Restoring old magazines
I was helping my father move some old stuff around in his attic this afternoon and we came across an old foot locker from his Army days. Inside was some old uniforms, boots, etc... The gold mine was at the bottom of the foot locker. There was a 50 cal. ammo can full of 1911 45 mags and two ammo cans full of 30/40 m16 mags. One problem though, most of them are about 50% rusted. The springs and followers are in great shape. How do I repair them with out damaging the magazine??????????
"How do I get out of this chicken **** outfit?"
"How do I get out of this chicken **** outfit?"
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I was helping my father move some old stuff around in his attic this afternoon and we came across an old foot locker from his Army days. Inside was some old uniforms, boots, etc... The gold mine was at the bottom of the foot locker. There was a 50 cal. ammo can full of 1911 45 mags and two ammo cans full of 30/40 m16 mags. One problem though, most of them are about 50% rusted. The springs and followers are in great shape. How do I repair them with out damaging the magazine??????????
"How do I get out of this chicken **** outfit?"0 -
When you remove the rust you are going to see pitting, which is unattractive, but does not usually detract from the magazine's function. You can best remove the rust by immersion in Brownell's Rust Remover, which is a liquid; or by using Naval Jelly which you can purchase at most hardware stores. My choice would be the Brownell's product. After leaving the rusted parts in the liquid for a couple of hours all rust and bluing will be removed and the parts will be a uniform grey color. The pits, of course, will still be present. You will find the process of removing the pitting from the magazines to be tedious; done either by draw filing or buffing. If you draw file only you will wind up with a rough finish, and if you attempt this by buffing only you will dish out the holes on the sides of the magazines. A combination of both processes will produce a decent looking magazine, but it requires experience and "a touch" to do well. As 1911 magazines, new and very functional, are occassionally available from such sources as Triple K Mfg. Co. for about $5.25 ea., removal of the pits would hardly seem worthwhile; so were the problem mine I would just give the de-rusted magazines to a gunsmith to dip into his hot blue tank and live with the pitted appearance. Many M16 mags have aluminum bodies, and if that is the case with yours and they appear rusted they are probably just stained and will clean up without pitting. Guess your Dad isn't saying what he did with the guns? 0 -
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GET SOME OOOO STEEL WOOL AT THE HARDWARE STORE & WITH SOME WD-40 TRY RUBBING IT OFF. 0
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