Basically the title says it all. The firing pin on my SKS rusted inside of the bolt assembly. It took some real doing to get it out but now I'm not sure what to do about. What should I use to remove the rust from the pin itself and possibly from within the bolt? This only happened after I took it apart to clean it and shot it a week or so later.... Any suggestions?
SKS firing pin rusted
- Thread starter andyman_49
- Start date
A green scrub pad may work. Shouldn't do any damage, just don't destroy it by rubbing too hard lol. Then just keep a thin film of CLP or oil on it, or order a spring conversion firing pin for it. Once the rust is off, I would say keep it oiled while it's being stored. A quick wipe before shooting would prevent any possible buildup of dirt or debris while shooting. I'm not an SKS owner as of yet, but will be looking into one shortly. Don't quote me on this, but it would seem to me that it wouldn't cause any problems. After cleaning, just make sure it's completely dry, and oiled.
Soak it in some wd-40 or 12/34 for about an hour then take it out and clean it with some solvent. If you take a small shaft screwdriver and put a patch over it you can put it inside the bolt and twist it around and you'll get the rust out as long as its just surface rust. I shot mine 3 weeks ago and I cleaned it with hoppes #9 solvent and I oiled the barrel and put it back together again. After hearing all the rust stories I was a little paranoid so I've been taking it out and inspecting it for rust but so far nothing. How long had it been sitting with rust in it?
Polish the pin with fine steel wool,that should get it clean. Use some penetrating oil in the bolt, let it soak then clean it the best you can,reassemble it dry and check in fews days to see if rust doesn't appear again.
Joce
- Location
- Edmonton,AB,Canada
points, if I may, I would limit how often one does this. Too often and you will start opening tolerances. Possibly in this situation it wouldn't be too bad but, even though it does a fine job getting really hard deposits off stuff, valve lapping compound is an abrasive and not a cure all.
I agree totally. But,, you need to clean it out somehow and smooth out the pits. If you have to do it too often, then you have a problem with the way you clean your rifle. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
This is why I always suggest oiling the FP on the SKS. Some people act like it will turn into a full auto baby slaughtering meat grinder. 7 SKS later and not one slam fire. Including a Chinese SKS that fired 150 rds with the bolt full of cosmoline. You still need to clean it but it takes a hell of a long time to either contaminate the oil with enough powder residue to turn it from a lubricant to a sticky paste strong enough to cause a slam fire. It takes even longer for the oil to break down and congeal to the point of causing a slam fire. I clean my SKS FPs every 500 rds or so and they always come out with just a little sediment, most of which is regular wear. Never have they stopped rattling. I like M Pro7 for the job cause it is very resistant to both contamination and thermal breakdown. I ran my gas piston wet with it for 200 rds and it was still wet, not baked on or gummed up with powder fouling. My point? The oil prevents rust even with the small amount of powder fouling that gets in the bolt. The bonus? You dont have to clean your FP after every range trip and you wont lay awake at night listening for the sound of rusting. No running to the gun cabinet at 3:30 AM to check for rust. Hell maybe your wives will get some sleep out of it too. Do it for the miss's.
