old winchester lever action

[arolfsen]

So a buddy is giving me an old winchester lever action 30/30. It has some rust. not pitting, but not surface rub off either. It looks like it used to be a stainless type finish, ie: bare metal. so... i'm wanting to refinish it of course. my question is this. do i want to go with like a 600 grit sand paper to knock the rust off and then a 2000+ grit like you would in a polish job... then refinish it or what? don't have access to a bead/glass/sand/media blaster....

 

[Chawbaccer]

Sounds like you have a post 64 that is impossible to blue. I would just knock off the rust with steel wool and spray it with Gun Kote or another similar coating. If it is a pre 64 I would just stop the rust and not do any thing else to it besides shoot it, clean it and keep it oiled.

 

[rcmodel]

+1
If it is a post 64, you can't reblue it.

If it is a modern Pre-64, or even a early one, a sandpaper polishing job will certainly ruin whatever value it has as an older Winchester 94.

I would follow Chawbaccer's advice above.

0000 Extra-Fine steel wool & oil and get off as much rust as you can.

Then enjoy your classic old rifle!

rcmodel

 

[moosehunt]

First step, and very important, is to determine the year of manufacture (just look in a Win date chart by serial #). You said it was old, which to me means at least 75 years, but maybeso to you it means 20 years. You may have a valuable gun, then it's best to consider not refinishing because you'll most likely reduce it's value, but there's no law against it. If it's made after '64, then it sure ain't old and you can't hurt the value by anything you do.

 

[arolfsen]

still not sure on the age of it, but we've decided what we're going to do with it. we're going to knock off the rust with some 0000 steel wool (that's super fine and the finest grade you can get) and then plate it with satin nickel. then we'll redo the wood on it....

 

[Cosmoline]

Just tell us the SN and we can tell you how old it is. Don't bunger up a potentially rare piece.

 

[moosehunt]

Pard, you really need to determine the manufacturing date before you do anything, otherwise you could make a serious, expensive, irreparable mistake!!

 

[StrawHat]

Sounds to me like he doesn't want help or opinions.

He just wants to annoy folks.

May not even have said rifle.

 

[Onmilo]

Well asking advice on what kind of sandpaper to use is a good indication this is a home project headed for potential failure.

As a gunsmith I don't hold to the 'keep the original finish intact or you will kill the value' blah-blah.
All 94s are getting stupid expensive since Winchester shut their doors for good, even the refinished ones.

My recomendation,,,,,,,,
Professional Parkarizing.
Even the mystery metal receiver versions will take a decent phosphate finish.

 

[arolfsen]

onmilo that's kinda what i was looking for. I'll post the serial as soon as i have it in my possession. my buddy lives about an hour away and is bringing it down this weekend.

 

[Jim K]

I have often sung in the "don't ruin the value" chorus, but a Post-64 Model 94 is not going to have any substantial collector value any time soon. There are just too many of them, and they are sure not superb examples of the gunmaker's art. I think that gun might be a good candidate for one of the "bake on" finishes that can give a lot of protection and look pretty good as well.

Jim

 

[frogomatic]

seriously, as many previous posters have said, determine the year of manufacture before doing anything to the gun. a pre-1964 winchester can command a preimium price these days, but if you refinish it in any way, that value is lost. when it comes to collector guns, originality is the single most important factor. an original, broken down, rusted out, **** box of an old winchester will still bring a higher price than an immaculately restored one will.

 

[Cosmoline]

but a Post-64 Model 94

If that's what it is. But the info is pretty sketchy. That's why I urge a positive ID before any drastic changes are made.