A guy at work was told that he could use automatic transmisson fluid to remove rust from his gun barrel. he tried it on a old single shot 16 gauge that he had sawed off. he said that it really shined the barrel up but he was wondering if it would do any damage to the firearm? ANY INFO would be great.
Well, I would clean any transmission fluids/oils
from my firearm as this is a product not really made for firearms. If you go to a good automotive supply store (and some gunstores) you can find lighter weight (more fluid) products for rust removal that will be much more effective than transmission fluid/oils. Remove the rust, clean out the area, observe the area in sunlight to determine the amount of damage, consider smoothing the area with various grades of steel wool then reblue.
ATF is an excellent cleaner due to the high detergent content and wicking ability. For rust removal tho, I prefer RB-17 and 0000 steel wool or Kano Kroil.
Toolman is right. Automatic Transmission Fluid has a high amount of detergent in it. It also has soil suspenders and seal softners. These are all designed to prolong the life of an automatic transmission and I'm not too sure if they are good for your firearm. For sure if I did use them I would clean off all residue. I know this becuase I am an antomatic transmission rebuilder. Another thing, I cleaned some fairly heavy rust from a mod. 700 Rem. with WD-40 and 000 steel wool. Important thing is to get the rust stopped.
"...do any damage to the firearm?..." If it removed the bluing it'll rust. There's nothing to stop it.
0000 steel wool, a bit of light oil and some elbow grease will remove light rust without bothering the finish. A fine brass wire wheel in a bench grinder with a light touch is faster. Eye protection is mandatory with a wheel.
I have used ATF and 000 steel wool and have NEVER had a problem with the blue coming of.Also use Inox and that works a treat.My mates no4 mk2 rear sight was frozen from rust>I heated the sight up and chucked it into my Inox tub and left it for a couple days.When i picked it out it was working with a little bit of a play around with the knobs.Its some type of appeture sight.
Last edited by irish murphy; 12-30-2007 at 12:13 AM.
Location: a secret lab on the shores of lake titicaca
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i added it.
ive only made it once and i still have about 3 quarts after about 3 years.
at this rate ive got 9 years to go before i need to make more!
total cost?
$30
__________________ "I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kind of person I'm preaching to."
