Rust removal - 870 Express

[H.H. Hipshot]

Howdy the Forum,

I was just brought a rusted Rem 870 Express in 20ga. Apparently it had been left in a case too long, and most of the outside has rusted.
- The bore looks ok
- The trigger assembly looks ok
- The magazine tube looks ok
- The slide parts look ok
- The bolt and carrier need some cleanup, but should be ok with some rubbing

Now to what needs attention:
- Remove rust from the outside of the barrel
- Remove rust freckling from the receiver
- Unstick and replace the extractor parts

Since the barrel and receiver have a matte finish, are there particular methods that I should use? About all I know to do is use Kroil and 0000 steel wool. This will never be a pretty gun, but I should be able to make it functional. I don't think it was shot much in its prior life.

Any suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

HHH

[tnaka]

Sorry no suggestion, but i also have some rust problems with my new 870 express. I was hunting in rainy weather and then stored in a case for about one hour and then i took it out at home for cleaning. Guess what... RUST... i couldn't believe that it rusted so quickly. Mainly the parts that linked to moving parts and the factory paint was little bit scraped of when taking the gun apart. Also little rust in the barrel and mainly in outside of magazine tube and fore-end tube assembly. I'm also planning to use 000 or 0000 steel wool and break free gun oil, if that would remove the rust spots. Maybe duracoat might be the answer after that, they also have 870 black as color. Hope you get the gun in mint condition once again!

[Synchronizor]

Now to what needs attention:
- Remove rust from the outside of the barrel
- Remove rust freckling from the receiver
- Unstick and replace the extractor parts

Since the barrel and receiver have a matte finish, are there particular methods that I should use? About all I know to do is use Kroil and 0000 steel wool. This will never be a pretty gun, but I should be able to make it functional. I don't think it was shot much in its prior life.

I haven't done a lot of rust removal or refinishing with my guns, but for what little I have done, steel wool seemed to work pretty well. The matte Express finish is just a cheap iron oxide type as far as I understand, so you shouldn't have to take any special steps.

It sounds like you just want this to be a working gun, so if you can get the rust off without leaving a lot of naked metal behind, you should be fine as long as you keep it oiled and don't let it sit wet. MY Express has plenty of scrapes, scratches, and bare spots, but I don't really have rust issues because I oil it occasionally, and if it gets wet, I'll immediately wipe it down and clean it as soon as I get home.

If you want to address the bare metal though, cold blue products can darken them so they're not as visible, but they're really only good as a cosmetic fix. If you want to actually refinish the gun, and not just cover up a few bare spots, a quality gun paint would be a better do-it-yourself way to go.

[RichNZ]

If the rust is really bad on the outside, as in once you get it off, there's not much finish left, sounds like she's prime candidate for a re-bluing project! Always love those.