How would you restore this gun?

I would bury it in the ground, let the rust grow until it covers the whole thing, then you will have a very nice conversation piece
 
I'm with Kamlooky on this one.....post #9:
Lots of Fluid film or penetrating oil and let sit for a couple of days; most of that rust will come off....go slow with the 0000 steel wool. Clean up the stock and put some boiled linseed oil [or similar] on it, rub it in and repeat a few times. Enjoy the old girl. The few scars left behind will remind you of its past history every time you pick it up.
 
hoytcanon said:
Go to your garden... raise the rifle over your head, muzzle pointing down, slam it into the soil as deep as you can, then plant a tomato plant next to it.
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C'mon man, if it was a Lee Enfield, maybe! :)

I'll put in my vote for oil and steel wool.

I think you will be surprised at the improvement, that will make.

The rust will leave some pits, you can touch up as required with cold Blue solution. But oil, and scrub the rust off, is the first step.

Keep in mind that products like Evapporust, will strip off the bluing too, so avoid those.

Some boiled linseed oil and a cloth, to clean up the woodenware, will go a long ways too.

Cheers
Trev
 
Maybe mentioned..well besides the green thumb advise LOL ,but first and foremost ,does the action cycle and cycle properly ?

Kind of a waste of time to remove rust and such, if the firearm does not work properly.

Personally I would tear it down and give it a go, what you got to lose.And if anything ,you`ll see how a lever action works and learn how to disassemble one and maintain such an actioned rifle.

Good luck and have fun !

BB

BTW-I see my local Ukrainian Wheel sells Fluid Film ,I`m gonna try that .
 
BlackBrant said:
Maybe mentioned..well besides the green thumb advise LOL ,but first and foremost ,does the action cycle and cycle properly ?

Kind of a waste of time to remove rust and such, if the firearm does not work properly.

Personally I would tear it down and give it a go, what you got to lose.And if anything ,you`ll see how a lever action works and learn how to disassemble one and maintain such an actioned rifle.

Good luck and have fun !

BB

BTW-I see my local Ukrainian Wheel sells Fluid Film ,I`m gonna try that .
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Hard to tell for sure from the pic, but the bore looks OK (they have to be mangled pretty bad not to shoot at least minute of deer). I'd take it apart and make sure the action is sound and safe, clean up the metal under the wood, clean the wood as well as you can. As others have said, steel wool and penetrating oil will take off a lot of the rust. Haven't tried Tiriaq's idea of a brass scraper, but the guy knows guns better than most of us, so you're pretty safe taking that to the bank. Don't use rust remover. It'll take away the blue. then, use it as is. It should be good for a few generations yet. You'd shudder at the sight of what a lot of old timers used for hunting. The guns were left in closets in homes that went from 0 to 30 almost every 24 hours, or were kept in the barn or porch.
 
The picture of the rifle is so poor that a gunsmith can't state pre or post 64, but says it "looks like" a pre 64!
By the way, I also thought that it was pre 64, but I was just going by there being no screw head showing over the loading port. Since no screw is showing, is the screw just missing? Or did you have another clue to indicate its age?
 
I also think pre-64. On the right side of receiver the spring cover screw is offset from the carrier screw below it. On the post-64's these two are in line vertically.
OP, is your serial number less than 2,700,000?
 
After you've cleaned that gun of rust, I would go to the autobody shop and buy a product called Zero Rust. It comes in a rattle can, and basically it is a matte black primer. It will seal up the metal and will prevent any rust from reforming, including inside of the pits. I usually use it for hard-use guns like shotguns on quads, etc. After the paint is applied, it will only rust where ever the paint is scraped off. It is a cheap alternative to bluing and works better. I've had several .22s and shotguns does this way, and they have lasted for years without being touched up. Good luck on your project.
 
I found a family shotgun that was victim to this tiger like Disease and i had my local guy at Select Shooting Supplies clean it up and cerekote it. It's not cheap, and it didn't prevent the rust from pitting a bit, but the cerekote from 5 feet away you cant see this issue. If you look close you can see that yes there is a bit of pitting, but to me its a firearm I'll have forever. (Pending stupid gun control laws.) and it looks good with a story.
 
I would take the wood off and go over the metal with 0000 steel wool and oil.
That will remove some finish if the rust is fairly deep, and will leave some pits as well.
The barrel and magazine tube will respond to some cold blue, but if it is a post 64 (probably is) the receiver and barrel band probably won't, as they are made from a steel and mystery metal alloy that Winchester used a special bluing process with.
(Gunsmiths used to have these receivers come out pink until they figured it out!)

The wood looks like it might be walnut, and if it's okay then leave it alone.
If the finish is lifting, you could again use 0000 steel wool to remove it, and then rub in double-boiled linseed oil in several coats.

The bore can be scrubbed out with a stainless steel bore brush and gun cleaning solvent (Hoppes #9) if it's got rust, with a larger diameter brush used on the chamber. If there is pitting in the chamber, cases will probably stick after firing, rendering the gun unusable without a barrel replacement. (Hopefully not)

Hope it works out for you and that it becomes a decent shooter with some battle-scarred character.
 
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Look at the floorplate. Looks as if it pivots on a pin, not a screw. Also looks as if there is a keeper screw to retain the pivot pin.
 
Thanks to everyone (aside from Tomato planters) for their feedback!!

The gun is a pre-64, the serial number is 2477###. I took some additional pics of the wood which to me at least doesn't look too bad although I do wonder about the darker bit near on the butt. The gun does appear to cycle to me.

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Although I loved the idea from the post Big Mouth suggested (https://www.canadiangunnutz.com/for...ts-get-a-some-lever-action-####-going/page147) #1466 I'm guessing that it would be a bit more $$ than I'm willing to invest.

A friend of the family that has a clue offered to take a look at it for me so I will see what that amounts too. I also did some research myself online and saw a lot of people advising 0000 steel wool without oil. Has anyone tried this before?
 
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Remove the little rust scabs with a brass scraper before starting with the wool. There is also bronze wool available - it won't scratch bluing. Working carefully, it is entirely possible to remove the rust without removing the remaining finish.
 
tiriaq said:
Remove the little rust scabs with a brass scraper before starting with the wool. There is also bronze wool available - it won't scratch bluing. Working carefully, it is entirely possible to remove the rust without removing the remaining finish.
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Best advise.
I would use oil with the wool. Kind of like wet sanding...
 
I've restored car parts using a product called Evaporust. Seeing a crusty rusty 50 year old control arm end up looking like it just came out of the box is amazing but no idea how the bluing would react.
 
dirtybarry said:
I've restored car parts using a product called Evaporust. Seeing a crusty rusty 50 year old control arm end up looking like it just came out of the box is amazing but no idea how the bluing would react.
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Any rust remover will most likely remove the blue. which is a form of controlled oxidation.
 
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