SKS Rust

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VanKid

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Hey guys, SKS/gun noob here.

So I have had my sks for a bit now, have had fun shooting it and have around 200 rounds through it now. Ive had some rust issues and Im not sure if it is due to my cleaning skills, oil, or the "non-corrosive" ammo.

Shot it last week and now already have a bit of surface rust in the chamber. The gas tube is especially bad near the piston, and where the it connects to the upturn part.

To clean/lubricate the rife I have been using Pro-shot 1 step gun cleaner and lubricant that came with my cleaning kit and brake cleaner for the barrel/some parts that got rusty.


Some insight would be nice.

CHEERS :evil:
 
Never use brake cleaner as it drys out the metal and premotes rust

Clean all gas effected parts with hot soaky water and then dry. Then put a light coat of WD40 on the parts to prevent rust. WD40 works great to prevent rust with corrosive ammo, but do not use it as lube.
 
your cleaning technique is good, but obviosly not working time to try something new, have you looked into cleaning with boiling water? (been covered lots on CGN, look around)
you just run boiling water through the bore and other parts then clean as per normal (by normal I mean clean the bore and lightly oil everything, maybe scrub the bolt a bit and make sure the firing pin "rattles" don't need to over think it), the boiling water is used since it dries very quickly, carful the metal parts get smokin hot.
 
I soak mine in windex after I shoot, I heard that ammonia works well on the corrosive salts of the ammo. I totally dis-assemble the gun, soak parts in windex and scrub with a tooth brush. Then rinse in warm soapy water. I use a hair dryer to speed up dry time. So far no rust for me with corrosive ammo.
 
If you bought the bulk Chinese 7,62x39 ammo from Lever Arms advertised ''non corrosive'' it is infact corrosive.. does not seem as bad as the Czech stuff but it will rust your gun .. yep scammers .
 
Whatever you use to clean the bore hot water , windex ,WD-40 , Hoppes9 all work , make sure you also run a brush through it a couple times followed with a patch or two. Just watch if using water you dry it completely , i prefer using solvents .. i use WD40 to clean parts and bore and run a patch with Hoppes down the bore too.
 
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Ammonia DOES NOT work on the corrosive effects of primers. While the bore of the SKS may be chrome plated, the gas cylinder is NOT! It should get the SAME boiling HOT water treatment as the barrel to wash out the primer salts.
I hate repeating this, but every barrel has microscopic cracks in it. Firing the rifle with corrosive ammo drives the primer salts into those cracks. The HOT water expands those cracks , washing out the salts!

Did you EVER wonder why the brits used hot water down the barrels for almost a hundred years? Maybe it was because it WORKED!
 
John Sukey said:
Ammonia DOES NOT work on the corrosive effects of primers. While the bore of the SKS may be chrome plated, the gas cylinder is NOT! It should get the SAME boiling HOT water treatment as the barrel to wash out the primer salts.
I hate repeating this, but every barrel has microscopic cracks in it. Firing the rifle with corrosive ammo drives the primer salts into those cracks. The HOT water expands those cracks , washing out the salts!

Did you EVER wonder why the brits used hot water down the barrels for almost a hundred years? Maybe it was because it WORKED!
Click to expand...

Many armies used solvents for corrosive ammo,, CanAM used to sell surplus jugs of it .
 
Agreed windex does not work any better then cold water, Hot soapy water beats windex any day.

I use WD40 over normal gun lube as it penetrates the pours in the metal better.
 
John Sukey said:
Ammonia DOES NOT work on the corrosive effects of primers. While the bore of the SKS may be chrome plated, the gas cylinder is NOT! It should get the SAME boiling HOT water treatment as the barrel to wash out the primer salts.
I hate repeating this, but every barrel has microscopic cracks in it. Firing the rifle with corrosive ammo drives the primer salts into those cracks. The HOT water expands those cracks , washing out the salts!

Did you EVER wonder why the brits used hot water down the barrels for almost a hundred years? Maybe it was because it WORKED!
Click to expand...

Ammonia in the strength of windex is TOO WEAK. You need something STRONGER like Barnes CR-10 to do the job. Did you EVER wonder why AMMONIA has been used for MANY, MANY YEARS to NEUTRALISE SULFUR DIOXIDE AND HYDROGEN SULFIDE in oilfield applications all over the world? Hot water has been used because it is SAFER for the average grunt to deal with as they could use trench water to do it.
DON'T MAKE UP THEORIES!
 
I always used the hot water down the barrel and gas tube method first followed by Solvent and then Oil when I used corrosive Ammo in the past and never had any rust problems.These days however I only use non corrosive Ammo in my Rifles...just a personal preference.
 
Ammonia neutralizes acids.... grade 8 science class. Windex, I've read is pretty weak, so head over to the grandparent's place and hit up granny's cleaning closet for the good stuff! They always have the harsh cleaning chemicals hahaha! I still remember showering with my rifle and LMG, after firing 1000's of blanks on exercise while in the army. Hot water, and bar soap is what we used, then dried it out really well, most times by cranking up the radiators in the shacks, or just in the sun, then CLP the living heck out of em! Never saw a speck of rust, but then again, if there was rust on our weapons, we ended up in some seriously deep doo doo!
 
Hose it down with brakekleen. Re-lube with G96 or Kroil. You can mix Kroil and copaslip (copper based lube compound) to create a wicked metal to metal compound.
 
Ammonia neutralizes acid, yes, but potassium chloride isn't an acid! Therefore AMMONIA HAS NO EFFECT ON THE CORROSIVE SALT RESIDUE LEFT IN THE BORE AND THE GAS SYSTEM!!! The WATER in the Windex is what washes out the salt. NOT the ammonia!!!!!
 
What this thread needs is more exclamation marks, and some personal insults. I'll start the ball rolling. Water! then Oil!
Oh yeah, and your gilrfriend thought you were actually retarded when she first met you, but she's into that.
 
VanKid it sounds like you got a questionable batch of ammo . I have a CZ and have had sks's and a few other 7.62X39 guns before, clean them as if you are shooting corrosive ammo if there is any doubt. If it is out of an army surplus tin marked from the 70's or early eighties or any bad odour when you fire it, I would consider that doubt . I like to clean my stuff as soon as I get home from shooting , so far I have had good luck and nothing has rusted up when I have used corrosive ammo.
 
Windex Is way more dangerous for your gun than hot water imo. The hot water cleans and evapourates where as te windex can leave flash rust. I trued windex once and went right back to boiling water
 
Corrosive primers contain potassium chlorate (KCLO3). It acts as an oxidizer and helps in the controlled burning of the primer explosives. It also acts as a preservative. Properly stored military corrosive ammo can last for 100 years. Non corrosive commercial ammo has a shelf life of about 30 years.

2 KCLO3 ---> 3 O2 + 2 KCL

Potassium chloride (KCL) is a combustion by product. This salt is what can cause corrosion in your weapon.

Windex does not contain any meaningful amount of ammonia. A trace amount of ammonium hydroxide is used as a ph adjuster. The "Ammonia D" is a trade name. Windex contains ethyleneglycol monohexylether, water, isopropanol, propylene glycol and blue colorant.

http://www.scjohnson.ca/msds/Windex Ammonia-D.pdf

The water in windex is the only thing that dissolves potassium chloride. The only advantage over cold water is that it dries quickly.

The problem here is that the salts produced by burning the primers is mixed in with the carbon deposits left in the barrel and gas system. Hot water, cold water, or Windex might remove some salt but not all salt. (hot water alone does not remove carbon deposits). You have to remove all carbon deposits to prevent corrosion. Whether you start with water or not does not matter.

To clean I run a few patches soaked with water or windex down the barrel, gas system etc.. Then clean as per a normal weapon. Remove all carbon build up with a solvent. Ed's Red solvent, Gunzilla CLP or G96 do a fine job. Leave a light or heavy coating of oil in the barrel and the gas system when storing. Oiled parts do not rust. Ed's Red gun oil and G96 also contain lanolin (the wax from sheep wool). This wax is particularly good at preventing metal from rusting. Prior to shooting run a dry patch down barrel and other areas to remove excess oil.

Ed's Red formula: http://nfa.ca/resource-items/eds-red-homebrew-bore-solvent
(recommend putting lanolin in the Ed's Red)

Bottom line. If you are having success cleaning your weapon using what ever method you use, stay with it. Always use gloves when handling solvents. Anything that dissolves carbon will be absorbed through your skin, get into your blood stream and eventually harm your internal organs. Black Nitrile gloves are available at Canadian Tire for 33 cents a pair and well worth the investment in your health.

Good shooting.
 
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all i used was outters nitro solvent on the barrel then took at it with the brush and once that was done i used outters gun oil and some patches down the barrel then used clean pads till they came out clean. then wiped everything down really good.
 
5440fight said:
What this thread needs is more exclamation marks, and some personal insults. I'll start the ball rolling. Water! then Oil!
Oh yeah, and your gilrfriend thought you were actually retarded when she first met you, but she's into that.
Click to expand...

Hahahahahah!!!

Too funny Sir, too funny :D

On a serious note though, water works perfectly fine.

It doesn't cost anything.
It comes out of a tap.
It doesn't cost anything.
It isn't a caustic carcinagenic chemical.
It doesn't cost anything.
It has worked on every rifle I own that I have shot corrosive out of for years.
It doesn't cost anything.

Rinse with water the parts directly exposed to the gas.
Wipe them dry.
Oil and clean as normal with the cheapest oil and rags you can find.

Any water that didn't get wiped up will get displaced by the oil.

That's Uncle Travis' non tactical, cheap as 5hit, common sense guide to cleaning a rifle that shoots corrosive ammo ;)
 
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