Rusty Frame.

[Austin W Hogan]

RIG is a grease, not an oil. It will cling to metal and not migrate, and will only leave the metal if carried away by a solvent. It was made by RIG of Sparks Nevada and marketed nationwide in cans and tubes. It has returned to the market in cans in New England.
Ballistol seems to cling fairly well and may have some grease dissolved in it. One thing to remember; any oil that removes rust will remove bluing; blue is just blue rust.

Best, Austin

[Mark Conrad]

Are you sure it was the rain? Blood, apple peel, salt from potato chips etc could have been the problem. You may also want to check the gun case. If the gun case was exposed to salt water on an earlier trip, that could be the problem.

I have used a little bit of Brasso mixed with Rem oil to remove rust and it did not harm the metal surface. I have tried this on bluing and case colors. Start out with a very small amount of Brasso compared to the oil. About 10 to 1 is a good starting point. Good luck.

Mark

[Opening Day]

Austin do you have a new source for RIG I am getting low.....Eric

[Richard Flanders]

The yellow color to the oxide is the key to this issue. I'm wondering if there is any arsenic used in the case hardening process. There shouldn't be anything in the steel that would oxidize to yellow. Brian shopped quite a while for this, his dream Parker, and B grades certainly don't come cheap. I'm hoping someone can suggest something as the root of the problem. He hunts around Sacramento so I doubt salt water is the issue, though I'm sure the prevailing westerlies can bring some salty air into that area.

[Bruce Day]

Any phosphates in what Brian could have used or in the finish compounds?

[Richard Flanders]

Tx Bruce; hadn't thought of phospates. Good question. Maybe in the hardening 'recipe'? An acid bath maybe?

[Dean Romig]

I wonder if the process of annealing the frame might have something to do with the effect of oxidization on the steel. Doesn't annealing somewhat alter the molecular structure of the surface of the steel?

[Bruce Day]

Phosphoric acids used in metal cleaning solvents and etchants can, if left on and not thoroughly washed off, cause a fast growing surface bloom of yellow FeO2. But, I don't see how you could color case harden or blue with solvents left on the metal surface.

Yes, annealing alters surface molecular structure, I assume by spacing the surface molecules further apart. It has to, because the surface is softer, but I don't know how.

[Austin W Hogan]

Eric ; RIG is back on the shelf in a different jar, at Jr Welch's in Lebanon NH; I am sure that it is available at an increasing number of shops.

Adding to Mark's comment; Oranges, lemons and grapefruit are extremely corrosive to many kinds of iron; coca cola and other carbonated beveridges are not far behind. Newsprint and kraft paper may be in the right environment.

I have seen guns develope stalactites of corrosion at a spot. I think that these , plus the soft yellow /brown that appears on twist barrels, is fungus/bacteria related. Bruce probably had hours of training on prevention of strainer clogging fungus growing in jet fuel. Most oils promote bacterial /fungus growth. The trick is to find an additive prohibits fungus growth, but does not dissolve blue.

Best, Austin

[Richard Flanders]

It's called "Prist" Austin.... that's the most common one I know.