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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 707
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 707 |
I'm going to completely restore a Westley Richards boxlock that was a simple "gold name" action. Lots of smooth, non engraved components to the gun.
Questions:
Would all components that were not color hardened been subjected to the same bluing solution?
What color is period correct: flat black (blacked furniture), blued, or "nitre blue" (what I would call indigo or purple)
Bonus question:
What colors should I request when it is rehardened to be correct for the gun? More straw, yellow, honey, and orange OR more blue, purple and chocolate?
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 15,456 Likes: 86
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 15,456 Likes: 86 |
What colors should I request when it is rehardened to be correct for the gun? More straw, yellow, honey, and orange OR more blue, purple and chocolate?
I'd lean more towards chartreuse....
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Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,993 Likes: 402
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 6,993 Likes: 402 |
Top lever and trigger guard get a high polish and charcoal blue. The barrels a slow rust blue and a 400 grit polish. Don't over etch the rust blue like most folks do. Lots of fast passes keep the etch to a minimum. Most British color hardening is more subdued than the stuff we see here in the states.
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Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 707
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Jul 2010
Posts: 707 |
Thanks SKB. The barrels are damascus so no issues there.
So you said "high polish, charcoal blue" for trigger guard and top lever.
What about pins showing through the Anson and Deeley receiver?
Should all screws and other furniture (e.g. top lever screw, bottom plate screw, trigger guard screws, forend screws, forend latch) be high polish charcoal blue as well?
Or another way, should there be any piece of furniture that is finished in another method of bluing or were each subcomponent blued the same originally?
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,269 Likes: 521
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,269 Likes: 521 |
Trigger guard tang, floor plate, top lever & pin can all be polished up & hot blued. Hardly anyone that I know who restores English guns for a living charcoal or furnace blues the "bits" anymore, at least none of the restorers of english gun that I know do.
Hot bluing is more economical, its extremely durable and if the bluer/blacker changes salts often enough and the parts are polished properly and to the right grit....the results will be excellent and more importantly.....look proper. Damascus barrels (on English guns) very obviously should be browned.
Action pins (hammer and sear) pins should be left polished and in the white.
Floor plate pins, either blacked like the floor plate/trigger guard or fire blued.
The case colors should be more on the blue and straw end, proper english colors should not have pinks or orange hues in them.
parts that were cased...action, forend iron, and trigger plate, possibly even the triggers. Forend iron pins would look nice fire blued. Forend parts (hammers, etc) should be left in the white and highly polished.
Dustin
Last edited by LeFusil; 09/04/12 12:40 PM.
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,544
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 1,544 |
Dustin got it covered. Be careful re-hardening. You can make parts brittle and make the gun look awful if you don't get it right. I admit I have a thing about re-hardening old guns, I just think they look wrong. Just my opinion, I realise there are plenty with other ideas. Occasionally it works but he gun must have very crisp engraving and/or sharp and clean lines on the metal parts. New colour over worn actions looks like you repainted an old, weathered door over the old paint with a new coat of gloss.
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Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 15,456 Likes: 86
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2006
Posts: 15,456 Likes: 86 |
On a vintage gun...hot bluing will never look proper.
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,269 Likes: 521
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,269 Likes: 521 |
On a vintage gun...hot bluing will never look proper. Ahhhh, shut up.
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Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,831 Likes: 13
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2003
Posts: 2,831 Likes: 13 |
I agree with you, but he has a point...
If your aim is to "restore" the shotgun, wouldn't you want to reproduce its original finishes as closely as possible?
While hot blueing may work, it won't look original.
OWD
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