Sorry to hear of your mom's passing, Steve. My condolences to you and yours.

I think you will like them Jeff. They are at Ace and HD.

Full Circle Neat Nut Medium Duty Scouring Pad For Multi-Purpose 5.5 in. L 3 pk

My brain is wired to try everything I possibly can to make the final outcome of any job the best it can be. These pad are great for cleaning delicate surfaces I've found.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1763217828.jpg

Sorry to hear about your mom, Steve.

I have removed rust with huge success using alum foil and a bit of vinegar but not sure what that will do to blueing process, is that's what its called? Rub that foil softly and it comes right off.

Thank you, everyone.

My condolenes, Steve.

What about a Cape Cod cloth?

I've used very fine grit wet/dry like you get in an auto parts store with some gun oil for slight amounts of surface rust. slow process but works very well. Though once you've got visible pitting it's probably best sent to someone to strip and reblue.

edit: this will of course remove bluing but what's the point in worrying about that if you've got rust? I think not terribly expensive to have a gun reblued by a pro.

I haven't any experience with spoons that are blued, but have dealt with rust on steel.

I'm wondering if using balled up aluminum foil would work. I once saw a video where they used it on a chrome bumper that was pretty rusty and the aluminum foil worked well on it. It picked up the rust like a clay bar on paint picks up dirt particles.

Vinegar can disolove rust if soaked for about three days. muriatic acid is better, but trickier to work with. I wouldn't use a steel wool or anything like that. You'll kill the bluing.

After you get the rust off there is a product called renaissance wax that can fill in the rust pits and also will stop the rust coming back https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renaissance_Wax

Absolutely do not listen to Bill Douglas. Firearms bluing is a form of rust. Using any chemical rust remover (Naval Jelly, Evapo-rust, etc.) will attack the bluing.

The traditional method is OOOO steel (not stainless) wool in conjunction with a penetrating oil. Best commercial ones are Kroil or PB blasters. I use a 50/50 mix of acetone and synthetic ATF.

Go slow with plenty of oil. The penetrating oil helps to mechanically release the rust. If you have not removed the rust in 10-15 minutes then set it aside over night liberally coated with the penetrating oil, then repeat as required. The rust, when removed, will leave pits of some size even if they are small.

The best preservative/protectant if found is BoShield (thanks Mr. Higgins former employer) followed my synthetic motor oil.

S/F, FOG

Thanks folks