I would soak them in oil first. 0000 stainless steel wool second. But I don't think GI mags were parked. Were they?

 

Parkerized GI magazines have been through rebuild. All were blued originally. Parkerizing is a built up finish, so anything you use to remove the rust is going to remove some of the Parkerizing.

 

Here they are!

Parkerized GI magazines have been through rebuild. All were blued originally. Parkerizing is a built up finish, so anything you use to remove the rust is going to remove some of the Parkerizing.

Can you guys tell me who made these and when? The base plates are welded on and they have flat metal followers.

Would it be worth it to have these refinished?

Also, can these be disassembled by removing the follower in any way?

 

Check-Mate Industries, Inc. (CAGE Code 1M291).

I believe that they only started supplying mags from 1984.

 

. . . can these be disassembled by removing the follower in any way?

Yes. To disassemble an M1911 magazine, depress the follower or insert three or four rounds in the magazine. Then insert a pin (possibly the hammer strut) thru one of the magazine hole's, below the follower, in order to keep the mag spring down. Release the pressure on the follower or remove the rounds from the magazine and turn the mag upside down and shake it until the follower falls out. Remove the pin that holds the spring in and remove it.

 

You can buy these magazines "new in wrap" for eight bucks a piece. Ammoman dot com is one source. $79 for 10.

I'd not spend any more time on them than maybe putting them on the bench in pieces and scrubbing the rust off with CLP and bronze (not steel) wool or a bronze brush. They should clean up more than enough to use on the range.

-- Chuck

 

Rust

It really doesn't matter whether you bronze or steel wool to scrub the magazines, as both will remove the phosphate coating. Some like to use bronze wool on blued guns, but that is a feel good measure. Pistols that were rust blued had the rust coating carded off with either wads of steel wool or fine wire wheels, which did no damage to the blue underneath the rust.

 

The Ammoman magazines pictured in Chuck's post are "MFR. 30745" (the Mason-Rust Co. of Pittsburgh, PA).

Aren't these the ones that the Army rejected as being too far out of spec?

 

Steel wool leaves microscopic steel particles embedded everywhere. Bronze wool will still leave the particles, but they won't rust. Only difference.

Do a Google search. Have a cold drink ready as there's lots to read. The MFR 30745 may be USGI rejects, or they may be genuine good quality USGI magazines, or they may be counterfeit USGI. Opinions vary this widely.

I've got a couple USGIs at home which work flawlessly, but I don't have the maker memorized.

-- Chuck

 

Mfr 1m291 = Checkmate

Do a Google search. Have a cold drink ready as there's lots to read. The MFR 30745 may be USGI rejects, or they may be genuine good quality USGI magazines, or they may be counterfeit USGI. Opinions vary this widely.

I searched for the MFR last night, and my mags are all CheckMate. Based on the individual I rec'd them from, they are all at least 10 to 15 years old (minimum). They were not purchased through one of the Guns'R'Us discount surplus-crap-shops on the internet.

I will follow the recommendation of Chuck and others to use brass wool for an initial cleaning. Then, I'm going to check them for function. If they work well, I may have them refinished.

Any recommendation on a oil to use in conjunction w/ the brass wool? WD40? Motor oil?

 

Chuck S

Correct about the steel wool and rust. That's why I suggested "stainless" steel wool. I own about six of the 30745 mags and they work perfect. The holes in the side are a little off but great range mags. It is a crapshoot with that mfg. though.

 

Steel wool leaves microscopic steel particles embedded everywhere. Bronze wool will still leave the particles, but they won't rust. Only difference.



-- Chuck

It really doesn't matter what you use. If you don't use oil or something to protect it, it will rust. Using steel wool has nothing to do with that.

 

It really doesn't matter what you use. If you don't use oil or something to protect it, it will rust. Using steel wool has nothing to do with that.

except that the micro steel wool fibers will promote rusting very quickly if any are left behind at all...just a precaution measure. oiling them up after will help bigtime and keep them that way too.

 

Could someone show an example of a pistol or rifle with steel wool particles imbedded in it? Urban legend.
But then again, maybe those magazines just lay in the vicinity of a pad of steel wool and the rust attracted to the steel wool got the magazines too. Reckon?