stopping active rust

[Bruce McAskill]

I would suggest that you get some brass or bronze wool and then use a good gun oil. The brass wool is made of brass and will not scratch or remove the blue finish like stainless steel or steel wool. If you have a copper penny you can use that too to help remove rust. WS-40 is a moisture displacement not a lubricant at all. Never use it on the insides of any firearm. It will become sticky and traps fouling and dirt then finally hardens making it difficult to remove.

[enfieldshooter]

Just a word of warning. Blueing is a rust that has been stabilised, usually by boiling in water. Whether it is a rust blue or hot blue (black) it is still an iron oxide of some form. WD40 is a rust solvent and will eventually dissolve blueing. That is how it frees up hinges etc. It is a mild solvent but will eventually soften the rust so it can be scraped off.
When you take your parts out of the hot water bath after bluing you coat the hot metal in oil of some kind. Most instructions specifically mention not to use WD40 or any type of penetrating oil as it can damage the new blue. The old timers used whale oil but in this day and age I use old sump oil from a diesel truck. The oil is just a lubricant for your steel wool or pot mitt; the same as water when using a sanding block.

[henry r]

i tried LANOX which is a spray containing lanolin on the magazine i originally asked about, it hasn't been long but it is working perfectly at protecting the metal. the downside being it has stayed "wet" so attracts dust etc.
when the time comes to use the magazine i think i will need to clean it and try something different, but for now it is doing the trick.

[CINDERS]

When you have done you bit with whatever process you deem suitable and are happy with the results wipe off and dry then give a light coating of Balistol or very lightly coat with your favorite gun oil.

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Be careful using lanolin. It seems to be available in two "versions"; Anhydrous and Hydrous.

Anhydrous lanolin will absorb some moisture from the air.

The stuff can be like brake-fluid: leave the lid off on a humid day and the container will start to fill up because of the absorption.

Of course, brake (and clutch) fluid that contains water does nasty things like "brake fade" because under heating, the water, having a MUCH lower boiling point, turns to steam which is compressible, and this seriously degrades the transfer of your foot stomping to those big discs all 'round.

Try here: http://journal.scconline.org/pdf/cc1...421-p00437.pdf for MUCH more than you ever wanted to know about lanolin, of any form.

[henry r]

big discs all round??? i think you mean 30mm wide drums.

i'll check out the spray can, hopefully it is hydrous. the magazine still looks good, but we have a lot lower humidity here than you would.

[Flying10uk]

Cinders, does the stainless steel scouring pads that you mention look like drilling/turning swarf or do they look like a fine stainless wire wool, please? Are you able to post a picture of what you are referring to, please.The only stainless scorers which I could find over here seem very course and seem to remove bluing more quickly than fine steel wire wool. I have found them useful for other workshop uses where I need something more aggressive such as removing paint.