Corrosion Basics for Gunsmiths

[AllenClapp]

I have been subscribing to American Gunsmith Magazine for decades. It is a rare issue that doesn't contain something of interest. The February 2023 article CORROSION BASICS FOR GUNSMITHS hit me between the eyes because it showed me why I have seen rust issues on some firearms in the past and how to prevent such abuse. More to the point, there are some serious cautions about how to handle machining and sanding operations on stainless steel firearms that I did not know. The editor has kindly given me permission to upload the article in engraving forums. Enjoy!

 

[T.G.III]

Not sure if it was intended but clicking on your attachment results in a download, did get to see the article so all is well, just bringing it to your attention.

 

[AllenClapp]

Not sure if it was intended but clicking on your attachment results in a download, did get to see the article so all is well, just bringing it to your attention.

I was given permission to upload the article on engraving forum sites.

 

[T.G.III]

I was given permission to upload the article on engraving forum sites.

The point of my post, not well explained, was that by clicking on the link it's an automatic download, as in not an option.

Maybe it's common knowledge to the inteweb community, but I didn't learn about it until I clicked the link.

 

[JJ Roberts]

When I have guns and gun parts on my bench in the white ready for engraving I keep them wiped down with RIG Universal gun grease and my safe has a 12 inch electric dehumidifier rod no rust problem here. J.J.

 

[mtlctr]

RIG is a favorite of mine. 30 weight non detergent motor oil an inexpensive alternative. A quart goes a long way.

 

[jswanswan]

Thanks for sharing this article.

 

[AllenClapp]

RIG is a favorite of mine. 30 weight non detergent motor oil an inexpensive alternative. A quart goes a long way.

RIG is my life-long friend!
One of the surprising things that I learned in this article on corrosion is that we should not use motor oils, which so many of us have done. The reason is that motor oils are made to pick up moisture if it gets into the engine system. Apparently such oils have been shown to cause issues with long term use. Oils made for use on guns are more appropriate. That was one of the things that impressed me about this article--it showed issues with some long-used practices that take longer to show up, but do show up with time.
Another discussion that got to me was the warning not to sand stainless steels with steel wool or sandpaper that had been used on carbon steels because you can force minute particles of carbon into pores of the stainless steel and cause it to rust. Apparently this is such an issue that many manufacturers treat stainless steel after machining it to remove carbon particles that have been forcibly transferred from the cutters to the stainless steel. Who knew? Learn something every day.

 

[Mike576]

RIG is my life-long friend!
One of the surprising things that I learned in this article on corrosion is that we should not use motor oils, which so many of us have done. The reason is that motor oils are made to pick up moisture if it gets into the engine system. Apparently such oils have been shown to cause issues with long term use. Oils made for use on guns are more appropriate. That was one of the things that impressed me about this article--it showed issues with some long-used practices that take longer to show up, but do show up with time.
Another discussion that got to me was the warning not to sand stainless steels with steel wool or sandpaper that had been used on carbon steels because you can force minute particles of carbon into pores of the stainless steel and cause it to rust. Apparently this is such an issue that many manufacturers treat stainless steel after machining it to remove carbon particles that have been forcibly transferred from the cutters to the stainless steel. Who knew? Learn something every day.

I’m surprised this wasn’t already known by the gun community. Cross contamination between metals has been well knows in certain industries like aerospace and welding fields which use stainless and other alloys. I’m an aerospace welder and primarily we use nickel and cobalt base alloys. If we use a wire brush, carbide tool or grinding stone on say inconel 718 we can’t use that specific tool on any other alloy to avoid cross contamination. In aerospace it gets so in-depth that all the sandpaper and grinding tools we use have to be ceramic base not aluminum oxide base because of complications of possible inclusion in the metals.

I remember in my begin career welding in a simple fabrication shop being scolded because I used a flap disk on an angle grinder on a mild steel job then used it in a stainless job lasted that day

Thanks for sharing the article!

 

[mtlctr]

RIG is my life-long friend!
One of the surprising things that I learned in this article on corrosion is that we should not use motor oils, which so many of us have done. The reason is that motor oils are made to pick up moisture if it gets into the engine system. Apparently such oils have been shown to cause issues with long term use. Oils made for use on guns are more appropriate. That was one of the things that impressed me about this article--it showed issues with some long-used practices that take longer to show up, but do show up with time.
Another discussion that got to me was the warning not to sand stainless steels with steel wool or sandpaper that had been used on carbon steels because you can force minute particles of carbon into pores of the stainless steel and cause it to rust. Apparently this is such an issue that many manufacturers treat stainless steel after machining it to remove carbon particles that have been forcibly transferred from the cutters to the stainless steel. Who knew? Learn something every day.

Been using non detergent motor oil on my guns especially muzzle loaders (flintlocks) which I shoot regularly with real hygroscopic black powder for 30 yrs.
No corrosion here. I keep an open can of the motor oil , it hasn’t turned milky from moisture and….my shop is in the basement.
I machined aviation shells for various aircraft F-16’s , F-18‘s etal. Gas turbine .Shielded plugs for tanks etc. Inconel & nickel alloys. All with a FFA travel tag.
tooling was hss with some carbide inserts. Hss was ground on surface grinders with common carburundom. wheels. Lubricating fluid was water soluble oil.
the finish on the shells was complete when it fell off the cutoff. Then they were washed & went to secondary operations/ assembly.
all operators & setup had their tools. We used common abrasives. No hocus locus. our department made the shells for Gossimer Albatross which set worlds records trans globe flight with no refueling.
I didn’t read the article, I’ve done the actual work, we didnt follow the protocol mentioned.
I’d like to see stainless rusting from using steel wool In actual practice.
not all grades of stainless are “stainless “ anyway, some will rust especially steel from offshore sources.

 

[mtlctr]

Been using non detergent motor oil on my guns especially muzzle loaders (flintlocks) which I shoot regularly with real hygroscopic black powder for 30 yrs.
No corrosion here. I keep an open can of the motor oil , it hasn’t turned milky from moisture and….my shop is in the basement.
I machined aviation shells for various aircraft F-16’s , F-18‘s etal. Gas turbine .Shielded plugs for tanks etc. Inconel & nickel alloys. All with a FFA travel tag.
tooling was hss with some carbide inserts. Hss was ground on surface grinders with common carburundom. wheels. Lubricating fluid was water soluble oil.
the finish on the shells was complete when it fell off the cutoff. Then they were washed & went to secondary operations/ assembly.
all operators & setup had their tools. We used common abrasives. No hocus locus. our department made the shells for Gossimer Albatross which set worlds records trans globe flight with no refueling.
I didn’t read the article, I’ve done the actual work, we didnt follow the protocol mentioned.
I’d like to see stainless rusting from using steel wool In actual practice.
not all grades of stainless are “stainless “ anyway, some will rust especially steel from offshore sources.

 

[Rannis]

So for longer term corrosion prevention I use fluid film. It is lanolin based and truthful any lanolin based product would perform the same. Rig is good also. Old school was bear grease or sperm oil but it’s Blaise to speak of those so the poor sheep will need to bear the burden. I guess losing one's fur to losing your life is apples to oranges but….