Rust on an old 12-41 rifle

[Ms15710]

Hey all,

My father and I recently picked up an M1 Garand dated 12-41. It belonged to a gentleman from California who's father served in the U.S Army from June 1941 until he was discharged in December 1945.

SUPPOSEDLY when he returned home it was with this rifle in hand in a green wool blanket. It came with an even older 1905 bayonet dated 1909. As is always, buy the rifle not the story, so when I saw that the rifle had no British proof marks on it, my father and I decided to take the chance.

Upon examining the rifle, there is a significant amount of rust that was never apparent in the photographs. What would be the best way to remove the rust without compromising the integrity of the rifle? I want to keep it "as is" as much as possible, but I'm concerned about the level of rust.

[Ms15710]

More photographs of the rifle. I didn't realize you were allowed to attach more than 10 photographs.

[browningautorifle]

Looks good from here. I'd use 0000 fine steel wool and oil and it would take off rust but not finish. I know this works because I've done it. Some here will call me a heretic.

Looks like a correct rifle, without getting closer.

[Ms15710]

The internals are correct (and a bit rusty). I will provide a few photographs when I return home from work. There is quite a bit of rust in the underside of the receiver where the bolt extracts to.

The trigger assembly is also exhibiting some rust that made removing it to inspect the internals an ordeal. The gentleman said he never took the rifle apart in the sixty years he’s had it since his father passed it to him.

[HOOKED ON HISTORY]

Nice piece. Might be a good candidate for electrolysis. I have had good results with much sicker patients.

[ssgross]

I'd use 0000 fine steel wool and oil and it would take off rust but not finish. I know this works because I've done it. Some here will call me a heretic.

Looks like some light surface rust. It looks worse than it is, as many oils will make the rust brighter and appear like all is ruined. If the parkerizing has already worn and lost its "roughness", Jim's method will do just fine, although I reserve it for blued finishes which are mostly intact. Parkerizing is more delicate for such things. Go slow, don't get aggressive. Use a very light oil like Kroil or Ballistol. Good ole Hoppe's no. 9 will do the job too. Keep stroking it lightly, possibly for hours, and it will come off without wearing the finish. If you try to speed it up by scrubbing, you will dull, smooth down, or lighten the parkerizing (I didn't say remove to avoid a lengthy debate, but yes scrubbing park aggressively with steel wool will wear it down). Scraping with a copper penny works too - but again the caution of dulling the "roughness" of the park.

Now, the "safest" way to do it is by boiling in plain water - by this I mean there is no possibility of destroying anything. This also has the advantage of being the cheapest alternative as well - compared to a fancy or DIY electrolysis rig. You can use whatever container the barreled action will fit in...rain gutter with end caps JBwelded on, or even with high-temp silicon caulk, placed on a BBQ, stove top, gas fire pit on the porch, whatever you have, will do the job the cheapest. I do a lot of this and slow rust bluing and so I use a 4" cellular core PVC pipe with a water heater element in the bottom. Use a black pipe nipple and coupling to screw the element in. The element by itself doesn't have enough threads to maintain a seal in the hot plastic. I use old tin cans on a hot plate for small parts. Drop your springs in too. I know of no steel that is ruined at 212F. They will come out squeaky clean.

Any old oil will boil out, and the active (i.e. stuck to metal) red iron oxide will be converted to magnetite (bluing) - this is the same process as the traditional slow rust bluing. Any excess red rust will become loose flakes and brush off with the lightest of passes with your steel wool, leaving only bluing (and not white metal) behind. There are plenty of videos online. Boiling is the most professional, an durable, form of "conservation".

Old lubricants that have trapped dust and dries out will become acidic and can lead to rusting if you don't do regular maintenance. Boiling also gives you a chance to start over with your preservation. Once done boiling (an hour is plenty - any longer won't accomplish anything), and you carded off any excess rust or magnetite, paint in Kerosene and let it cool down overnight. Plain motor oil works great too. Just don't use anything that has a rust inhibitor or detergent in it for this first oiling- No WD40 or CLP or Hoppes. You can use this stuff all you want later on, but the first oiling needs to be pure and clean. Oil it down with whatever you want the next morning.

Search YouTube for Mark Novak's channel.

[Singer B]

I would remove all of the metal from the wood. I remove the metal from the wood to protect the wood from the oil you will use to remove the rust. Soak all of the metal with rust in a coat of oil (I let it sit for a couple of days). Like browningautorifle, I also use the 0000 steel wool with ALOT of oil and regular wipe downs with paper towels to remove the rust in the oil. Using a bronze brush may change the color/finish but the steel wool is gentle enough to leave as is when you use lots of oil. It would be best to try it on some internal pieces where you can gauge the impact on the finish. That is a beautiful rifle and should be left just as it is minus the rust. If you have some really stubborn patches, I have used a pre-1970 copper penny to power through those spots. When I'm done removing the rust, I coat the metal with CLP to preserve it and prevent future rust. Congrats on finding such a terrific piece of history!

[ssgross]

Here it is.

[Bob Seijas]

A really good light rust remover is boric acid. It's very mild, will not hurt the finish but it removes every speck of corrosion, even from complex parts. Warm a pot of water and dissolve as much boric acid as it will take. Immerse the part and keep it warm on the stove for several hours. Remove and rinse, it will be spotless.

[Singer B]

A really good light rust remover is boric acid. It's very mild, will not hurt the finish but it removes every speck of corrosion, even from complex parts. Warm a pot of water and dissolve as much boric acid as it will take. Immerse the part and keep it warm on the stove for several hours. Remove and rinse, it will be spotless.

Thank you!