Bluing rust?

[garrettbragg12]

I bought an all original Remington 1903A3,that had sat in a barn for quite awhile, before summer began.. Many of the blue'd parts, mainly the trigger guard and barrel band, have bad rust putting. I let them soak in WD40 and then tried 0000 steel wool on it, which helped allot and removed no finish, but I can't seem to get all of it. Any suggestions?
Attachment 47618

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[WarPig1976]

I bought an all original Remington 1903A3,that had sat in a barn for quite awhile, before summer began.. Many of the blue'd parts, mainly the trigger guard and barrel band, have bad rust putting. I let them soak in WD40 and then tried 0000 steel wool on it, which helped allot and removed no finish, but I can't seem to get all of it. Any suggestions?
Attachment 47618

Throwing out some ideas for you from least to most intrusive..

#1 replace it entirely.
#2 use a nylon brush on a Dremel to card off the rust in the pits "if they're not to deep" and oil it.
#3 use rust/blue remover to strip the part and then rust blue it.
#4 use rust/blue remover to strip. Sand the pits out starting @220 grit down to 320 then rust blue.

You can use an electrolysis setup but is it worth all the trouble for a trigger guard? That's up to you.

[garrettbragg12]

Throwing out some ideas for you from least to most intrusive..

#1 replace it entirely.
#2 use a nylon brush on a Dremel to card off the rust in the pits "if they're not to deep" and oil it.
#3 use rust/blue remover to strip the part and then rust blue it.
#4 use rust/blue remover to strip. Sand the pits out starting @220 grit down to 320 then rust blue.

You can use an electrolysis setup but is it worth all the trouble for a trigger guard? That's up to you.

Well it's not just the trigger guard, it's all of the blued parts, and I'd like to keep her with her original parts!

[Peter Laidler]

You have to accept to start with that rust is corrosion and blueing is a form of controlled corrosion (that's not strictly correct in some cases as a chemist or metallurgist will confirm). I say this because some people just won't accept this simple fact of life....., and that it has already started to eat its way into the steel. So unless you want to linish or whatever you do to get below the corrosion, you'll just have to accept the pitted nature of the beast!

That's your problem. If you want to keep the original parts (that's assuming that they are original - although what counts as original is subject to some dispute.....) you've got to accept pitted parts (albeit slightly pitted) but at least they'll be ORIGINAL pitted parts or start again by electrolysis/bead blasting and have them re-blued/blacked. IN which case, they might be original, but they certainly won't convince anyone........

What a dilemma eh? I say just deal with the corrosion as best you can with a stiff copper wire brush, keep it oiled and treat it as the grand, old but starting to look her age dignified old lady that she is. Just my 2c's worth

[Patrick Chadwick]

What is it about the word "original" that so many people don't understand?

It was "original" when it came out of the factory. Period.
Since then it has become considerably older, parts wear and are replaced, bluing turns to rust - I laugh when I see antique dealers describing it as "plum", as if it that was a desirable original finish!

And rust pits cannot be undone.

Basically, anything other than proper maintenance to keep the gun in working order, becomes falsification.

Bluing over rust pits can look ridiculous, and is just such a falsification - it does NOT make it more original.
Replacing parts with "what it would have had when it was made" (but no longer has) to make it more "original" and hence desirable is also a falsification. Peter Laidler and his colleagues around the world replaced parts for a very good reason - to keep the equipment functioning properly.
In other words - for those fond of the IMOH overworked phrase - such replacements during its service life are "part of its history".

Forced matching by stamping on new numbers is not merely not original, it is a falsification that turns into fraud if the gun is sold at a value enhanced by those numbers.

Just my 2cents/pence/groats, of course!

[WarPig1976]

Well it's not just the trigger guard, it's all of the blued parts, and I'd like to keep her with her original parts!

I think I gotcha , you want to keep all the original parts that came with it the day you took possession of the rifle because maybe, just maybe it's never been messed with but if YOU change something that illusion is gone.? At least that's how my brain works..

There just isn't a magic bullet to fix pitted metal. The damage is done, your options are limited, rust never sleeps....

[Peter Laidler]

That's a great phrase Warpig and SOOOOO true. Rust NEVER sleeps

[MasterChief]

1909 Argentine, all-matching and was probably imported in 'unissued' condition. Then rode hard and put away wet.

First you cry. Then accept it for what it is and get down to work. It will never be pristine again. But it is a good representative example and I love it for what it is. YMMV.

Best wishes. Dave

[WarPig1976]

Good save Dave, like the stock color too...

[Brit plumber]

I know what I would do, wipe some oil over it and take it down the range. That will take your mind off the rust for a while.