Hello everyone
In principle, I doubt the method recommended by Rick remove rust blued keeping. Rust, in any case, is mixed intimately with the blued, and the elimination of one leads to the eluiminacion of both. What is shown is like a sponge steel, and even a softer material, such as aluminum, works by friction.
I know only two methods to remove rust abrasion loss com metal and chemical, less aggressive method.
Affectionately. Fernando K

practice diverges from principle
 

Admittedly, when I was first shown the stainless steel gun scrubber, I did have my doubts. I thought of similar-looking products used to scrub pots in the kitchen and THOSE can be deadly! However, when I visited a local gun collector and saw him using it on a fine blued barrel that had speckled surface rust from long neglect, I was sold. The stuff really removed the rust with nary a scratch to the bluing. This fellow taught me to spray WD-40 onto the surface first, the lubricant served to flush particles away from the work. Just wipe clean with a rag after the rust is gone.

WD-40 is a fine resource. No only i spray the rusty areas with it but also soak the implement i use for the scrubbing. It is my idea that, when i use more 'radical' methods, like fine steel wool, the product somehow reduces its asperity.

Someone over polished the silver on the pistols whose photos I have posted here, but that was before they were covered with the nasty linseed oil. The ammonia removed the tarnish from the silver along with the dried linseed oil. I wouldn't normally recommend using ammonia to clean silver furniture on antique weapons.

It is best to be extremely conservative when it comes to "cleaning" antiques. In most cases leaving valuable antiques just as time made them is probably best. It is heartbreaking to see the damage that has been done with buffing wheels and polishing compound.

I have had good luck removing rust with clean 0000 steel wool. The steel wool should be replaced frequently during the process. Adding WD-40 to the mix is controversial with some because they believe rust particles can more easily become suspended in the oil and scratch the surface.

Thanks for the info Philip and rickystl, I'll give the stainless steel gun scrubber a try on something inexpensive and see how it goes.

Doug Wicklund from the NRA Museum wrote this article on Caring For Your Collectable Firearms:
http://www.nramuseum.com/media/94096...vationinfo.pdf

Hello everyone

Just to say something. To rust, to the form of craters or pits, and these are not removed with abrasive methods (steel wol) working on the surface. The oxide formed is a foreign body, and promotes the formation of new oxide, although the appearance is stable. No fixed oxide, though their work is very slow. Only a chemical means, removes rust from the depths of a pit or crater. For example, electroplating the method. Think of the sea saved artifacts have deserved a chemical treatment for preservation

Affectionately. Fernando K

tarnish
 

Dana,
I don't know what the atmosphere is like where you live, but for those of us in the greater Los Angeles basin, we have no problem with silver becoming dark and tarnished. It's as certain as death and taxes, and it doesn't take long, either! Even though I live close to shore with the afternoon sea breezes and no smog to speak of overhead, all of my silver-mounted weapons develop a patina. I've come to appreciate the lustrous blue-black patina that forms evenly on sword hilts and scabbard mounts exposed to the air, and I never clean it off. A gentle rubbing with an old wool sock to lighten up the high points of a chased design is all I do if I need to photograph something, or show the piece to a visitor.

Here in Florida it is probably more humid. Some of my silver items tarnish quickly, while other don't seem to tarnish at all. Renaissance Wax does seem to help.

Without any care this Carlos III Silver Medallion 1778 never seems to get more tarnished.
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