Restoration Project

[TacticalCanuck]

Hi CGN

I have, reasons of sentiment, been restoring an old gun. I really want to do the best job possible on this thing.

A professional hot blue in my area is $250. Too much. I need to cold blue. So i'm looking for tips, tricks, hints, links - anything those with some experience may have that will save me time money and frustration from failed attempts.

Not just for cold bluing, but for the stock, smoothing the action, anything that will make this look amazing and fresh, while keeping it's vintage appeal, and make it cycle and run smoothly regardless.

For the stock, I've removed the nasty 'stain' and clear coat. Underneath was a surprisingly beautiful piece of walnut. I mean really nice. I've decided to finish that with a tung oil. Since it's going to be more of a lazy afternoon from the picnic table plinker and the odd back bush small game hunt gun, hardened finishes aren't needed. It won't be babied, but it won't be roughly handled.

The barrel is where my understanding of refinishing ends. So barrel refurbishing is my first concern. BUT, any tips on restorations and taking the old and making it new are welcome.

The gun I'm currently doing this on is an old pre winchester model 75 single shot Cooey. I've already now bought a second to refurb for my son, so we can be on equal footing so to speak when we go out to shoot. Been training him on a red ryder and would love to give him one of these for his very own.

I have babbled long enough, if you have some pointers, I'd love to hear them. So much is on the net, hard to decide what is best. Soaking in vinegar, acetone, etc. No clues. Real world from real people.

Thanks!

 

[Avalonthas]

Although you have already stripped the wood, some thoughts for future projects.

I used Circa 1850 Furniture Stripper (Home Depot, Rona, etc), it is non-toxic and very soft on all types of wood. Brush it on and remove until satisfied. For any rough spots or minor imperfections use light grit sanding paper to blend in areas. Do not sand any key areas especially around where the action/barrel is bedded as it is easy to remove too much. If you have any dings in the wood, take a damp towel with water and lay it over the wood, and take a clothing iron on the highest steam setting and run over it, this will raise the wood slightly. Depending on how deep the ding is you may need to do a combination of this and some light sanding to blend.

When oiling the stock, tung oil is an excellent choice (I also use the Circa 1850 tung oil brand). A good method is:
Two coats on the first day once in the morning and once at night then One a day for a week, once a week for a month, one a month for a year, and then one a year moving forward. This method has been very successful for me.

Cooey Model 60 - After stripping and some light sanding:

After first week (it was very dry so took some time to build up the saturation)

This is two or three months after and some moderate use of the rifle

Also a note on my application, I lather a good amount of oil on the stock letting the excess drop off, and I hand rub it in. I find the minimal heat caused from the rubbing assists in the process

 

[wayupnorth]

Fantastic info!!!!

i have 3 old Cooey's that i have been wanting to redo the stocks on.
well one HAS to be done, its totally butchered from when i was a kid, the other 2 are just old and could use some love.

ive never redone a stock before and was just about to take my first one to a local cabinet shop to have them strip it and refinish it, but after reading your write up i think ill give it a go myself first.

thanks again for the info!

 

[Polar_Hunter]

I rust blued this old Remington. It was a lot of work (mostly getting equipped) but the end result was good.

 

[TacticalCanuck]

Wow some really nice work guys. The stock on your cooey is pretty much what I'm aiming for. Thanks for the detailed responses both of you! Your Remington was in better shape than this cooey and you'd accomplished what I'm trying to do. Not make it new, just make it look clean and cared for. I want to freshin it up while keeping the rustic appeal of a 65 year old gun.

 

[wayupnorth]

I'm right in the middle of restoring a stock on my cooey model 39
Here is where I am right now, stripped, sanded and 3rd coat of tung oil now on it.
Gonna give it a couple more then should be done.

 

[juanvaldez]

Rust blueing is possibly the nicest finish you can put on it, far better than a hot blue in my opinion. Best part is it can be done for almost no cost. Ive used laurel mountain forge and it worked very well. Sanding a stock can ruin it in a hurry if you are not careful. Rounding over lines that were meant to be sharp, sanding to much and leaving metal proud, etc. Best to remove the finish with a stripper, steam out the dents and live with some of the "character" that is left IMO.

I LOVE truoil for finishing the bare wood after...

 

[wayupnorth]

when im done with the last couple coats of tung oil ill post a couple before, during and after pics.
so far im very impressed with the result.

 

[Hitzy]

Cold blue I've never had really good results with when doing large areas like a barrel, slide, frame, etc. With small parts I found how to make it work pretty well. It seems to take better on a rougher surface then a smoother one, but a bit of paste wax put on the smooth freshly blued part will make it last longer.
For the prep, I've used vinegar, muriatic acid, and even my brass tumbler to remove old bluing and any rust/stains. Muriatic acid is pretty potent so be careful with it, I mainly use it to remove parkerizing. Once the blue/finish is off, rinse with hot water to neutralise the acid and clean it off. Then degrease with brake cleaner, 2 or 3 times sometimes depending on how many cracks and crevices. Then I pour enough cold blue into a small plastic container that the part will be completely covered in it....none of this dabbing it on, or using q-tips. I then warm the part up with a hair dryer so it's toasty, and drop it in the blueing for a couple minutes. Take it out and then let it air dry for 10 mins or so. After that, rinse with hot water and gently rub the gelled up solution off then dry and oil it up. I find this gives an even black finish for me. You can just pour the blueing solution back into the bottle when you are done, it's still good for a while yet.