Polishing A Gun "in The White"?

[ExtremeShot]

I have an Open gun that is still in the white. I plan to send it to Tripp for a nickle finish, however, that project is several items down on my spending list.

In the mean time I keep a coat of oil on it, however, some rusting has occured. I'm thinking about polishing the slide and frame to inhibit the rusting. This has worked on other unfinished metal I have worked with. What are your thoughts on this?

Also, do you think the polishing will have any negative affects on the nickle plating? I'm guessing no, but I wanted to ask anyway. I plan to call Tripp about this, but I also wanted to hear from you all.

Thanks,

Darren

[.40AET]

I kept my open gun in the white for one shooting season to make sure that I had everything the way that I wanted it before it was chromed. A summer of 95+ temp and humidity and it had a lot of rust on it. Especially on the frame. Part of the prep process is to bead blast the entire thing. All of the oils and rust need to be removed before the plating process. Keep shooting it. If Tripp is doing the work they will let you know what to do. They are awesome!

[OpnBlstr]

I have an Open gun that is still in the white. I plan to send it to Tripp for a nickle finish, however, that project is several items down on my spending list.

In the mean time I keep a coat of oil on it, however, some rusting has occured. I'm thinking about polishing the slide and frame to inhibit the rusting. This has worked on other unfinished metal I have worked with. What are your thoughts on this?

Also, do you think the polishing will have any negative affects on the nickle plating? I'm guessing no, but I wanted to ask anyway. I plan to call Tripp about this, but I also wanted to hear from you all.

Thanks,

Darren

I would be very careful to keep the sharp edges you have and not round them off while polishing. Keep the gun away from the buffing wheel!!

Just knock the rust off with some fine steel wool and oil and keep it coated. FP-10 works well for this. When your finisher blasts it the rust will come off and - unless it was DEEP - won't be noticeable on the final finish.

[Front Man]

My builder told me to use motor oil on steel that was still in the white.

Not gun lubes or WD-40.

FM

[redwoods]

What about blueing it yourself? My gunsmith made my front sight thinner by cutting it. Then he grabbed a bottle and a q-tip and blued it. Would that be an economical way to keep it free of rust? Or is blueing more complicated than that?

Redwoods

[HSMITH]

Cold blue is really crappy stuff, it isn't worth the effort for anything but a small area or a touch up where you don't mind the color matching...

Paste wax is what you want, it works wonders for protecting a gun that is in the white but you still want to be able to handle. Lay it on heavy, let it haze, wipe and repeat at least one time. Keeps the nasty fingerprint rust spots from appearing too.

[OpnBlstr]

My builder told me to use motor oil on steel that was still in the white.

Not gun lubes or WD-40.

FM

Mobil-1 is some of the best gun lube out there. Slick, protective, low viscosity in the cold, stays in there where it's needed. I recommend it on guns whether they are in the white, blued, chromed, whatever.

WD-40 should only be used after rinsing the gun in hot water or a water based solvent then blown off with an air hose. It's a water displacer, not a lube. I've seen seized (galled) 1911s from both WD-40 and RemOil where that was the only lube used. Not good.

The FP-10 is just for rust prevention on the exterior surfaces. It does a good job lifting carbon stains also. I rub it in, let it set, then buff it back off.

Many gun lubes are a 2-n-1 or 3-n-1 CLP type stuff that has solvents mixed with the lube. That's fine as long as you give the solvents time to evaporate off. Ever notice how much better BreakFree feels after a day or two? This is probably what your smith fears. Cleaning then lubing with a solvent mixed lube that's only partially effective for at least a day.

[ExtremeShot]

Thanks for the info guys. I think I'm going to go ahead and try to buff/polish it then keep a good coat of oil on it. The "polishing wheel" I have is not abrasive enough to remove metal. I tried it on the end of the compensator and it should work fine. The only negative I see is that the gun will be REAL shiny.

DM

[mike4045]

I got tired of removing rust from my gun when it was in the white. I took it to the shop and bead blasted it. Then sprayed it with some dry moly spray. It has been on there for about 4 months, and is showing some wear. No more worry about rust though. I am not sure if I send it for hard chrome, I really like the two-tone look.

Mike

[Aircooled6racer]

Hello: Clean it up and spray on some CRC Heavy Silicon. It is a spray and works great to help things from rusting. Where I live is about 1 mile from the ocean and the salt is in the air. I use this on my milling machine and parts I don't want to rust. After every cleaning I give it a spray. You can find the Silicon spray at Walmart of all places in the auto section. Hope this helps. Thanks Eric

[theguncoater]

I have an Open gun that is still in the white. I plan to send it to Tripp for a nickle finish, however, that project is several items down on my spending list.

In the mean time I keep a coat of oil on it, however, some rusting has occured. I'm thinking about polishing the slide and frame to inhibit the rusting. This has worked on other unfinished metal I have worked with. What are your thoughts on this?

Also, do you think the polishing will have any negative affects on the nickle plating? I'm guessing no, but I wanted to ask anyway. I plan to call Tripp about this, but I also wanted to hear from you all.

Thanks,

Darren

If you want to keep the gun from rusting oil want due for long term storage. try some RIG grease from brownells, it is a rust inhibitor. I use it on guns that I have polished out for bluing when it's going to be a while before I actually get to blue, or apply any other finish. I have had guns ready to blue with this stuff on them for up to 6 months before I got to blue them and no rust, and I live in the foothill of NC get real humid here.

[kennya]

As for the exterior of my "Gun in the White" I am going to polish with paste care wax and put a couple of coats on it. Does anyone notice that the bomar is the first thing to rust on the gun?

[bountyhunter]

I have an Open gun that is still in the white. I plan to send it to Tripp for a nickle finish, however, that project is several items down on my spending list.

In the mean time I keep a coat of oil on it, however, some rusting has occured. I'm thinking about polishing the slide and frame to inhibit the rusting. This has worked on other unfinished metal I have worked with. What are your thoughts on this?

Also, do you think the polishing will have any negative affects on the nickle plating? I'm guessing no, but I wanted to ask anyway. I plan to call Tripp about this, but I also wanted to hear from you all.

Thanks,

Darren

Browning HP barrels used to be supplied "in the white" with no finish.

Polishing usually makes the steel more rust resistant because water tends to bead up more.

[Gregory_k]

Look in a dry type oil called ezzox or eezox. Not the greastest lube (= to BF CLP) but the best rust prevent I have found out there.

Surface must be free from all oils then just 3 light coats letting dry in between each coat.