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Renegade Restore
- Thread starter Sharps40
- Start date
Stripped the barrel of sights and nipple and ramrod loops. Its pretty evenly rusted inside...nipple vent to muzzle. Fortunatly, its fairly smooth inside and does not cut patches to shreads or even snag them. I quit while I was ahead, when they are like this...hours and hours of scrubbing just leads to more dirty patches and ya still have a frosty evenly rusted bore. Near as I can tell, the rifling and grooves are cleaned out now, no fouling left in them and the edges and bottoms of the lands and grooves appear plenty sharp and well defined.
I think this will be a fine round ball shooter and in 50 caliber that's still a 75 yard gun for deer, any day of the week. I spect it'll be plenty accurate for coyotes, bunnies and squirrlies and turkeys too. A bit tougher to clean but H777 will ease that process, its loads easier to clean than black....don't smell as nice though. Keeping this one in shooting shape is going to require a bit more attention to cleaning now and perhaps an oiled patch down the bore from time to time in storage.
A sampling of patches, about the third series, each started with a wad of #9 soaked 0000 steel wool wound about the jag.
Finishing up, it looks about the same as when I started but now we can see all the way to the bottom of the grooves....It does in fact have grooves...they was just fulla junk.
This is mostly surface rust, and this area is ever rusty anyway. But it'll clean up a bit and I'll blue it again so it can get rusty once more!
Pretty much at this point I need to pick a start day....draw polish the flats the night before and start rusting. Maybe this weekend. Gotta check the propane supply and decide where to set up the tank, prolly in the garage. Usually takes about 4 to 6 boilings with 3 to 12 hours of rusting between to get a barrel blacked.
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I think this will be a fine round ball shooter and in 50 caliber that's still a 75 yard gun for deer, any day of the week. I spect it'll be plenty accurate for coyotes, bunnies and squirrlies and turkeys too. A bit tougher to clean but H777 will ease that process, its loads easier to clean than black....don't smell as nice though. Keeping this one in shooting shape is going to require a bit more attention to cleaning now and perhaps an oiled patch down the bore from time to time in storage.
A sampling of patches, about the third series, each started with a wad of #9 soaked 0000 steel wool wound about the jag.
Finishing up, it looks about the same as when I started but now we can see all the way to the bottom of the grooves....It does in fact have grooves...they was just fulla junk.
This is mostly surface rust, and this area is ever rusty anyway. But it'll clean up a bit and I'll blue it again so it can get rusty once more!
Pretty much at this point I need to pick a start day....draw polish the flats the night before and start rusting. Maybe this weekend. Gotta check the propane supply and decide where to set up the tank, prolly in the garage. Usually takes about 4 to 6 boilings with 3 to 12 hours of rusting between to get a barrel blacked.
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Outside of the barrel is in pretty good shape. Some lite pitting up near the muzzle and no where else. So off to striking. Gotta keep flats flat and straight lines unwavy so wrap 120g about a file and draw polish the length of each flat till the blue and rust and junk comes off and all the polishing marks are in one direction and all the lettering is crisp and clear.
Flash hides it but top flat is unpolished, right flats are completed.
Next is to build humidity in the kids old bathroom and use it for a damp box.
Flash hides it but top flat is unpolished, right flats are completed.
Next is to build humidity in the kids old bathroom and use it for a damp box.
Hey! I have that same humidity box at home!
You're getting close sir and I'm waiting with anticipation to see this beauty restored.
You're getting close sir and I'm waiting with anticipation to see this beauty restored.
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The first wet coat rusts well....all subsequent coats will be nearly dry wipes and then boiled and carded, repeat 4 to 10 times till ya have the color you like. We'll set up the boiling tank now and get ready in about 2 hours or so to do the first boil and carding. Initial color should be a translucent gunmetal grey deepening to satin gray black as the finish builds. As long as the ice don't kill the power, I'll have hot water for the damp box bathroom and with luck, done perhaps Thurs or Friday sometime.
Boiling...
Suspend the rusted barrel in the tank, close to the bottom for good heat but not touching bottom.....I typically suspend open ended barrels on a rod, this one is on wires as the breech is closed.
Just enough hot tap water (double filtered for sediment and charcoal for chemicals, when in doubt, use steam distilled water) to cover the barrel.
Light the flame, turn it up, cover the top to hold heat/boil faster and let the part in for 10 minutes after achieving a rolling boil.
Suspend the rusted barrel in the tank, close to the bottom for good heat but not touching bottom.....I typically suspend open ended barrels on a rod, this one is on wires as the breech is closed.
Just enough hot tap water (double filtered for sediment and charcoal for chemicals, when in doubt, use steam distilled water) to cover the barrel.
Light the flame, turn it up, cover the top to hold heat/boil faster and let the part in for 10 minutes after achieving a rolling boil.
This ain't paint. Rust blue requires a bit of work. More durable too. Member, paint is for fence posts. Got steel? Blue it!
Turning black in the boiling tank....
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Pull it out, its hot. Get all the water off it and out of every screw hole an crevice.....if not, ye'll splotch it.
Looks fluffy, and its uneven...no worries, its grey under the fluff.
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Do not touch the finish with yer hands, finger prints now will be duplicated at the end....I hold the steel with clean paper towels. Right, the fluff to remove. Left, the fluff removed with a vigorous scrubbing of clean 0000 steel wool leaving the first hint of ferroferric oxide bonded to the steel. Color is translucent battleship grey, it'll darken as we proceed. Probably take 4 rust and boils to finish this mild leaded steel.
Loose oxides off...only strong oxides left. This is what makes rust blue a bit more durable than hot tank caustic blue....you remove anything that doesn't want to be there prior to each coloring phase. Leave it in one or two coats for an old worn look. Take it to 4 to 10 coats (depending on the alloy) for a fine satin more black than grey perfect finish.
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Now, dust, recoat with a thin nearly dry swipe of rust bluing solution and refill the tub with hot water, let it sit 1 to 12 hours (depending on alloy) to rust - then,....boil and card again, it'll be blacker and less translucent.
Next photos will be a completed barrel and then a completed Rifle.
Turning black in the boiling tank....
[Broken External Image]:
Pull it out, its hot. Get all the water off it and out of every screw hole an crevice.....if not, ye'll splotch it.
Looks fluffy, and its uneven...no worries, its grey under the fluff.
[Broken External Image]:
Do not touch the finish with yer hands, finger prints now will be duplicated at the end....I hold the steel with clean paper towels. Right, the fluff to remove. Left, the fluff removed with a vigorous scrubbing of clean 0000 steel wool leaving the first hint of ferroferric oxide bonded to the steel. Color is translucent battleship grey, it'll darken as we proceed. Probably take 4 rust and boils to finish this mild leaded steel.
Loose oxides off...only strong oxides left. This is what makes rust blue a bit more durable than hot tank caustic blue....you remove anything that doesn't want to be there prior to each coloring phase. Leave it in one or two coats for an old worn look. Take it to 4 to 10 coats (depending on the alloy) for a fine satin more black than grey perfect finish.
[Broken External Image]:
Now, dust, recoat with a thin nearly dry swipe of rust bluing solution and refill the tub with hot water, let it sit 1 to 12 hours (depending on alloy) to rust - then,....boil and card again, it'll be blacker and less translucent.
Next photos will be a completed barrel and then a completed Rifle.
