[scalper]

Here is my deal. I have a BP revolver that I personally polished. I love the look. I don't care about making it look old and I have no plans to give it to anyone or sell it. I just want to keep it look as is. It is not an antique or heirloom. So I don't care about the value. I am mainly interested in keeping it looking the way it is and making it more easily maintainable.

The question is, can I use a spray on material like Brownell's Aluma-Hyde II which will epoxy coat the parts? Sure it won't look like the Confederate revolver that it is, but I am interested in using a clear one, so that the polished steel and brass continue to show through. I am intending on doing one final polishing and then coating each part individually and then reassemble the gun.

So, does this sound crazy? Anyone done something like this? Any other products that might be better?

[scrat]

you mean like this
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q77/scratm3/IMG_1896.jpg
http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q77/scratm3/IMG_1897.jpg

its a labor of love. mothers mag and wheel polish. i do it after im done shooting it then i just wrap it in a towel and put it in the safe. nothing else.

[scalper]

Exactly scrat! So are you saying you used Aluma-Hyde II? Or any other suggestions?

That gun looks great. Mine too, though not quite as nice as yours.

[scrat]

just regular mag and wheel polish. it will stay that way. i put it on good. rub it in until the rag is completely black. then use another soft cloth to remove the excess polish. the wrap it in a small towel it will stay that way. it looks really really good. At the range everyone thinks its a nickel finish. When its just a deblued pietta. i was checking it every other day when i first did it trying to see if it would develope any rust spots or anything. well it hasnt i still keep it polished up when i need to. but its holding its own. looks really good too. In person it looks so much better i can take a picture to save my life.

[scalper]

Well it looks really nice. I might consider this if the Aluma-Hyde II idea doesn't pan out. Thanks for the tip.

[Snaggletooth]

I just received today a Walker that has been done the way SCRAT polished his. This was an old 79 that I bought on Auction Arms. I thought the barrel and the cylinder were chrome or stainless. I really like it.

[bigbadgun]

I use M.A.A.S. and this is what I get.

[sundance44s]

A friend of mine just bought a new Uberti Cattleman Pistol ...the finish is in the white , he says Uberti sprays some kind of clear coat over the white finish to keep the look ....I don`t know , I don`t know much about it .

[scrat]

I dont think i would go with a spray on finish. In fact nope forget it. i can see in the future the spray finish chipping or getting scratched. The way i have it now i dont have to worry about it. rub on some polish and it looks great.

[Pancho]

I agree with scrat in some regard, I think you would have to mask off anyplace that had an interference or near interference fit like the front face of the cylinder the rear rachet face and if you coated the outside of the cylinder the bolt would soon make a mess of the coating. You could paint the barrel, frame and the loading lever.
A good polishing like scrat and bbg performed is amazingly easy to care for. Take it from a guy who has polished a lot of British motorcycle aluminum, the higher the polish the easier it is to maintain. I once spent the better part of a day polishing a cast aluminum tail light base, it looked so good I decided to clearcoat it. The next day I found that the clearcoat clouded and I had to start over again with a bigger mess than I started out with.

[scrat]

OUCH let me guess a NORTON

[scalper]

It sounds like you guys are probably right. In addition, simpler is often better.

I am reminded daily of this when I use my old cast iron pan. It is probably the oldest thing in my house and was belonged to my great grandmother. It still looks good and works perfectly. It never required any modern technologies like teflon, just regular cleaning, seasoning, and oiling. I guess the gun could be the same.

I think I will go with your guy's method of simple cleaning and polishing. I guess I felt like I needed to do something else, since I don't want to blue it. It seems like everyone wants to get on the bluing wagon, when I think bare polished metal looks good.

Thanks again for all the tips.

[Pancho]

Yep, it was the Norton.

[Perk]

No matter how careful one is with the stuff and even if nothing else happens to it, polyurethane (and the like) coatings will, eventually begin to yellow. Ugly yellow. Even spar (marine) varnish will do the same thing; sooner, or later.

You could try clear powder coat. But, the problems, listed above, will still be there to contend with. Also, powder coat is amazingly easy to scratch, I’ve found.

Even if you can avoid all the other bother, metals will begin to rust beneath the coating and at the edges (where one has masked, or at chips, for example). This’ll let in oxygen, but not the polish. Or, the polish will build up at those edges and collect moisture. The very things one is trying to avoid.

For this application, one might best be advised to stick with a good, heavy-duty polish/protectant. Guess it’ll have to do, until someone comes up with a “gun-clearing” solution - as opposed to one for gun-bluing.