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Joined: Feb 2008
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Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313 Likes: 378 |
Yesterday I bought a 16 ga. G grade Syracuse Lefever with automatic ejectors. Nice 6 lb. 2 oz. gun with beautiful wood and 26" Damascus barrels in great condition. Unfortunately, it appears that a previous owner cold blued over the action and sideplates. The Damascus barrels were not touched, nor was the trigger guard. I'm saying it's cold blue because of the amount of case hardening colors that remain inside on the water table and forearm iron. Since those hidden case colors are so strong, I'm assuming that there was probably at least 30-40% or more remaining when it was cold blued on the exterior.
I'm hoping that any remaining case colors were not polished off before the cold blueing of the action, and that there is some way to remove the cold blue safely without also removing whatever case colors might be underneath. Any ideas?
A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.
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Joined: Feb 2011
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,405 |
You will Not be able to remove the cold blue without effecting the case colors.
Things like vinagar and bluing remover will also remove case colors.
And, if the action was prepped at all before bluing (polishing) then the colors are gone anyway.
If the cold blue job looks even half way decent, then the frame was prepped somewhat properly before bluing since cold blue will look like crap if applied over an un-prepped surface.
I would still recommend removing the bluing since a grayed or silvered frame always looks better than a blued one.
B.Dudley
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313 Likes: 378
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313 Likes: 378 |
Thanks for the reply. That's what I was afraid of. I agree that a grayed or silvered frame looks better than a blued one, but this gun is nice enough that it may be worth having the bone case colors redone.
Every cloud has a silver lining. At least it wasn't torch colored by ed good.
A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,264 Likes: 196
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,264 Likes: 196 |
Keith, you might try a selective partial blue removal with Lime Away or something similar. You might be surprised how much better the gun looks than if all the blue were removed. No harm in trying.
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Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,405
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2011
Posts: 1,405 |
Every cloud has a silver lining. At least it wasn't torch colored by ed good.
Yeah. There is no fixing that.
B.Dudley
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Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313 Likes: 378
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2008
Posts: 11,313 Likes: 378 |
Daryl, that's a good idea, and as you say, I'd have nothing to lose by trying. I'm sure that you've noticed that original Lefever case colors are predominately blue with a slight halo around the edges and screw holes. Although a number of folks do beautiful case hardening, I haven't yet seen anyone who can reliably reproduce authentic Lefever colors. I wonder what they did differently?
A true sign of mental illness is any gun owner who would vote for an Anti-Gunner like Joe Biden.
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,264 Likes: 196
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,264 Likes: 196 |
Keith, one can use silver polish on the blue, too. Look at your other guns and see where the finish is naturally worn and not as worn. I did this on a couple of guns some years ago, and they looked pretty good. Use a rag and polish with your finger or a ruby red eraser over cloth. Generally, the color case hardening on the Lefever sideplates held up better than on the rest of the receiver.
I have never had a Lefever color case hardened , but if you look at current or upcoming auctions, it is being done, and sometimes pretty well, sometimes not.
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