Refinishing an old, very rusty pistol

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The Deer Hunter

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Hey guys

I'm in the process of re finishing an very corroded revolver. It has surface pitting over 80% and deep pitting covering probably about 50%.

So far I have been doing well just sanding down the mild surface rust but the deeper pits are much harder to deal with.

I was wondering if any of you had a good solution. I am open to ideas that involve chemicals and mechanical means that I can do myself. I'm not looking to have anyone else work with this, so sandblasting isn't on the list.

I have a question about removing old pins and screws as well. They are corroded as well, and are seized. I would use my torch on the gun, however I don't want to ruin the temper on the steel. Should I be concerned about this?

I have tried soaking it with PB Blaster and most of the parts are simply corroded in place beyond what the blaster can handle.
 
get ultra one rust remover its like 30 bucks for a gallon but its worth it ive used to to take rust off my granpas ka bar and numerous random tools and stuff that looked straight up rusted solid and a good soak does a lot and it also kills active rust so it wont come back. another good thing is that it will take the rust off but not damage any remaning finish i saw it in a magazine for classic cars years ago also you can filter the rust out of the solution with a coffe filter and reuse it which is a plus .
 
Rust remover will remove live rust (and bluing). Nothing can restore* deep pits. The usual way to "remove" those is to polish/grind the rest of the surface down to below the level of the bottom of the pitting. That weakens the iron/steel in the whole area and depending on what is involved might make the gun dangerous to shoot, if the pitting itself has not done that already.

A big question is what the gun is and whether it is worth the time and effort. If it is a hobby project gun, that might not be important, but safety is still an issue. Further, extensive refinishing will rarely pay off in terms of sale price; the opposite is often true.

*A few restorers will machine out pitted areas and fill the gap with welding or weld in new blocks or plugs, then machining them down to match what was there. That kind of thing costs money; one guy who had had a badly rusted early Mauser pistol restored that way estimated the total cost at $10,000, more than the gun would have been worth had it been in original condition. But it was worth it to him to fill a gap in his collection and "scratch an itch."

Jim
 
It's probably not worth the time or effort, but it's a project for a friend that I would like to finish.

My major concern is re-bluing. If I get the majority of pitting, polished it, and re-blued it, would the rust destroy the blue really fast? I'm just looking to apply a decent finish that will hold up a bit, nothing pretty.
 
Perhaps your best bet is to take it somewhere and have it bead blasted, and then blue it.

That will get rid of all the rust in the pits, and the resulting matt finish will tend to hide a lot of the pitting.

It would be a very durable blued finish.

BTW: What kind of gun are we talking about anyway?

rc
 
oh I'm sorry I forgot to add that. It's a Smith & Wesson revolver chambered in .38, 6" round barrel, adjustable rear sight, regular sized frame. I always forget which is which, but I think it's a double action (the trigger pull cocks the hammer).

Bead blasting sounds very enticing. Are the places that offer that service used to guns? The last thing I want to have happen is to bring a gun (or parts of a) into some business and having the employees freak out and call the cops.
 
You would have to check locally on a business by business basis.

Around here there are auto machine shops and also powder coaters that do bead blasting.
For the most part, they are gun friendly guys to work with.

If you approach the business gunless and ask them if they would be willing to bead blast a dissembled firearm, they will either tell you yes or no right up front.

rc
 
Get a gallon jug of 5% white vinegar and a 5lb bag of table salt. Pour the vinegar into a large bowl and start pouring salt by the cupful into it. Mix as much salt into it as will dissolve. Once it's dissolved, lay your gun into a casserole dish and pour that salt/vinegar brine over it. Make sure you totally submerge the gun or you'll get lines etched into the metal. Leave it there overnight.

Tomorrow, rinse it off *well* and scrub whatever's remaining with an old toothbrush. If it's something simple like an axehead etc, rinsing and some mineral oil after is enough. If it's a really complicated part like a receiver etc, boil it for an hour or two to get all the salt out of it til you can clean it proper. Mineral oil....good old baby oil....is your friend.

Works every time. Used it on more guns than I care to remember.

richard
 
Bead blasting will do wonders, but not solve the pitting. It might be less noticeable though, with a blaster on high pressure if will leave an aggressive finish on the gun. The big red blaster from Harbor Freight, glass beads, and a really big air compressor will do the job. I did one that was rusted for 3 months, burnt from a car fire and left in the mud. Took a little time but it looks good now.
 
DuraCoat makes a product called DuraFill. Check out their website for videos. I have not used the DuraFill product, but have used a lot of DuraCoat. I blast with Aluminum Oxide for a good tooth. It soulds like this would work great, but you will not be able to use bluing over it, just DuraCoat or another finish of that type.
 
You would have to check locally on a business by business basis.

Around here there are auto machine shops and also powder coaters that do bead blasting.
For the most part, they are gun friendly guys to work with.

If you approach the business gunless and ask them if they would be willing to bead blast a dissembled firearm, they will either tell you yes or no right up front.

rc
Click to expand...

Thank you, RC.

Get a gallon jug of 5% white vinegar and a 5lb bag of table salt. Pour the vinegar into a large bowl and start pouring salt by the cupful into it. Mix as much salt into it as will dissolve. Once it's dissolved, lay your gun into a casserole dish and pour that salt/vinegar brine over it. Make sure you totally submerge the gun or you'll get lines etched into the metal. Leave it there overnight.

Tomorrow, rinse it off *well* and scrub whatever's remaining with an old toothbrush. If it's something simple like an axehead etc, rinsing and some mineral oil after is enough. If it's a really complicated part like a receiver etc, boil it for an hour or two to get all the salt out of it til you can clean it proper. Mineral oil....good old baby oil....is your friend.

Works every time. Used it on more guns than I care to remember.

richard
Click to expand...

I broke my camp axe last weekend cutting some wood. It's old 'n' orange so I might as well try that method out on it before I get to the gun.

Bead blasting will do wonders, but not solve the pitting. It might be less noticeable though, with a blaster on high pressure if will leave an aggressive finish on the gun. The big red blaster from Harbor Freight, glass beads, and a really big air compressor will do the job. I did one that was rusted for 3 months, burnt from a car fire and left in the mud. Took a little time but it looks good now.
Click to expand...

I'm not trying to hide the pitting left over after rust has been removed, I'm concerned about rust hiding in pitting. I know it's just a simple confusion in semantics, but thanks for bringing that up anyways.

I was actually over at harbor freight earlier today (before I logged in) and was looking at abrasive blasters. Is "the big red blaster" the name of a blaster or a description of a product?

I was looking at this:
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=37025

I know it's crude and only $22, however I don't plan on using it a lot. Our compressor is a little larger than what you would use for a nail gun, but it certainly exceeds the requirements for that blaster.

I'm going to do some research on blasters later tonight, but I don't really want to get into buying an entire setup. However, buying something that will last me a couple years
instead of a couple uses has it's appeal.

Can you recommend me any specific products?

DuraCoat makes a product called DuraFill. Check out their website for videos. I have not used the DuraFill product, but have used a lot of DuraCoat. I blast with Aluminum Oxide for a good tooth. It soulds like this would work great, but you will not be able to use bluing over it, just DuraCoat or another finish of that type.
Click to expand...

I'll keep that in mind, but I'm planning on re-bluing this. Regardless, I think after either having it blasted or buying a blaster myself, I don't want to spend much more money.



Does anyone have tips on removing stubborn, but tiny screws?
 
naval jelly is good for removing rust, and can be found in your hardware store for a few bux. rinse thoroughly after use, and boil the gun parts in a pot of water after rinsing, then set out on newspaper to dry while still hot. when you reblue handle from the newspaper with tongs to avoid fingerprinting and use oxpho bluing in a ziploc freezer baggie. put the parts in, seal, and wiggle it around for awhile to get color, then wipe off with a lint free cloth and oil before assembly.
 
It's a Smith & Wesson revolver chambered in .38, 6" round barrel, adjustable rear sight, regular sized frame.
Click to expand...

If a round barrel without top rib, it is a Military & Police Target, if it has a rib it is a K38.
Worth some hundreds of bucks if not neglected and likely still a good shooter even if ugly.

I have read favorably of a product called Evaporust.
http://forums.1911forum.com/showthread.php?t=243488&highlight=evaporust

There is a DIY technique of electrolytic rust removal with a 12v battery or battery charger and washing soda (sodium carbonate, not baking soda which is sodium bicarbonate.)
http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?p=5905951

But I have not tried either myself.

Either will take you down to bare steel which must be finished some way to protect it.
Maybe a spray and bake finish from Duracote, Gun Kote, or Brownells Moly Resin, maybe Parkerizing, it just depends on how much trouble and expense you are willing to go to.
 
I just fished my axe head out of the brine, but it was still covered in rust. 28 seconds and some warm water later and I'm completely blown away by this. There is still a little more rust but 90% of the head is down to bare steel, I can even see the tempered edge.

RandKL, I cannot thank you enough for that suggestion.

If a round barrel without top rib, it is a Military & Police Target, if it has a rib it is a K38.
Worth some hundreds of bucks if not neglected and likely still a good shooter even if ugly.
Click to expand...

It has the top rib. For some reason there's some Spanish type on the right side of the frame right under the cylinder. It's hard to make out because of the rust but it's under "Smith & Wesson".

It's been...neglected to say the very least.

I might get some Gunkote or use some leftover black Duracoat I have to finish it.
 
there's some Spanish type on the right side of the frame
Click to expand...

"Marcas Registrada" = Registered Trademark. S&W was trying to fight off competition from cheap Spanish copies in Latin America so they marked their guns in Spanish to point out their S&W trademark.
 
Blue Wonder bluing remover is awesome. Remember though that bluing is just controlled rusting.

You did say you were going to reblue?

And as soon as you derust, wipe the gun down with a good water repellant oil.

Tom
 
I have some case-hardened parts with some rusting, what effect would electrolytic cleaning have on these parts?
 
Simple solution:

DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS WITHOUT RUBBER GLOVES AND ADEQUATE VENTILATION.

Buy a gallon jug of muriatic (pool) acid at Walmart. This will remove all rust and fairly quickly, at that. Your best bet is outside on a windy day or with a fan behind you blowing the acid fumes in the opposite direction.

Pour some in a plastic pan and just let the gun sit in it

When all the rust has been removed, rinse thoroughly in clean, running water (your garden hose), then neutralize any minute residual acid by dunking in a baking soda solution.

Alternatively, Walmart also sells in the automotive chemicals department a product called "Naval Jelly." This is a gelatinous phosphoric acid solution that will also remove rust, but takes longer. On the plus side, it does produce less fumes than muriatic, and you can apply it with a brush.
 
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