how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

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how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by FoxSpotter » 08 Oct 2026, 8:58 pm

243 has presumed rust on shoulder.
Couldn't chamber a round.
Now I can
Have used a 30 cal chamber brush and some G96.
Have borescoped it and have video on YouTube.
As much as I can now chamber a round, the chamber shoulder doesn't look cleaner and will probably blossom out.

Option 1. Chemical
Dedicated rust removal product..that is safe to use.
.
Option 2. Physical .Make a wooden dowel with same or simalar shoulder angle and use steel wool or abrasives...carefully.

Advise?
17 Rem R700
17 Rem. R788 TSE barrel
204 R700 TSE barrel
222rem. Rem788
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by FoxSpotter » 08 Oct 2026, 10:18 pm

Going to glue a 243 cartridge with head cut off onto a dowel then use abrasive on shoulder
17 Rem R700
17 Rem. R788 TSE barrel
204 R700 TSE barrel
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243, R700
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by deye243 » 08 Oct 2026, 10:33 pm

Have had this problem several times in Chrome Molly barrels as I have exceptionally acitic sweat all I've ever done is wrapped steel wool around the jag that has the diamond pattern in it liberally oiled with a lightweight oil and just rotated the cleaning Rod by hand until rust is gone and then after every night of culling at a minimum chamber is oiled with a mop and then chamber and Barrel moped and patched before the next nights work
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by deye243 » 08 Oct 2026, 10:34 pm

FoxSpotter wrote:Going to glue a 243 cartridge with head cut off onto a dowel then use abrasive on shoulder

Don't do this over time you will alter headspace
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by bigrich » 09 Oct 2026, 3:37 am

FoxSpotter wrote:243 has presumed rust on shoulder.
Couldn't chamber a round.
Now I can
Have used a 30 cal chamber brush and some G96.
Have borescoped it and have video on YouTube.
As much as I can now chamber a round, the chamber shoulder doesn't look cleaner and will probably blossom out.

Option 1. Chemical
Dedicated rust removal product..that is safe to use.
.
Option 2. Physical .Make a wooden dowel with same or simalar shoulder angle and use steel wool or abrasives...carefully.

Advise?


i think your approach to simple common sensed fixes is good , but head spacing and chamber specs being out of shape would worry me . myself , if it's not a controlled feed rifle with a cut extractor groove , i'd take it to a smith and get the barrel set back and rechambered . if it's a well used barrel this might give it a new lease of life . just a thought . cheers :thumbsup:
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Wapiti » 09 Oct 2026, 7:02 am

Have a go with the steel wool/mop idea with some abrasive paste or Autosol.
Go easy.

Unfortunately if you have rust in small pits, as is always generally the case, that may quite likely not be removed completely from these little pits however.
Problem with this is - rust keeps on going in that instance, unless it's completely removed and the moisture within powering it is all removed and replaced with an oil to keep the water/oxgen from re-entering that rust and continuing it.

I'm wondering about the rust remover idea. It's a good one to neutralise the rust that will be in the little pits, but do some research and make sure it does not remove steel - only it's oxides which rust is.

All the guys above make good points.
On the case rotated in the chamber with abrasive - Dye is spot on, take care. If you push the shoulder forward by removing the rust and it physically changes dimension, oh well, that's life.

Use your sizing die and make up for that by re-sizing cases JUST enough to rechamber... to fit whatever new chamber dimensions that result from your rust removal. If rust pits are not in the bore, there should be no accuracy issues.
Of course if this doesn't sit well with you, a re-chamber is pretty simple, although it will necessitate rethreading the barrel to set it back as well which takes some time to set up right using the original threads. Which costs.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Jorlcrin » 09 Oct 2026, 8:00 am

Would the finest grade of 'JB Bore-Brite' on a rag and spun slowly with a cordless drill, do the job?
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by FoxSpotter » 09 Oct 2026, 2:51 pm

Job finished.
Was a learner curve.
Got no notifications for all of the above kind and helpful posts.
I ended up spinning JB on a case glued onto some dowel....with....a drill...briefly.
This basically did the trick.
Then..to clean up more..tried some valve grind paste..with drill...this immediate seized before damage could be done and snapped the dowel..lucky....it tapped out with a gentle knock from cleaning rod. .

I may well have to set up a chamber regime.
After a nights culling...running some patches of eliminator etc through the barrel is about all I can bare to do. Seems I should patch the chamber too... probably eliminator to clean, then alcohol mop before shooting.

I shall probably put some G96 in the chamber with the hope of soaking into the pitting and stop further rust.

The original barrel shoots so well I will definitely consider rechamberiing it when the time comes. And perhaps get a 22BR barrel as well.

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17 Rem R700
17 Rem. R788 TSE barrel
204 R700 TSE barrel
222rem. Rem788
CZ 453, 22lr
243, R700
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by FoxSpotter » 09 Oct 2026, 2:53 pm

https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLSTW ... 9e7iTo7G1j

This is the playlist of bore cam and case on dowel.

Thanks.
17 Rem R700
17 Rem. R788 TSE barrel
204 R700 TSE barrel
222rem. Rem788
CZ 453, 22lr
243, R700
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Fester » 09 Oct 2026, 3:54 pm

Yeah, the chamber area is important, as you found out.
I use wooden chopsticks , always full, and half length ones on my bench.

The full one pushes an oily rag through the action and into the chamber.
I then place a corner of the rag in front of the chamber entrance, and the thin end of the chopstrick pushes it in and oils the area right up into the leads.

I once thought I could see something in the corner of that flat disc-type area, but my smith said I am seeing things.
Maybe it's a bead of the stuff manufacturers often use to be sure barrels never come loose; I have NFI what it actually is.
Borescopes can be bad. I found what looks a bit like a section of tiny weld in a barrel groove corner.
It must be some sort of defect from when they punched out the rifling grooves, and it's just a Friday Rossi.

A good tool for polishing out any carbon ring, starting with oil and xxxx steel wool, is the slotted jag to feed and wrap the bit of steel wool around. By hand or carefully using a drill works fine and is quicker.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Wapiti » 09 Oct 2026, 6:06 pm

Is that the Eliminator with the pigs head on the label?
I bought a bottle of that sh*t after listening to a gunshop bloke who probably never used it, and did my own trick with the Hoppes I always use, and left some in the bore to work overnight as the instructions said.

On the steel 6mm plate-topped workbench, there were a few drips, next morning they were orange rust patches !!!!
The bottle said I could use it to protect the bore!

If you're using that, I know why your chamber rusted.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Wapiti » 09 Oct 2026, 6:13 pm

This sh*t

absoluteshit.jpg
absoluteshit.jpg (669.18 KiB) Viewed 66 times


I freaked and immediately patched out the rifle I'd used it on, a $10K DTA SRS - and it had already started turning to rust in the bore. Luckily, no damage but if I left that Devils p*ss in there, the rifle would've been f**ked.
I'm sure there will be some that say "I've used that since my first born and nothing's happened like that" well I will never use that sh*t again. In fact, what a wanker I am for not chucking it already. It's kept for times like this.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Fester » 09 Oct 2026, 6:52 pm

The only thing that I would leave in a barrel for more than 20 minutes is the old harmless Hoppes # 9.

Both Bortech Eliminator and Wipe out Patch out, claim they are safe to leave in a barrel.
I clean them out with some spirit of any kind after cleaning.

They are the best 2 cleaners I have used, without needing to wear out bronze brushes to maint clean a barrel after shooting.

Patch out is prob the strongest, but I can clearly smell ammonia, or something similar.
Then the well-ventilated area warning.

Those Hrdy techs like Boretech for being safe to use, as they clean multiple barrels on a daily basis.
They would like effective cleaners rather than 100s of bronze brush strokes, doing it daily.

There is a cheapish cleaner, claimed to be effective, made in the Sydney north- western suburbs.
I traced them out, but postage doubled the price; that was pretty good, and they had no real site sales.
I think I later saw it at the RA shop; can't remember the name now.
You have to watch some gun shops, as they will often charge heaps for a tiny sample-sized bottle, when you can pay double for 4 times as much.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by GQshayne » 09 Oct 2026, 7:23 pm

I have found that lanolin is an excellent neutralizer of rust. I have put it on corrosion and watched it slowly disappear. Safer than any chemical option.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Fester » 09 Oct 2026, 9:32 pm

Inox and Lanox are lanolin-based, from memory.

Often I get a blue patch when I run a dry patch through a barrel that was oiled with an Inox patch.
It must work as a cleaning oil.

I have all the products, but those exy cans will last a lifetime because a 4lt container of Inox does most of my rifle protection.
Got a spare, and the smellier, thicker Lanox before the $65 price was set to skyrocket.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by bigrich » 10 Oct 2026, 4:39 am

Fester wrote:The only thing that I would leave in a barrel for more than 20 minutes is the old harmless Hoppes # 9.

Both Bortech Eliminator and Wipe out Patch out, claim they are safe to leave in a barrel.
I clean them out with some spirit of any kind after cleaning.

They are the best 2 cleaners I have used, without needing to wear out bronze brushes to maint clean a barrel after shooting.

Patch out is prob the strongest, but I can clearly smell ammonia, or something similar.
Then the well-ventilated area warning.

Those Hrdy techs like Boretech for being safe to use, as they clean multiple barrels on a daily basis.
They would like effective cleaners rather than 100s of bronze brush strokes, doing it daily.

There is a cheapish cleaner, claimed to be effective, made in the Sydney north- western suburbs.
I traced them out, but postage doubled the price; that was pretty good, and they had no real site sales.
I think I later saw it at the RA shop; can't remember the name now.
You have to watch some gun shops, as they will often charge heaps for a tiny sample-sized bottle, when you can pay double for 4 times as much.


i also use boretech eliminator . i've found it to be the best i've used . like you , i also use a spirit to clean out the boretech after use , allowing to dry before patching will oil . a fella at rebel gun works put me onto using shellite to get rid of cleaners , after a episode years ago , where i'd used sweets and hadn't got all of it out . borescope revealed the bottom and sides of the rifling lands eaten out in the barrel. boretech is a non ammonia product , which is not supposed to effect rifle barrels . the biggest thing though , is to use a nylon brush and a aluminium jag , otherwise you will still get a blue cleaning patch as it will give a false indication due to using a brass jag or bronze brush .

don't throw that boretech out wapiti , i'll take it off your hands next time i'm down your way . cheers :thumbsup:
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by bigrich » 10 Oct 2026, 4:41 am

GQshayne wrote:I have found that lanolin is an excellent neutralizer of rust. I have put it on corrosion and watched it slowly disappear. Safer than any chemical option.


especially for long term storage , lanolin is the best thing there is in my opinion :thumbsup:
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Wapiti » 10 Oct 2026, 7:31 am

Hopefully the others reading this take something from the discussions above, that is
I have used that Eliminator, posted a pic as proof that I have the sh*t, and on guns I use quite a lot it does not work any better than the good old Hoppes9, and in fact Hoppes Black is way faster.
People do have to justify their purchases with whatever they need to use personally, I will look at the plus/minus and effectiveness.

Eliminator can destroy your rifle if you don't remove all traces of it - to me that's ridiculous, because on high round use semi-autos this stuff isn't any better for fouling removal- for my humble guns it's 2nd class. That's where the real good stuff shines.

None of those need to be white spirited out as precaution to rust, to me that's insane as the stuff aint that great. PLUS you can leave the Hoppes in as a preservative and it keeps working to remove the last stubborn deposits as you get on with life. If you have that time to do all those extra steps with the Boretech great but don't miss a bit in the corner of a chamber shoulder!

I don't deliberately set out to be hang my arse out and be different as an argument, I just don't want to see people wreck their gear because they believe the lies on a label and think they have the latest greatest when they do not - that's a tragedy to me. Good luck with your rifles fellas.
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Re: how to remove rust from chamber shoulder

Post by Damo300 » 10 Oct 2026, 8:03 am

Wapiti wrote:Is that the Eliminator with the pigs head on the label?
I bought a bottle of that sh*t after listening to a gunshop bloke who probably never used it, and did my own trick with the Hoppes I always use, and left some in the bore to work overnight as the instructions said.

On the steel 6mm plate-topped workbench, there were a few drips, next morning they were orange rust patches !!!!
The bottle said I could use it to protect the bore!

If you're using that, I know why your chamber rusted.



A quick check of the SDS reveals that is just glycine and water.
The water would be the cause of you're rusting.

https://www.scribd.com/document/497202544/eliminator-bore-cleaner-security-data

May as well throw the gun in a bubble bath overnight. :sarcasm:

Cortina uses CLR clear...
Then he doesn't.... :lol:


I get great results with G96, and it's also my go to deoderant.... :wtf:
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