'51 Confederate Navy Looks Pretty Good "In The White"

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Foto Joe

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I've been hemming and hawing for the last six or eight weeks about whether I want to strip the blue off of my '51 Fake Navy. This was a Christmas present in '09 so it's not getting sold off, and since I'm not into it for very much money (none since wife bought it), I've been trying to convince myself that maybe it would look good "In The White".

Before

1851Before.jpg

No matter how you feel about the Confederate (sic) Navy's, these things are shooters. I knew that stripping the blue off it wouldn't effect the way it shoots, but I just hated to screw around with one of my favorite guns. Given the fact that I sort of live in the desert and humidity isn't usually an issue, I gave in to my curiousity and soaked her in about a half gallon of cheap vinegar.

After

1851After.jpg

My wife was quite interested in the process and wanted to know if she could help, so I handed her a piece of crocus cloth with Ballistol on it and let her have at polishing the cylinder. I didn't have as much ambition as her with the barrel though, it's got couple of dings on it from handling and I figure that I'll use my finish sander and some crocus cloth on it when we get back home in a couple of weeks. The octogon barrel should suit itself well to mechanized polishing, I hope.
 
Methinks I like it better in the white. :cool: I'm too chicken to do the same to my 1851.
 
Unfortunately, in the picture it looks like the brass has been polished. Nothing could be further from the truth though. I did clean the guts since I had to de-blue the screws for block, trigger and hammer. She'll be allowed to age gracefully with the exception that I need to polish out a couple of handling marks on the edge of the barrel octogon and a scuff that appeared at the end of the barrel. You can barely see it in the photo. Once that's done though it will never get polished again.

arcticap said:
Someone forgot to deblue the barrel catch.
Click to expand...

I was worried that Pietta had used some sort of glue or something to hold that bugger into the dovetail (I've lost the thing on every gun I own except this one) and that the vinegar would eat what ever was holding it in. It's still there though and of course you're poor old eyes are playing tricks on you if it looks blue.;)

My justification for de-blueing this one was simple. There wasn't a big investment in the gun. It has a brass frame that looks nice when it's all tarnished. And I didn't have a clue how a white gun would look with a color case hardened frame. I figure I'll let this one get some age on her, then I'll stick the cylinder and barrel either on or close to my '60 Sheriff and she how it looks. I've got a '62 Police that if I don't liquidate the thing for something else, I might just strip that one too. I think a little .36 would look nice in white.
 
The way the revolver will refinish itself will depend upon the enviornment and since yours is "Desert-Dry", rust should not rear it's ugly head as time goes by and the oxidation processes envelope the metal. Aging won't occur, but hopefully a nice browning will start! Maybe as time goes by, the brass will gain a nice patina and the steel will age gracefully.Even with this low maintance finish going, a proper post-shooting clean-up should be praticed and the finish willm maqge as intended. Living in a Mediterraniaqn climate as I do, rust grows in about 3 days, depending on the propellant used. Trying to do a finish such as yours is likely out of reason for me. I'm better off ordering this finish from the Dealer. Id quickly have a disaster on my hands and end up ruining an otherwise nice revolver.
I too have a "Confederate" Piettia .44 which is one of my fqavorite shooters! It's brass frame acts like a "tuned" action insofar as the Brass acts like a bearing surface making all the steel components glide together! I really like mine!
I light load the chamberswith a 20 gr load, a small amount of "filler material' (just to bring the ball closer to the Forcing Cone, a pre-lubed Cabela's felt Pistol Wad, and a pure lead Ball. This combination shoots very soft and accuratelly on paper targets out to 25 yards... I don't own a chrony but I estimate it launches between 480 to 500 fps and would land with a resounding "Clang" on steel for CAS type shooting. Such low velocity looads would be challenged to do a Knock-over at anything but the closest ranges.
I load this light to preserve the Brass frame's tolerances. I would be ill-advising you to try and use this super light load for self-defense! It's purely a target load. As I said, I really like this revolver and plan on keeping and shooting it for a LONG time!
Your "in the White" refinish ought to work out and the revolver would last indefinately if you fire similar light loads through it.
Good luck with your work!
Please keep us informed on the outcome!
Ha-Ha, I keep hearing the twangy themem song from "Young Guns" playing in the back of my mind...
ZVP
 
First4Freedom said:
how did you come by the use of vinegar to strip the blue?
Click to expand...

This simple little trick was provided to me by Arcticap or Scrat indirectly through another post, both have probably forgotten more about stuff like this than I have the potential to learn.

I will say that it doesn't so much strip the bluing as it seems to bleach it. You really won't notice much change for five or maybe even ten minutes, then you might start to see a shift in the color a bit. I did find that some of the frame screws didn't de-blue very much for some reason. Also the barrel needed to be rubbed a couple of times to even out the removal.

Personally, I don't think that the removal of the bluing would have much effect rust prevention for a properly maintained gun. I've got a carry gun that managed to get a section of rust on it in a place that did not contact the holster or myself when carried. It rusted right into the blueing and I'm still trying to figure out how that happened.

I think that using some sort of moisture barrier would be just as effective as the factory bluing.

Of course, that's just my opinion and I have just as much right as anyone else to be completely and utterly incorrect.
 
BHP Fan said:
A light coat of ''browning'' solution would make a dandy ''patina'' and protect the metal from rust.
Click to expand...

Where would a person get/make such a solution? And isn't browning just light rust anyway?

By the way...

I'm camped out in the middle of the Utah desert right now and nearby a couple from Germany showed up in a rental RV a few days ago. We've had a few bier conversations over a campfire regarding the problems of the world etc. This morning I decided that the '51 needed exercise and I had a few RB's left over to get rid of. I stopped by their RV and inquired if Axel would like to join me for making a little smoke and noise.

He returned to his rented RV with Black Powder residue impregnated into his hat along with a little Crisco to make it stick. That and a big grin and some new found interest in old guns. Unfortunately, he told me that if he was to attempt to shoot a gun such as this outside the boundry of a range, he'd find himself in jail.

Anyway, another human corrupted with Black Powder. Do I feel guilty? Not a bit!!

I might warn him not to wear that hat while attempting to board his international flight home later this week though. The residue might get the attention of certain K-9's and/or machines. Kinda like me going through the metal detector with the knife in my pocket last week at the court house, OOPS!! For some reason I even removed my pancake holster and left it with the gun in the car. I can imagine the hassle I'd have gotten if I'd have had that empty holster on me when the pocket knife appeared when I got patted down. "Dear Cabela's, please don't send me any more FREE pocket knives since I can't remember where and where not it's appropriate to have one."
 
Last edited:
Where would a person get/make such a solution?
Click to expand...

Birchwood-Casey "Plum Brown" is one such product. There are others. The brown patina that is formed by such products helps to ward off the "bad" rust.

I stripped my Remington with Birchwood-Casey Blue & Rust Remover. The gun has already developed a light patina. I tarnished the brass with ammonia vapors.
 
BC Plum Brown is a 'hot' solution, meaning it requires heating the parts with a torch. A good example of a 'cold' solution is Laurel Mountain Degreaser and Browning Solution - it uses humidity instead of heat. Both have good and bad points, and both produce an excellent, long lasting rust browned finish.
 
Maybe it is just me, but at first glance it appears that a good browning is better at rust prevention than bluing. (I have several muzzleloaders I have browned with the Birchwood Casey "Plum Brown" solution.)

WHOA! If your browned gun picks up a little rust, isn't its impossible to distinguish from the brown finish!
 
Joe, if you've got some little dings on the corners I'd suggest you use a very fine cut file and draw file then out and then even the finish with more crocus cloth. Or use a small and light slip stone instead of a file.

Using either of those instead of a big motorized polisher will ensure you maintain the crisp look of the octagonal corners instead of rounding them over.

I have to say that the white does look nice. But I'm thinking that a nice browning along with the brass receiver and suitable color wood for the grips could look very nice too.
 
Your brasser turned out nice. I did mine in white a while back i polished mine with car wax. After i clean it after shooting i hit with 0000 steel wool and give it another coat of wax.
51

IMG_3989-1.jpg
 
Southron said:
If your browned gun picks up a little rust, isn't its impossible to distinguish from the brown finish!
Click to expand...
Depends on how you finished it. However, in general pure iron oxide (rust) has an orange tint to it, while a rust browned barrel will be a deeper brown color
 
IMG_3989-1.jpg

Kind of looks like a Leech and Rigdon but with an 1851 ram. Is it correct that the pictured firearm has a round barrel?
 
I'm with "Outlaw", I'd use a good browning solution, then use a fine Scotch-Brite to give it some "street cred." Shine up the corners, thin out the brown in the handling areas, and dull down the shine on the brass a bit. Turn it into Josey Wales' backup gun!
 
Okay, I see.....thought it was weird that a L&R would have a brass frame too. Forgot about the G&G. I like the way you put your G&G in the white and polished it up.
 
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