Encore frame and rust? Stainless

[Gdbyrd]

Just pulled my frame out, it looks to be speckled in fine particles of rust.  It's a SS frame, and I take very good care of my firearms.  Alternatively, in the same safe I have a SRH, 1911, Buckmark, and a dozen other guns that are both blued and stainless and none of them are rusted.  Hell even the barrel that was on this frame has some rust "stains" on it.


Do I do the steel wool thing or what do you recommend? 


It's like the areas that I cleaned have rusted.  The areas inside the frame or where the stock covered look perfect.

[Austin from NC]

Maybe your cleaner got contaminated some how. Very fine steel wool soaked in oil should work. Stupid question but you didn't get solvent and oil mixed up right? I have done that before and it sucks. What do you use in safe to keep it dry my uncle had one of those bags that is supposed to collect moisture but it leaked rusting several guns pretty bad including one I let him borrow.

       Austin

[Bullseye]

Yep, some stainless will rust and in my experience the T/C's are more prone to it than any of my other stainless guns.
 
A little 0000 steel wool should fix it up.

[Austin from NC]

All stainless will rust. Some faster than others. Let us know if you figure out the problem. Just keep a close eye on em and nip it in the bud before it starts pitting and you should be fine.

       Austin

[Gdbyrd]

I tried the 0000 steel wool and there were no results.  I didn't notice any change at all.  Should I step up to a 3?  They sell 1, 2, 3, and 0000 at Lowes.  There's no pitting, it seems to be sitting right on the surface, but as you all know, the surface is kinda bead blasted, so I can't really get in there very good.


Any ideas?  I soaked it with rem oil really good past couple of days to kinda loosen stuff up.  Did it again to the gun and the steel wool.  Maybe I'm not putting enough pressure?  Should I really scrub it good and hard?


I haven't kept anything in my safe for moisture, it's probably a good idea to add something though.  But living in the same area for as long as I have I've never had an issue with it in the past so I've never worried about it.  Not even my blued barrels that see bad conditions had a spec of surface stuff on them, just the encore stuff did : /

[ralfus]

I tried the 0000 steel wool and there were no results.  I didn't notice any change at all.  Should I step up to a 3?  They sell 1, 2, 3, and 0000 at Lowes.  There's no pitting, it seems to be sitting right on the surface, but as you all know, the surface is kinda bead blasted, so I can't really get in there very good.


Any ideas?  I soaked it with rem oil really good past couple of days to kinda loosen stuff up.  Did it again to the gun and the steel wool.  Maybe I'm not putting enough pressure?  Should I really scrub it good and hard?

DON'T go to 000. You can use an old, dense copper bore brush or copper toothbrush with lots of oil and lightly scrub. It should come up. Lots of oil though. Then rinse, then wipe off the copper residue with solvent, then oil again.


When I worked at a gun shop some of the stainless guns that would sit in the case longer than others would develop some light speckling. We didn't carry TC's but the S&W's seemed to speckle when others wouldn't.

[sr sawyer]

When you use regular steel wool to clean SS firearms it leaves behind very fine residue of steel particles on the finish and this is what the moistue attacks and leaves spots.  Use a synthetic scrubber with your favorite oil to clean up the spots.
 
You can also purchase a bronze wool to use on the SS finish and it will not leave a residue that moisture will attack.  I thought I saw an add one time for SS wool but can't find the stuff any where.
 
Ken

[Gdbyrd]

When you use regular steel wool to clean SS firearms it leaves behind very fine residue of steel particles on the finish and this is what the moistue attacks and leaves spots.  Use a synthetic scrubber with your favorite oil to clean up the spots.
 
You can also purchase a bronze wool to use on the SS finish and it will not leave a residue that moisture will attack.  I thought I saw an add one time for SS wool but can't find the stuff any where.
 
Ken

You know I've read that before but I've also seen people swear that it doesn't happen, even had a guy with a metallurgy degree agree that it can't happen.  I used mine for a few minutes like I said.  Then moved onto a scotch bright pad because it was slightly more abrasive and that's what a lot of guys on other forums recommended.  It got a lot of the rust off, but now there are areas of the frame that are a different finish than the rest....Sucks because there's still a lot of speckles there.  It looks like it's speckled with lint now, its just way less noticeable than before.


Any recommendations? Considering polishing the whole damn thing, although I don't like flashy stuff at all...I just want it to be uniform.


Also, last I checked Brownells sells the SS wool.

[Austin from NC]

I would reccomend leaving as is but if it bothers you do what you want. Any Pics?

       Austin

[ralfus]

Time to learn to detail strip the receiver and have someone beadblast it.

[Gdbyrd]

:*(  Aww..I was afraid someone was going to suggest that.  I went to target today and picked up another scothbright pad that seemed way finer than the other..it sorta evened things out.


I'll leave it as is for now.  You can only see the issue when looking at it at an angle.  The little specs are still there...they're mostly around where the forearm will cover.


Hopefully after this season I can look into getting it refinished.  Does anyone know of any engravers that do a good job?  What does that stuff cost anyhow?