• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades
  • Friends, our 2nd Amendment rights are always under attack and the NRA has been a constant for decades in helping fight that fight.

    We have partnered with the NRA to offer you a discount on membership and Muzzleloading Forum gets a small percentage too of each membership, so you are supporting both the NRA and us.

    Use this link to sign up please; https://membership.nra.org/recruiters/join/XR045103

Rust stopping oil

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Maybe I should clean with water and soap as normal and then put the whole barrel into an IPA filled tube and pump the daylights out of it with the bronze brush ???
 
Some guns just seem to be prone to having that rust like patch after cleaning. I have several guns that I may shoot one range visit. All the guns are cleaned using the same procedure. One, an old CVA Mountain pistol will come out clean and later patching, the patches are still white with no rust. Others will have the brown streaks as if the bore is rusting. I can't solve the brown patch issue either. The rifle is still very accurate so I have learned to live with the discolored patches.
 
How sure are you its rust? Oil can change when exposed to air and discolor. Also microscopic particals in the air can collect and adhere to the oil. Just be sure its rust before you chase your tail.
Walk
 
How sure are you its rust? Oil can change when exposed to air and discolor. Also microscopic particals in the air can collect and adhere to the oil. Just be sure its rust before you chase your tail.
Walk

I have no idea it's rust, I assume it's rust as it's rust colour.

https://ibb.co/LYpn0C7

The top patch if is from a bore I have, made of 316 stainless steel.
The bottom patch is from my Hawken.

Both were cleaned at the same time in the same way with the same oil.

316 Stainless tends not to rust and certainly not over 4 days, and as you can see, the top patch has nothing but oil on the patch, the lower is from the Hawken.
 
Last edited:
If you’re using compressed air to blow it out that most usually has moisture if from an air compressor. Unless the air is cooled and condensed with a top quality system it will be wet.

I believe you that it’s rust, just swab it every few days with something thin like kerosene , diesel, kroil , PB blaster or the like.
 
Last edited:
OK, i started this thread and it is now 5 pages long.

I have read every post and acted the best I can on every point raised.

This is what I can show you after only 3 days since the last full clean that was not even done on a gun that had been shot since the clean before. So it was a clean on top of a clean with one week apart!!

https://ibb.co/mH5tgYc

As you can seen, even a RIG Grease loaded wool mop will not stop the rusting!!

I am at a total loss as to how the hell I clean my Pedersoli Hawken and keep the rust out??

I've done most of what all these pages suggest, and still rust. I know I a human waste of space, the lowest of the low, somebody that shouldn't stand with in 10 feet of a gun, basically a horrible person with no skill what so ever, but surely after only 3 days my gun should be rust free??

Before the last clean where these patches show, I scrubbed the bore with a 50 cal bronze brush using Boretech gun cleaner, then washed the bore with IPA and patched it with IPA and then stuck an air line down the bore to dry it out, then the RIG soaked wool mop.

I guess I'm going to have to live with it being rusty after every clean.

Just as point of interest, the patches came out like this when I cleaned the bore before the very first shot when the gun was brand new from the shop !!

Try M.A.P and use G96
Use real black powder.
If your gun is only showing brown patches a day or two after cleaning and you re-wipe the bore with oil, don't worry about it. I cleaned that way for years using pyrodex.
 
I don't know why I get patches like this SDSmlf? (lower patch)
https://ibb.co/LYpn0C7
This is why I started this thread.

As far as I can tell, the bore is clean and dry.
My last clean:-

Warm water with dish soap,
(dry patch),
IPA wash,
(dry patch),
IPA patch,
(dry patch),
Wool mop soaked in gun oil.

However, same process, but with RIG grease on the mop for my last clean a day ago, so I will report back in a week or so for the first patch result.
Maybe time to try something different? Can’t expect different results if we keep trying the same thing.

Have you tried eliminating your tap water from the process? You can get a gallon of distilled water from WallyWorld or most anywhere for less than a dollar. Try that with bit Murphys and maybe a squirt of Ballistols if you want (I’ve used a moose milk 20:1:1 with no issues). Use a fresh batch or just the plain distilled water with a clean patch to rinse and then blow out bore with compressed air it you want. And instead of the isopropyl use a good dousing of WD40 (I buy it by the gallon and use a small spray bottle to apply) followed with compressed air and one or two clean dry patches. Set the barrel muzzle down in the corner for a day or two and see what happens. I live in the not so arid North Carolina and do not have a rust problem cleaning as described above. If the barrel is real dirty or I plan to use it within 24 hours I’ll use hot water. No additional oil or grease applied unless going into long term storage.

As a point of reference, in the NC summer when the heat and humidity are at their finest, I can brown or rust blue a barrel by wiping it clean with isopropyl or a solvent like acetone while the barrel is in the house, and then just set the barrel outside for a few days to a week, carding once a day. The temperature and humidity difference from inside my house to the outside and throughout the day generates enough moisture to cause the rust. As a side note, I use a couple coats of clear lacquer in the bore to keep it rust free during the process.

There are many ways to clean a bore. This is just one that works for me.
 
Wait, is you barrel stainless ?/////
Once stainless rusts it will never stop.
unless you remove the rust completely and re-passivate it.
 
OP...Try polishing the bore with flitz or semichrome and cleaning patches. It could be rough from machine marks or rust. Crevices hold fouling.

Others...There is no reason to shun petroleum solvent containing preservatives. Fluid film is good stuff, my favorite. There are also scores of perfectly good preservative oils and greases. Heck cosmoline is the gold standard. That said pure anhydrous lanolin is an excellent preservative too. It is also a sticky mess. Warm the barrel to melt it and make it spread out because of this.

IF one is all about historical PC accuracy go ahead and slather your gun with a lump of fat. It will rust and you will have avoided petroleum products.
 
I have a Pedersoli 54 cal Hawken, after cleaning I spray a mix of lanolin isopropyl alcohol down the bore and all over, alcohol will flash off and leave a coat of lanolin, no rust even after 12 months.
 
There are multiple grades of IPA sold, some with a high enough water content that it might not dry a barrel. You want 90%+ IPA. WD40, acetone, most denatured alcohols are water free. Store the barrel muzzle down. If you have a gun safe, make sure it has a good heater.
Good luck, and let us know when you find the solution.
 
I use 3 in 1 oil on all my guns for the final cleaning on the inside and outside and I've never had any problems with rust and before I load it I'll shoot 2to4 primers off to take care of any oil that might be in it and then I'll run a dry cleaning patch down the barrel
 
I use 3 in 1 oil on all my guns for the final cleaning on the inside and outside and I've never had any problems with rust and before I load it I'll shoot 2to4 primers off to take care of any oil that might be in it and then I'll run a dry cleaning patch down the barrel
I have been cleaning my flintlock guns with two hot water patches followed by two drying patches followed by a patch saturated with canola oil.
The patches are three inch strips and are pushed down the barrel twisted ahead of the slotted rod so they wipe the plug edges free of fouling and squeeze the canola into the base of the breech.
My gun have no metal finish and canola has so far inhibited corrosion. the guns have begun to show a darkening in some spots but not a rust growth.
I only treat the lock interior with light 3in1 oil to keep the action lubed. The canola tends to get gummy.
My guns look used but cared for and I expect they will stay functioning and serviceable long after me if cared for as I have and checked every few months.
I find simple works.
 
OP...Try polishing the bore with flitz or semichrome and cleaning patches. It could be rough from machine marks or rust. Crevices hold fouling.

The gun is only 2 months old, and going by the condition of the crown (I had to re-crown it as there was a HUGE burr ring on the inside!) there may well be machine marks in the bore.

We have this readily available in the UK
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Autosol-Me...26&hvtargid=pla-563996090104&psc=1&th=1&psc=1

Would this be OK to polish the bore ?

If yes, I can make a new long jag that has a deep groove in it in the middle to hold the paste within the patch as the patch is being used.

Thanks.
 
Last edited:
To stop rust in a barrel made from iron and steel you have to stop O2 (oxygen)and Fe (Iron) from getting together and doing their thing, which is combining to get back to basics Iron oxide, How do you do that when rifle barrels are made from iron and air in this atmosphere is 20% Oxygen? well it helps if the barrel is made from a rust resisting steel, also don't expose that barrel to BP (black powder) and heat, which leaves BP residue. Removing that Residue takes a solvent that will remove black powder residue, of which hot soapy water is the traditional solvent. Remove the BP residue is step #1. Since hot soapy water cleans the residue from the rifle bore with scrubbing action inside the barrel. .... After cleaning and then drying the inside of the barrel, Step #2, you must apply an anti-rust barrier (preventing the iron of the barrel from uniting with it's lover, Oxygen) inside the barrel. The longer lasting and more able the barrier is the less rust you will have on your cleaning patch next week. End of story.
Oh, I often use WD-40 as a water drying agent after the hot soapy water (the hotter the better) and I use some Hoppes #9 as a long lasting rust barrier. ...It works for me.

BTW: My dad used steam on his BP rifle and shotgun barrels back in the 1920s when he was a boiler tender.
I agree 3 in 1 oil has worked on guns for a long time. 3 in 1 oil is owned and produced by the company that invented Fish Oil less WD-40, that would be the WD-40 company
 
There are multiple grades of IPA sold, some with a high enough water content that it might not dry a barrel. You want 90%+ IPA. WD40, acetone, most denatured alcohols are water free. Store the barrel muzzle down. If you have a gun safe, make sure it has a good heater.
Good luck, and let us know when you find the solution.
WOW!
You mean to say you've found a good use for that nasty stuff?
As I understand it, the Brit's came up with it in the 1840's and made it with a higher alcohol content and more hops so it wouldn't spoil on its voyage to India.

I can't imagine pouring it down the barrel on one of my muzzleloaders but that might be a better idea than actually drinking it. Maybe the carbonation will boil out any remaining fouling? I don't know.

Wait... Maybe your not talking about India Pale Ale? You might be talking about isopropyl alcohol? That would make more sense than India Pale Ale.

(Just funnin with you folks. Don't take this post seriously. )
 
I made this just now from some uPVC pipe. It is routed into the ply and super glued into place, then filled with 1/4" of liquid resin to seal it all up in the bottoms.

https://ibb.co/TBSfNfr
https://ibb.co/M1kcKYN

This will help with cleaning and better than the barrels falling about in a bucket!

So my first clean will be:-
Hot water and soap until patches come out clean.
Hot water and bronze brush.
Hot water and soap until patches come out clean.
Dry.
IPA until patches come out clean.
Dry.
Rig grease on wool mop.

Surely the above can't be a bad cleaning system ???

I'll order some hoppes 9 if the RIG will still not hold the rust back!
 
That's not the point of argument. But, anything that smells different to an animals natural environment can be an attractant, and make them curious.
I hope the oil being talked about is not a petroleum product. Worst thing for a rifle barrel. There wasn't any petroleum back then and they did fine with natural products. I use that bore butter, but living in a very dry climate, I don't worry much. I have been told that when the barrel is hot, the pores of the metal open wider and let fouling in. I always use extremely hot soapy water on my barrel and then when the barrel is hot and clean ( brush, Siphon, or T/C13 etc.), I put paper towel pads down the bore. Paper towels are strong and soak up a lot of water. When the bore is dry and still hot, I put T/C Bore butter on a patch down the bore. The heat melts the bore butter and it fills the pores. I have had patches come out of the bore brown in color but I believe it's bore butter discoloration. Never had a rusted barrel in 40 years. (I was taught this at a young age from a black powder gunsmith)
 
Back
Top