Horrors! Rust on my T-Bolt

[Bitterroot Bob]

Howdy,
One of the dangers of immersing oneself in one segment of the shooting sports is that it can result in neglect of the others. I put my LH Browning T-Bolt away in the safe with numerous other long-guns while playing at Sporting Clays and Cowboy Action. I pulled it from the safe this afternoon and found a horrible mass of rust and white powder where the wood meets the metal of the action and barrel. I soaked the metal parts down with Kroil and Rem-Oil. I disassembled the action and found that the corrosion occurred only where the wood touched. The bore is perfect, and the bolt and interior of the action is just fine. The outside of the action is badly pitted, as is the points of the barrel where the stock touched.
There are some twenty other long guns in the safe with it, yet they are all fine, even the ones I haven't had out in a while. The stock of this rifle was stripped, checkered, and re-finished with Lin-Speed in 1967 when it was new. Is there something in the walnut that caused this corrosion? Was it the grade of steel that Browning used in Belgium at the time? I caught this rifle starting to rust twenty years ago and I thought I caught it in time.
What can I do to prevent this stuff from starting up again, aside from separating the wood from the metal after each use? I'll probably have to live with the pitting, I don't know if enough metal is available to be removed to smooth it up or not.
I'm sick over this.

Bitterroot

[koginam]

I have had customers bring in guns with the same problem, rusting gets cleaned up and then it starts rusting again and again, what I have had to do to prevent the rusting starting again was to soak the gun in pitting acid to kill the rust and then re blue in each case the guns stopped rusting.  just putting oil on the rust won't kill it, you have to really get into the pitting. Can you post a picture of the rust pitting? Its hard to tell if anything can be done without seeing it.

[Rangr44]

I thought everyone in the world had heard about Browning's late 1960's - early 1970's "salt wood" rust problem, by now.

Your rifle was stocked with a batch of wood that Browning used to stock different models, that had been dried with salt.
The cells of the wood are permeated with the salt.

The only cure is to switch out the stock, as there is no way to "un-salt" it.

If you can prove you're the original owner, IIRC, Browning will restock it, but other than refinishing, little can be done about the rusted metal.

http://artsgunshop.com/Salt/Salt_Article-Page-1.htm

(also)

" While the salt-wood problem has been well documented, remember that between 1966 and 1972, the Morton Salt Company sold Browning a new salt method of "speed drying" walnut blanks, as Superposed demand had outstripped the company's ability to provide kiln-dried wood. Unfortunately, this new process yielded a good many salt-filled stocks and/or forearms to be utilized in maintaining adequate production, resulting in rusting metal surfaces where there was wood/metal contact. If in doubt about salt-wood on a Browning Superposed manufactured during 1966-72, please consult a knowledgeable Browning dealer and/or collector."

[Bitterroot Bob]

Holy Crap!
This is the first I've heard of it, but it makes sense. The shame of it is that my dad put a lot of hours into the checkering and bedding of two LH T-Bolts for my brother and myself. The stocks are beautiful. I had no idea that they were time bombs.
As time allows, I'll try to post a photo of the pitting. Wife took the camera with her to her mother's.
I wish I'd known of this earlier. I was just at the NRA convention and there were plenty of folks in the Browning booth to vent to.
Damn.

Bitterroot

[Rangr44]

I know it's different, when something happens to you, but keep in mind - there's also a passel of folks, who've got rusted $13,000.00 Midas Grade Superposed shotguns in the same salt wood boat.

Don't "vent".  Call the Browning Service Dept, not a Browning dealer or collector - Browning !

And check your Dad's papers for the original bill(s) of sale.

[Hairtrigger]

From what I have seen at the SHOT show it is tough to get a Browning or Winchester factory guy to give a rip. They are looking to take big orders and if you don't fit into that mold they could care less and will spend very little time with you.
The shows I attend I am with a local dealer that sells a couple hundred guns a year, he cannot hold a factory guys attention but has good relationship with the wholesalers he works with.

[Rangr44]

I was in "service" for the first half of my working life, in "sales" for the second half, and can safely say that most (not all) large company's sales staff's are the same way.

Deal with the Service Dept, or Customer Service, as the case may be.

What is there to lose ? Or, the worst they can say (NO ?) ?

But, they just might say "yes".

[gunnut69]

It's very unlikely Browning will help. From the info I've gotten they won't do anything on a salt wood rifle. Only on the shotguns and then you have to be the original purchaser.. Good luck! The link to Art's can get you help and pits can be fix but it's costs a good bit. Weld them up TIG or MIG and re-finish. the stock should be burned and replaced with custom wood..

[Bitterroot Bob]

Thanks for your help and suggestions.
I WILL call Browning and ask them what they want to do. I decided that, before trashing the stock, I will call Brownell's and ask how much Acra-glas gel it would take to bed a complete action. First, I will install a bedding pillar to locate the receiver in the stock, and wrap the barrel in their .010" tape. Once the pillar is set, I will take the roughest bit on the Dremel and eat as much wood out of the middle of that stock as I can. I'll need to install a threaded escutchen for the trigger guard screw, as the original wood screw is pretty gnarly. When I'm done the stock should be more fiberglass than wood. Maybe I'll stick a piece of aluminum channel into the fore-end to support the sling, and to keep the wood from warping to the barrel. As long as I have the Forstner bit in the drill press, I might as well.
I forwarded Art's article to my brother in AK. He tore his down and is lucky that only the trigger guard was corroding. He has all the luck.
Heck, all I wanted to do was shoot a few targets. I didn't need another project.

Thanks
Bitterroot

[gunnut69]

You can try what you're suggesting but it likely won't work. I've seen it done before.. For a while all is well but when you least expect it the salt strikes again. I don't know how it gets to the metal but suspect it's hygroscopic nature is the culprit. Salt loves water and will draw it to itself right from the air.. The only cure is to fully stop the existing rust (a chore in itself) and replace the stock..

[Rangr44]

Anything, other than total stock replacement, is like shoveling sand against the tide.

[sandcritter]

In the interest of salvaging the stock that has so much time put into it. Why not sand down the little wiskers within the action cut-out, mask of the exterior of the gun (painters masking tape and newspaper), and shoot a couple light coats of aerosol polyurethane on it? Light coats only. The poly is hydrophobic, the salt should not be able to migrate thru it. (i say sand down the original wood wiskers inside because the poly will make them stiff/brittle, and action may be too tight a fit to slide back in). As a think about it, aerosol lacquer may be better - it is self leveling and can be applied even thinner that poly.