How do you deal with cosmetic damage to a pretty gun?

I like pretty guns. I don't like that sickening feeling when their finish gets marred. I use most of my guns to hunt with, so they inevitably get banged up, regardless of how careful I am. Even my few range guns get bumped into the truck door or knocked into the range bench from time to time. I could, of course, use stainless and synthetic everything, but that's not the point. How do you deal with the pain of scratching and denting up a beautiful gun when using them?

 

Beer

 

I just figure it's inevitable, so I might as well embrace it. If a gun is going to get used, it's going to earn some scars.

 

BEHOLD..... Brushed Stainless. Get a scratch and you just buff it out. My brushed stainless guns all still look like they left the factory and some are well over 30 years old.

 

Post #2 is the clear winner here.

 

If you don't want a tool to bear the scars of use, don't use it. Keep it in it's original box in the safe and never take it out, except to admire it, knowing full well that your heirs will, someday, put it to it's intended use and beat the bejeezes out of it. Otherwise, as the song says, "That's Life."

 

I deal with it by not buying new guns.
New bumps and bangs just blend in with the old ones.

 

you can also just buy used then you dont get depressed over a little wear here and there and also save yourself a decent amount of money. Most firearms dont get shot anywhere near to the point of being worn out.

 

Personally i don't worry about it. I have pictures of them when they were brand new.

 

I really like the looks of a gun showing a lot of honest wear. I don't worry about it.

 

Post of the day!

 

Honest wear from use/enjoyment is one thing, abuse from being a knucklehead is another.

 

I try to fix 'em up after while. Cold/hot blue or browning can disguise mental scratches.
And then there is all sorts of wood fixer uppers. A hot damp towel and a hot iron can remove many bumps and lessen gouges. I will mix tung oil with True Oil in a bottle cap to touch up stocks. If it doesn't blend in, I will re-finish the whole stock. Tung oil blending is easy for touching up with old tung oil finishes, unlike urethane.
Tung oil can be thinned with a literally a few drops of mineral spirits. However, it is true that poor results can diminish trade in values.

 

Buy used let someone else worry about putting that first scratch in it...

 

Suck it up.

 

Tears and

 

Sound like 5 steps of an AA meeting!

 

Ah, ha.

Knew I've heard that before.

 

I've got a few pretty safe queens. I keep them in the safe. If I hunt with it, carry it, train with it, etc. I accept that they are going to get dinged up. Dinging up such a gun isn't something I want distracting me when I'm using it.