Remington 870 finish issue

CedarGrove357 · October 28, 2018, 08:31 PM

I have a customer who brought in a relatively new remington 870 for a sling point install. They also stated they cleaned their firearm after shooting and noticed brown smudges which they couldnt remove. Not sure what they used but ive used several cleaners ranging from warm soap and water to eds red formula to hoppes 9. After nothing seemed to cut it, i took a scotch pad and rubbed a little spot, the finish seemed to come off but the stain remained. Before i call a flaw in the finish or user damaged, what is the opinion of other wise folks? The images have remoil on them which highlights the issue more.

Thanks for your time.

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Scorch · October 29, 2018, 01:30 AM

Looks like rust from a case with egg-crate foam in it.

jaguarxk120 · October 29, 2018, 07:17 AM

Those spots are fairly deep rust from long time wet storage in a case.

The gun need a complete re blue.

From looking at several area's on the receiver, this must be a Express model.

NoSecondBest · October 29, 2018, 07:50 AM

About ten or twelve years ago I purchased a Remington 870 Express with a rifled slug barrel brand new from Dick's Sporting Goods (this isn't about Dick's, just telling where and why I got it). It was on sale at a fantastic price and at the time NYS didn't allow rifle hunting in the part of the state my property was in. That gun, from day one, would leave brown smudges on the cleaning cloth no matter how frequently I cleaned it, or what I cleaned it with. I noticed that after even one damp day (damp, not raining) of hunting it would start to rust. The bluing on the gun was non-existent. I don't know what Remington was using to "blue" these guns, but it wasn't working. I'm almost seventy years old and I own a lot of guns. I've never, repeat NEVER, owned any gun that did that. I do not own even on gun with any rust on it. Remington cut so many corners on those guns that they were just plain junk. FWIW, it shot slugs great. However, I got rid of it within a couple of months and got a Beretta with a rifled barrel. Still have it, and no rust on it at all. I don't think the gun was put in an egg crate foam case wet, I think it's just one of those junk Remington shotguns like I had.

CedarGrove357 · October 29, 2018, 01:11 PM

Thank you for the replies. This is the first I've seen do this to this extent. I knew it was pretty deep when I touched the issue with a scotch brite pad and the stain remained when the "coating" gave way. I've seen some as described above when people would coat their foam with WD-40 and put the firearm in storage for long periods, but it only took a good cleaner and some soaking to get the issue to reconstitute and come off.

I too have had issues with Remington's QS on their coatings. I replaced a factory new barrel on an 11-87 where the chamber was not cut correctly and it would not release shells to the point the extractor would rip the case rim. Remington replaced the barrel, and the replacement barrel completely rusted with a light coat of rust even after cleaning and wiping down with oil. No other firearm in the safe has rust, but this barrel was almost hygroscopic! I wound up cleaning it off, re cleaning with mineral spirits, heating a bath of brownells ulratrasonic oil and soaking the barrel. It helped some, but I let the customer know it was finicky on being cleaned. I'm not setup right now to reblue, otherwise I would have stripped it and reblued the barrel.

RaySendero · October 29, 2018, 08:31 PM

I could see my Rem 870 Express rusting right before my eyes in our duck blind.
It would clean up OK, But no amount of oil or grease would keep it from rusting the next time.
I suspected that Rem had not completely quenched the acid finish they were using at that time.
Worked a paste of baking soda over the entire finish with a toothbrush.
Rinsed and wiped down the barrel with a wet cloth, WD-40ed it to remove the remaining water, Applied a gunslick grease to it with a different toothbrush, Then wiped it down oily rag.
Haven't had any more rusting problems!

October 28, 2018, 08:31 PM	#1
CedarGrove357 Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2016 Location: Southeastern Illinois Posts: 137	Remington 870 finish issue I have a customer who brought in a relatively new remington 870 for a sling point install. They also stated they cleaned their firearm after shooting and noticed brown smudges which they couldnt remove. Not sure what they used but ive used several cleaners ranging from warm soap and water to eds red formula to hoppes 9. After nothing seemed to cut it, i took a scotch pad and rubbed a little spot, the finish seemed to come off but the stain remained. Before i call a flaw in the finish or user damaged, what is the opinion of other wise folks? The images have remoil on them which highlights the issue more. Thanks for your time. Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk

October 29, 2018, 01:30 AM	#2
Scorch Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2006 Location: Washington state Posts: 15,248	Looks like rust from a case with egg-crate foam in it. __________________ Never try to educate someone who resists knowledge at all costs. But what do I know? Summit Arms Services

October 29, 2018, 01:11 PM	#5
CedarGrove357 Senior Member Join Date: September 12, 2016 Location: Southeastern Illinois Posts: 137	Thank you for the replies. This is the first I've seen do this to this extent. I knew it was pretty deep when I touched the issue with a scotch brite pad and the stain remained when the "coating" gave way. I've seen some as described above when people would coat their foam with WD-40 and put the firearm in storage for long periods, but it only took a good cleaner and some soaking to get the issue to reconstitute and come off. I too have had issues with Remington's QS on their coatings. I replaced a factory new barrel on an 11-87 where the chamber was not cut correctly and it would not release shells to the point the extractor would rip the case rim. Remington replaced the barrel, and the replacement barrel completely rusted with a light coat of rust even after cleaning and wiping down with oil. No other firearm in the safe has rust, but this barrel was almost hygroscopic! I wound up cleaning it off, re cleaning with mineral spirits, heating a bath of brownells ulratrasonic oil and soaking the barrel. It helped some, but I let the customer know it was finicky on being cleaned. I'm not setup right now to reblue, otherwise I would have stripped it and reblued the barrel. __________________ "Though I send you out as sheep among wolves, therefore be as innocent as doves and as shrewd as snakes." Cedar Grove Farm and Arms

October 29, 2018, 08:31 PM	#6
RaySendero Senior Member Join Date: August 23, 2010 Location: US South Posts: 857	I could see my Rem 870 Express rusting right before my eyes in our duck blind. It would clean up OK, But no amount of oil or grease would keep it from rusting the next time. I suspected that Rem had not completely quenched the acid finish they were using at that time. Worked a paste of baking soda over the entire finish with a toothbrush. Rinsed and wiped down the barrel with a wet cloth, WD-40ed it to remove the remaining water, Applied a gunslick grease to it with a different toothbrush, Then wiped it down oily rag. Haven't had any more rusting problems! __________________ *Ray*

October 29, 2018, 07:17 AM	#3
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,620	Those spots are fairly deep rust from long time wet storage in a case. The gun need a complete re blue. From looking at several area's on the receiver, this must be a Express model.

October 29, 2018, 07:50 AM	#4
NoSecondBest Senior Member Join Date: December 7, 2009 Location: Western New York Posts: 2,736	About ten or twelve years ago I purchased a Remington 870 Express with a rifled slug barrel brand new from Dick's Sporting Goods (this isn't about Dick's, just telling where and why I got it). It was on sale at a fantastic price and at the time NYS didn't allow rifle hunting in the part of the state my property was in. That gun, from day one, would leave brown smudges on the cleaning cloth no matter how frequently I cleaned it, or what I cleaned it with. I noticed that after even one damp day (damp, not raining) of hunting it would start to rust. The bluing on the gun was non-existent. I don't know what Remington was using to "blue" these guns, but it wasn't working. I'm almost seventy years old and I own a lot of guns. I've never, repeat NEVER, owned any gun that did that. I do not own even on gun with any rust on it. Remington cut so many corners on those guns that they were just plain junk. FWIW, it shot slugs great. However, I got rid of it within a couple of months and got a Beretta with a rifled barrel. Still have it, and no rust on it at all. I don't think the gun was put in an egg crate foam case wet, I think it's just one of those junk Remington shotguns like I had.