Aging" a revolver?

[BP Tess]

I've been reading up on this subject, but being new to this, and have never tried it...I'm curious, when you remove the blueing does the gun instantly rust? Looks like it in the pics I saw. I would love to do this sometime but if it is rusted up...I'm afraid I couldnt get it out of ALL the nooks and crannies. Any pics or advice for this lady would be appreciated!

 

[BP Tess]

I stand corrected...I saw other pics on sister site. I saw the revolver just without the blueing. Just have to get it really dry prior to browning agent. This an awesome process. I know you'all would still like to show off your guns...please do!

 

[Low Key]

Hi Tess,
When I "aged" my 1858, I used Birchwood casey blue and rust remover to take the bluing off. It contains some mild acids and it takes a few seconds to start removing the blue. I used a q-tip to to the job and it took several seconds or rubbing the q-tip on the blue before it would dissolve it away. I worked in small sections and used baking soda mixed with water to neutralize the acids as I finished each section of the gun and then cleaned it up a bit with 0000 steel wool. It leaves the metel a nice gray color but it doesn't instantly rust it up. If you were to leave it for say a day or so without oiling it back up, you would probably have some rusting to start but that would just be what the bare metal would do on its own anyway.

I used birchwood casey plum brown to give my gun that rusted up look and then took it almost back off in certain areas of the gun with some 0000 steel wool to make it look like it had been completely rusted and then sanded back off to metal.

Check out this thread for more info and some pictures:

http://www.thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?t=193268

 

[Old Dragoon]

BP Tess,
If you take the blue off there is no finish and it will rust eventually, What I do is use Birchwood Casey Plum Brown to rust the finish, then the rusting process is "Killed" by olive oil or an animal oil, The old timers used whale oil but it is not available in the US any longer due to the ban on whaling. You follow the directions on the bottles of the B-C Blue and Rust remover. Step two is to polish the frame/bbl, cylinder, rammer, and cylinder pin,with 600 Grit wet/dry sandpaper or 000000 Steel wool. I prefer the sandpaper(auto Parts Store paint section). Step 3 is to clean the bbl, frame and cylinderand Cyl pin with Brakleen and dry. thouroughly. Step 4 follow the instructions on the B-C Plumbrown. You need to repeat the browing step to brown color, not red. to keep the browning from the bore slug a ball down to the forcing cone from the muzzle and then seat a ball just flush into the muzzle. This keeps the browning solution from getting into the bore. Card between each coat of PB then oil and let cure overnight. I then take off just enoiugh to make it look like a well used original from pictures on the net. last step is cure one last time. I put the curing parts in the oven at 15-200 degrees to open the pores of the metal. This will "kill" or stop the rusting action and give you a good finish. I do not, and I plug the internal cavity(works) with cotton or something as you don't want the browing solution in the internals cavity.

You will need a propane torch to heat the metal parts, per instructions on the Plum Brown Bottle. You do not need heat to remove the blueing.

The brass TG can be aged with a Lemon and/or Lime juice soak after polishing with 600 grit. Let it soak at least overnight or longer.

I do perform this service for others if you are interested. PM me if you are interested.

 

[joab]

Seal the barrel and cylinders and put lithium grease in the lockworks.Close the gun back up and soak it in a bucket of urine. (morning pee is best)
The gun will have a more natural aged look

 

[BP Tess]

Really some good advice here. Thank you very much! Would still like to see some of y'alls work!

 

[Low Key]

Here you go...


My antiqued 58 and it's 5.5 inch barrel buddy!


My antiqued 58 by itself

 

[Beartracker]

Tess, OD and Low Key, Gave you some great instruction's . The only thing I would change is that you don't need the Burch wood Bluing remover . I'm sure you have white vinegar in your kitchen or pantry. Just find a container big enough to hold your frame and cylinder. Strip the gun and degrease the with white gas or whatever degreser you like. Place the parts in the container and cover with white vinegar and go have a cup of coffee. When you come back most of the bluing will be gone and if not just lightly rub with 0000 steel wool and it will be right down to bare metal and look like stainless. Rinse in hot water and oil well and put it back together and use it that way for a while or begin your browning process as described above. It really doesn't matter as long as you keep it oiled as usual. Hope this helps, Here is my Navy, Mike

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[Old Dragoon]

Once again here are mine;
Both before I cut down the gunslinger to 4 3/4"


The Gunlinger before I redesigned the rammer:

 

[Yankee John]

Here is an outstanding article on aging a revolver:

http://members.cox.net/longshot_logan/Metal Antiquing.htm

I followed this very closely when I antiqued my Uberti Cattleman Millenium (had to get rid of that yucky "matte blued" finish!) and it turned out great!

A couple of hints; As long as you can talk the wife into it (or do it when she's not home), instead of using a torch to heat up the gun when applying the Birchwood-Casey Plum Brown, just put it in the oven on a cookie sheet at 375 degrees. This will heat the parts completely and consistantly.

For the very last step, use Flitz Polish on the whole gun. This evens out the finish and blends to plum brown spots in with the cold blued areas. It really made my gun look great.

Here are a couple pics of my Uberti. I just added the Buffalo Brothers grips to finish it off.

Enjoy!
John

 

[BP Tess]

Now that's what I call some pieces of work! I do like the looks of those sidearms. Hopefully mine will look as authentic as yours does. The threads ya posted is the same thread I looked at...I just got alittle confused on how it looked in the solution...rusty...but now I know the process alittle bit better after y'alls replies! Alittle bit slow ya know a newbee at this...but I like it ALOT! I was a true blonde ya know...now there's alittle bit of BP mixed in with some silvery stuff I try to keep covered up ! Well seasoned I'd say!

 

[BP Tess]

Oh and Yankee John, no wife...I'm a new lady to BP. Love to shoot an hunt and have just dabbled into the BP scene. First purchase last month. I think it's an awesome thing...my 1858! Everyone here has been so friendly and helpful. Just thought I'd introduce myself...thanks for your post . Teresa

 

[Low Key]

Tess...

You're hooked, It gets in your blood somehow and you'll never get over it. I been doing the BP thing for around 6 months and I'm only getting more hooked on it every week.

 

[BP Tess]

Must I mention LK, you've done a great job on your guns. I saw some of your pics on the sister site too. Hooked and up in smoke!

 

[Beartracker]

No post here.My mistake.

 

[Meplat]

Tess, This is off subject but I thought you and your boy would like this picture. It was taken from my front porch this morning. Last night there was 12 Deer out here and you never know what's going to show up. Sometimes it's a flock of turkeys or a Bore or two . Mike

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THAT is one more magnificent morning view!

I get to see the deer here in my yard, but they normally only stand around and let you watch them from 75-100 yards away, unless the pears are on the limbs.

The snow part is one thing I miss. I know many grown folks down here who have never seen anything more than an occasional flurry.

Great pic!

 

[Meplat]

Oh and Yankee John, no wife...I'm a new lady to BP. Love to shoot an hunt and have just dabbled into the BP scene.

Isn't that the greatest smell in the world? My daughter just "tolerates" shooting most long guns, but dearly loves the smokepole. When she was three, I had her in the dove field, dropped a couple of birds, went to retrieve them, and when I got back, found her sniffing the spent twelve gauge hulls. Canceled the DNA tests right then and there. I still remember doing that at her age when I was the one at MY Dad's feet. Few things trigger memories like smell...Hoppe's No. 9, Alox, and fresh shotgun hulls and Black Powder!

First purchase last month. I think it's an awesome thing...my 1858! Everyone here has been so friendly and helpful. Just thought I'd introduce myself...thanks for your post . Teresa

It's always great to see anyone, and especially a woman get hooked on the way of life.

Keep your powder dry!

 

[Old Dragoon]

Yeah I miss the snow too. Not that I want to shovel it, but not much can beat a view like Mike had this morning,

 

[BP Tess]

Mike, that is a wonderful pic and my son loves the outdoors as much as his mamma...he enjoyed it too! Beautiful country WV. We travel there at least every couple of years...i enjoy hwy19. As a matter of fact, when I first took my son he saw his first bear in the wild there. I had to slam on the breaks to keep from hitting the first one...and yes we saw another one the next day. I told him some people don't get to see that in a lifetime, let alone 2 in 2 days. He remembers that and I bought him a leather choker with a bear on it that he cherrishes to this day. You're lucky Mike to wake up to that view and wildlife to boot...I envy you .

 

[BP Tess]

Meplat, my son is almost 4 and he loves the smoke and the whole atmosphere. I get some looks when I take him with me to the range...maybe because it's Mom and not Dad. His father isn't around and I'm very much into the appreciation of the outdoors and what nature has to offer. We eat what we hunt and we respect the land. I hope he keeps these memories and ponders them as you have with your daughter. Thanks for sharing that with me . Teresa

 

[Meplat]

Yeah I miss the snow too. Not that I want to shovel it, but not much can beat a view like Mike had this morning,

LOL. No, no desire to shovel any more of it either. But like Josey Wales' sidekick's piece of rock candy, which "ain' for eatin', but for lookin' through" it sure is purdy.

 

[Meplat]

Meplat, my son is almost 4 and he loves the smoke and the whole atmosphere. I get some looks when I take him with me to the range...maybe because it's Mom and not Dad.

Mom, Dad - whoever - you're building up treasures with him he'll never forget, and you'll look back on with warmth for the rest of your life. My oldest is now in another city, and my "little one" is five inches taller than me, but I can still close my eyes, see the fall woods where I introduced them to the love of squirrel hunting, and actually smell the woods, hear the rustle of the leaves, and see the wonderment in their eyes. Best times I can remember with my Dad all fall into the same catagory. No matter what differences we had as I grew up, once we hit the woods together, we reinstituted that bond. Methinks your four year old has a wise Momma. He's a lucky lil' feller.

His father isn't around and I'm very much into the appreciation of the outdoors and what nature has to offer. We eat what we hunt and we respect the land. I hope he keeps these memories and ponders them as you have with your daughter. Thanks for sharing that with me . Teresa

I don't see how he could do otherwise. Dad's gone now, but when I remember him, I chose to do so with his old pump Savage in his hands, slipping up on a nest tree in a southern hardwood bottom, or gliding along the woodsline paralleling the shore along the Alaskan coast with his .30-06. Great woodsman, who taught me that in silence we can truly communicate better than with words. Miss him. Am grateful for the memories he took the time to leave.

 

[Duncaninfrance]

Wallowing in nostalgia eh?
I remember my first smell of burnt powder. It was on a hill farm in Wales when the farmer took me out and let me fire his old .22 pump rifle. We got a rabbit and I kept the empty shell cases for years. For the rest of the holiday I kept them in my pocket and used to smell them every so often! I think I was about 7.
I also remember my first ever drink of Coke. It was on a beach at Formby north of Liverpool. Cant say it tastes the same now though.
I just put in a pic of our house for you to look at. The house faces due South and as you can see, we are surrounded by vines. The French hunt in them but they use 3 shot autos mostly and shoot at anything that they THINK moves. That includes eachother and their dogs!! They sometimes put out commercially raised Partridge on the Friday and then come along on the Sunday and blast the hell out of them. I don't hunt, just knacker up paper!!!

 

[Meplat]

Wallowing in nostalgia eh?

Wallowing? Nah. REVELLING! lol BP Tess brought back a lot of good memories with her posts, and for that I thank her.

I remember my first smell of burnt powder.

Ain't it a blast?

It was on a hill farm in Wales when the farmer took me out and let me fire his old .22 pump rifle. We got a rabbit and I kept the empty shell cases for years. For the rest of the holiday I kept them in my pocket and used to smell them every so often! I think I was about 7.

I remember vividly the smell of burnt gunpowder. Like I said, smell is the strongest sense when it comes to evoking memories. Even today, lo these many years later, I can pass some young woman wearing the perfume my first girlfriend wore, and I feel like I'm sixteen again. (cough....off topic I know, but she WAS a pistol, if that counts. )

I also remember my first ever drink of Coke. It was on a beach at Formby north of Liverpool. Cant say it tastes the same now though.

That's the reason that things that are the same now as they were then are so dang important to me. So many more just aren't anymore.

I just put in a pic of our house for you to look at. The house faces due South and as you can see, we are surrounded by vines.

Yet another grand view. Will have to post a pic of my little five acre patch in springtime (which should be anyday now around here). Not as picturesqe, to be sure, but perhaps I can get a large buck in velvet to pose and help improve the image.

Happy knackering, and keep a couple of spent .22's in your pocket. It never pays to COMPLETELY grow up.

 

[Beartracker]

(One more for your son .) Tess, In the past 7 years I have phographed over 300 bear here in WV. It's my hobby and I start at the end of may every year using trail cams and taking pics from treestands. Had a few close calls and had one big sow keep me up a tree for 14 hours . She wasn't about to let me down and walking out way after dark was not a happy time. Anyway these pictures were taken 2 miles south of RT.19 between Rt. I 79 and Summersville, WV. This is why I carry my .44 Remington with 40g and a 200g conical. This is a 300 lb. sow with triplets. I left some marshmellos for them The other is a big bore checking out my trail cam. I had bear destroy several of them trying to eat them or maybe they just didn't like there picture being taken.

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