Hi all, a little while ago I started to do some minor smithing stuff out of my house and a friend of mine dropped off his grandfather's old Sears Roebuck Ranger 12 ga. and wanted me to make it look newish again. I took it all apart and cleaned her up inside, however I cannot for the life of me remove the rust :banghead:. I'm possitive it's beyond saving the original finish, so I was wondering what you guys think I should do to first off remove both the original finish and the rust, and secondly what I should to to smooth out any possible pitting in the reciever/barrel. Any help would be VERY appreciated, thanks.
Rebluing help!
- Thread starter Kettle93
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icanthitabarn
Member
Is it back together?
Use a rust and blueing remover. If the barrel is pitted to deeply it will need to be replaced.
Additionally, I would start my learning curve on old scrap barrels and firearms. I only work on my own guns. I would not work on another persons property, until I was completely confident in producing professional results.
Additionally, I would start my learning curve on old scrap barrels and firearms. I only work on my own guns. I would not work on another persons property, until I was completely confident in producing professional results.
Strongbad
Member
Use a bench grinder with a 6" buffing wheel with a light grit compound and put a nice polished finish on it, then rust blue. Go slow and easy around corners and edges and any stamping. Go with a light grit compound. Just enough enough to remove the rusty areas.
Sarge756
Member
I agree with the rust blue approach but would caution you about using power equipment.The people that polish firearms go through a lengthy apprenticeship for a reason. I posted a reply on this site for a fellow that had a nice S&W revolver with rust and pit damage confined to the end of the barrel from I suspect holster wear.Rather than retype it here I`m going to copy and past it.If you are dabling in smithing you should add this to your knowledge as rust bluing is a simple though labor intensive process. The instructions I posted for his revolver would apply to doing your friends shotgun with the addition of a bigger tank (available at Brownells about $45) to boil water in and a source to heat it. I use a fish cooker outside to heat my tank. As you get into it you will certainly want to add equipment like a carding wheel and something to turn it at 1200-1500 rpms .These are also available at Brownells and make a whole gun project go alot faster.Hand carding brushes in different sizes are also available.Follow the instructions that come with your rust blue solution and I think you will be pleased with the results.Good luck with your project ..Joe This is copy of the post:
I agree that a cold blue is not going to hold up even if you use the best available (Oxpho) since this area is subject to holster wear. There is a way to fix it and not send it off to S&W for $250 bucks. The pits have to be removed and you are fortunate that the damage is confined to the end of the barrel. Polish out the pits by hand (NO Power tools) with small squares of progressive grades of abrasive wet/dry paper and proper backing.With those pits 150grit would be the starting point.You need to take it to at least 400 grit.The scratches from pit removal will be polished out.Confine your polishing to just the damaged area and leave the rest of the barrel alone.When you have a smooth pitless surface degrease well with lacquer thinner and acetone .Be sure to degrease the bore also. This will be a spot Rust blue procedure. If you are not familiar with this it is a simple procedure that you can do on your kitchen stove.Use an old pot and boil some water deep enough to submerge the end of your barrel past the damage.Heat the polished area with a propane torch too hot to touch and apply a rust blue solution ,Mark Lee`s Express Blue available at Brownells is my favorite. There are several different brands out there, all are similar chemical(acid) combinations.The polished area will immediately rust and be reddish in color.Submerge the end of the barrel in the boiling water for a few minutes.The reddish color will change to black and be sooty.Now with degreased 0000 steel wool (use the acetone to degrease the steel wool and let it dry throughly before using) gently remove the sooty residue.This is called "carding" and there are special brushes for it but with this small job the steel wool will work fine.At this point the polished area should be a dull gray.Do the procedure again:Heat,apply,boiling water dunk and card.How many applications? Different steels take the finish differently.Probably 4 or 5 or until you see no difference in the darkening of the finish. The last step will use the cold blue (Oxpho creme formula also available at Brownells). To help blend the finish and impart a bluish color to match the rest of the barrel again heat the newly blued area with the torch and liberally apply the Oxpho creme.Don`t let it dry out but let it work for a minute or two.Now burnish the Oxpho with a wad of the 0000 steel wool.Really bare down and polish it. If the brightness does not match up with the rest of the barrel after this, burnish again with a small square of cardboard. Oil with a good quality gun oil and you are done. Don`t forget to run an oiled patch down the bore.One last thing be careful not to touch the affected area during the procedure with your bare hands as it can leave oil residue.You have a fine revolver for the price and with a little effort it will be even better. Good Luck. Joe
Kettle93 .. additional points ; before you begin carding the sooty residue off be sure that the surface is completely dry. Let it air dry perhaps using a hair dryer to assist.Don`t rub it with a rag or paper towel.If it is not completely dry it will cause dark splotchy spots and you will not be able to get rid of them without a repolish and starting over.Done that and it ain`t no fun. Also when doing the work wear clean freshly washed cotten gloves so that you will not leave oily residue when handling the metal.
I agree that a cold blue is not going to hold up even if you use the best available (Oxpho) since this area is subject to holster wear. There is a way to fix it and not send it off to S&W for $250 bucks. The pits have to be removed and you are fortunate that the damage is confined to the end of the barrel. Polish out the pits by hand (NO Power tools) with small squares of progressive grades of abrasive wet/dry paper and proper backing.With those pits 150grit would be the starting point.You need to take it to at least 400 grit.The scratches from pit removal will be polished out.Confine your polishing to just the damaged area and leave the rest of the barrel alone.When you have a smooth pitless surface degrease well with lacquer thinner and acetone .Be sure to degrease the bore also. This will be a spot Rust blue procedure. If you are not familiar with this it is a simple procedure that you can do on your kitchen stove.Use an old pot and boil some water deep enough to submerge the end of your barrel past the damage.Heat the polished area with a propane torch too hot to touch and apply a rust blue solution ,Mark Lee`s Express Blue available at Brownells is my favorite. There are several different brands out there, all are similar chemical(acid) combinations.The polished area will immediately rust and be reddish in color.Submerge the end of the barrel in the boiling water for a few minutes.The reddish color will change to black and be sooty.Now with degreased 0000 steel wool (use the acetone to degrease the steel wool and let it dry throughly before using) gently remove the sooty residue.This is called "carding" and there are special brushes for it but with this small job the steel wool will work fine.At this point the polished area should be a dull gray.Do the procedure again:Heat,apply,boiling water dunk and card.How many applications? Different steels take the finish differently.Probably 4 or 5 or until you see no difference in the darkening of the finish. The last step will use the cold blue (Oxpho creme formula also available at Brownells). To help blend the finish and impart a bluish color to match the rest of the barrel again heat the newly blued area with the torch and liberally apply the Oxpho creme.Don`t let it dry out but let it work for a minute or two.Now burnish the Oxpho with a wad of the 0000 steel wool.Really bare down and polish it. If the brightness does not match up with the rest of the barrel after this, burnish again with a small square of cardboard. Oil with a good quality gun oil and you are done. Don`t forget to run an oiled patch down the bore.One last thing be careful not to touch the affected area during the procedure with your bare hands as it can leave oil residue.You have a fine revolver for the price and with a little effort it will be even better. Good Luck. Joe
Kettle93 .. additional points ; before you begin carding the sooty residue off be sure that the surface is completely dry. Let it air dry perhaps using a hair dryer to assist.Don`t rub it with a rag or paper towel.If it is not completely dry it will cause dark splotchy spots and you will not be able to get rid of them without a repolish and starting over.Done that and it ain`t no fun. Also when doing the work wear clean freshly washed cotten gloves so that you will not leave oily residue when handling the metal.
carbine85
Member
I refinished my Grandfathers Model 11 shotgun. I used rust remover, sandblasted the pitted areas, and used 2 different grits of sand cloth strips. I polished it with steel wool. Once I got the metal where I wanted it I used this http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=1072/Product/OXPHO_BLUE_reg_
I wasn't concerned about the value since it's staying in the family.
I wasn't concerned about the value since it's staying in the family.
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