Cooey 60 resto- FINISHED!
- Thread starter jory
- Start date
I've lawst count the number of old Cooeys, Winchesters and such I've gone thru.
Gitt'im for around the $100-$150 mark and dew wutt yer dewn to'im.
Amazing what the stawk looks like when they're dun.
Toss'im awn the gun show tables and barely make the investmint back.
One ol`chap I've met thru Mr. H. duzz this constantly.
He's bin known fur built'in firearms as well.
One day I asked him oww come he duzz this?
Well son, pay kupple'undritt bucks fur it.
Spend ahh week'awn'er and sell'er fur $150.
Ahh'ole weeks awf intertain'tmint fur $50 bucks izz shure cheap.
No chit.
And to Jory, feels pritty gooder, don't it?...……………………………..
Yew jest can't s'plain this to sum peephole folk...……..
I 100% get where he's coming from- i'm already scouring the EE for my next one. I like to tinker, and being able to scratch that itch while also learning new skills along the way is well worth the cost of the rifle and the time put into it. If I continue to do these i'll only get better and more efficient at it anyway. I'm looking forward to the extra experience in these tasks that i'm not at all familiar with, and the chance to give an old rifle a second chance.
I'm really happy with the way things have turned out so far, given that this is literally the first time I've ever done any of these things.
The hard part will be to get the parts for less than twice the price of two working Cooeys.
Thanks! I've never put a single round through a cooey; this is my first experience with one ever. Hopefully this one shoots well by the time it's done haha
Well said!
I know it sounds weird but, I am kinda disappointed when you receive a newly acquired milsup rifle. Feild strip it only to find it is already spotless, perfectly cleaned barrel all moving parts greased...etc. Where's the fun in that!!!
Some more work went in last night! I got my final prep done to all my metal with my vinegar bath- including my entire receiver/barrel, which did not go as planned. I didn't have a vessel large enough to soak the whole thing, so I attempted to make one out of two wallpaper trays. As it turns out, hot glue is not ideal to put the two together AND have them be waterproof, but I made it work with some towels and a girlfriend who is unhappy with our basement now smelling like vinegar.
After that, I did a degrease on everything with mineral spirits and got to blueing. Let's reflect back to my first post where I mentioned I had no idea what I was doing- last night proved that. The blueing went about as well as I expected; I now have a 5 foot gun. That is to say that from 5 feet away it looks great, but up close you can see some issues. I was using Birchwood Casey Super Blue and one of those sponge brush things and I just wasn't doing something right. I had a tough time getting the blueing to "take" in some spots, but in others it took really well. There were small spots that I missed on my multiple degreasing runs, and it showed, because blueing just beaded off it and mucked things up. Looking back, I don't think the sponge brush was the right applicator either. For the most part, everything turned out well-ish, but I am not happy with the color. I used super blue because I wanted everything to be black by the time I was done, or as close to it as I could get. At this point everything is at more of a steel grey color, and that's not what I want.
My Birchwood Casey Kit comes in a few days; i'm going to strip the blueing off with the product in the kit and start over. The degreaser that comes with it will foam up like dishsoap if you use a sponge, so i'm going to lather the hell out of everything to ensure my degreasing is more effective, and I'm hoping the applicator they send will work better. The kit comes with perma blue, which is just a weaker version of super blue, but my trust in super blue is shaken after last night. It almost seemed like the stuff I was using would turn watery after a few swipes and lose its effectiveness.
The barrel and receiver must be far better looking before i'll be satisfied with this enough to say that the project is complete. The issues don't show up in pictures well, but let's just say there are a couple streaky/blotchy spots that bother me, so it's back to the drawing board.
Here's my leaky vinegar bath tank
Finished product after blueing
After that, I did a degrease on everything with mineral spirits and got to blueing. Let's reflect back to my first post where I mentioned I had no idea what I was doing- last night proved that. The blueing went about as well as I expected; I now have a 5 foot gun. That is to say that from 5 feet away it looks great, but up close you can see some issues. I was using Birchwood Casey Super Blue and one of those sponge brush things and I just wasn't doing something right. I had a tough time getting the blueing to "take" in some spots, but in others it took really well. There were small spots that I missed on my multiple degreasing runs, and it showed, because blueing just beaded off it and mucked things up. Looking back, I don't think the sponge brush was the right applicator either. For the most part, everything turned out well-ish, but I am not happy with the color. I used super blue because I wanted everything to be black by the time I was done, or as close to it as I could get. At this point everything is at more of a steel grey color, and that's not what I want.
My Birchwood Casey Kit comes in a few days; i'm going to strip the blueing off with the product in the kit and start over. The degreaser that comes with it will foam up like dishsoap if you use a sponge, so i'm going to lather the hell out of everything to ensure my degreasing is more effective, and I'm hoping the applicator they send will work better. The kit comes with perma blue, which is just a weaker version of super blue, but my trust in super blue is shaken after last night. It almost seemed like the stuff I was using would turn watery after a few swipes and lose its effectiveness.
The barrel and receiver must be far better looking before i'll be satisfied with this enough to say that the project is complete. The issues don't show up in pictures well, but let's just say there are a couple streaky/blotchy spots that bother me, so it's back to the drawing board.
Here's my leaky vinegar bath tank
Finished product after blueing
I have done some bluing using Birchwood Casey Super Blue and Outers Gun Blue...Kinda like the Outers better.
Just can't find larger than 2oz bottle.
Another trick I found. It works a lot better if you heat up the metal.
54°c- 55°c works good. And multi coats with a light sanding with steel wool between coats.
Get things pretty dark too. Specially after you apply a light coat of oil to seal!!!
Just can't find larger than 2oz bottle.
Another trick I found. It works a lot better if you heat up the metal.
54°c- 55°c works good. And multi coats with a light sanding with steel wool between coats.
Get things pretty dark too. Specially after you apply a light coat of oil to seal!!!
I tried heating the metal with a heat gun, and it just made it "take" faster. I couldn't get multiple coats to stick; after the first coat, the stuff just basically wiped off. I think what i'll try next time is adding multiple "coats" while the metal is still wet. I'll just keep it wet down with the stuff for a few minutes and see if it gets as dark as I want it
I'm new to all this too.
Was hoping someone that has experience with this would chime in...
Here are a couple M96 bayo's I did. They were polished bright before starting (almost like chrome)
About 4-5 hot, wet coats. Like you said leaving them wet for 1-2 mins.
Cold water bath, dry, sand and repeat. Then oiled (5w40) over nite.
They got darker each application.
Was hoping someone that has experience with this would chime in...
Here are a couple M96 bayo's I did. They were polished bright before starting (almost like chrome)
About 4-5 hot, wet coats. Like you said leaving them wet for 1-2 mins.
Cold water bath, dry, sand and repeat. Then oiled (5w40) over nite.
They got darker each application.
I'm new to all this too.
Was hoping someone that has experience with this would chime in...
Here are a couple M96 bayo's I did. They were polished bright before starting (almost like chrome)
About 4-5 hot, wet coats. Like you said leaving them wet for 1-2 mins.
Cold water bath, dry, sand and repeat. Then oiled (5w40) over nite.
They got darker each application.
That is exactly what i'm after!
I’m getting frustrated. I have followed all the directions to the letter, but I cannot get a few pieces past a dark grey no matter how many applications I make or techniques I try. I managed to get the bolt pretty close, but the barrel, mag tube, and butt plate will not go black like I want them to. I am using Super Blue, so this really shouldn’t be an issue.
I'm a dummy. I took a deep breath and (after a reminder) retraced my steps. The last piece of the puzzle was oiling everything once the bluing was wiped off. Not a big deal, right? Wrong. I went back and buffed everything with some steel wool with a few drops of gun oil on it and immediately everything turned 10x deeper colored than what I had previously finished off with. I can now say that I'm very happy with the results of the bluing!
As far as the stock goes, I hit it with 2x layers of 50/50 mineral spirits and Tru oil to really get it into the wood, followed by a full strength coat that I sanded in with 400 grit. After cleaning all that up I am happier with the smoothness of the stock, without taking every single dent and ding that gave it some character. Since then i've added 3 more layers of straight up tru oil, and will continue to add a new one every day until I am satisfied with how deep and glossy the wood is. In between coats I am smoothing down with 0000 steel wool, and soon i'll start doing a 1000 grit polish in between coats as well. I'm not sure what to do for the final touch to really get things shiny- I have heard mixed reviews about the Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen.
Here's oiled vs not oiled metal:
Here's the stock getting its first coat of tru oil. Half the stock has it on, the other half wasn't touched by it yet. It's a pretty dramatic difference
Here's how the stock sits now: (imgur won't let me rotate it, sorry)
As far as the stock goes, I hit it with 2x layers of 50/50 mineral spirits and Tru oil to really get it into the wood, followed by a full strength coat that I sanded in with 400 grit. After cleaning all that up I am happier with the smoothness of the stock, without taking every single dent and ding that gave it some character. Since then i've added 3 more layers of straight up tru oil, and will continue to add a new one every day until I am satisfied with how deep and glossy the wood is. In between coats I am smoothing down with 0000 steel wool, and soon i'll start doing a 1000 grit polish in between coats as well. I'm not sure what to do for the final touch to really get things shiny- I have heard mixed reviews about the Birchwood Casey Stock Sheen.
Here's oiled vs not oiled metal:
Here's the stock getting its first coat of tru oil. Half the stock has it on, the other half wasn't touched by it yet. It's a pretty dramatic difference
Here's how the stock sits now: (imgur won't let me rotate it, sorry)
So I took another look at everything last night, and I retract my statement about being happy with the bluing on the barrel- there's some streaking on it that I just can't seem to get rid of, so I'm going to bring everything to my shop at work one night soon and start from scratch again, and i'll find a better way to apply the bluing this time and keep it by the books.
With how great the stock is turning out, I am motivated to make sure the metal looks just as good.
With how great the stock is turning out, I am motivated to make sure the metal looks just as good.
I stumbled onto "Howard's Feed-N-Wax". Man, in my eyes there is no better! But maybe someone else could share too.
I found mine at Home Hardware.
I have cold blued a couple of Cooeys several years ago. As someone mentioned a hot barrel seems to take the cold blue better. I know it adds more cost to the project but have you thought of a nice dark blue/black cerakote colour for the metal work? I bet that with your nice wood would be fantastic!
I stumbled onto "Howard's Feed-N-Wax". Man, in my eyes there is no better! But maybe someone else could share too.
I found mine at Home Hardware.
I ordered some renaissance wax yesterday that I've read good things about, but if that doesn't work out then i'll try this- thanks!
If I really can't get the damn bluing as dark as I want it, I would consider it, but it would take away from the personal touch in this gun by not doing 100% of the work myself. I want jet black, but I don't know if that's going to be possible here, but I agree it would look great
