Home Forums Reloading Big Game Rifles Cleaning rust off old press

I inherited a bunch of reloading stuff from years gone by when my grandfather died several years ago. Among the potentially useful things is a old press but it had been stored in a pole barn once he stopped using it and it’s quite rusted in spots. Still functions but needs some TLC. Any suggestions on how to go about cleaning it up? Just steel wool and oil plus time? Then coat with some rust preventative... Appreciate any suggestions. Even thought about using a sonic cleaner. Thought?

Craig

You got it. Steel wool, Kroil and elbow grease.

You could use an old trick I learned many years back for cleaning up rusted tools. Submerge the press in auto trans fluid. Leave it in for as long as it takes. I did a muzzleloader barrel last year that had a ~3" long rusted section 2/3's of the way down from the muzzle. No breach plug on it. Took a little over two weeks of alternating between a bore brush and fluid changes but I got cleaned out.

When it comes to cleaning up rust a Big 45 Frontier Metal Cleaner pad is your friend, they are available on their website for about $6 and combined with Kroil do an incredible job of rust removal. Try one, you will like it. the nice part about these is that they can be used on blued surfaces and will do no damage to the blue.

Naval jelly to remove the rust - first.

one of my friends likes a product called Evapo-Rust

Naval jelly works but you have to be careful not to get it on any painted surfaces. Not a worry with FMC and Kroil.

I picked up some kroil and steel wool today. Now have a rainy day project. Thanks all.

A friend uses a mixture of water and molasses (5 to 1) to remove rust from cast iron cookware. Molasses is obtained by the gallon from a Feed Store. Iron is submerged in this mixture for as long as it takes to remove. It works like magic....