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Removing Rust from a 1851 cylinder


Lucky Horseman

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Howdy all, I just picked up a pair of piety’s 1851 navys. The good, They have had some work done and the action isn’t bad, cap rake and slick shot nipples installed.

 

The bad, the cylinders have quite a lot of rust, I soaked the cylinders in oil and was able to scrub away most of the rust. However there are a few tough spots that are being stubborn. 

 

Any my advice on something that will get the rust off without destroying the blueing?

 

 

 

 

 

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Use 100% copper or bronze wool soaked in oil. Make sure it is 100% copper or bronze and not plated steel.  You can wrap it around an orange wood stick  or chop stick to get into tight places.

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Kroil (a maintenance oil, from most gun supply vendors) removes rust without pulling off bluing.   Have used it, rubbed in with BRONZE wool (get at hardware stores), on several rusted old firearms.

 

Good luck, GJ

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Not knowing how much rust we are talking about...

 

Inspect inside the chamber walls closely for rust damage.  If there is noticeable rust on the outside, there may be more ( and worse) on the inside.  You don’t need the surprise of one chamber burning through a wall and setting off its neighbor!!

 

Some kind of probe, like a dental pick, may help find any possible problem spots.

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On 10/17/2019 at 12:34 PM, Lucky Horseman said:

Howdy all, I just picked up a pair of piety’s 1851 navys. The good, They have had some work done and the action isn’t bad, cap rake and slick shot nipples installed.

 

The bad, the cylinders have quite a lot of rust, I soaked the cylinders in oil and was able to scrub away most of the rust. However there are a few tough spots that are being stubborn. 

 

Any my advice on something that will get the rust off without destroying the blueing?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Really good pictures would help.   

 

Provided the cylinders are serviceable,  you could remove the bluing from the rest of the gun to match. It's called defarbing for some reason.

 

 

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As a total tangent, but in response Warden Callaway’s comment, “de-Farb” is a reenactors term that means to make something historically authentic.  People that are inauthentic are “Farbs” and something that is inauthentic is “Farb”.  In the case of guns, de-farbing can include removing modern markings and/or applying period ones, reworking a modern stock to give it the period shape or finish, replacing modern blue with the correct period finish, etc.  Though de-farbing can involve removing finish, that’s not what the term means. 

 

I fully realize that the concept of historical authenticity has little to no value in SASS, so I present the term here simply as a bit of arcane knowledge.  

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I'm in for a 50/50 mix of ATF and Acetone and a bronze wool.  The Acetone is quite volatile and will evaporate quite fast, leaving some ATF behind.  Once the rust is gone, leave a light coat of oil on the chambers.  Before a match or range session, run a dry patch thru the chambers then fire each chamber Cap only to clear the chamber.

 

If it's (the chamber) really rusted, you can run a flap sander with 320 or 400 Wet/Dry in the chambers.  There is a whole bunch of chamber wall to work with.  However, were I to be looking at really ugly pits, I'd have a nice pencil/tool holder and source a new cylinder. 

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21 hours ago, Doc Coles SASS 1188 said:

I would recommend buying new cylinders.  

+1.

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3 hours ago, Doc Coles SASS 1188 said:

 

I fully realize that the concept of historical authenticity has little to no value in SASS, so I present the term here simply as a bit of arcane knowledge.  

 

I was told that “farb” is a sarcastic contraction of “far be it from me to criticize...”

 

So if one re-enactor saw another using dress or equipment that was historically incorrect, identifying the offender as a Farb was a way to criticize by seeming not to be criticizing!  And “de-farbing” a gun by removing modern markings is an attempt to avoid criticism from those who are snotty enough to be concerned about such things.

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6 hours ago, J-BAR #18287 said:

 

I was told that “farb” is a sarcastic contraction of “far be it from me to criticize...”

 

So if one re-enactor saw another using dress or equipment that was historically incorrect, identifying the offender as a Farb was a way to criticize by seeming not to be criticizing!  And “de-farbing” a gun by removing modern markings is an attempt to avoid criticism from those who are snotty enough to be concerned about such things.

Different game, different rules.  In reenacting authenticity matters.  In SASS, no one cares.  Both games are fun and interesting, but it’s a waste of time and effort to apply the rules of one to another.  

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