Refinishing a Mossberg model 380 rifle part 1

A local forum member brought me this rifle that had something spilled on the surface that caused some serious but localized rust

The rifle is a Mossberg model 380 semi-auto .22 rifle.

The corrosion has partially obliterated the caliber designation and the type of rifling "Ac-Kro-Gruv"

The walnut finished birch stock was in pretty good condition

The plastic trigger guard was in really good shape, almost like new

I hate seeing this, but with some sand paper and elbow grease we can make it look new again

The serial number is visible, but I will need to careful when sanding near it so I don't obliterate it.

The first step is always disassembly. The magazine tube is in the butt stock, so I remove that and then unscrew the take-down bolt

This is what the innerds of the rifle look like

and completely disassembled, only the bolt charging handle needs to be reblued, the other internal parts, including the trigger (made from two pieces of stamped steel) will be put away until reassembly time.

Plan of attack:

• Sand the barrel and receiver attempting to preserve the roll marks
• Sand/polish the bolt charging handle and read sight
• Reblue the parts
• Clean and polish the bolt 
• Reassemble, the stock will get a good cleaning and waxing but will otherwise be untouched.

I start with 60 grit sand paper working both in a shoe shine (cross ways) and fore and aft with a block of wood.

I then step up to 100 grit, the receiver is almost free of pitting, I still need to deal with the area around the serial numbers

And the barrel roll marks, underneath the model number is the following: AC-KRO-GRUV .22 LONG RIFLE ONLY

Here is one of the worst spots on the barrel, almost ready to step up to 150 grit. I will then move to 220, 280, 320, then finish with 400 grit

Stay tuned for part 2