Red spots?

Rust on steel barrels will be a dark reddish brown, more brown.
The spots will be hard crusty deposits that can't be just wiped off with a finger.

If you apply a lube like CLP and use a brass scraper to scrape them off, what will be left is a small spot with no finish on it and a small pit in the metal where the rust was.

If the spots are actually red, it probably isn't rust.

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