Refinishing Winchester 1300

Are you doing this for sentimental reasons. 1300s are not expensive. Re-anodizing the receiver will probably cost more than the gun is worth. I would use a spray-on type coating or sell it and buy another 1300 in better condition.

I have a 1300 that I like, but I would never think of refinishing it. If it was that bad, I would replace it. To do otherwise is not cost effective, unless this is a treasured family heirloom.

Sounds risky to me. I would apply the Guffey lever. Leave 'er as is.

JB5

You might want to give Ron Mahovsky a call or email him (mahovskysmetalife.com), to see if he can do anything for you. I know he use to offer anodizing on aluminum frames and that he does work on long guns as well.

JB5 said:

and needs to be anodized.

Click to expand...

Don't drop the "to be" - without it the sentence reads terribly.

The aside though, since the gun isn't particularly valuable, I'd personally say to look at doing something like Cerakote on it. You could do the receiver and tube together without breaking them down.

JB5

Good, I hope it works out. Mahovsky does great work especially with hard chrome plating. I also have a Winchester Model 1300 and if there were no other refinishing options I would probably go with Cerakote.

Duracoat or Cerakote the receiver IMO. It's literally not worth re-anodizing. You could get a brand-new old stock receiver for less trouble and cost IMO.

As far as getting the mag tube out it's a royal PITA. You have to hammer the mag tube back into the receiver (disassemble it first, and use a sacrificial magazine cap, because you'll likely flatten it before it moves. And you'll probably bend the first couple threads of the mag tube, so you might want to get a spare one of those also, or you can maybe cut off the bent threads and file the end flat. Did I mention it was a PITA? Once you have bashed the mag tube into the receiver sufficiently you can either thread the plastic mag tube throat off the back of the mag tube (if it's one type) or remove the two-piece mag tube throat from the serrations on the rear of the mag tube (if it's the other type). THEN you have to fashion a slide hammer or build a jig and use a jack against the back of the mag cap to pull the bare mag tube out the front of the receiver.

Once you get your receiver how you want it, yaaaaaay! you get to bash the mag tube back in again, reinstall the mag tube throat, and slide-hammer it back out until it seats, hopefully without breaking the fragile plastic mag tube throat.

Did I mention it is a royal PITA?

I strongly recommend you re-think your plan. It's NOT worth it.

Buy a better 1300 or a can of duracoat. Think of the children.

Remember Winchester built that series of guns as inexpensive as possible.
I'm saying inexpensive not cheap, the guns were built using different manufacturing ways.
The receiver is just a carrier for the bolt and barrel, the bolt locks directly into the
barrel extension.
Trigger hammer assembly follows what other makers have done.
They cut materials cost and labor costs.

FYI the receivers and magazine tubes are the same between 20 and 12 gauge if you're looking for parts. The mag tube throats are caliber/gauge specific

I dodged that bullet. Back in 2003 I was a defense shotgun, I looked at the 870, 500 and 1300. Handled all of them and each one had good and bad points. The 1300 had a high vis sight but really wasn't stainless because of the receiver. After thinking I figured I could go with the either the 870 or 500 and add that sight.

The owner of the LGS told me he would see what he could get for a price on the 500 and 870. I remember the 870 in electroless nickel was $80 more than the Marinecote 500 so I went with the 500.

Still have that 500 and wouldn't trade it for anything. After reading complaints about the 1300 for once I made a wise choice.

I’d buy some aluminum paint or buy a new SXP if you want to stay with Winchester.

The work would cost a lot more than the gun is worth. I'd buy a few cans of Krylon and give it a camo paint job.

You didn't post any pictures of the gun but how bad is it? Cerakote isn't a bad option.

Cerakote would be your best option I think. It will look nice and won't cost a fortune. The cerakote will look a lot better than some kind of cheap paint.

I’ve had good luck using Rustoleum Refrigerator Black gloss EPOXY paint to refinish formerly anodized items. It seems to be nearly if not as tough as the original anodizing, and somewhat thicker.
It does require reasonable prep, and disassembly.

I frequently use it too, to refinish aircraft cosmetic components also. Good stuff.

Any good automotive zinc chromate primer and a top coat of either satin or gloss black will look fine and is MUCH either than attempting re-anodizing.

Whatever happened to Alumahyde II? Was available from Brownells and was for aluminum.