Gunsmithing Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

[TN-MadDog]

I picked up a receiver last week for future build. I got it out today to look it over and it had a small amount of rust on it. Mostly inside the bolt body and a very small amount on the receiver body. It did not appear to have any type of rust protection on it.

It will be several months before I have all the parts to send this to someone for a build.

What should I do to protect it while I am waiting? Should I use normal firearm rust preventitive and put the parts in plastic bags? I just don't want it to rust to the point of being pitted.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[300sniper]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

either wd40 or your favorite firearms oil should protect it just fine.

 

[Thorax]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

No offense, but WD40 is best used as starting fluid for a diesel engine (seriously it works perfectly for that).

The best thing I know of for a long term storage for untreaed steel is the motorcycle chain lube that sprays on thin and then thickens up into a heavy grease.
There are numerous brands, any will work fine.

Second best would be to just slather it in the blue boat trailer wheel bearing grease.

Third, and probably the best, but hardest to clean back off, is the spray graphite paint...it is bombproof for long term rust protection. Acetone is required to remove the stuff and does it very quick and easy.....but I just dislike huffing acetone fumes.

Don't use WD....you'll be fooled into thinking the parts are safe from harm only to later discover they weren't.

 

[300sniper]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

who wants to slather their new action with grease just to away keep surface rust? wd40 or gun oil will work fine if the action is not sitting out in the elements. now if you are trying to bury your cache for armageddon, then grease or cosmoline would certainly be a better idea.

i spray wd40 on all my machinery when it is not in use for a while. it is all in a non-climate controlled, non-insulated metal building that temperatures range from bellow freezing to well over 100*. in the winter time, it is not uncommon for the condensation on the ceiling to drip like rain inside. wd40 has kept everything rust free. i even spray steel stock with wd40 if it is going to sit for a while. if i don't spray it or clean a steel or cast iron part with acetone, it has surface rust in a short time.

 

[TN-MadDog]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

I don't have any WD so I will just use what I have on hand- Birchwood Casey Sheath. It seems to work pretty good.

I was a little supprised to see rust when I took it out to look at. My guess is that they used compressed air to clean out the bolt and got some condensation in there.

I'm just glad that I didn't stick it in the safe and forget about it for six months.

Thanks,

Joe

 

[cdmurphy]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

Please don't use WD-40. It smells nice, and is a pretty decent solvent, but that's about it.
I looked into this very topic a few months ago, and found a few guys that ran several long term tests of rust preventatives. There was some contradictory information, but BreakFree CLP, SuperLube (synthetic), 30W Motor Oil, and Eezox all performed very well.

Here is a link to one that I found with a quick search.

http://www.thegunzone.com/rust.html


- Cameron

 

[300sniper]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

you guys are telling me that wd40 won't keep away rust on a bare receiver for a couple months sitting in a safe? you guys must have some harsh climates where it is that bad inside your safe.

 

[cdmurphy]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

Its not so much that WD-40 is lousy at rust proofing, its that it gums up everything Joe handyman sprays it in thinking it's a lubricant. It does a great job freeing up stuck mechanisms, often stuck from an earlier application. And if that is what you need it for, there are better things like Kroil.

- Cameron

 

[300sniper]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

did you read what the op was wanting to do? he was looking to fend off surface rust on a bare metal receiver that will be sitting for a few months. i gave an option that would work that most people have at home, ie wd40. it will work absolutely fine for that and i think the article you posted even agreed.

 

[Brain]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

Stick it in a zip-lock bag and before sealing it up, hose it down with whatever oil is available. Squeeze all the air you can out of the bag before zipping it shut.

When you're ready to finish it, hose it down with brake cleaner, acetone, MEK, whatever and get to spraying.

 

[Greg Langelius *]

Re: Rust prevention on unfinished receiver?

First, I'd remove all vestiges of rust. Naval Jelly or CLR can achieve this (I would only make this recommendation for parts 'in the white' as any acidic preparation will remove blueing, etc.). I would mix Acetone with pure white petroleum jelly (vaseline) and coat the parts with it. The acetone evaporates, leaving a thin layer of jelly. As long as there's no underlying rust and the jelly layer remains undisturbed; the jelly provides an adqeuate oxygen and moisture barrier.

As above, remove with brake cleaner, and recheck for rust before proceeding further.

Greg