Thanks for the great thread GCN, this is just the resource I needed. I’m a new shooter looking for some advice on restoring a 40 year old rifle that has been left unattended to in a barn for the past 20 years.
It's a Cooey Model 39, when I received it the rust on the outside of the barrel was so thick that the blueing could no longer be seen. The stock looked good, just the normal scratches, dings and worn finish as one would expect. The bore looked very good to me, most likely because of the wax on the .22lr rounds as I am sure the original owner never cleaned it. Crown seems to be in good shape as well. Bolt was brown with rust where it was exposed to the air, but still cycled, fired and ejected well. Chamber doesn't look deformed from dry firing and rounds feed well. 10% of the time when shooting there is a good burst of soot making its way past the bolt where the ejector is, right into my face. Examining the spent brass I can see where the soot is escaping and making the surface black on the side opposite to where the firing pin strikes. I'll see if it still does this after a really good cleaning. Is it possible the chamber is oversized, or maybe it’s just the cheap ammo I am using (Rem. Thunderbolts)?
What I’ve done so far;
-Removed the rust and most of the blueing (oops) from the barrel with WD40 and light steel wool.
-Same for the bolt but with 10W40 and a steel brush.
-10W40 and the steel wool for the butt plate, trigger guard and screws.
-Polished the stock a bit with some Pledge.
What I’d like to do;
Refinish the stock by stripping with rubbing alcohol, then sanding the dings out and staining with some sort of oil. I’m not sure what the next step should be after that though to seal and protect the finish. Help?
Cold blue the barrel, there is an issue though; I can’t get the screw out that holds the rear sight on the barrel. Can I get around that somehow?
I’d like to polish the sear and add baffles to prevent the trigger from wobbling side to side, but I don’t understand how to remove the trigger pin. It’s under spring pressure from the sear spring, do I just tap it out and grab the spring before it shoots away? And how do I get the spring back in when I put the trigger back on the receiver?
And finally, what should be used to mount studs to the stock for a sling? Do they just screw into pre-taped holes, or do I need an epoxy?
If the answers to these questions are elsewhere already I'm sorry!
