light with tooth brushes and oil and move up the ladder to the more aggressive/abrasive methods as needed.

If it's light, then some of the chemical products will work well at removing the rust and the bluing, as will bead blasting.

roger on what RickB stated. I too have gone the toothbrush route along with #4-0 steel wool and use Breakfree-heavy deposits will require a more agressive method. I keep on hand Oxpho-blue for touch ups.

I'm going to be scrubbing for a long time. From the muzzle all the way to the back of the receiver. The bolt didn't get touched at all. Maybe I should bead blast and be done with it.

Ken

use flitz it's the best I have ever seen for rust removal on blued or stainless guns

those stainless steel pot scrubbers sith wd40 seem to work for me by removing moderate rusting without taking too much blue off. soaking it in kroil or wd for a few days beforeehand may help. good luck with it!

You can do an amazing amount of work on steel with different grit scotch brite sheets cut into one inch strips and soaked in Kroil and/or kerosine and used like a shoe-shine cloth. They leave a beautiful finish and are not overly aggressive.

I have always used the edge of a penny along with Rem Oil or Flitz. Since the copper is softer than the steel, it won't scratch and it is amazing how much rust it will remove. I bought an old LeFever "Long Range Field and Trap" that had been in a case since the owner died over 20 years ago and you can barely tell that it had surface rust. Thanks...Bill.

I have never tried this, but I have heard of marking the rusted area throughly with a lead pencil, then wiping the graphite off with an oily rag.

Might work.

firearms44,
If I just wanted to remove rust I would use WD-40 and fine steel wool. If I planned on refinishing I would either bead blast or wire wheel, depending on how thrifty I was feeling.
I know of a gun shop owner that paints them black with Rustoleum when he is trying to sell an old 22. They look OK if you aren't real fussy. It all depends on how much you want to invest.
whelennut

Love that Kroil. Put it on heavy and leave it over night. Rub it down and then repeat. And it is great to use with 0000 steel wool. Then it will be decision time about how much further to go.

Thanks for the help guys. I don't want to spend a bunch of money, just want it to look good. This was built in Canada.

LAKEFIELD MARK I made in Canada Imported by Lakefield arms usa, Inc. Fairfax, Va.
shoots short, long and long rifle. Looks like a Marlin 22 bolt gun. Single shot. I think this will be a rainy day project.

Ken

That would bother me more than the rust...

If you don't mind removing the bluing then the best way to go is using Naval Jelly. It's powerful stuff and you'll want to wear hand protection, but all you do is wipe it on then wipe it off after a time. It WILL remove all the bluing and leaves bare metal.

http://www.shorechemical.com/Section%207%20Tech%20Sheets/naval_jelly.htm

LakeField guns are still being made but the factory was bought by Savage in 1994. So your gun would have to be older than 1994 or so if it has the LakeField Arms name on it. Be patient with this link, as it seems to have a time delay built into it...

http://books.google.ca/books?id=eWF...i=book_result&resnum=4&ct=result

All Savage rimfires sold today are made in this same factory, and your gun probably looks pretty much like this one?


http://www.savagearms.com/markig.htm

The AccuTrigger is a feature that Savage has added more recently. These are inexpensive, but very good guns.

One other thing to try to remove the rust, if the less aggressive methods above do not work, is automotive rust remover. It typically is a gel like compound which contains phosphoric acid (the same acid you find in Coke). Plumbing places sell phosphoric acid as well. I would apply it with the really fine steel wool, and not let it stay on too long. It has a preference to dissolve rust, but will attack sound metal if left too long. You want to quickly follow that with oil so it does not rust again. At this point you are likely into having to reblue.

If you don't have a manual for it, this current one from Savage is likely very close.

http://www.savagearms.com/images/pdf/manuals/BoltAction_Series.pdf

Ron

WD-40 and steel wool is your best advise above...but I personally would just have the gun reblued...