OK, suppose you had a gun that was in very good condition except for a few pin head sized rust blemishes. Now suppose that you had a cold bluing product that exactly matched the blued finish of this gun.

Now suppose that this gun is a nice quality shooter and not collectible in any way.

How would you remove the tiny rust blems so that you could cold blue over them?

Thank you in advance for your timely and learned assistance...

I would remove the rust with gun oil & 0000 Steel Wool. If that did not get the rust out, then I would use kroil. I would not bother with cold bluing the area. It never matches the bluing on the gun. IMHO using cold blue only will make that rust spot look worse. After the steel wool treatment. I would just keep that area of the rust spot well oiled. With just a light coat of oil. Using cold blue. Is the old adage that is "you are putting perfume on a pig, and it's still a pig". You can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear. Guns with minor cosmetic flaws, are what they are. The rust pits go much deeper into the metal ,then you think. I just shoot them and enjoy the gun. If I was worried about the rust spot. I would rather have the gun refinished than play with cold blue. Plus cold blue is a very dangers chemical. Wear rubber gloves when using that stuff. Do not get it on yourself.
Good Luck

If the specks are freckles....sometime the old copper penny trick works. (Old as in real copper) .... Rubbing the copper penny's edge lightly over the freckle will sometimes get it even to the level of the surrounding surface bluing. Then use the steel or brass wool method as stated above in Jim's post...

I could never stand the smell of cold blue,,, maybe I did it wrong,, I will not try it again

I've tried to touch up small scratches with cold blue and it's always looked worse than if I'd left it alone. The only thing I've found that it works well on is rebluing buggered up screws.

I wouldn't use cold blue either. It never looks right.

If you use 44\40 it will make it less noticeable, but you will never match the original like the others said.

Al, you haven't said exactly where these imperfections might be on the gun. I think that would be a determining factor as to what actions would be prudent to take. I have used blueing pens to great effect on scratched (matte-blued)semi-autos with very positive results, even employing a regular "Sharpie" from the desk on a couple of occasions. WARNING! The pens don't work on revolvers in my experience because they will rub off almost immediately (or during cleaning) and the color almost never mates up. I realize my input is of little help, but for me, I guess it would have to depend on how much and where the rust/pitting issue existed on the weapon.

We are talking about a 1984 Ruger MK II Government Model with a 6 7/8 barrel. It has a few pin sized rust spots on the barrel and a small handful on on the left side of the receiver.

I used some cold blue on the tip of the barrel where it had a bit of holster wear and the blue matched perfectly. I believe I could fix the spots if I could get the rust out without damaging the finish around them...

Alphonso

The rust pits or surface rust, has ate it's way deeper than the surface of the metal. The only way to remove that. Is to buff, file or sand the surface below the rust. That way you remove the pitting. So what ever you touch it up with will show the pit's will remain unless you remove metal. Then you will have a big mess that will need to be refinished. Just use steel wool with either gun oil or kroil. Then clean the area up, so you degrease it. Use alcohol or acetone. Dab the cold blue over the bare metal try to just keep it on the bare metal and hope for the best. No matter what product you use. In my experience, it has always been a (BIG) waste of time.






Your gun your call. Do as you please. I'm just sharing my thoughts. I can spot any cold blue on a gun. It's just the way it is. Cold blue never matches. When I buy a used gun. I will offer a lot less money, on a gun with cold blue. Vice one that just shows the flaws.

I agree with Trooper. I use cold blue on buggered up screw heads. When working with the cold blue. I wear surgical rubber gloves. The active chemical in cold blue is an acid. I don't recall the exact acid. But it is very harmful to your kidneys. Many years ago I was at the gunsmith shop. One of the apprentice gunsmiths was looking at some screw heads I refinished. And asked if they were new screws. I told him I dressed up the screw heads and re-cut the slot in the screws. Then blued them with cold blue.
The gunsmith overheard the conversation. He told me to throw out any cold blue I have laying around. And he would blue screw heads for me for free. However I have to wait until they do bluing. Most of the time I do not wait. And just go with cold blue. When I bring this old Colt into his shop. The gunsmith will give me an A** chewing about the screw heads(cold blue). He will tell me you have been F'ing around with cold blue again. I really hate buggered up screw heads. When I clean up a new to me firearm.
If the screw heads are buggered. I refinish or replace them. Most of the time I do not have the correct replacement screw. So it's just easier to cold blue them. I refinished the side plate screws and crane lock cap on this Colt yesterday.
Now the Colt is ready to take to the gunsmith to correct a timing issue. The bolt needs to be stretched or replaced. I do not have the fixture or proper tool to do the job. As you can see from the condition of this Colt. I do not cold blue any cosmetic flaws other than screw heads.
This Colt was covered in Cold blue. I spent two hours on it cleaning it all off. Now I'm down to the original finish as the revolver should be. Hey it's shooter I can live with the cosmetic issues. It's just holster/carry wear.