Help! Rust on my Mossy 500

prepper4lyf

prepper4lyf

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I hope this is the right forum for something like this, if not feel free to redirect me.

I have an 18.5" Mossberg 500 for home defense, with a matte blue finish. I took it out this afternoon to give it a once over (its been about 4 months since I've even touched it...) and was surprised to find quite a bit of rust and possibly even some pitting, predominantly on the mag tub and barrel (none whatsoever on the receiver.) I've had this shotgun for about 4 years now, only put about 500 rounds through it, and this is the first time I've had this happen.

My question of course is, how to remove the rust without harming the finish, and how to prevent it in the future. My maintenance routine is usually a tear-down, wipe with brake cleaner, and oil all moving parts, but I have never thought I would need to put oil on the mag tube/barrel.

My buddy told me I should give it a quick hot water bath, rub the affected area with fine steel wool and oil, wipe it down, and give it a light coat of oil. Can anyone confirm for me that this is a good way to go?

Thanks in advance.
 
If I rag cant take it off then try some steel wool. Don't rub to hard might mark it up a little.

I learned this lesson also thankfully my issue was on my sks so... Lol didn't matter to much. I wouldn't use hot water. solvent of some type would be the best bet.
 
Sweat on your hands from the last time you handled the gun.
Consider your storage area/case/container might have humidity issues.

Its always good to wipe down all metal parts with CLP
Invest in a gun cleaning kit (Solvent, CLP etc)
While WD40 and Break Cleaner can do the job, better products exist.

Tread lightly when using steel wool.
Try and use a rag first and scrub your gun with oil, hopefully it will fade most of the spots.
 
Don't use the steel wool on the aluminum receiver hard to get it black again. Take the barrel off and use the finest steel or brasswool you can find or try a scrub pad (not sos) from the kitchen but put some oil on it first. Then give it a good thin coat of oil or Kroil or fluid film.
 
I have used "super fine" steel wool #000 soaked in oil. It,s messy, put some newspaper down. Don,t know about receiver, maybe lacquer thinner with 100% cotton rag. If you have pits you,re hooped. Polishing/reblueing would be only solution. Never tried Kroil or Fluid Film, but G96 seems to hold the fingerprints at bay. Good Luck. Soft cases can hold moisture, beware.
 
patrickosuave said:
I have used "super fine" steel wool #000 soaked in oil. It,s messy, put some newspaper down. Don,t know about receiver, maybe lacquer thinner with 100% cotton rag. If you have pits you,re hooped. Polishing/reblueing would be only solution. Never tried Kroil or Fluid Film, but G96 seems to hold the fingerprints at bay. Good Luck. Soft cases can hold moisture, beware.
Click to expand...

+1, great advice

Gun blueing is simply controlled rusting to stop visible "rust coloured" oxidation, you know, better the devil you know sorta thing. You may have a humid storage environment, I won't bore you with how to control that. However, what works for me, Mobil 1 synthetic 10w30. Light film on you firearms. I also use it inside the bore. It has detergent and corrosion inhibitors which help prevent carbon build up. I keep any foam, carpet to a bare minimum inside the cabinet etc... While I also remove slings, as they can be moisture and mold magnets, and store them separately.

On another note, my cousin is a commercial fisherman in Moss Beach, CA, south of San Francisco. He had left his Mossberg 12 Ga without proper storage....I should have taken a photo. It took me a while to take it apart and take off all the rust...it was impressive, in a bad way.
 
Great advice guys, I really appreciate it. My concern with using steel wool was that it might harm the matte black finish, but with super fine wool and oil it should be ok. I gave it a rub with a rag and the raised bits of rust came off, all that's left are some light rust 'stains' I guess you could call them.

I still find it bizarre that this much rust formed. I keep it in a hard case in a very cool area so I don't see humidity being a factor. Either way, I'll keep a light coat of oil on it from now on. Thanks again!
 
patrickosuave said:
I have used "super fine" steel wool #000 soaked in oil. It,s messy, put some newspaper down. Don,t know about receiver, maybe lacquer thinner with 100% cotton rag. If you have pits you,re hooped. Polishing/reblueing would be only solution. Never tried Kroil or Fluid Film, but G96 seems to hold the fingerprints at bay. Good Luck. Soft cases can hold moisture, beware.
Click to expand...

Where can I pick up G96 products? Would most gun shops or maybe even Canadian Tire carry them?
 
Only place I've even seen them (G96 products) has been dedicated gun shops/stores. Crappy Tire should have the fluid film. There was a bunch of info bandied about in the general firearms section (I think) talking about why it was so good to use.
 
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