What would you do? Cosmetic damage to new rifle.

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calvados.boulard

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Hi everyone,

What would you do?

I managed to find one of the elusive CZ 527s in 7.62x39 from a site sponsor. I paid a slight premium on this rifle (~$50) as they are the only ones who had it in stock. I tried to price match with a couple of other vendors who said they were waiting on ones to come it, but they wouldn't go for it. So $850 + HST and shipping paid.

Well I received the rifle, and it has a very nice looking piece of wood on it. Very nice grain and colour with nice stripes. But then I started looking closer and found the following issues:
- 5 dents in the wood around 4-5mm in diameter, and another 2 dents that are around 2mm in diameter. The dents are located in various spots on the stock.
- 2 spots on the trigger guard where it looks like the bluing didn't take, or was exposed to some solvent, (looks like drops 10mm in diameter)
- a chip missing on the exposed side of the bolt (2.5mm)
- a nick just in front of the rear sight (2.5mm)
- 2 scrapes near the crown on the elevated part above the recessed crown (3mm)
- and a few signs of wear due to rubbing under the front sight hood
- the front sight hood is loosely attached to the rifle. I don't think it would take much for it to fall off.

I contacted the vendor, and was told I could return the rifle to them and get a refund. If they determine that it is due to CZ's fault and not the couriers, then I can have my shipping refunded as well. They then said that they might sell it "as is" if the only issues are cosmetic, at a reduced price. I asked if I could have the reduced price now, and was told "no, not after the fact".
The other option presented was to return it on warranty and have CZ install a new trigger guard and a new stock. I was informed that this may take over a year to accomplish as CZ has recently changed warranty centres.

I'm a bit torn, as these are all pretty much cosmetic issues. But I feel duped for a number of reasons; I paid a premium for this rifle; this is my most expensive rifle; my 4 other CZs all arrived in immaculate shape. The included test target is a single ragged hold @50m.

What would you do? Thoughts, suggestions, condemnations?

The pictures don't really do it justice. I've drawn some black lines to indicate the issues.

Thanks,
Cal.
 
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It may burn a little because it is a brand new gun... but after a year or two, it is going to look worse anyway... and the gun will still be shooting great... I would try to work out something with the vendor (show pictures of the issue and see if you can come to a settlement)... I would NOT send the gun back... they are too hard to find.
 
Pop said:
If it's shooting a ragged hole at 50m the crown is fine.
Click to expand...

Thanks Pop. The ragged hole is from the CZ test target. I haven't taken it out yet. I've only had it for a couple of hours. The crown looked a little ragged and rough to me, but I'm not certain I know what I'm looking for in a crown.

Thanks,
Cal.
 
calvados.boulard said:
A damp towel? I've never heard of such a technique. Are you pulling my leg?

Thanks,
Cal.
Click to expand...

No pulling

Take a damp towel and a closths iron. Place the towel over the dent(s) and iron the area. The steam will cause the little dents to pop back out. BE CARFUL not to run the iron over any part of the stock with out the towel!!! You could melt the finish. Stuborn dents may require a drop of water placed directly over the dent and alowed to soak for a few minutes before the iron is aplied. I've done it lots of times. The mil-surp collectors swear by this method since getting another mk4 No1 mint stock is imposible.
 
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calvados.boulard said:
Do you have a link describing this technique? A quick google didn't bring me back anything of any use.

Thanks,
Cal.
Click to expand...

Look on CGN for mil-sup stock refinishing.
If my discription does not give you enough detail.

As for the sight hood, the reason there are scrathches on the base is due to the fact that the hood is held on by spring tension. The hood is a spring steel "C" that slides into 2 grooves in the base that are a bit wider than the open end of the "C".
The extractor will also loose its finish as you cycle the action so a small defect in the bluing here is inconsiquential in my veiw.....but that's me not you.
 
None of that would be a deal breaker for me. As ciphery said, damp towel, warm iron, if you want to google it, the same technique is used to "heal" small dents in wood furniture and floors.
 
ciphery said:
Look on CGN for mil-sup stock refinishing.
If my discription does not give you enough detail.

As for the sight hood, the reason there are scrathches on the base is due to the fact that the hood is held on by spring tension. The hood is a spring steel "C" that slides into 2 grooves in the base that are a bit wider than the open end of the "C".
The extractor will also loose its finish as you cycle the action so a small defect in the bluing here is inconsiquential in my veiw.....but that's me not you.
Click to expand...

swervinmervin said:
None of that would be a deal breaker for me. As ciphery said, damp towel, warm iron, if you want to google it, the same technique is used to "heal" small dents in wood furniture and floors.
Click to expand...

Wow, nice tip guys. I had never heard of that. How would that affect the finish on the CZ?

Thanks,
Cal.
 
Even better control to iron out the wood dents is a newer type soldering gun which has the various screw-on shapes. I like the one that is a triangle, about 1/4" x 1/4" x 1/4". Take a small rag, 4" x 4", wet it, place it over the dent, and then apply the soldering gun. Much better control that trying to work it out with an iron. Done it myself, works great.
 
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