Cleaning off nylon?

Simon Yu

Simon Yu

Joined
Feb 13, 2000
Messages
370
Long story short, I recently removed rust that got onto a shotgun after spending a bit too long in the trunk of a car during bad weather. The gun's clean, but I still have rust stains on the soft case that I need to get rid of. Since nylon is used in some knife sheaths (Cordura stuff), I figured someone here might know a good way to clean off the stains.
 
It's not a stain -- a chemical discoloration -- at all. What it is is solid, powdery material, iron oxide, that is lodged in the nylon fibers. So, there are two approaches you can take. You can chemically react the Fe2O3 and change it into something else which doesn't have that annoying red color, or you can mechanically remove those tiny bits of iron oxide.

The commercially-available product to accomplish the first is called CLR, calcium, lime, and rust remover. You can get it at most grocery stores.

But, I'd start with the first approach. Try vacuuming; suck those little bits of rust out. Try running compressed air through the nylon from the other side to blow those bits out. Try running pressurized water through from the non-"stained" side to flush them out. Try a foaming cleaner that will lift them out.
 
Gollnick said:
The commercially-available product to accomplish the first is called CLR, calcium, lime, and rust remover. You can get it at most grocery stores.
Click to expand...

I took a look at that at a drug store earlier, but put it back down after reading the warning about not using it on cloth. I've still got some things to try before I try chemical approaches (I haven't tried the bath tub faucet yet), but I would like some confirmation that the stuff won't eat through Nylon. I could care less about the dye being removed.
 
Try some common foaming automotive upholstry cleaner, or like the other poster said toss it in the wash. Ever use oxy-clean or similar? Supposedly quite good at removing those sorts of things, though I've never tried it on rust stains in cloth.
 
:p Dumping detergent directly on the rust areas and then doing a cold cycle seems to have gotten rid of most of it. A simple cold cycle didn't do much in and of itself. One or two repeats looks like it'll get it all out . . . and leave me with the best smelling shotgun case at the range :p
 
Well after a few times in the washer, most of it is out . . . but so is some of the stitching.

Is there a danger of rust particles still trapped in the fabric affecting an object stored inside the case? I'm kind of hesitant to put the case up to more of this if I don't have to.
 
Hi Simon-

Just make certain it is REALLY dry before putting another shotgun inside of it! I would suggest hanging it in a room with a dehumidifier that is running.

~ Blue Jays ~
 
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