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View Full Version : Is this rust?


red96ta
May 21, 2013, 12:53 AM
Doesn't look like fouling, doesn't look like rust...looks like poop?

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v198/Red96TA/2765df42-873d-4055-acca-e4d8cfe0bfa4_zpsc3e13e40.jpg (http://smg.photobucket.com/user/Red96TA/media/2765df42-873d-4055-acca-e4d8cfe0bfa4_zpsc3e13e40.jpg.html)

I always clean my rifle well using hot water and soap followed by patches until their clean and dry, but the next day, I end up with crud on patches... nevermind the water, that's from the sink where I took the picture.

kwhi43
May 21, 2013, 03:01 AM
It is. Small animals have been known to poop in barrels. I've seen it before.

wap41
May 21, 2013, 03:54 AM
phil,do you have any pictures of those barrel poopers you've seen?Last person I know of that has seen them was smoking and drinking some funny stuff

101combatvet
May 21, 2013, 05:47 AM
Rust.... I avoid using water.

bedbugbilly
May 21, 2013, 06:34 AM
red - I think what you are seeing is rust. Don't worry, you aren't the first that's had that problem . . . won't be the last.

Everyone has their own methods for cleaning BP. I've always used hot water and soap with good results. As careful as I am, if the weather conditions are such that it can contribute to rust - such as higher humidity - I can put a patch down the bore and sometimes get red.

There are a lot of nooks and crannies in a barrel where moisture can get trapped regardless of how many patches you use to dry. You don't mention, but are you following up with oil, WD40, etc. after you dry the barrel? I would assume that you are.

If I shoot a rifle or a pistol and it will be a while before I shoot it again - I always keep track of it and in a day or so, run a patch down the bore to make sure I'm not developing rust. If I get indications of it, I get on it and re-clean it but use something like WD40 - and then check again in a couple of days.

If you are cleaning a rifle and oil the bore well - then store it standing up - remember that over time the oils can travel down the bore to the breech. Due to that, I'll take the time and run an oily patch down every so often.

A lot of folks don't like WD40 but I've always had good luck with it. When I was shooting NSSA and at the Nationals in Winchester - after the shoot I would quickly run some patches down the bore with some WD40 on it and then hold the nozzle at the muzzle and spray a quantity down the barrel followed up by spraying all the metal down. It was several days before I'd get back home and I never had any rust problems. I'd then clean with hot soapy water and do a follow up for a couple of days.

In the long run, I've found that using very hot water actually helps with the drying process as it will heat the barrel some which helps with the drying. That's what has worked for me for 50 plus years but as I said, everyone has their methods and favorite way of cleaning that works for them.

Pahoo
May 21, 2013, 10:10 AM
Rust.... I avoid using water.
Same here but we all have our own "special" way. What is the solvent that you are showing, on your cleaning patch? Looks like straight Ballitol??

Doesn't look like fouling, doesn't look like rust...looks like poop?
Good obseravation on "Reading" your patch and I too, see no presence of fouling. On fouling, I call it "mud". Now I'm calling this "Rust-Poop"; Thanks... ;)

Be Safe !!!

wogpotter
May 21, 2013, 10:39 AM
I've had a similar deposit when I use pyrodex & Wonderlube 1000. I have no idea what it actually is but after 3 years of getting it & having the same concerns as you I see absolutely no evidence of rust damage to the bore. I assume its just a rusty-colored ass/soot burned lube thing.

I know its the pyrodex & wonderlube because if I swap guns & use the same combination in the rifle or the pistol the stuff appears & dissapears with the components used. Its not the cleaning as I clean the everything same way with hot, soapy water & a hot water rinse then hot air drying.

Rigmarol
May 21, 2013, 11:33 AM
I've seen this too. I believe it's rust as well.

I've found I have to check my guns a few days after a cleaning so I can catch the occasional "poop-rust" event. Doesn't happen very often but I've caught a few over the years.

My worst offender is my Sharps. Don't know why. If I don't check on her in a few days I get rust.

My Dragoons also will show rust quickly if I don't get oil in every nook.

I'm seriously considering swallowing my pride and bring along some WD40 to the range.

Grant D
May 21, 2013, 01:51 PM
If you put the parts in boiling water after you clean them in hot sopy water,the water will evaporate, and then oil them.

bn12gg
May 21, 2013, 03:49 PM
Agreed, check a black powder firearm 2/3 days after a good clean job. My typical behavior is to run a patch with a little Ballistol down the bore. If it comes up sweet clean then I tend to run a little Bore Butter into the rifle.

I think it is important to develop a certain "pride" in a shining bore!

.02

David :)

red96ta
May 21, 2013, 08:20 PM
Thanks guys...despite being very thorough about cleaning this dang thing, it's still rusting. I ended up grabbing a bronze cleaning brush and giving the bore another good cleaning...only difference this time is that instead of running a patch with oil on it, I sprayed CLP down the barrel until it was coming out of the nipple. Hope this keeps it clean.

Gotta keep her clean! I got third place in my club's BP competition last Sunday! :cool:

4V50 Gary
May 21, 2013, 10:38 PM
Rust. I find that even after I scrub out a barrel with hot soapy water and treat it afterwards with CLP, that the next day new stuff comes out.

wap41
May 22, 2013, 04:21 AM
I'm with bn12gg,a little ballistol on a patch does the job for me.

B.L.E.
May 22, 2013, 06:22 AM
Unprotected steel will flash rust when water dries. I have seen it when scrubbing engine cylinders clean with soap and water after honing them. The way to prevent it is to spray the cylinders with water displacing oil while they are still wet.

I do the same with my muzzleloaders. Clean them with water and then spray the WD-40 down the bore before the bore has dried. Then I dry the bore with patches and then apply some more permanent bore protector like RIG.
Doing it this way, I get zero rust.

Also, I use an aquarium air pump and hook the hose to the nipple and let it ventilate the barrel overnight just to make sure any water left in the barrel evaporates.

brazosdave
May 22, 2013, 08:05 AM
I had never thought of using an old aquarium pump like that, but it makes perfect sense! I've started using wd 40 myself

Sure Shot Mc Gee
May 22, 2013, 10:05 AM
If you have to use water make sure its really hot hot water. When washing & rinsing my barrels I actually have too wrap the barrel with a dry cloth when holding onto it because of my suctioning scalding hot water back and forth thru it. A hot barrel helps its bore evaporate its moisture better and quicker. So the hotter the water the better. But you have to be careful no to burn or splash yourself. If you can get by doing so and after patching it a couple times to make sure its good and dry. You'll end up with a nice clean and dry barrel ready for your choice of rust inhibitor to be applied. That's how I go about cleaning mine which may be different from other commenting here.

S/S

B.L.E.
May 22, 2013, 06:21 PM
I had never thought of using an old aquarium pump like that, but it makes perfect sense! I've started using wd 40 myself


Just don't rely on WD-40 for long term protection. It just keeps the iron from flash rusting until you can get a more long term rust inhibitor down the bore.

Dan_D
May 23, 2013, 10:40 PM
Agreed, WD-40 is good at displacing moisture, but evaporates too quickly to be a main protectant.