Cleaning up my Cooey

bluemike807

bluemike807

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Eastern Ontario
Having read the assorted posts here about 'Cooey Makeovers' - and having wanted one of my own for the longest time, I was able to find a great deal on a Cooey Model 600, with scope mount and a decent Bushnell Sportview.

Got it in the mail today; its like holding a piece of Canadian history.

There's some pitting on the barrel, a bit of tarnish on the housing where the magazine tube connects to the feed mechanish, and some minor rush on the bushing for the magazine tube itself. The wood, well, I dont know what the original finish on a cooey was; this is nice, but feels unfinished, as if it were stripped and then sanded. There's no gloss at all (not necessarily a bad thing), but otherwise its completely intact with little to no cosmetic damage.

First thing I want to do is clean up the metal - Im thinking once its rid of rust that I might duracoat it (but not the bolt). What can I use to really clean and shine up the unblued metal components? Likewise, the brass inner magazine tube is really tarnished, can I just use something like Brasso?

As for the wood as described, is this the original finish? in which case I might just leave it alone, but if its not, I was thinking tru-oil?

Also one thing I noticed - though I haven't fired it yet - the extractor sometimes 'lets go' of cartridges once chambered - and theyre a right bugger to get out. The extractor 'claws' seem sound but maybe they arent under the correct amount of tension? What can I do about this?

Will try to post pics later, in the meantime advice?
 
Clean the notch the extractor fits into next to the chamber...if full of gunk, the extractor is pushed aside and releases the casing, also clean well around the extractor channel on the bolt.
 
I have a 600 that doesn't have a real shiny finish but I don't know what it was like new.( might have been an oil finish) There is a pic of it on another thread entitled Cooey differences between models. I have a 64B still in the box and the finish on it is very dull, almost appearing unfinished with no shine at all.
 
All the Cooeys and Lakefields I have handled were a dark lacquer finish. Some so scarred and scrapped up that a refinish was necessary. Gentle removal and Tru-Oil rubbed in then Min-Wax Paste wax finish, for them all. The wax seems better at protecting from rusting than an oil coat. I have yet to come across any other finish than lacquer...but surprise me.....
 
Bluemike,
Congrats on your 600!! As you'll read in more than a few places here, there should be at least one Cooey in every Canadian household. I too have a 600, you can see it in the Cooey make-over thread which is a sticky in the rimfire forum. As to what to do?, what do YOU want it to be? One of mine has a cut down stock and barrel, otherwise I've left it as it was cosmetically. My 60 I treated to a Tremclad finish on the metal as well as polishing the mag tube, and re-doing the stock. Bottom line, enjoy it!!:)
Cheers!!
 
094.jpg

This is about the best pic. I could find. After painting, 3 light-ish coats, I baked it in the oven for 40 min. Pretty durable, touch up is a breeze.
Cheers!!
 
I have thought about cleaning up my cooey, need to get rust of it and maybe sand and stain the stock.

these are great little guns...

make sure you post pictures (hopefully before and after pics)
 
No pics yet.

Short version of what I did - took steel wool and gun oil to the metal to clean off cosmetic rust - it took the blueing off. Super.

Cleaned it well, then used a dremel with metal brush to really get out the rust and polish the bolt (worked well).
Wiped the whole thing down with acetone, then let it dry.

Sprayed it with Tremclad... yeah, not so keen on how it turned out. For one, it dried with 'beading' - and I was careful to stand well away and apply light coats. Did a few of them, let them dry (says not tacky in 5 minutes) then 'baked' for 40 min. The stuff liquified (and this was the high-temp stuff). Im assuming I 'rushed' the baking, and that it hadnt cured right. Let it air dry.

THe stock Im applying Boiled Linseed Oil to (for now) but might switch to tru-oil. It looks better, but needs work.

Put it all back together (as I wanted to fire it) and... contact with the wood rubs off the Tremclad. What a bloody waste - and this is after overnight drying. Not impressed in the slightest, I dont care how easy to 'touch it up' it is - I'd rather not have to touch it up at all.

Any suggestions as to what to do to it next? preferably involved the removal of Tremclad? What did I do wrong?

Also - the action 'binded' when cycling while loaded; as far as I can tell the feed machinism isnt retracting at the right time as the bolt moves forward, so it 'jams'. I think this is because of increased friction from the tremclad(!!!) so I've oiled it... and the oil dissolves the tremclad.

ALSO ALSO. What do people find shoots well in these; the only .22 LR I had with me was 555, and I dont have high expectations from this crap. I was shooting quite solidly from a bench at 25 yards and was managing 1.5-2" groups. Im no hawkeye, but the rifling on this puppy is excellent and .. cmon 25 yds
 
I know I have a couple of old Mossbergs that have a finish called sunkorite. They belonged to my uncle who was in the Canadian Millitary. I was told that the British Common Wealth forces applied this finish to many guns as it was dureable and didn't require as much maintainence. I have seen this finish discussed on other forums recently and many claim you still can't beat it. So it is apparently still available. Others say it is old technology and there are a couple of newer finishes on the market that are some kind of polymer coating but I can't remember the names. I would be looking into these type of finishes as in my opinion applying Tremclad is just a waste of time. Might look good for a little while but I don't think it is the best option for guns. If I think of the names of the newer finishes that were being discussed I will post them. As for the stock, I am a believer in pure tung oil. I have redone 4 stocks in the past year and they all turned out great. But it all depends on what you prefer. And for ammo, you have to experiment with that. Different guns might like one brand over the other so you will have to try a few different kinds.
 
Just did some checking. Finding sunkorite will be hard to do and expensive. One finish some are using is Dura Coat which is a 2 part process. Don't know the price but could be way more than the gun is worth. You can probably strip it back down to bare metal and do all the prep work yourself, then take it to someone to be reblued. That shouldn't cost too much if they are just dipping it.
 
gunsaholic said:
Just did some checking. Finding sunkorite will be hard to do and expensive. One finish some are using is Dura Coat which is a 2 part process. Don't know the price but could be way more than the gun is worth. You can probably strip it back down to bare metal and do all the prep work yourself, then take it to someone to be reblued. That shouldn't cost too much if they are just dipping it.
Click to expand...

I think I may do that - if I can find someone to reblue it; I live in the back of beyond, NS.
 
I know its to late now but is there a way to get the rust off without taking the bluing off of the metal?

I only ask because I think I am going to run into the same problem when I get around to putting some life back into my cooey
 
voodoopetek said:
I know its to late now but is there a way to get the rust off without taking the bluing off of the metal?

I only ask because I think I am going to run into the same problem when I get around to putting some life back into my cooey
Click to expand...

It depends on how bad it is. You can use a light oil or WD40 and coat the barrel and then lightly rub with #0000 steel wool. Rub with light pressure because if you push too hard you will remove the bluing. You will be surprised at how much rust you can remove this way. Once done though you will have to keep it well oiled. If the rust is too bad or there is pitting, then you are into stripping it down to bare metal and rebluing.:eek:
 
Ok. No offense to SpaceSaver, but the Tremclad just wasnt a good idea. As mentioned above it didnt go on well, it dried funny, and it didnt stand up to any kind of abuse whatsoever. At the end, it was easy to take off with a thumbnail, once an opening was made in the coating.

I took it off with paint stripper - it was very easy, and it left the metal bare once more, thankfully - used steel wool to help get it all off. Rinsed it, and put it in the oven to dry.

I used a cold bluing kit, bought at Canadian Tire - the Hoppes brand one, only about $6.00 or so (I forget), and... man, did it work. I am amazed at how great it came out. Easy to use, too! I put on four coats, over the course of an hour, rinsing and buffing with steel wool between coats. Afterward, gave it a good rub with gun oil, let it soak in, gave it another, then thoroughly cleaned the interior to get rid of any excess moisture/gunk.

It looks brand new. Storebought. I am so jazzed with this. The blueing is dark and deep - almost black - not perfect, but damn good for a newbies first try. I cant recommend this cold-blue kit enough.

Will try to take photos (I know, I keep saying that) but may wait until I can get the wood sorted out; thats the next step. Will likely go for tung oil to do so.

Im blown away by how much this rifle has turned around. Im going to shoot it today, with about 6 types of ammo, to see what it likes best, and will do a range report - will definitely have photos then.

These Cooeys are great little rifles, worth the TLC to keep them looking good and shooting well - Im definitely going to try to come by more, and give them the same kind of restoration - I know this is a rifle Im not going to part with, and will pass on - a real piece of Canadian history and heritage.
 
Hey Bluemike,
Sorry to here the Tremclad idea didn't work for you. As to what went wrong? who knows?I'm sure you've read it before but prep is everything. As well, maybe I shoulda stated that when I baked mine it was at only 250ish, IIRC. BUT, you found something that worked, you gained some experience, and now you've got a rifle that YOU made look good again! I found that round nose, copper clad ammo seems to work best in mine.
Cheers!!
 
Hit the range over the last two days - had to call it quits early yesterday as it was just too damn cold! The range is largely protected by trees that cut the wind, but the bench area was NOT - damn near froze my butt off, and was only able to test 4/8 of the types of ammunition I had with me.

Headed out today to a beautiful, still day, and finished things off. Great weather and a fun few hours of shooting. Tested the different kinds of ammo, then re-zeroed the scope at 50m, and banged away at my Crappy Tire resettable steel target, with "555" ammo.

Brought along (see if I can remember these, as Im now at work)
-CCI Blazer
-American Eagle
-Remington Thunderbolt
-Federal "Game Shok" 40gn CPRN
-CCI CB Longs
-Winchester "555"
-CCI Stinger
-Winchester T22 Std. Vel

Firing on 3/4" dots, 5 dots to a page, from 25 yds. Zeroed with Win 555, using a 4x32 Bushnell Scope.

Dont have pics (yet, but promise they'll come, once I scan the targets).

Most went as expected. The 600 was surprisingly finicky with certain ammunition. I've got a few boxes of 555, whereas I'd just picked up 40/50 rounds samplers of the others, so I've had the most shooting with 555. It just doesnt like chambering it that much, really have to whack the bolt to get it in sometimes. Other ammunition fed like a dream.

I'd been meaning to try Blazer for a while now, a reviewer I respect is of the opinion that Blazer is the best 'bulk' round. Im not so sure. It shot OK (2nd overall) and fed reasonably well, but I had two FTEs, which are a real b*tch with this gun, as you need empty the tube magazine, then (carefully) prise the live round which would have been grabbed by the extractors (the spent one still chambered), out of the grip, then cycle the action until the bloody round gets picked up by the now vacant extractors. This was the only ammo this happened with, which was dissapointing, as otherwise, it functioned reasonably well.

The groupings averaged between 1 and 2" - the bottom of the barrel being the Remington Thunderbolts. The report and recoil were very inconsistent, with some rounds being much louder than others, some barely being audible - it gave the impression of poor quality, and the group agreed.

The CB Longs were especially interesting, as I could actually see them as they were fired. They all had about 2 1/2" drop from POA, but grouped reasonably well. I was able to recover quite a few of the projectiles (CB and otherwise) and it was neat to see how well the projectiles rode the rifling, with deep impressions.

Stingers were loud and largely inaccurate, coming in a bit better than the Thunderbolts.
American Eagle was so so, likewise the 555 - though since the rifle is zeroed for them, I have a bit better control.

The T22s showed marginally better accuracy, but not enough to 'win'.

Ultimately, the ammunition that provided the best groups (which is to say, 5 ragged holes) was the Federal 'Game Shok' 40gn Copper Washed Round Nose. Not only did it shoot very nicely, it chambered and ejected smoothly and without hiccups.

Will try to scan targets and some pics of the rifle
 
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