OT Removing stains from stainless steel

[1886]

I have a firearm with several small, black stains. I have no idea what caused the stains. They are not rust or pitting. The stains do look like they could have been caused by a perm. marker but this is just a guess. I tried min. spirits but that did not work. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks, 1886.

[TedH]

Is it a polished, or a brushed finish on the metal?

[J Miller]

I use break cleaner to get Sharpie and Magic Marker stains off of metal. If that don't get it off, it's not an ink stain.

Joe

[Mich Hunter]

I had the same issue with a Ruger single six. If you use a scotch brite paid, it will do wonders. Just go light

[morgan in nm]

I used "Never Dull" once on stainless to remove some tough powder stains but for ink, rubbing alcohol usually does the trick.

[jeepnik]

I'm either different or lazy depending on your point of view. I clean my stainless guns after use, but if they pick up the odd discoloration, I don't bother with it. I figure it gives the finish a bit of "personality". Sorta like the way I like old leather with honest wear, as opposed to the look of shinney new leather.

[Pete44ru]

Scotch Brite +2 - AFAIK, the different colors indicate differing grits/coarseness.

.

[Mescalero]

Forget the name of it but it is a cloth ( yellow ) impregnated with some kind of wax, think it might be " lead out ".
Works good on stainless.

[Sixgun]

4-0 steel wool and 2+2

[jhrosier]

4-0 steel wool and 2+2

FWIW, I've heard that you should never use ordinary steel wool on stainless as bits of steel can embed in the stainless and subsequently rust.

Jack

[jeepnik]

4-0 steel wool and 2+2

FWIW, I've heard that you should never use ordinary steel wool on stainless as bits of steel can embed in the stainless and subsequently rust.

Jack

Yep, first time it gets moist, you're gonna have reddish brown rust spots, or worse, it will bleed and leave streaks.

[Stan in SC]

Mescalero,the cloth you refer to is called "Lead Away cloth".I use it all the time.You can also cut patches from it to run thru the bore to remove lead.Just don't wanna use it on a blued firearm as it will remove the blueing.

Stan in SC

[iceman]

If it is a felt marker type ink, acetone should remove it. My son once left a marker in his pants pocket when he washed them. It came out of his pocket and the cap came off in the dryer. You can't imagine how happy the wife was!!! Acetone worked pretty good at taking the ink off.

[bdhold]

If it is a felt marker type ink, acetone should remove it. My son once left a marker in his pants pocket when he washed them. It came out of his pocket and the cap came off in the dryer. You can't imagine how happy the wife was!!! Acetone worked pretty good at taking the ink off.

denatured alcohol should work as well for marker

[JohndeFresno]

Mescalero,the cloth you refer to is called "Lead Away cloth".I use it all the time.You can also cut patches from it to run thru the bore to remove lead.Just don't wanna use it on a blued firearm as it will remove the blueing.

Stan in SC

Stan / Mescalero -
Will this cloth work well for cleaning after a session of moly coated bullets?

[Driftwood Johnson]

FWIW, I've heard that you should never use ordinary steel wool on stainless as bits of steel can embed in the stainless and subsequently rust.

Howdy

That is correct. Ordinary steel wool will leave tiny pieces of steel behind, imbedded in the Stainless. The bits of steel wool WILL rust, and can then cause the stainless touching it to rust to.

For what it's worth, there are many, many different alloys of Stainless Steel. The military refers to it as Corrosion Resistant steel. The definition of Stainless Steels are they all have at least 10 1/2%-11% Chromium in the alloy. It is the Chromium that gives the material its corrosion resistant properties. When exposed to atmospheric oxygen the Chromium forms a thin, colorless layer of Chromium Oxide. This Chromium Oxide layer then protects the body of the material from atmospheric oxygen, preventing further corrosion. If the surface gets scratched, a new layer of Chromium Oxide will form automatically, continuing to protect the rest of the metal from corrosion. This process is called Passivation. But given the right conditions, all Stainless Steels can corrode.

Bits of steel wool in the metal can short circuit the Passivation process and allow corrosion to to happen.

If the dark stains turn out to be corrosion, a Scotch Bright and some oil will usually help. There is always the possibility the corrosion goes deep enough that polishing the surface will not remove it all.