Maintenance of Polished Steel

[JLayne]

Hello,
I am a novice builder finishing up a Chambers York Rifle kit, and am beginning to think about metal finishes. I have always loved the look of a polished steel barrel and lock, but have never tried it due to rust concerns. I won't be hunting with this rifle or taking it out in bad weather, but I will be using it for target practice at the range on days when it isn't raining. Once assembled, I don't like to remove the barrel from the stock unless it is absolutely necessary, so I typically clean the bore after a range trip with hot water using one of those siphon tubes that runs from a bucket and attaches to the touch hole to suction water up into the bore to try and keep the mess to a minimum. Still, try as I might, I usually end up getting at least some water on the outer surface of the barrel, and I expect a bit may run down the tiny crevice between the nose cap and barrel. 

So, after having said all of that, I would be interested to know what those of you out there who have non-browned/blued barrels and locks on guns that see regular range use do to keep rust at bay via treatment with wax, oil, some combination of the two, and/or cleaning techniques? Thanks in advance.

Jay

[Nordnecker]

I left the metal bright on my first flintlock. Ed Rayle Bbl and J. Chambers lock. I had it for 4 years and it never got rusty. I shot targets and hunted with a few times. It never got rained on and I always just wiped it down with an oily rag. I got tired of waiting for it to get a little patina so I browned it before I sold it.

[smart dog]

Hi Jay,
A truly polished steel surface will resist rust for a long time.  A hardened and polished lock plate is very rust resistant. However, a highly polished barrel is not very good for target shooting.  Heat waves and glare from the barrel will at times completely obscure your front sight.  A tarnished barrel is much better, and a browned barrel probably the best for target shooting.  Most of my rifles and fowlers have polished barrels that are tarnished by using cold bluing and rubbing it back. Then I let time do the rest.  On guns where I only remove the barrel once per year, I coat the bottom with beeswax but the top gets lightly scrubbed with a maroon Scotch Bright pad where any rust develops. I leave the dull gray steel beneath the rust, just get the oxidation off.  I wipe the barrels with an oily rag after cleaning.  I always remove my locks after shooting and clean them well. Any rust gets polished off and I reapply grease and oil where necessary.

dave   

[Ed Wenger]

I’ve had pretty much the same experience as Nordnecker.  My personal hunting rifle is finished “armory bright”, and I haven’t had issues with rust.  I wouldn’t call it “highly polished” like Dave describes, but it is bright.  I believe I finished it down to 220 grit Emory, then with a maroon Scotch Brite pad.  I too wipe the metal with an oily rag or silicon gun cloth.  On the rare occasions where spots of rust showed up, I simply rub off the spots with a Scotch Brite pad.  The rifles ten years old now, and still “bright”.


         Ed

[richs]

Try car wax, especially on the bottom of the barrel.  I have shot matched with the North-South Skirmish Association on an uncovered range in the pouring range.  My replacement new armory bright barrel on my Maynard did rust but I might not have used enough wax.  This still is a problem with a bright barrel.
Rich

[ron w]

polish as desired and give it a couple coats of Johnson's Paste Wax.

[rick/pa]

I built a rifle in 1977 and have removed the barrel maybe 3 times since then.  I used Johnson's paste wax on the bottom and have had no problems with rust. I've used this gun in an all day pouring rain, its my go to rifle for deer hunting. Barrel is browned. My NW trade gun is in the white, treated likewise with paste wax and have had no problems with rust.

[kentuckyrifleman]

I have a Pedersoli Bess and it's "armory bright" of course, or rather it's supposed to be. It is really hard to keep clean and rust-free. I've pretty much resigned myself to rust in some form.

I would not consider armory-bright finish again, unless required by the type of gun.

[jerrywh]

 If a lock is case hardened and then polished back it will be pretty rust resistant. However you can't do that wit ha barrel. Try renaissance wax.

[PluggedNickle]

If a lock is case hardened and then polished back it will be pretty rust resistant. However you can't do that wit ha barrel. Try renaissance wax.

That is what I use, and beeswax on the bottom of the barrel as wel.  I use Renaissance wax on all my tools as well.  Great stuff, you can get it in two sizes on Amazon.com, but get the larger can.  It is about the size of a small coffee cup.  I use the museum quality wax on everything I value, all my guns for sure!

[Craig Wilcox]

I got my first ML rifle back in 1961 - and it was an 1861 original Springfield.  It had a nicely polished barrel and shot very well - we did a bunch of target shoots around the Washington DC area.

But Smart Dog is entirely correct - the heat waves and sunshine coming off the barrel will totally destroy your aim!

At the end of the day, we would clean with hot soapy water, then run an oily patch down the barrel, then an oily cloth for everything on the outside.  I did take it hunting once, but felt that the shiny barrel was spooking the game.

Good luck with your rifle, and enjoy it, however you finish it.

[Dphariss]

Hello,
I am a novice builder finishing up a Chambers York Rifle kit, and am beginning to think about metal finishes. I have always loved the look of a polished steel barrel and lock, but have never tried it due to rust concerns. I won't be hunting with this rifle or taking it out in bad weather, but I will be using it for target practice at the range on days when it isn't raining. Once assembled, I don't like to remove the barrel from the stock unless it is absolutely necessary, so I typically clean the bore after a range trip with hot water using one of those siphon tubes that runs from a bucket and attaches to the touch hole to suction water up into the bore to try and keep the mess to a minimum. Still, try as I might, I usually end up getting at least some water on the outer surface of the barrel, and I expect a bit may run down the tiny crevice between the nose cap and barrel. 

So, after having said all of that, I would be interested to know what those of you out there who have non-browned/blued barrels and locks on guns that see regular range use do to keep rust at bay via treatment with wax, oil, some combination of the two, and/or cleaning techniques? Thanks in advance.

Jay

Polish the plate and cock to 400 or 600 then have these lock parts casehardened and then if you want polish it bright with some mild abrasive. The lock will work a lot better and it will be less likely to rust. Brown is not the proper finish for a lock. I would never leave the barrel white.  The barrel can be brown or blue. Either rust blue or charcoal blue or even Plumb Brown left brown or boiled to make it blue. These actually help prevent rust so long as the agents are well neutralized or washed away.  If you apply a finish to the end grain and all the inlets you should not have any long term problems with rusty barrels since it will greatly reduce the stock absorbing liquid water.  Waxing the bottom of the barrel is a good option.