[JohnKSa]

I disagree with both points - that oiled rust is as abrasive as dry rust and that dry rust magically vanishes.

Except that I said neither.

I said they're "about" the same and they are. The abrasives in lapping compounds are still abrasive even though they're suspended in some sort of petroleum based product and while oil may provide some minimal protection against the abrasive action, it won't make an abrasive into a non-abrasive.

And I didn't say anything about anything "magically" vanishing. It's pretty easy to see that if you use oil that the dislodged rust particles are held in place by the oil and can't be easily dusted off as they can be if the removal is done dry. It's not magic at all, it's pretty straightforward logic that's easily verified for those who haven't already had a similar experience.

That's a pretty specific statement of fact, which IMO defies both logic and experience.

It doesn't defy logic at all, and I've taken pains to explain exactly why what I have said is logical. As far as defying experience, it clearly doesn't defy my experience although it's also clear that your experience and mine differ somewhat.

Rubbing rust on a blued finish will damage it because rust (iron oxide) is an abrasive and rubbing an abrasive on a blued finish will damage it. That said, is it possible to do it with only minimal, perhaps imperceptible damage? Clearly it is as your experience demonstrates. And before I tried it without oil, I was able to do a lot of rust removal using oil and 0000 steel wool without ruining guns although I did get some finish fading at times. However, after experimenting a little, I found that it was much easier to keep the finish intact if I didn't use oil during the actual rust removal process. Others I have mentioned this to have tried the method I suggested and achieved similar results.

Again, it's not like I have anything tied up in this. The only reason I pointed it out was because I have had a good bit of experience trying both methods while it appeared to me that most people had always assumed that it should be done with oil and never tried it any other way.

Again, I have no problem if people want to use oil (why would I?), but I think if they try both ways they will almost certainly get the same results I did.