To remove or not to remove rust on a luger

[Mudhut]

Hello. I am in temporary custody of a PO 8 byf 42 marked Luger with matching numbers throughout. It is a vet bring-back from WWII. When I learned that it had not been oiled in years and was being stored in its leather holster (the pre-War holster and the maintenance tool have matching numbers but not the same number as the pistol) I offered to clean and oil it. As I feared, there is some light rust on the grip and a little on the FXO 37 marked magazine. The owner wishes to keep the pistol as a family heirloom.

My question is should I take some 0000 steelwool to the rust, which will remove some finish, or leave it alone?

Thanks in advance for any expert advice.

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[Buntlineguy]

I would leave it up to the owner. Explain the pros and cons and let him decide.
B

[Mudhut]

The owner is looking to me for that advice. As an heirloom, I'd want to deal with the rust before it gets too serious. As an asset, at least in the short term, I might leave it alone.

[browningautorifle]

In my mind, if there's corrosion threatening the future condition of the firearm then measures must be taken. An heirloom is just that. It's not in 100% condition now. Personally I've had good luck with extra fine steel wool and oil but there are other solutions, I'm sure we'll hear some shortly.

[BigFish]

I'd get rid of the rust. Better some worn finish than rust slowly eating away the metal. Just my $0.02

[Johnny Peppers]

As suggested above, 4/0 steel wool and oil will do a good job of removing the rust without harming the remaining blue IF you don't scrub it too hard. Best to take it slow and easy. Oil the pistol heavily and let it set for a day or so before trying to remove any rust, and on the worst areas let the oil set even longer. Try the areas with the least amount of rust first to get the feel of removing the rust. Change pads of steel wool frequently as the rust itself is the most abrasive. Anything you use will remove the finish if done carelessly, but the 4/0 steel wool is as gentle as anything you can use.

[villiers]

If the rust has already caused serious pitting, the value of the gun as a collector´s item has already deteriorated. Steel wool (or a fine bronze or stainless steel rotary brush) will most likely also remove the bluing. It would then need to be expertly re-blued (there are a number of people on the two US Luger web sites that can do this reliably) and the small parts re-strawed. It would then still maintain its value as a family heirloom and look attractive in the manner in which it originally left the factory.

If, on the other hand, there is only light, superficial rust on the grip, this can be cleaned and the gun will maintain it´s market value.

[tbonesmith]

The rust wasn't "original", get rid of it, it's called "maintenance".

[Johnny Peppers]

You see it all the time, "never use steel wool on a pistol", but up until 1937 the Lugers were rust blued. The rust blue process started with coating the pistol parts with a solution containing nitric acid. The pistol covered in the solution was put in a humidity cabinet to speed up the rusting process. The pistol was taken out, washed in water to halt the process, and the rust was carded off with wads of steel wool. It removed the rust but left the blue underneath. Where the rust has become corrosion, it will have removed the blue in those areas.

The pistol shown below exhibits it's original rust blue finish, and started life being scrubbed with steel wool.

[browningautorifle]

Villiers, no matter how "expertly " you re blue, the gun has been reblued. That's not original. You can't change that. The collector value is gone. This one's an heirloom anyway, not a collector piece.