Rust, light pitting on bead blasted stainless barrel

[DLT]

I purchased a lightly used savage 12 varmint in 223 at the gun show today. The gun does not appear to be shot much at all however there is several dark spots up and down the beaded finish. What would be the best way to address it. I know I can keep it lightly oiled to prevent it but how can I remove it. Big thanks in advance

 

[tobnpr]

Bead blast it again.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Bead blast it again.

^^^this^^^, but you might try an oiled 0000 steel wool pad first. If that's not aggressive, bead blasting will take care of most anything you see on a gun that hasn't been under water. Lol!

 

[akajun]

If you blast or polish stainless with the same abrasive you do carbon steel with that will happen. A patch soaked in phosphoric acid primer or naval jelly will wipe it off, follow up with a damp rag then a light oil

 

[Oldillini]

If you blast or polish stainless with the same abrasive you do carbon steel with that will happen. A patch soaked in phosphoric acid primer or naval jelly will wipe it off, follow up with a damp rag then a light oil

Yes, never use the same abrasive, polishing pads, sandpaper, etc. on carbon steel then on stainless. Company I once worked for fabricated both carbon steel and stainless tanks. Avoided cross contamination at all cost unless you wanted to scrap a stainless job.

 

[LVLAaron]

Yes, never use the same abrasive, polishing pads, sandpaper, etc. on carbon steel then on stainless. Company I once worked for fabricated both carbon steel and stainless tanks. Avoided cross contamination at all cost unless you wanted to scrap a stainless job.

does it embed steel and cause rust on the stainless?

 

[tobnpr]

^^^this^^^, but you might try an oiled 0000 steel wool pad first. If that's not aggressive, bead blasting will take care of most anything you see on a gun that hasn't been under water. Lol!

Mebbe...
In my experience, a bead blasted finish is the antithesis of durable (which is why I won't have it on any of my own rifles). Super fine wool should remove the rust for sure- but I suspect it will remove the very light surface peening from the beads as well.

 

[Downhill]

I have seen this when welding stainless steel pipe. If brushed with a carbon brush it will rust. If a stainless brush is used on carbon then used on stainless it will rust. Simple contamination. The same principle applies to blast media.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

This is what id use

 

[kendog]

I purchased a lightly used savage 12 varmint in 223 at the gun show today. The gun does not appear to be shot much at all however there is several dark spots up and down the beaded finish. What would be the best way to address it. I know I can keep it lightly oiled to prevent it but how can I remove it. Big thanks in advance

Get some Barkeepers Friend cleanser and make up a slurry with water. It has oxalic acid in it and it will remove rust, heat colors, etc. from steel. No need to scrub, just wash the slurry over the parts and give it a few minutes to do its thing. Rinse with hot water, dry, and oil it up.

 

[Ggmac]

vinegar soaked rag around the barrel . White vinegar , 4-6 hours should do it . Test every hour .

 

[AlNyhus]

I've had good luck with 3M's synthetic steel wool (00 equivalent) and vinegar, mineral spirits and camp stove fuel as solvents. Just did a Remington stainless this way...turned out nicely.

Good shootin'. -Al

 

[Oldillini]

does it embed steel and cause rust on the stainless?

As I was always told (I am not a metallurgist) is that carbon steel particles do become embedded in the stainless and it is the carbon steel particles that rust.

 

[akajun]

As I was always told (I am not a metallurgist) is that carbon steel particles do become embedded in the stainless and it is the carbon steel particles that rust.

That’s how it was explained to me as well
It makes sense as a lot of stainless is dipped in a mild acid solution called “passivating”which stops it from happening

 

[Jesswil61]

does it embed steel and cause rust on the stainless?

It causes ferritic corrosion which is actually the iron in the carbon, the reaction will pit the stainless. The fix is passivating as provided by akajun above. This is a big deal in fabrication facilities that provide both stainless steel and carbon steel fabrications. It is not something that you see right away but will appear down the road when the components are in service.

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

I'm not going to doubt that you guys are technically correct about bead blasting but I've got a couple of bbls in my "good" pile that still have life in them that were bead blasted about 20 years ago and no rust whatsoever. Dings, dents and dust from years of moving around and stored on a rack..yes, but not a speck of rust anywhere and they haven't seen oil in all that time, that I can recall. I think this might be where technicality and reality cross paths. Just my 2 cents worth. Not to mention the hundred or so that are still in service. Maybe this applies more in a true production environment and possibly on ss items that get subjected to harsh environments. I don't have the answers, just the results. Even still...416 will rust on its own if neglected enough, so maybe the fact that it's not something left in the elements 24/7 has a lot to do with both not rusting in our application. I will say that the slightly roughened surface holds oil way better and longer than a polished one does.
I do clean it thoroughly after blasting and then oil it down. so maybe that's it. Again, just results without answers as to why it works for me without issue. Ultimately, it's the results that matter, right? I don't know of a better way to clean rust out of pits etc, even naval jelly nor rust converters. I'm not changing what has worked for this long, though.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

I'm not going to doubt that you guys are technically correct about bead blasting but I've got a couple of bbls in my "good" pile that still have life in them that were bead blasted about 20 years ago and no rust whatsoever. Dings, dents and dust from years of moving around and stored on a rack..yes, but not a speck of rust anywhere and they haven't seen oil in all that time, that I can recall. I think this might be where technicality and reality cross paths. Just my 2 cents worth. Not to mention the hundred or so that are still in service. Maybe this applies more in a true production environment and possibly on ss items that get subjected to harsh environments. I don't have the answers, just the results. Even still...416 will rust on its own if neglected enough, so maybe the fact that it's not something left in the elements 24/7 has a lot to do with both not rusting in our application. I will say that the slightly roughened surface holds oil way better and longer than a polished one does.
I do clean it thoroughly after blasting and then oil it down. so maybe that's it. Again, just results without answers as to why it works for me without issue. Ultimately, it's the results that matter, right? I don't know of a better way to clean rust out of pits etc, even naval jelly nor rust converters. I'm not changing what has worked for this long, though.

I think they are saying if you blast a lot of carbon steel then blast stainless itll rust just like stainless or aluminum will after brushing it with a carbon or carbon contaminated wire wheel or brush.

 

[DLT]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m about positive it came from savage with this beaded finish

 

[gunsandgunsmithing]

Thanks for all the replies. I’m about positive it came from savage with this beaded finish

Probably. I guess it's a wonder it doesn't come up all the time. I have heard of issues with ss Tikkas rusting early.

 

[GenePoole]

I'm no metallurgist, but when I worked in the field, I was taught that 400 series stainless steels are martensitic v. 300 series that are austenitic. This has to do with the crystalline structure where 400s have more carbon for wear resistance and hardening capability. This change in structure also makes 400 magnetic compared to 300 series and more prone to rust and corrosion.

There may be something to the bead-blasting thing, as I've had problems TIG welding when using a brush that may have been contaminated, but I think there is a corrosion component inherent in the 416 steel itself.

For what it's worth, I've never changed the media in my blast cabinet and it's seen everything. I use garnet though and just blast for cerakote prep or for aluminum anodizing prep.