I am currently trying to restore my grandfathers old cooey 84 everything mechanical is done and I only have one thing left, the barrel is covered in rust as it has spent over 20 years without oil in the top of a closet will do. now I am trying to restore it to the condition my grandfather bought it in the 60's so I was hoping that someone here knows what the original finish was.
restoring my grandfather cooey 84
- Thread starter Brooker1
- Start date
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
It was blued with a semi gloss finish. I say semi gloss because you cant compare the gloss of yesteryear to the high lustre deep bluing finishes people see on guns nowadays
gunsaholic
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
The barrel would have been blued with the process of the time. However, you can do slow rust bluing at home and get very nice results. You could also buy a bottle of cold blue but that is more for touch up and is not very durable. Either way, the preparation is very important.
gunsaholic
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
Never had a problem with cold blue... Here is a pic of my dad's old Cooey that I redid..... Was the first real gun I ever fired......
I didn't say you couldn't get very good looking results with cold blue because, yes, you can . I have done it to a few guns and they look great. However, it is not a durable finish and most will tell you that. I switched to slow rust bluing after being told about it by a few people. It is the way it was done back in the day and I have never looked back. If I am going to the trouble of stripping a gun and doing the necessary prep, I want to put something on that is longer lasting than cold blue, especially if the gun will be subject to various kinds of weather. I know if someone is selling a gun and they tell me it was reblued using cold blue, I walk away unless I'm prepared to redo it.But that is just my opinion and to each their own.
Your rifle looks great by the way.
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Never tried your method..... Do you have instructions or a link to some?..... Like I said, I have never had durability issues, but to b hon st it isn't like I have the Cooey out 200 days a year....... Would be an interesting skill to learn......
gunsaholic
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
If you google videos on slow rust bluing you will get some explanation. Larry Potterfield has a couple of videos on the subject. Some don't go into much detail. I have to step out for a bit but I will go through the steps that I do when I get back in. If you are doing vintage double barrels, the slow rust bluing method is pretty much the way it is done.
Cool, thanks..... No need for a step by step unless you want to.... But a link to a good one that you have actually followed would be helpful......
1963beretta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Vaughan, Ontario
Look up PJ's products....some of the best bluing products available. Paul is an awesome guy full of knowledge. His slow rust blue product called Radocy is one of the best in market. He also has a old blue that is by far better then anything you can purchase in a store
h ttp://www.pjsproducts.com
He's located in Richmond Hill, Ontario and is usually present at all the local gun shows
gunsaholic
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Winnipeg, Manitoba
I have started a separate thread on the slow rust bluing.
As mentioned above the barrels were blued. The receiver, trigger guard, fore-end iron and top lever were all case colored. As for the barrel, It was not a high-gloss polish - probably about what you would get with "Fine" or 220 grit emery cloth. Polish around the barrel rather than lengthwise for the proper effect.
- Location
- West Quebec
Looks good nice jobNever had a problem with cold blue... Here is a pic of my dad's old Cooey that I redid..... Was the first real gun I ever fired......
- Location
- newfoundland canada
I use birchwood casey cold blue with excellent results , did 8 coats here is the steps / materials I used
- clean cotton rags and cotton balls used to apply the blue , do it in small sections in short streaks .
- fine steel wool
- heat gun
- methyl hydrate ( used to clean between coats and to de-grease ) can buy this in most paint sections at Canadian tire stores etc..
- Disassemble clean , clean clean , and when u think its clean , clean it again .. prep is everything !
- Once its clean heat the part / barrel up with a heat gun the blue will apply much better with some heat warm not too hot .
- Apply the blue with the cotton rag / swab then get the fine steel wool and buff out the finish
- Clean part/ barrel again and repeat the above steps 8 times or more until you get the finish you want .
- give it a final buff with the steel wool and let the part cure for 24 hrs before applying gun oil
Hope this helps any questions feel free to PM
- clean cotton rags and cotton balls used to apply the blue , do it in small sections in short streaks .
- fine steel wool
- heat gun
- methyl hydrate ( used to clean between coats and to de-grease ) can buy this in most paint sections at Canadian tire stores etc..
- Disassemble clean , clean clean , and when u think its clean , clean it again .. prep is everything !
- Once its clean heat the part / barrel up with a heat gun the blue will apply much better with some heat warm not too hot .
- Apply the blue with the cotton rag / swab then get the fine steel wool and buff out the finish
- Clean part/ barrel again and repeat the above steps 8 times or more until you get the finish you want .
- give it a final buff with the steel wool and let the part cure for 24 hrs before applying gun oil
Hope this helps any questions feel free to PM
