Skip to main content
Help Center Community Shop

Help. Old metal prep for refinishing.

cbxjeff
I have gathered about 8 civil war to 1920 pieces over the last couple of years that I want to refinish. They either are duplicates of others I have or not of much value as they stand. I read our past forum entries and see things like "use a dremmel to remove rust and pits". I need more help than we can provide here I think. I've never tried anything like this before. Can someone recommend a book that will guide me?

cbxjeff<P>It's too late for me, save yourself. <br>
0

Comments

7 comments

Date Votes
  • captkirk3@dslextreme.com
    They will be Worth even Less if you try to clean them.......Leaver them as they Are...

    Captain Kirk, Tech Staff
    0
  • nononsense
    Please make sure that you understand that the refinishing will lower the value of these firearms even more.

    Here is a set of tapes:

    Professional Metal Finishing and Hot Caustic Bluing Course 4 hours (two tapes)
    http://www.americangunsmith.com/finishes.html (bottom of page)

    Book:

    http://hppublish.com/item241.htm ( a CD is also available)
    0
  • CountryGunsmith
    Please do not use any type of hot caustic bluing on those guns. The process was not invented when those guns were manufactured and they will look just plain bad.

    I will also take issue with the blanket idea that refinishing a firearm will ALWAYS lessen the value. Just isnt true. If the gun is a complete basket case as it is, a proper restoration will INCREASE the value. Plus, it will increase the usability and the overall pleasure in ownership.

    All that said, there were several different methods of metal finishing during the time period you reference. Just reading a book or watching AGS videos will not even remotely prepare you to do a professional quality job at metal preparation. Takes practice, and experience.



    Scrappy Doo sleeps with the fishes.
    0
  • cbxjeff
    Thanks for the reply guys. Once again I fail to write a clear post. I thought I would be getting better at this!

    I am all for not touching antiques - guns, cars, etc. I have a dozen or so that are in very nice to good condition. A few others are either duplicates or others in poor shape (missing or broken parts). A couple have very little value (H&R) even if nice. This is really a project for my own satisifaction rather to increase or even maintain a gun value.

    One other thing. I plan on having any finish applied professionally. I am mainly interested on how to prepare the metal surface.

    Wish I had said all this the first time.

    Thanks again,

    cbxjeff<P>It's too late for me, save yourself. <br>
    0
  • MIKE WISKEY
    unless the parts are very small the dremel isn't what you need. either emory paper or a small sander with emory paper (320 0r 400 grit) would work better. gunsmiths use bulling wheels with polishing compound in grits from 120(dull) to 600(mirror) depending on the finish required.
    0
  • cbxjeff
    Thanks for the info Mike. I have a buffing wheel available to me. That would do a good job on scratches I would think. What about pitting. Should I try to remove metal around them to blend them in (even partially) or would the no-longer flat surface look worse than not touching them at all?

    cbxjeff<P>It's too late for me, save yourself. <br>
    0
  • MIKE WISKEY
    YOU CAN TRY TO BLEND THE PITS IN, BUT THIS ONLY GOES SO FAR. I USE A MEDIUM FELT BUFFING WHEEL (AND 240 GRIT BUFFING COMPOUND) AND YOU CAN ALMOST GRIND FINE PITS OUT WITH THIS. BUT THE FELT WHEELS ARE EXPENSIVE AND MIGHT NOT BE VIABLE FOR A SMALL JOB. TRY THE EMORY PAPER AND VARIOUS SHAPED BACKERS (PENCIL, 1/2 ROUND FILE, YOUR THUMB, ECT.) TO GET THE REQIRED CONTOUR.
    0

Please sign in to leave a comment.

Recent Activity