Author Topic: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..  (Read 2287 times)

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Tarky

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Hi all,
New member here, and bought my first SKS ever while they were available, at atlantic firearms a month or so ago.
I think overall its a decent sample, not quite as great as some of the other "mint" condition folks have received from the batch.
Bore scope shows a shiny barrel w/ really pronounced and smooth / sharp rifling... oddly enough there was no cosmoline in it, only oil maybe. The rest of the gun was CAKED in cosmo tho, so bad the action wouldnt even cycle.
The stock is in decent shape too I think.
Anywho disassembled, got her cleaned up, overall looks nice(result in pics). But the receiver and parts of the barrel are showing a concerning rust color. The barrel is smooth and shiny in these areas and the receiver feels smooth but its not shiny.
So, I dont know if this thing is a concerning rust bucket? or is it pluming or something else?
Heres some pics.
note: the oil used on the patch test is a yellowish/slightly orangish oil to begin with, I rubbed the metal really hard to get that patch sample.

https://imgur.com/a/mGT15IG
https://imgur.com/a/ljMMXIx
https://imgur.com/a/5fEvpBH



JimmyJamesKY

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #1 on: August 07, 2022, 01:22:24 PM »
I believe that is just "patina" and is nothing to worry about.  It's just surface oxidation that probably actually helps protect the metal below.  As a matter of fact, removing the natural patina of an old rifle to make it look shiny and new actually decreases value.


pa·ti·na
/pəˈtēnə/

a green or brown film on the surface of bronze or similar metals, produced by oxidation over a long period.
"many bronzes have been overcleaned, their original patina removed and artificially replaced"
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old tom

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #2 on: August 09, 2022, 09:18:59 AM »
The dust cover on my 59/66 has a reddish "tiger stripe" pattern to it. It's not a problem, it's the way the bluing acted on the metal. I have an M-38 Swedish "mauser" with a spot on the receiver ring that just won't take any kind of blue. Looks like the birthmark on Gorbachev's head.

Tarky

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #3 on: August 09, 2022, 04:29:42 PM »
Thanks for the info so far guys!
So sounds like nothing to worry about =) which is great to hear.
Just keep it oiled like any other well cared for firearm and its good to go I think.
I just wanted to make sure nothing structurally bad has happened to the underlying steel over time.

Greatguns

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #4 on: August 09, 2022, 05:36:55 PM »
My understanding, from what the gunsmith I used to work for told me, is that steel alloy with a higher nickel content will give a plum colored patina over time. I have seen a lot of Yugo M59/66s, more than any other SKS country of origin, having the plum patina on the receiver specifically as well as the mag and a few other parts. I have seen it on older lever actions from time to time as well.

Adrianople

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #5 on: September 12, 2022, 11:54:32 PM »
That looks fine from here. If you can see pitting under finish, then they could have refurbished by just rebluing over everything. Bluing is itself a type of oxidation.

If the metal turns orange that is rust, but you can just wipe a thin layer of oil over it to stopany reaction... but cosmoline has an oily look to it.
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Gator417

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #6 on: December 18, 2022, 09:06:38 AM »
One of my Yugos has that same color on it. The other looks more like a conventional blue. Go figure. I always thought it might be an indication of some sort of problem, but it's consistent over the entire receiever and there are no irregularities. I'd say it is just as the others have suggested above, a difference in composition of the metal and possibly the finishing process, nothing to worry about.
Gator

jlwilliams

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #7 on: December 19, 2022, 07:44:22 AM »
 Not a problem, just the look of an old gun. Keep it clean, dry and lightly oiled and that rifle will run for decades.

Fort Knox

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Re: Picked up my first SKS ever, concerning rust color on bluing..
« Reply #8 on: December 19, 2022, 01:34:49 PM »
I've had both a Yugo M/59 and an M59/66 and they both had some areas where the bluing was more purple than black.  From my dabblings into research it appears to be perfectly normal.  Nice looking rifle!

Kyle