So I absent mindedly just left my AKs stored in a room without thinking about rusting issues. Never got around to shooting them. Pics to follow. Just wanting to remind you to check on your guns. I’m supposing some oil and steel wool will do the trick. Never had these issues with my AR-15s, but i never let them sit out this long (months) before either. Thoughts on refinishing them after I clean them up?
you never shot them, tossed in what kind of room? like an air conditioned room or a submerged shark cage?
Alligator den
Room was air conditioned but im thinking it was too close to the AC Vents.
Just being honest, I’ve never seen rust that bad. I mean I pulled some guns out of my G-Pa’s damp moldy basement that had much less rust on them. And they were down there for 20+ years.
Yeah I’ve never seen rust this bad either. The humidity is high in Louisiana but this was indoors in an air conditioned room.
Steel wool, and then do a finish like duracoat or cerakote.
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First I would try oil and a stiff plastic-bristle brush, with maybe a bit of selective brass-bristle thrown in as necessary. It might surprise you how much you can get off.
Some “Barricade” oil would do you good.
Touchups - what is the Finish? Phos?
Rust Never Sleeps.
I have seen this used for restoration of auto parts - I have no idea how it might work on gun parts.
I’m thinking about a kit for one of the somewhat-rusty, demilled AK kits, see how assemblies do in this stuff.
The barrel is nitride im not sure what PSA uses to finish the receivers.
It is a teflon based finish from the factory.
That would probably require a full strip/media blast to remove.
I’m surprised it rusted this badly. This really looks like water actually sat on the surface, there’s more than microscopic condensation there.
No water other than humidity. They were near an air conditioner vent which I suspect cooled the rifles off and than alowed them to get warm causing condensation to build up over the months.
Something I’d expect to see from a rifle left in a hut in Cambodia
Just a hut in the swamplands of Louisiana.
Yep, a little bit of WD40 and some steel wool works wonders. ![]()








