questions about refinishing and donating 870 actionfor HD project

[duck911]

Hi folks,

Figured I'd ask the experts before planning this project out.

I am a die hard duck hunter and I have supported a Remington 870-per-decade habit. In nearly 20 years of hunting, I have only used 2 shotguns.

One of the guns is an older 870 Express 3" Mag. It's well used, but with no major pitting (some minor) and some mild rust. I think the action has seen 10,000 or 15,000 rounds. It started life as a parkerized finish.

I'd like to sacrifice the action to make a HD shotgun.

But first, I have to really clean up the action. I think it's too worked over to expect steel wool to clean it up. I have access to a sand blasting cabinet, so this is where I need help.

What media should I use to blast the action? Do I blast and finish the inside of the action as well? What surface areas cannot be blasted?

Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

thanks!

--Duck911

 

[dfariswheel]

Buy media from Brownell's and experiment with air pressure to get the degree of "Tooth" you want.
The Remington factory parkerized guns have a rougher than usual bead blast finish.

Do not bead blast the inside of the receiver or most internal parts or the bore.
Depending on WHAT you're going to use to refinish, determines what gets blasted.

As example, if you're going to parkerize it, blast the outside of the receiver and magazine tube, the exposed portion of the bolt, the lifter and the action bar assembly.

If you're going to use a spray-on coating like Lauer Duracoat, don't coat the bolt or the action bars themselves, since the coating will just be scraped off those parts.
You'd want to coat only exposed surfaces like the outside of the receiver and magazine tube, although the tube will get the finish scraped quickly in long spots where the action bar tube makes contact.

 

[duck911]

thanks! That helps a ton!