Rust pitting in a stainless steel rifle: what to do?

Acer Ace · May 30, 2012

I have a Marlin 880SS bolt-action that I purchased in the mid-90's when I was a teen. It's had a pretty rough life since then, especially after I let my younger brother use it while I was off to college. I've buffed out the surface rust pretty well with fine steel wool and gun oil, but there is still some visible pitting of the barrel and a few spots on the bolt knob and receiver. Mechanically it's fine though, and feeds and fires perfectly.

I'd like to get this gun cleaned up, partly because it has sentimental value to me and partly because it is crazy accurate with pretty much anything I feed it. I can't spend a lot of money sending it to a gunsmith, though, so I need ideas that can be done at home. I'm not opposed to recoating the metal somehow if possible; I'm not as much of a fan of the stainless look as I used to be.

Any suggestions? Thanks!

fflincher · May 30, 2012

By using steel wool you've imbedded minute pieces of the wool into your barrel. Each piece is a site vulnerable to rust. In the future, if you must clean stainless, use 3M Scotch Brite.

I'd get it nice and clean, get off all the oil and paint it. White if you hunt in winter, camo for using it outdoors the rest of the year. Pink if you're teaching a female friend.

Gizzy · May 30, 2012

Re-coating it will not do you any good unless you can get all of the rust off first. Nothing short of bead blasting then buffing will bring it back to normal again. The bead blasting is necessary to get the rust out of the pits. Its the only way to do it, without buffing off too much metal.

timberbeast · May 30, 2012

Gizzy's advice is good. Bead blasting will give you a clean matte stainless finish that you can buff to a desired shine.

Rust pitting in a stainless steel rifle: what to do?

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