What to do with rusted and pitted case-hardened double barrel?

[dukefan70]

I'm refinishing an old Stevens 335 double barrel 12g. I got it in working but rough shape. The inside of the barrels is clean but it had rust and pitting on the barrels and all over the trigger group housing, trigger guard, etc. My plan is to brown the barrels and the trigger guard and I was going to do it kind of rough to go with the antique look. A few questions:
What are my options to get all the rust out of the pitting and bring out the case hardened metal? Won't sanding take the color out? This is a low budget DIY project so please take that into account.
If there's no good options, does case hardened metal even take blueing/browning?
Does anybody happen to know what kind of wood the stocks were made out of?

 

[boom boom]

Using abrasives may remove the case hardening as in many cases it is a very thin layer. Try using a fine penetrating oil such as Kroil, let it soak then use either bronze wool or copper wool to gently try to remove the rust. Pitting is a different matter and does require abrasion whether by draw filing, bead blasting, sanding, etc. to remove it or some way to hide it (paint etc.) but that will affect the case hardening layer either by covering it up or potentially removing it. There are chemical ways to duplicate the look of case hardening but I really can't speak to that.

My recommendation is to call or email Brownells and tell them your issue--they sell the stuff necessary to bring it up to shape without breaking the bank and have qualified gunsmiths on staff to answer questions. Try to look at their website online or their printed catalogue to narrow what you are asking them about first. You can also find some information on something like Gunboards etc. even though they focus on military issue rifles--try the Workbench forum first.

 

[earplug]

Any good liquid rust remover will work. Navel Jelly is one. It will remove the bluing and the rust. Google rust neutralizer, they might work. If your going to Rust brown the shotgun, experiment first to make sure the chemical residue from the neutralizer will allow a fine rust brown to happen.

 

[jaguarxk120]

Any rust remover will take off the rust and any case colors, the metal will be in the white.

 

[boom boom]

Found this thread on rimfire central that might be of use. They discuss specific products and have pix working on an old case hardened .22
http://www.rimfirecentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=567402

 

[Slamfire]

If there's no good options, does case hardened metal even take blueing/browning?

From this thread, http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/viewtopic.php?f=107&t=272360 these Stevens 335's all predate 1930, a lot of production around the WW1 era. The predominant firearms materials of that era were plain carbon steels. Not alloyed with anything. The very same materials today are used for rebar and rail road ties because it is so cheap and low grade. The very same materials today are stronger due to process controls producing a cleaner more consistent product. The manufacturing technology of the era was pre vacuum tube. It is very likely that neither the barrels or the locking mechanism were heat treated. These things were case hardened which gave the surface extra carbon. It looked great, wonderful colors. That case is only thousands of an inch thick. It did make for a stronger material, and a more wear resistant material, but this is only meaningful relative to non case hardened plain carbon steels. Compared to modern alloy steels, the material properties of these steels are just yuck.

So, if you reload, load them light.

Anyway, there is no particular reason why the steels used in your Stevens M335 should not take a wonderful polish and blue job.