Restoring a rifle
As you can see I have two Arisaka rifle's that my grandpa picked up in WWII, that are rusty. Any tips on how to remove the rust without having to reblue it? I'm guessing it was never blued originally. Where they painted or what? Here's a picture of what I am dealing with.
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1st, they were originaly blued, just not taken very good care of since they were brought back. to remove what rust you can use ONLY 0000 steel wool and some penetrating oil (kroil is very good). One poster here claims a COPPER penny works well too. 0 -
Keep all metal parts wet with a product by the name of KROIL for at least 24 hours then use something like BURLAP or brass pot scrubber . If you can take the rifle out of the stock this will help . I take paper towels that are wet with kroil wrap pieces in it and then wrap the whole thin in saran wrap and let set for few days. 0 -
But, realistically, restoration is really not practical once a gun has rusted to this point. Rust is a loss of steel; the iron has combined with oxygen to form ferric oxide (rust), leaving nothing but a space. That space is called "pitting", & there's no way to disguise that.
Follow the advice of the posters given above, but understand that this treatment can only stop the advance of rust, not restore the original finish.
Neal0 -
I would advise an EXTREMELY minimal attempt at restoration.
DO NOT attempt to remove the actions from the stocks!!!!!! It is extremely difficult to do (screws staked) and will lower colector value of rifle.
Arisaka collector value is a tricky thing. While pristine/unused arsenal kept rifles are very desirable. The vast majority of Arisaka's were battle used and show it. And rough finishes from battle are not generally considered a bad thing.
ORIGINALITY is the most important factor in determining value. Even breaking loose the staked action screws will cause loss of value. And DO NOT refinish stocks.
Do a minimal amount of rust removal w/an eye on preserving remaining original finishes.
Many a well meaning person has ruined an inherited Arisaka's value by attempting to "Restore" it. Be prepared to post pics.
No offense but please read the Posting Guidelines.
Best.
I'll be happy to discuss this by e-mail but I am not going to drag this through the forums and waste other members time and posts.
Best.0 -
Preserving, not restoring is what you want to do.
The most important thing is to get the rust stopped. A good soak in Kroil, ATF, even brake fluid if it's all you have.
The older "copper" pennies work for getting the worse of it off. I use a piece of small diameter copper water pipe with the end hammered flat. The copper will scrape the rust off like a chisel, but won't damage the remaining blue. The 0000 steel wool soaked in the oil of your choice for the light stuff, and the areas you used the copper scraper on.
As for taking the action out of the stock, JMO, but if it looks like that on top, it's bad under the woodline too, I'd do it.
I would also wipe the stock down, inside and out, with linseed oil, then wipe it dry. That will protect any areas missing finish, and stop any further wood/moisture/metal problems.0 -
quote:Originally posted by TRAP55
Preserving, not restoring is what you want to do.
The most important thing is to get the rust stopped. A good soak in Kroil, ATF, even brake fluid if it's all you have.
The older "copper" pennies work for getting the worse of it off. I use a piece of small diameter copper water pipe with the end hammered flat. The copper will scrape the rust off like a chisel, but won't damage the remaining blue. The 0000 steel wool soaked in the oil of your choice for the light stuff, and the areas you used the copper scraper on.
As for taking the action out of the stock, JMO, but if it looks like that on top, it's bad under the woodline too, I'd do it.
I would also wipe the stock down, inside and out, with linseed oil, then wipe it dry. That will protect any areas missing finish, and stop any further wood/moisture/metal problems.
I disagree. I have disassembled many Arisaka's w/poor exposed finishes. The blueing under the stock is typically in VG condition.0 -
I can't realy add much. You have gotten good advice here. When in doubt, do less, not more. Preserve what you have without altering it. 0 -
You learn something every day. Never knew that Arisaka screws were staked. Was this universal, or just on some. (Late war production, etc?)
Anyone have any close up pictures of staked screws?0 -
quote:Originally posted by RCrosby
You learn something every day. Never knew that Arisaka screws were staked. Was this universal, or just on some. (Late war production, etc?)
Anyone have any close up pictures of staked screws?
I believe universal. But my memory a it fuzzy as to if T-38 screws were staked. But for certain, all T-99's were.
The Japanese did not intend for the soldier to disassemble his rifle past bolt removal & basic field cleaning. Any further serviceing was done at the arsenal. And the underside of actions & barrels was coated w/a preservative.
I have disassembled some Arisaka's and noted striking contrasts in the amount of remaining original blueing from the worn on top to nearly pristine on bottom.
I don't have any pics, but the staking was done w/a simple (sometimes single/sometimes double) punch strike on the edge of screw head and rim of screw hole. That prevented the screw from being removed easily.
I don't know how the arsenals did it. But a hammer driver is the only way I've found to break them loose. And it buggers up the screw head pretty badly. All Arisaka collectors will advise not to remove staked screws unless absolutely neccesary.
The actions on Arisaka's can lock up if safety knob assembled incorrect position, or attempt is made to "de-cock" rifle in Mauser style. The Arisaka CAN NOT be de-cocked. Once cocked, it has to be fired, live or dry.
Removing action from stock and disengaging trigger from bottom is usualy the only way to "un-lock" one. Which it the ONLY reason a collector would remove action screws. Locked up rifles are usually a bargin to buy because people think they're broken.0 -
Fatstrat,
Thanks!!! Great info!!
Appreciate it.0 -
It may be heresy to some, but I strip all of my Arisaka's, staked or not. I've found some rust underneath the wood on ALL of them somewhere. The rifle doesn't belong to the Emperor anymore, it belongs to me and I want to clean it real good!
[:D]0
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