mauser receivers pitting problems

[Mogas]

Just got in two 1908 Mausers receivers that is pitted towards the top front of the receiver where the barrel would screw into the receiver and below the wood line. I was going to remove all the new blueing and fill with JB Weld and sand smooth but then. thought Why not just fill with tintype metal. I have some that I melted down into ingots. I can melt down again and pour over the pitted area and sand everything back into shape.. Has anyone tried this or heard of it being done? I looked in Youtube but no luck there. Also, my gunsmith located in bullshoals passed on. I really liked him as a person and respected his decades of experience. People like this will be really missed. Does anyone here have a recommendation who and where I might send a few of my receivers out for bolt face work, polishing, scope mount and truing? I live in Mountain home Arkansas and there is no replacement anywhere near me. So, I will have to send the receivers out by mail.

 

[Kp321]

What you described will work, kind of like the old time body men using lead before Bondo came out. The pits will need to be clean and well fluxed if the lead has any chance of sticking. JB Weld will work as well and neither of them will stand a trip to the bluing tank.

 

[Mogas]

Thanks kp321, I would have forgot about Flux if you had not have mentioned it. Now that I think about this, do you think I would have to heat the area of the receiver I will pour the lead on before the lead will adhere? Kinda like soldering?

 

[jdsingleshot]

Yes, you would have to heat the receiver. A risky business. Are you sure a stock would not hide the pits? They are usually where the original stock covered the metal and trapped moisture there.

 

[Jim Watson]

If the pits are all or mostly below the stock line, why bother?
Any sort of nonferrous muck you might put in them would not blue, probably come right out in a bluing tank.

If you are going to paint them...
https://www.duracoatfirearmfinishes.com/durafil-surface-filler-p/df.htm

 

[Mogas]

Unfortunately some of the deeper pits on the topside of the receiver where the barrel would screw into the receiver. I know that auto body shop used to use lead or alloy to reform metal and have no problem with spraying primer and paint on the area lead was used so I was thinking of doing the same but instead of paint or primer to powder coat the entire receiver after the lead application... Has anyone seen a powder coated mauser receiver? Might work just fine or NOT! Anyone here know the do's and dont's of powder coating ?

 

[Mogas]

If the pits are all or mostly below the stock line, why bother?
Any sort of nonferrous muck you might put in them would not blue, probably come right out in a bluing tank.

If you are going to paint them...
https://www.duracoatfirearmfinishes.com/durafil-surface-filler-p/df.htm

Jim! Thanks for this info on Duracoat.. I had no idea this existed.. The website you sent me also sold bluing/ rust remover in a large bottle... Thanks, I think I will try this once I got the pitts filled....

 

[BigBlue 94]

Jim! Thanks for this info on Duracoat.. I had no idea this existed.. The website you sent me also sold bluing/ rust remover in a large bottle... Thanks, I think I will try this once I got the pitts filled....

The Dura-fil is a great product. Spray a few coats on then sand most of it back off, leaving it in the low spots. Then come back over with your choice of DuraCoat. Lauer has tons of coatings and treatments and you can buy direct from them or from midway, brownells, etc. My last order direct took about 3 days to get here.

 

[Thisisyourcaptin]

Just got in two 1908 Mausers receivers that is pitted towards the top front of the receiver where the barrel would screw into the receiver and below the wood line. I was going to remove all the new blueing and fill with JB Weld and sand smooth but then. thought Why not just fill with tintype metal. I have some that I melted down into ingots. I can melt down again and pour over the pitted area and sand everything back into shape.. Has anyone tried this or heard of it being done? I looked in Youtube but no luck there. Also, my gunsmith located in bullshoals passed on. I really liked him as a person and respected his decades of experience. People like this will be really missed. Does anyone here have a recommendation who and where I might send a few of my receivers out for bolt face work, polishing, scope mount and truing? I live in Mountain home Arkansas and there is no replacement anywhere near me. So, I will have to send the receivers out by mail.

Another option. I have used this quite well too on a couple Mausers. Have them laser welded to just above the surface. Once done you can file and shape to what suited you. Then cerakote them. Cerakote has some options that look really close to to blueing. It’s a solid fix that will put live you. Cost is a tad higher but WELL worth it. The laser welding will sometimes blue but not as well the original metal. However it will be a solid fix and as god as new. Laser welding is so low heat that there is zero risk of damaging the surrounding metal as well.
I have used this on 1911 slides and barrels, Mauser actions and even rem 700s that I botched. Deff worth a look.

 

[beag_nut]

TIG welding might also work, and would be a lot less to set-up and probably cost. (No vacuum required, as in Laser). I used to do it at work, but now retired and no access to TIG.

 

[Thisisyourcaptin]

TIG welding might also work, and would be a lot less to set-up and probably cost. (No vacuum required, as in Laser). I used to do it at work, but now retired and no access to TIG.

How is the heat transfer with it? Is a process where you would want to get the action reheat treated?

 

[beag_nut]

One of the "beauties" of TIG is that it is supremely restricted to the area being welded. The welder who taught me could weld a piece of SS tubing, with .002" wall thickness, to a "chunk" of SS about 2000 times that mass in about two or three seconds, barely raising the temp. of the larger mass. I wasn't anywhere near as good, but could still do a good job with smaller differences in size. The usage of an inert gas (argon, in our case) prevents surface oxidation, and the foot-pedal control allows precise control of penetration, etc. Find a local good TIG welder and the job is done. I don't think re-heatreating is needed if the area is small. The whole job could be done in "small" steps.