removing rust spots without removing finish?

solidorange

solidorange

Joined
Aug 30, 2011
Messages
1,364
While I absolutely love my Kershaws, the bead blast finish they use apparently does not agree with my body chemistry. The stonewash finish and DLC seem to be fine, but the satin/bead blast finish has developed small rust spots on several of my knives. All of these blades are less than a year old, have never seen water, are stored in a well ventilated display case, and have been lightly coated with CLP. Is there any way to remove the rust spots without ruining the finish? I have read flitz works wonders, but I am afraid of what it might do to the bead blast. Thanks in advance!


OD-1:
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Packrat:
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Skyline:
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SpeedBump:
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Zing:
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Heavily lubricate with WD-40 and rub the spot with the edge of a penny. The copper is soft enough it SHOULD not damage the finish. It works well enough to remove rust from a firearm without removing the bluing so I would think it would work on your blade.
 
JWRobinson said:
Heavily lubricate with WD-40 and rub the spot with the edge of a penny. The copper is soft enough it SHOULD not damage the finish. It works well enough to remove rust from a firearm without removing the bluing so I would think it would work on your blade.
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I never would have thought about doing that.
I hope you get them taken care of I would be very upset if that happened to me.
 
Flitz does work wonders on rust, but as you said, I am not sure what the BB finish would look like afterward.
 
I would let it soak in oil, or spray it down and let it sit a little bit and then scrub it with some cloth or even paper towel.

You could try rubbing alcohol, or maybe CLR (green bottle, Calcium, Lime and Rust). I think a cloth, paper towel or even sponge or last resort, the synthetic steel wool side of a sponge would work well without scratching the surface.
 
Having worked at a gun shop for 10 years i can attest the wd-40 and penny trick works everytime. Although we usually used spent brass 45 cases just because they were easier to hold on to.
 
thanks guys! i will definitely try some of these out tomorrow and report back on what works. good thing i already have wd-40, pennies, and spent cases around the house. :D

would still like to hear from anyone who has actually tried flitz on the bead blast just to know the outcome. ;)
 
I've used fine rubbing compound on my shallot and blur that had spots on the blade with great success.
 
chester22 said:
I've used fine rubbing compound on my shallot and blur that had spots on the blade with great success.
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what brand/where did you get it? i gotta get these things ready for the photo shoot i promised ya'll in my introduction thread. :p
 
chester22 said:
I used Meguiars ultimate compound.. around $9 walmart/autozone..
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thanks! amazingly, i already have some of that in the garage too. it's not often that i have all the supplies needed to solve a problem like this just laying around.
 
blt-2-drg said:
Having worked at a gun shop for 10 years i can attest the wd-40 and penny trick works everytime. Although we usually used spent brass 45 cases just because they were easier to hold on to.
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I can second that and one-up it a bit... I have a couple of largish brass bolts in my kit, they seem even softer than pennies, and using the threads like a file reduces the effort needed considerably.
 
I've used Brasso with a paper towel. Worked fine, didn't do anything to the bead blast. Actually just did it on a Storm II that had some small spots the other day. Brasso is available in with the Comet and kitchen cleaning supplies. It's uses for cleaning stainless steel sinks and all types of metal cookware. It is exactly the same ammonia based polish as Flitz in exactly the same amounts according to the MSDS sheets. It's significantly cheaper I think, but more importantly I can grab get it almost anywhere but to get Flitz I have to drive over to Sportsmans Warehouse/Wholesale Sports/whatever they've become.
 
penny and wd-40 worked, but did not remove the spots completely. polishing compound did not finish removing them, so it looks like some brasso is in my future. thanks again to everyone for the advice. :cool:
 
Steel wool works pretty well, how long was it before you last used your Kershaws? I never let my knives rust that much.....

-orangish ducktape
 
You may be left with some light pitting after you use the polish, which may also slightly brighten the finish. You may want to invest in a TufCloth to wipe them down with if they're rusting up on you in storage!
 
orangish ducktape said:
Steel wool works pretty well, how long was it before you last used your Kershaws? I never let my knives rust that much.....

-orangish ducktape
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i carry almost all of them occasionally, so they are all used at least once a month. i don't know what chemical they use in the bead blast, but it does not react well to my skin. the blade on the packrat had small rust spots from me handling it in less than 72 hours. until now, i was afraid to use anything stronger than wd-40 on that finish. the only one that is really bad is the zing, the rest of them are only noticeable at this point because i know where to look.


jayinhk said:
You may be left with some light pitting after you use the polish, which may also slightly brighten the finish. You may want to invest in a TufCloth to wipe them down with if they're rusting up on you in storage!
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i will definitely look into that!
 
You may also want to try Johnson Paste Wax (several coats) to seal the blade off from your skin acids. :)
 
I've used Loctite Naval Jelly Rust Dissolver, applied with cloth (nothing abrasive like steel wool), to remove rust spots on a custom bead blasted blade with excellent results. As in everything else, try in a small area first. Then, used wax on the blade after cleaning it off to give it a matte finish.
 
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