[MrSpiffy]

This past week, I picked up a couple guns from a coworker who would rather have some spending cash than keep them. They were his dad's, and he inherited them when he passed away. He didn't shoot them much, and kept them in a safe. However, he didn't use any method of dehumidification, so the pair of guns developed some surface rust. The two guns are an EAA Witness P-C in 9mm and a Colt Cobra CTG .38 Special (my very first Colt!). I picked them both up, along with two boxes of .38 Special and a box of 9mm for $350. Hopefully I did well! What do you think? Any ideas on removing the rust? I've toyed with using Duracoat or Cerakote on the Witness, but I doubt it'll add much to the value. I'll only do that if I decide to keep it. If I don't care for the guns that much, I'll likely just trade them in. But I need a little range time with them first! Hopefully soon!

EAA Witness:
http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/EAA%20Witness/Witness-02.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/EAA%20Witness/Witness-01.jpg

Here you can see a bit of the surface rust... I didn't want to try using a brush to take it off, for fear or ruining the finish even more.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/EAA%20Witness/Witness-04.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/EAA%20Witness/Witness-03.jpg

And the Colt Cobra. It's been carried, and it was stored inside of its holster in the safe. The leather turned to garbage, due to the humidity... So, it has some wear and tear, along with some finish issues.

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/Colt%20Cobra/Cobra-01.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/Colt%20Cobra/Cobra-05.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/Colt%20Cobra/Cobra-02.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/Colt%20Cobra/Cobra-03.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/Colt%20Cobra/Cobra-04.jpg

http://i163.photobucket.com/albums/t314/Mr_Spiffy/Firearms/Colt%20Cobra/Cobra-06.jpg

[2wheels]

You did horrible. Absolutely horrible.

Now put them both in a box and send them to me for proper disposal :evil:.

Seriously, $350? Great deal IMHO. I've been wanting to grab a Colt snubbie myself.

[bluethunder1962]

I don't like plastic guns but that one is so cool looking. And the colt. Well it is a colt. It is woorth 350. Why can't I get that lucky.

[rust collector]

I have the twin to the polymer Witness, made in the Philippines, and I really like the gun. Very good ergonomics, and never a misfeed or problem. It is my nightstand gun (in box, w/laser). It's not worth a king's ransom, but is accurate and reliable.

The Colt snubgun is a classic, and I'll bet you wish you had kept it if you ever let it go. They are rarer every day.

I used to use a bit of OOOO steel wool and WD-40 or some other lubricant to gently remove the worst of the rust. If you get too aggressive, the bluing will degrade around the rust and it will look worse than before. If in doubt, just make sure protectant covers the metal so no more oxygen gets to the affected areas.

You have two solid and reliable pistols that you picked up at a good price. I hope you will learn from your coworker's cluelessness. Use them, keep them lubed and clean, and they will do the job for you. The polymer gun is probably worth 200-250, and the Colt significantly more.

[content]

Hello friends and neighbors // Nice snag/save I'd like to get a free Witness and ammo everytime I bought a snubbie.

[MrSpiffy]

I appreciate the replies. Sounds like I made out alright. :) I wasn't sure what the value for each gun would be, considering the surface rust. But, it sounds like that hasn't affected the value as much as I originally thought. I just estimated general value by looking at the new price of a Witness, and a couple of other suggestions on good-condition Cobras. My coworker isn't a gun guy, so he wanted the cash more than the guns. I don't have lots of free cash these days, and told him I couldn't pay all that much for them, especially considering the condition. I did lowball a bit, and I'm sure he knew it. But it's all about priorities.

The rust on both guns looks worse in the photos than in-person. And the barrels look nice and shiny, with no pitting. I have a feeling I'm going to hold onto the Colt for a while. It sounds like that was a sound investment. It has a pretty heavy trigger pull in DA. One that I'd prefer not to use. But, my guess is that's for liability reasons. The SA trigger pull is extremely short and pretty crisp. I wonder how it'll group on paper... One of the boxes of .38 ammo I got along with the Cobra looks to be Winchester Super-X +P, which, from what I understand, is a no-no in these aluminum-framed revolvers. I'll save that for my Ruger GP100 to eat. The other stuff is CCI Blazer steel-cased. I'm not thrilled about it, but I'm sure it's fine.

The Witness..? I'll have to see how it shoots. I already have a 9mm XDM, and I have so many other items on my gun wish list that I really want. So if it's not that great it'll end up being a trade-in. But that's okay.

EDIT: Of note, maybe if I really like the Colt, it could become my future carry gun. After all, Wisconsin did recently pass concealed-carry.

[Stacer]

horrible, you should send the snubbie to me to join it's brother that I just bought for $375

[TennJed]

I wish I had friends like yours :(

[ColdDayInHell]

I am not into revolvers, but you did really good. That EAA Witness is worth $300 easy!

[gp911]

I like my guns more over time as they get a little dinged up and sweaty, as they say on American Pickers. Now you can carry a Colt snubbie without worrying about the finish! Nice purchase, you did very well.

[firesky101]

My witness looked like that when I bought it. A rag and some oil was all it took to get it looking good again.

[MrSpiffy]

Just standard gun oil?

It's nice to know I won't have to worry too much about the finish of these guns. But I do still want to keep them in decent shape. I have reservations about CCW, but I'll save that stuff for another post. I really want to shoot that snubbie now! http://forums.extremeoverclocking.com/images/smilies/uzi.gif (Okay, it's no Uzi... but it'll still be lots of fun!)

[intercooler]

You bought two rusty guns. Something I wouldn't do.

[Remllez]

Wow ! Way to p*** on MrSpiffy's parade, kinda harsh don't you think? As long as they function properly, looks are secondary to many of us that don't have lots of disposable income to buy new or LNIB guns. If a person actually uses his guns....they will not look perfect for long.

[kcshooter]

You bought two rusty guns....


that can easily be turned into good-looking shooters.



Having the Colt refinished will affect value, if you're worried about that. I wouldn't be. I'd pay for a high-quality reblueing and enjoy it. Maybe a little trigger work at the same time. It's a classic gun I'd be proud to have in a collection.
Hard to tell for sure, but the rust on the EAA looks like it will clean up pretty effortlessly, but if not, Duracoating the slide is easy, cheap, and durable.

[PabloJ]

The six-shot Colt is among the best defensive revolvers ever made and well worth owning. I would pass on the ugly pistol thingy.

[BCRider]

If the pitting on the Colt isn't too deep I'd say that a skillful and appreciative polish job followed by a good re-blueing would be my approach. If the pitting is a trifle deeper than would allow for a nice re-blue then either leave it alone or consider a very light media blasting followed by the re-blue. And when I say "light" I mean something that won't obliterate the markings. Just a matting out of the surface so the unfortunate pitting becomes all but unnoticable unless you really look for it.

But by all means shoot it first and see if you like the snub nose experience. If it seems promising but you just don't feel like you have a good hold on the gun then consider a Tyler grip filler or different grips that provide those with bigger hands a more certain degree of grip.

[MrSpiffy]

I'm not too concerned about the finish on both guns. I knew going into it that they had some surface rust, and could have some internal rust, as well. The colt had a few spots internally, but nothing bad. I bought these two to be fun range guns, not safe queens. They both appear to function perfectly fine, although the Colt has a pretty heavy DA trigger pull. I think that, if I really love the Colt, I may have it professionally blued so it looks spectacular again. But, I need to find out how to remove the rust, first. Would Colt blue it for me?

As for the Witness, I'm not super-keen on how it looks, either. But it's not ugly, like a few of the other low-end autos out there. *cough* Hi-Point! *cough* But, if it shoots well, it may be a keeper. We'll see.

[wkumatt]

I've used steel wool several times to remove freckles. Take it easy and use the finest stuff you can get. If it starts to look conspicuous, stop.

Any oil works, I prefer to soak overnight in Breakfree CLP, and load the wool with CLP as well.

I think you did well on your purchase.

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