My new Luger barrel looks... well, new.

BAAC

BAAC

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Hey Everybody,

I know this might sound stupid, but I thought I would ask for opinions.

I recently received my rebarreled Luger from the gunsmith, that being the only way I could inherit it from a relative. The problem it, the barrel just looks too new - the bluing is black and it doesn't look right on a 97-year-old, well-worn gun. (It's like a bad nose job you can't take your eyes off of...)

Is there any way to 'age' a barrel, or is that just a stupid idea?

Thanks for any advice. I love this gun, I'd just like it to blend a little more so it feels a little more natural.

B
 
Luckily my P08 Luger had perfect pre-war bluing still on it, and my new longer restricted barrel fits the look and color of the gun exactly.

You could try de-blueing the barrel, and cold bluing it with a CanTire blue kit???? What does the finish on the rest of the gun look like? Or I guess since it's technically not all original anymore anyway, you could hot reblue the whole gun?? None of these methods are really the best idea, but it's your pistol to do with as you wish.
 
Hey Desert_Fox - thanks for that. Your question made me think I should post a pic, so here it is. The pic makes the frame look lighter than it is, but there is a really noticeable difference.

It's definitely a shooting piece, not a collector, but I'd like to make it look as good as I can.

 
Nice salty rig!!

Personally, I like original finish the best, and seeing the rest of the gun, I might try removing the original blue and using the amateurs cold bluing stuff you'd buy from CanTire, I did that on a Tokarev slide to get the same type of finish that the rest of that Luger has, your results may vary.... ;)
 
Have a pro refinish it. If you get a crappy tire home blue kit and you have no experience in refinishing firearms this is not the one to learn on.
 
I'm with you on the look - guns should look like they have some history.

I think I might try that barrel approach. I've had some luck with custom bluing before. Never removed blue before, but it seems straightforward enough. (Famous last words...)
 
john@ said:
Have a pro refinish it. If you get a crappy tire home blue kit and you have no experience in refinishing firearms this is not the one to learn on.
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That's certainly a fair observation. I've done a bit of refinishing before so I don't totally suck at it. I suppose if I do a less than stellar job on the barrel I can always have a pro do the whole thing to match.
 
john@ said:
Have a pro refinish it. If you get a crappy tire home blue kit and you have no experience in refinishing firearms this is not the one to learn on.
Click to expand...

Yeah, my advise was to just do the barrel with the CambodianTire kit because it isn't the greatest in giving a nice deep hot blue finish.... so it should help match the rest of the gun! ;)
 
Wise words from the Fox.

I have a VERY minty 1916 bringback that would NEED professional work. My 1918 and 1938 both have been through the Mill, the 1938 being a Soviet capture piece which has been shot far, far too much.

Either of them would do with the regular Birchwood Casey product.

Where do you guys get your barrels, anyway? I haven't seen them for sale anywhere.
 
smellie said:
Wise words from the Fox.

I have a VERY minty 1916 bringback that would NEED professional work. My 1918 and 1938 both have been through the Mill, the 1938 being a Soviet capture piece which has been shot far, far too much.

Either of them would do with the regular Birchwood Casey product.

Where do you guys get your barrels, anyway? I haven't seen them for sale anywhere.
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Got 2 made up at Dlask in Delta, BC many moons ago. One got put on a 1917 DWM Prussian Police Re-issue with matching Prussian Police marked Holster, Loading Tool and Mag. The second is on my mint 1938 Mauser Oberndorf made piece. Both were matching until I got the new barrels put on, but no 12.6 endorsement, means no P.08 unless I did what I had to do... :(
 
FWIW, I would NOT use a cold blue kit. The RIGHT method is to rust blue it. You can then control the amount of finish by number of applications, it won't smell funky, and it will be durable.

I like the Laurel Mountain Forge stuff - you can order it from Track of the Wolf.
 
Tagged for interest. I have a Luger buy in the works, and it will have to be rebarreled as well. The bluing appears better than on yours, but I'm very interested to see how this plays out for you and how good a match you end up with. please keep us posted on your progress.
 
One way to blend the "new blue" on the barrel is to oil and use a 'scotch pad' or 'steel wood - 000 or 0000'.

With oil, either abrasive will remove some of the new blue without scratching in the finish or damaging the metal surface. The blue should turn into a blue-grey and you control how much finish you wish to remove. This avoids re-bluing the barrel.

During the first shipment of RC K98's I used this method to 'age' some K98's with great effect.
 
Hmmmmm

If anyone wants to throw one of those 12(6) barrels my way.

I have an old Dutch issue Luger with a severely pitted barrel.

Irony......dutch inscription for safe is RUST

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smellie said:
You can add a LOT of holster wear with ONE piece of Crocus Cloth.

Takes about an hour if you do it right.
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While it's true you can do it this way, the remaining finish will still not be a color match. The original gun looks to be a rust-blued model.

Another way to do finish removal that looks authentic is to wear a glove doused in talcum powder and then just handle the barrel while watching TV. this will simulate actual wear and accentuate the high points.
 
Here are the pics of my P.08 Luger with its new Restricted only barrel. (Don't mind the matching byf43 P.38 in the picture...)

Crazy thing is, side by side, even with an original length "short" barrel, the Luger is actually longer than the P38... Yet apparently, the Luger is exponentially more concealable and more dangerous than the P.38.... f:P:


P38P08-1_zpscee02016.jpg



*Yes, I know it's the barrel length that matters, but C'mon!!*
 
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