I admit that I am one of those evil people who improve firearms.
It isn't like I take an 80% gun and try to make it look NIB to get over on someone, I have what I call "empathy buys" and either stabilize or rejuvenate to usable condition.
Purist's absolutely loose their minds that people like me do this. Apparently it is more noble to need a tetanus shot before using them than to have some skill with cold blue.
When I say "rejuvenate" I mean that I don't buff and polish all the character out of a gun and make it a mirror like "trap grade" finish on every piece. The harshest media I will use is medium grade steel wool so the factory milling marks are still visible upon completion. And I will not adulterate a historic piece. But you will be surprised at how many free or cheap items a person can pick up when they find out you will make a Lazarus out of them.
My LGS owner even keeps an eye out just for things he knows I would like to bring back to life.
For example, my latest "barn find" is a Winchester 37 red letter with the pig tail and small hammer, 12ga 30in barrel. The metal looked like a cinnamon powdered donut and the furniture was so dry it has checking on the butt. The only way to have this be a more desirable 37 is if it had the 32in barrel. The "Winchester" on the bottom of the receiver was barely legible and the writing on the barrel was totally obscured with rust but the bore showed promise (despite looking like it had previously doubled as a tomato stake) and the butt plate was original.
Now it is time for my sales pitch. There is a company from Texas makes this stuff called "Blue Wonder" and they have the best multipurpose gun cleaning gel I have ever come across. It will clean the bore of a gun, removing the lead and copper with ease. And this stuff will remove rust but leave the blue. Using the medium steel wool and a tiny dab of this stuff and it will take surface rust off any finish without scratching, marring or wearing the finish thin. The rust will "melt" into the gel making it look like red mud. What is even more amazing is the same gel with a Scotchbrite pad will strip all the blue and rust off and take it to plain "white" metal.
When I used the gel with the steel wool on the 37 all the writing on the barrel came back out. Using it on the receiver I found the original red was still in the lettering, and it is still there. The receiver cleaned up to only needing a fresh coat of the Blue Wonder blue over the old finish. The barrel needed to be taken down with the Scotchbrite pad and totally reblued with the Blue Wonder.
I took the wood finish off with only a medium steel wool and elbow grease. I glued the cracks that needed it and will start applying tung oil in the morning. Pics will come when the furniture is complete.
The reward is that if your work is fruitful, everyone will assume the gun was is near excellent condition before you started and tear into you for ruining a perfectly good firearm.
I didn't take any "before" pics on this one but I can give you and idea of how "good" this gun was, when I am done I will have $120 invested...
It isn't like I take an 80% gun and try to make it look NIB to get over on someone, I have what I call "empathy buys" and either stabilize or rejuvenate to usable condition.
Purist's absolutely loose their minds that people like me do this. Apparently it is more noble to need a tetanus shot before using them than to have some skill with cold blue.
When I say "rejuvenate" I mean that I don't buff and polish all the character out of a gun and make it a mirror like "trap grade" finish on every piece. The harshest media I will use is medium grade steel wool so the factory milling marks are still visible upon completion. And I will not adulterate a historic piece. But you will be surprised at how many free or cheap items a person can pick up when they find out you will make a Lazarus out of them.
My LGS owner even keeps an eye out just for things he knows I would like to bring back to life.
For example, my latest "barn find" is a Winchester 37 red letter with the pig tail and small hammer, 12ga 30in barrel. The metal looked like a cinnamon powdered donut and the furniture was so dry it has checking on the butt. The only way to have this be a more desirable 37 is if it had the 32in barrel. The "Winchester" on the bottom of the receiver was barely legible and the writing on the barrel was totally obscured with rust but the bore showed promise (despite looking like it had previously doubled as a tomato stake) and the butt plate was original.
Now it is time for my sales pitch. There is a company from Texas makes this stuff called "Blue Wonder" and they have the best multipurpose gun cleaning gel I have ever come across. It will clean the bore of a gun, removing the lead and copper with ease. And this stuff will remove rust but leave the blue. Using the medium steel wool and a tiny dab of this stuff and it will take surface rust off any finish without scratching, marring or wearing the finish thin. The rust will "melt" into the gel making it look like red mud. What is even more amazing is the same gel with a Scotchbrite pad will strip all the blue and rust off and take it to plain "white" metal.
When I used the gel with the steel wool on the 37 all the writing on the barrel came back out. Using it on the receiver I found the original red was still in the lettering, and it is still there. The receiver cleaned up to only needing a fresh coat of the Blue Wonder blue over the old finish. The barrel needed to be taken down with the Scotchbrite pad and totally reblued with the Blue Wonder.
I took the wood finish off with only a medium steel wool and elbow grease. I glued the cracks that needed it and will start applying tung oil in the morning. Pics will come when the furniture is complete.
The reward is that if your work is fruitful, everyone will assume the gun was is near excellent condition before you started and tear into you for ruining a perfectly good firearm.
I didn't take any "before" pics on this one but I can give you and idea of how "good" this gun was, when I am done I will have $120 invested...