So I traded into a 1985 Colt Peacekeeper in pretty rough shape. First pic is what it looked like when I brought it home. The previous owner had begun stripping it after finding some minor pitting on the barrel and frame while removing some surface rust.
I spent the two previous days attacking it with an assortment of wire & nylon brushes, various grades of sandpaper, steel wool, microfiber towels, CLP, and Mother's Mag Polish. The second picture shows the results from a total of 9hrs of elbow grease.
This revolver is somewhat of an oddity for Colts. Colts generally have very deep lustrous blueing. For the entire run of the Peacekeeper (1984-1987) the only factory finish Colt Offered was Matte blue/black. This was accomplished by bead blasting the bare steel to a satin finish before the blueing process.
The third picture is halfway through the media blasting process. To save costs during the experimentation phase of this restoration I used Baking Soda as my abrasive. I will use glass for the final product.
This morning I blued it for the first time and I must admit I am extremely pleased with the results. I have to tweak my blueing recipe just a little to get the color 100% correct. But as you can tell from the 4th pic..... I am 4374: close and ain't got that far to go.
The 5th and final pic (red background) is one I snatched off of Google. This is what my Peacekeeper should and will look like when finished.
I spent the two previous days attacking it with an assortment of wire & nylon brushes, various grades of sandpaper, steel wool, microfiber towels, CLP, and Mother's Mag Polish. The second picture shows the results from a total of 9hrs of elbow grease.
This revolver is somewhat of an oddity for Colts. Colts generally have very deep lustrous blueing. For the entire run of the Peacekeeper (1984-1987) the only factory finish Colt Offered was Matte blue/black. This was accomplished by bead blasting the bare steel to a satin finish before the blueing process.
The third picture is halfway through the media blasting process. To save costs during the experimentation phase of this restoration I used Baking Soda as my abrasive. I will use glass for the final product.
This morning I blued it for the first time and I must admit I am extremely pleased with the results. I have to tweak my blueing recipe just a little to get the color 100% correct. But as you can tell from the 4th pic..... I am 4374: close and ain't got that far to go.
The 5th and final pic (red background) is one I snatched off of Google. This is what my Peacekeeper should and will look like when finished.