Santa Fe 5rd mag

 

If it was me, I'd hit it with a soda blaster to gently remove the rust and then just cold blue it.  Or if I expected it to get any rough treatment or spend time in the rain I'd use Brownell's alumahyde on it.

It's a tough coating and hides a multitude of sins.  :)

Best,

Evaporust will take it off without any fuss.  Any mild acid will work as well.

Best,

Vinegar is probably just fine, but you might need to soak it for a bit.  The last time I needed to strip bluiing, I used a citric acid solution.  My wife usually has a can of citric acid crystals around for when she cans food.  A tablespoon or two of that in a hot quart saucepan full of water (which also gets cleaned out) worked for me.  Just let it soak for a little bit and voila.  And there's no noxious chemicals to deal with.  I think she got the citric acid where all the canning stuff is sold at Walmart.  Dirt cheap.

Best,

The mag arrived here today, thanks.

You're right the rust is very minor if cosmetically funky & the pits small & shallow.

I think its probably from sweaty palms on the exposed metal when it was used in a hunting rifle. My other one has almost identical artifacts.

I stripped it down & there's no rust or corrosion at all inside & the follower & spring are fine! Even the "Magazine Spring, Auxiliary spring" & the mag body under it are fine. I went at it with my bronze brush attachment for the Dremel & then scrubbed it with my favorite (& unconventional) Green "ScotchBrite" which I've found is like a grade finer than the finest wet & dry.