Quote:
|
scorch, not sure what you mean by the inside and the outside of the bore looking the same.
|
In the pictures you posted, the outside surfaces of the gun have a distinct brown color. Often called "patina", it is the result of the ferric oxide (the black bluing) turning to ferrous oxide (commonly called 'rust'). This chemical change occurs naturally over time as the ferric oxide is exposed to oxygen in the air. If the gun had been kept oiled or greased, the change would take a lot longer to occur.
The good news is that the layer of ferric oxide and the layer of ferrous oxide that replaced it is only one molecule thick on the surface, and as you clean the gun that layer will be lifted off by the chemical action of the solvent and the physical action of scrubbing, so the rust you are getting out of the bore on your cleaning patches may not be a major problem. Once you get the bore fully cleaned, take a look through it and check for dark areas in the bore that would be indicative of deeper rust.