doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DIY Gunsmithing @ doublegunshop.com Side Plates-Bead Blasting

Hi, I am new to the forum. I have a question regarding renewing sideplates/receiver internal/external on an SXS. So if I want to renew an old gun can you bead blast the side plates and if you do, I assume you have to coat or paint them to seal or protect from rust.
How are sideplates and receivers coated? Thank you in advance!

No, unless it is a truly odd situation i.e. someone painted them with oil paint, or exceptionally rusty one would not.

The normal finish for side plates and receivers is case hardening, colored, left french gray, or sometimes buffed to a silver finish. Sometimes they are blued, i.e. so called funeral guns, though often when found it is not original.

More information about the gun, make, model etc, current condition, and pictures would help.

zumasporting,
To expand on the old colonel's remarks, beadblasting the sideplate/receiver and triggerplate/receiver joints will highlight them and also countersunk screws, that are intended to be closely fit.
Mike

There are too many variables here to just say “no”.

1. What’s the end game? What are you looking to accomplish?
A.)Remove rust and corrosion?
B.) Pre-finishing (getting the dirt, grime and corrosion out of pits or engraving?

2. What’s type of media do you plan on using? Size and pressure matter.
A) glass beads? What grit/size
B) garnet?
C) aluminum oxide?

Blasting with the appropriate media and more importantly the correct pressure will NOT dimensionally change steel at all. Screws and pins included. It won’t even harm fine engraving.

If you are blasting to remove corrosion with the plan of properly polishing or brushing the steel after the blasting with the purpose of then finishing the metal either by blacking, re-casing, etc then yes, blasting is appropriate.
Especially if you are sending some of the pieces out to be hot blacked….you must remove ALL traces of rust, even the invisible stuff that hides in engraving and other nooks & crannies, if you don’t get this stuff out, you’ll later on have bleed out and it’ll spoil your new blacking.

If you are just blasting to blast…I’d say no, it’s not appropriate.

Using a very mild to fine media, at a mild velocity (psi) is the way to go. When it comes to double gun parts, lots of gunsmiths like using garnet or aluminum oxide. Glass beads can sometimes leave different “shades” on softer vs. hard steel. It really doesn’t matter if you’re blasting with the intent of polishing by hand afterwards.

After you’re done polishing or brushing the steel by hand and getting the pieces up to the appropriate sheen and you don’t plan on re-casing or blacking, it’s completely ok to either wax the parts or apply a clear lacquer to the parts for protection.

Hope this helps a little.

Dustin

Thanks for the reply. I will post pics when I can. So silver is just buffed steel? And no coating, so if bead blast is applied(not too hard), it should restore the finish to the silver, or does it need to be polished? ty @oldcolonel

Dustin's advice is very good. A lot (everything) depends upon what kind of gun you are talking about refinishing, and what condition it is in now.

When you say bead blasting, I immediately think of glass beads. There are several types of abrasive blasting that may result in a wide range of surface finish. Coarse garnet is much different (aggressive) than fine abrasive corn cob, crushed walnut shell, or soda (sodium bicarbonate) blasting. Even worn out glass beads will leave a much different surface texture than fresh new glass beads. Some of my co-workers who were too lazy to change it would let it get to the point where it became nearly as fine as talcum powder.

A silver finish on a gun is usually polished steel, or a case hardened surface that has lost its original colors. But it could indicate nickel plating. Bead blasting, even lightly, will result in a finish that is more matte in appearance, and polishing will be necessary to make it smooth and shiny again.

On a microscopic level, a smooth polished surface has much less surface area than any abrasive blasted finish. Any steel parts left in an abrasive blasted state will appear duller, and will be much more prone to oxidation (rusting) than a smooth polished surface. So some clear lacquer coating, or maybe a Cerrakote or Camo paint job may be used to protect an old barn or duck boat gun.

Few knowledgable people care for any good quality old gun to have that sort of finish. But if the gun is already in poor condition, and rusted/pitted beyond normal restoration, abrasive blasting is a quick. cheap, and easy way to clean it up. I wouldn't advise doing anything without knowing what make/model of gun it is, and the present condition. Too many nice old guns have their value ruined by good intentions.

As Keith points out “silver finish on a gun is usually polished steel, or a case hardened surface that has lost its original colors. But it could indicate nickel plating. Bead blasting, even lightly, will result in a finish that is more matte in appearance, and polishing will be necessary to make it smooth and shiny again. “

More data about current condition and pictures will help with zeroing in on what you might do.

When the case colors wear away from AH Fox guns actions that were made with Chromox Steel you usually have a shiny finish that resembles polished steel, even though it's not polished.