Shotgun finishes

[Slater]

The 870 Express and (I think) the Winchester 1300 Defender have the blued-over-beadblasted finish. Is this a more economical finish to apply vs Parkerizing? I noticed that the cheap Chinese clones of the Remmy 870 and Ithaca 37 are Parkerized but I would imagine it costs them about a nickel to do that

 

[357wheelgunner]

Yeah the Express finish is horrible. I had an express and it rusted over after 2 weeks in my closet here in humid East TN. So I sold it and picked up a parkerized Police 870 which is a much better weapon.

The Express 870 should be labeled a factory second.

 

[Slater]

Don't those type finishes require a liberal application of oil to prevent corrosion?

 

[JohnBT]

I keep all of my blued guns lightly oiled with BreakFree, Sheath or even RIG grease. My '93 Express is just fine after many seasons of duck hunting, mostly in tidal waters requiring the use of a boat. Okay, the wood is banged up, but the metal is fine.

I loaned it to a friend, and personal duck hunting guide, for a back-up a few days before Thanksgiving and got it back Saturday when the season ended. I know he used it some and he doesn't ever wipe down a gun or clean them - he takes them out of the boat and carries them in the house and props them behind the door. I am not kidding - a complete lack of cleaning and a cracked stock finally put his 1986 1100 out of business. A couple of years ago I had to use a hose hooked to a hot water faucet to get the frozen mud and feathers out of the action.

Anyhow, he/we hunted this season out of a 16' floating blind and when he calls he props his gun up against the wet 6-foot-tall marsh reeds we use over the quackgrass mat sides and the butt goes into 2 to 4 inches of salty bilge water/spit/cigarette butts.

I worried about my Express for 2 months. You would think I'd be used to his ways after 15 years. :banghead:

John

 

[cliffstanc]

The new (crappy) Express finishes are often too rough for the normal light coat of oil - the roughness means the surface area that needs to be covered has increased by a lot.

But the solution I've read (it may even have been from Dave McC) is simply to add a step to the first cleaning when you get the shotgun. After you break it down and clean it, take a good CLP or gun oil and liberally oil the finish - I mean, get it wet and drippy. Let soak for at least a few hours, if not longer. After the soak, wipe the excess off and clean&oil normally in the future. You'll probably only need to do this once, and that should take care of the problem by making sure all the little nooks and crannies get a base layer of oil into them - but note that if you ever degrease it for whatever reason you'll need to repeat the process.

If it still has problems you can try using a good coat of paste wax. If you STILL have problems it might be time to look into a can of spray paint.

If you're really unlucky it may keep rusting no matter what you do - one guy I read had that happen. He tried everything: oil, grease, wax, etc. It just kept rusting. He finally totally stripped the thing and refinished it and had no problems thereafter. I don't know much about bluing, but maybe he had a bad blue job (the whatevers weren't neutralized)? Or, he said it was bought at a fire-sale - if he meant that literally odd chemicals from the smoke may have gotten into the finish.

Anyway, the above method should work for most rough-finished Expresses. If you are really concerned, of course, you can just do what I did and get a Marine Magnum - I'm sure it's possible for that thing to rust, but I'm not sure how I'd go about doing it.

- Cliff

 

[JohnBT]

"liberally oil the finish"

That is a light coat. For me anyway. You don't want to see my heavy coats.

BreakFree and Sheath both come in spray cans, but I switched to using a RIG-RAG a few years ago. If you use spray oil, hold a rag behind the gun to catch the overspray so it doesn't go to waste. And don't forget to do under the rib - I forgot the first year and that's why I started using a spray. That, and the bead blasted finish was tearing holes in my shop rags.

Years ago somebody suggested hanging wet parts to drain over a bucket of kitty litter. At camp I just hang the barrel from a tree limb to dry in the sun.

John

 

[BT100]

A liberal coat of oil is more of a finish then what Remington applies to the Express.

 

[Preacherman]

I've noticed in recent months that with all the humidity and moisture in Louisiana, many Expresses are being given the Krylon treatment by their owners. Nothing fancy, just a quick coat with flat black spray paint. As many as 25% of the Expresses I see out at the range are treated this way, and the owners claim it's the ultimate anti-corrosion treatment for these guns.

 

[tango3065]

No matter what finish your gun has if you properly take care of it and keep it oiled it won't rust. I take a oily rag and wipe my guns down ever couple of weeks in the gun safe and I keep a rechargeable silca pack in there also. Many people stick there guns in a closed up gun cabinet without a source of moisture control and then they wonder why their new gun has rust on it. I have never had a gun rust, even a hunting gun that has gotten wet because I know to strip the water and reoil it, I also must be abnormal because I now have 3 870's with the rough finish and they don't have any rust. As for my hunting guns they are all stainless exept for my 870 turkey express, because in hunting conditions you can't beat stainless and the deer don't seem to mind either.

 

[JohnBT]

Speaking of wet guns, I lean them up against a warm radiator for few hours before putting them in the safe. Yes, I know I should clean them, but it's too much trouble when they get wet everyday or every other day during duck season.

John

 

[waterhouse]

I did the Krylon method that Preacherman mentioned to an old rusted 870 and that stuff is tough. As sort of an experiment, it has been laying in my trunk for several months without much care at all, and it shows no signs of wear, rust, or nicks in the paint. I don't know if I would do it to a new gun, but when I walk into a pawn shop now and see a rusted 870 that I can get real cheap, I normally buy it now instead of passing it up.
before:

after:

 

[Slater]

Once redid an old Lee-Enfield in that black high-temp BBQ grill paint that you see at Wal-Mart, etc. Baked it on in an oven. That stuff is really durable and doesn't look half bad.

 

[texagun]

I did the Krylon method that Preacherman mentioned to an old rusted 870 and that stuff is tough. As sort of an experiment, it has been laying in my trunk for several months without much care at all, and it shows no signs of wear, rust, or nicks in the paint. I don't know if I would do it to a new gun, but when I walk into a pawn shop now and see a rusted 870 that I can get real cheap, I normally buy it now instead of passing it up.
before:

Wow...Thanks for the pictures....the painted gun looks great. "A picture is worth a thousand words."

 

[waterhouse]

texagun, if you're interested there are more pics here:

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=156099

it was pretty easy and cheap, and other than the fact that I was scared I was going to "break" the gun it was sort of fun too. I'm happy with the results.