"antigue-ing" a repro revolver?

Status
Not open for further replies.
K

kBob

Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2006
Messages
6,459
Location
North Central Florida
I know, "use search function!" Well I did and my Seach-whan-do is just as bad as my Google-Fu.

SOme where at some point in time on this board there was a series of post by some one that detailed what they were doing to make a modern repro look a-hunnered and a half years old.

Not trying to fool anyone and I will leave modern markings in place but wanna know how for something neat to hang on the wall.

Vaguely recall using a combination of cold blueing and browning on steel parts with steel wool thrown in some where and shoe polish and a propane torch on the grips after mussing them up with dings from sraps on a work table.

Also other than stripping it to bear metal and burying it in the pack yard for a couple of years, is there any way to get that ancient brass look?

Thanks in advance.

-Bob Hollingsworth
 
Is that top break a S&W or a Spanish / Belgian copy?

I have a Spanish P01 that uses 455 Webley ammo. Or rather it did until it blew up in my hand.
 
Worked for me...

Several years ago, Cabela's had Uberti SAA clones on sale for $199.95. I shoulda bought a dozen instead of just one. I figured for that price, I would use it to learn to tinker with the SAA. As a part of the project, I "aged" the revolver. Took all the finish off the one-piece grips, gently dinged and notched the wood. Since the wood to metal fit was less than perfect, I also used very fine emery cloth to shape the grip frame to the grips. I used fine steel wool to take off the bluing and color case in places that would normally experience holster wear, leaving the finish in protected areas like cylinder flutes, inner frame contours, etc. I applied cold blue and polished it mostly off to get the greyish tones of older guns. It's a work in progress. Periodically, I touch it up with cold blue or polish it in places. For me, the idea was to make it look used. You can of course buy from Cimarron or US Fire Arms "Pre-aged" guns. I think most of them look fake, like you can tell the difference between a pair of Wranglers that have actually been worn by a working man, the "distressed" jeans for sale at the mall.
 
wraping bass in a paper towl soaked with amonia will age it to blue then buff with steel till brown/black.. use plumb brown gun finish and apply to hot gun parts heated out side on a bbq grill...... The fumes are very toxic and will make you very sick forever..........:) p.s. vinagar will remove the blue
 
While not particularly pleasant, the fumes from Birchwood Casey's Plum Brown hot brown are not 'very toxic'. I would certainly recommend using it in a well ventilated area because continued exposure could make you nauseous, but 'very toxic' they're not.
 
You know, there are a lot of 100 year plus old guns out there that have stronger finish left on 'em than most guns that were made yesterday.

You may want to just leave well enough alone. I don't really understand the appeal of guns that look like they were found in a ditch.
 
Method # 1
Find one
FoundWayne.jpg

Method #2
Let it age
91dm6o.jpg

Method #3
Defarb/Antique
Send it to me, Left
30vfbja.jpg

Distilled White Vinegar can give you the effect you are lookin' for blott, and or smear with Q-Tipcloth, or dab with sponge. Jus' a little at a time say inder the Barrel to start. Vinegar will remove the bluing so be carefull, jus' smear and let dry then proceed with a pattern.....hope this helps.

SG
 
Last edited:
piss on it will make it rust.smear some blood on it but leave it on to long will leave lots of pits.wont catch me doing either of these to my guns just what i know,
 
Seal the bore and chambers then throw the gun into a bucket of bleach for about 8 hrs, it'll come out aged. Remove the wood grips first and beath them with a link chain to age them. If you try to sell the gun don't expect to get much more than junk iron price.
 
I tried applying vinegar with a Q-tip on mine, and it concentrated on the flat parts of my barrel, instead of the corners where it would be worn. I ended up with the opposite of what I was shooting for, so I just deblued the wole gun. If you are planning on leaving some of the original blueing, try the steel wool first. Or you could soak some stiff paper in vinegar and wrap it around the barrel so that only the edges are touching the vinegar.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top