Please Help With Restoration Project

[Darkside852003]

My step father has a old 32S&W 7shot Arminius revolver. It is missing the front sight. Has some rust and pitting. But I would like to take this up as a project.



How should I remove the rust and reblue the gun?

Where can I find a front sight for the gun?

Should I take this gun to a smith and see if it is safe to fire?

Thanks

Jeff

[dfariswheel]

FIRST step is to visit the gunsmith to determine if it's safe.

If it is, get some penetrating fluid, or better, some Kroil and liberally soak all the rusty areas.
Allow to soak overnight, or even longer if possible.

Next, apply more Kroil and use a brass "toothbrush" to scrub the rust.
Also make a brass scraper from sheet brass, or by smashing the mouth of a rifle cartridge case flat, then file an edge on it.

Use this scraper to scrape the hard, crusty rust.

After all the rust is removed, dry off, then use a good copper removing bore solvent to remove any brass marks.

Dry off again, then apply a coat of CLP Breakfree.
This will continue to degrade any remaining rust, and will prevent further rust from forming.

Gun Parts Corporation, http://www.e-gunparts.com/ usually have Arminius parts. They may not LIST parts for your model, but contacting them directly may turn up what you need.

For the missing front sight, you'd probably be better off just making a new sight from scrap steel, since it's unlikely you'll find just the sight.

There is no at-home bluing that will really work on an entire gun.
Most cold blues usually produce a thin, smoky gray color, and it wears off FAST.

Having a professional blue job done would cost far more than the gun is worth.

Your best bet would be to apply one of the "spray on-bake on" lacquer type finishes sold by Brownell's.

These are sprayed on, then baked in your oven. These produce a surprisingly durable and good looking finish.
http://www.brownells.com

[Darkside852003]

Thank you very much.

[StrikeEagle]

Sounds like fun to put the old gun back in service. :)

I enjoy doing that kind of thing too. One gentle word of caution, though... please don't put money into it though... Arminius guns were inexpensive when new, and they haven't really appreciated significantly in value.

Hope you can get it up and running 'on the cheap'.

Best to you!

StrikeEagle

[Darkside852003]

Update on project Arminius.

I soaked the gun for 2 days with Kroil. I am still removing rust from the gun, there is a lot. Not sure if I can remove all the rust. Certin areas are a pain to get to.

Next step is to remove all the brass marks.

I called http://www.e-gunparts.com/ and are going to try to locate a front sight for me. I can't figure out with size the screws for the sight are.

I am ordering the spray on-bake on finish from brownells when this is finished. I am going to get the black finish.

Pictures to come when finished.

[sgt127]

If you have a friend with a sandblaster or glass bead blaster, that would be the definitive way to get rid of all the rust and give you an even satin base for the final finish....