Rusting trouble with exterior of AR?

[mhanna91]

Took my AR out cyote hunting last night and it got rained on. Today I stripped it down to oil everything to keep anything from rusting and I got to wondering if I was just wasting my time oiling the exterior of the upper and lower recievers. I wouldnt reckon that they would rust since they are anodized aluminum, but I thought I would just ask. So does anybody ever have any trouble with rust or tarnishing of the outside of your AR? Should I oil it really well or just give it a casual wipedown?

[Quib]

I like to hit the exterior on my ARs with a 1” paintbrush LIGHTLY dampened with CLP. I follow this with a wipe-down using a black t-shirt.

I live in a fairly arid area, but I have found occasional specs of rust on parked portions of my weapons. The above procedure during cleaning ensures my weapons remain rust free.

[Col_Crocs]

Took my AR out cyote hunting last night and it got rained on. Today I stripped it down to oil everything to keep anything from rusting and I got to wondering if I was just wasting my time oiling the exterior of the upper and lower recievers. I wouldnt reckon that they would rust since they are anodized aluminum, but I thought I would just ask. So does anybody ever have any trouble with rust or tarnishing of the outside of your AR? Should I oil it really well or just give it a casual wipedown?

Receivers no, takedown and pivot pins yes, along with you safety switch, bolt catch, trigger pins, endplate and castle nut. I oil these parts before going out.

[Mjolnir]

Try Boeshield T-9. Nothing performs as well for corrosion resistance. Use on exterior ONLY. It can be found at Sears.

[Blankwaffe]

Yeap corrosion is a issue here as well.If it does not rust it will grow mold, and the temp swings cause condensation issues combined with humidity of 80-100% its a pain.

I just keep all the steel parts coated with a light sheen of oil.The aluminum parts are treated almost the same with only a slightly less sheen of oil.No dust issues here so my rifles generally look wet and it works.
I PM my weapons as soon as possible due to the issues....golden rule "the sun never sets on a dirty weapon."

As far as brushes for knocking mud/dirt off and as a application brush for lubricants,I prefer the 7/8" stencil brush.I store the brushes in plastic paint ball or cigar tubes for carry in the pocket or pack.I keep one dry for dirt etc. and the other damp with oil for application.

[Failure2Stop]

If you manage to get anodized aluminum to rust you will be among a very small group of the AR-using community ;).

As long as you have a light coat of some kind of oil on the ferrous metal parts (ejection port cover, pins, trigger, etc) before you go out, and dry your gun and re-protect the same parts when out of the elements you will be just fine.

[Stan_TheGunNut]

The upper and lower recievers are anodized alluminum....so the receivers are already "rusted". That's basically what the anodizing is, an oxide layer.

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-hard-anodizing.htm

As others stated, the barrel and other steel parts is subject to what most of us recognize as rust.

[Blankwaffe]

If the anodizing was 100% intact and continuous I would not worry about it.Dings,dents,scratches and worn areas tend to oxidize if some oil or protectant is not applied in my experience.Large amounts of sweat and humidity play a huge role in summer months.To make things even worse I have acidic skin and can etch a finger print on just about anything metallic...so I lube to "feel good" about it and have seen no issues as a result.
Bluing and park is also corrosion layer as well,but they will also corrode,so I protect them accordingly.

[scottryan]

I have stainless steel tanks at home filled with BF Collector that I can dip a whole assembled long gun in at once if need be.

My point is you need to oil your gun. More oil is better than not enough. Oil can be wiped off if need be, rust is permanent.