| Trying your hand at minor refinishing of a | | | | refinishing supplies and instructional books |
| favorite firearm, or sprucing up a newly | | | | and materials. The items selected for |
| purchased used gun, or even doing a bit of | | | | inclusion in this massive reference are |
| restoration on great-granddad's muzzleloader | | | | proven professional products that work. |
| can be a very relaxing and rewarding pastime. | | | | Brownells is the one-stop shopping spot for |
| In fact, refinishing gun metal or wood is an | | | | all your refinishing and gunsmithing needs. |
| ideal introduction into the broader field of | | | | |
| home gunsmithing. | | | | Another source of mail order refinishing |
| | | | supplies is Midway, which recently grouped |
| It teaches one the essentials of the | | | | many of its products within the pages of a |
| disassembly, functioning, and reassembly of a | | | | new, specialized gunsmithing catalog. It's |
| variety of firearms. It requires a minimum of | | | | another great source. |
| tools, and given today's chemical miracles, | | | | |
| the process has never been easier to | | | | And when it comes to instructional videos, |
| accomplish. | | | | the American Gunsmithing Institute offers a |
| | | | variety of excellent step-by-step tapes that |
| The Amateur's Advantage | | | | illustrate and lead one through various |
| | | | refinishing processes. |
| One of the advantages an amateur has over the | | | | |
| professional gunsmith is time. A full time | | | | Some Basic Choices |
| gunsmith must complete a job within a certain | | | | |
| time frame or else he'll be looking for a new | | | | Probably the easiest entry into the world of |
| occupation. The amateur can putter at bit. | | | | refinishing is to buy a bluing kit and a |
| | | | stock finishing kit. Birchwood-Casey offers |
| For example, when it comes to polishing | | | | both, and they are well thought out, |
| metal, the professional places a premium on | | | | reasonably priced and readily available. The |
| the use of belt sanders, buffing wheels, | | | | Birchwood-Casey kits contain all the |
| abrasive compounds of all types, and with | | | | necessary chemicals, application supplies and |
| great skill, turns out a first class job. On | | | | instructions. |
| the other hand, an amateur can accomplish the | | | | |
| same end with only his hands, using nothing | | | | Just as an example, their bluing kit contains |
| more than files, stones, abrasive papers, | | | | bottles of a blue and rust remover, |
| possibly a Dremel tool, and time. | | | | cleaner-degreaser, and bluing solution plus |
| | | | steel wool, wet/dry sandpaper, sponge, bluing |
| Even professionals will readily agree that | | | | daubers, service cloth, Sheath (a fine |
| polishing parts by hand is the most positive | | | | preservative) and an instructional guide. The |
| way to insure that corners remain square and | | | | stock finishing kit is similarly complete. |
| sharp, lettering crisp and legible, and screw | | | | Birchwood-Casey's instructional guides are |
| holes clean and not dished out. When you see | | | | detailed, clear, well illustrated and easy to |
| custom rifles costing thousands and possibly | | | | follow. |
| tens of thousands of dollars, you can bet the | | | | |
| professionals who crafted them spent | | | | As complete as these kits are, I would |
| countless hours at the bench polishing parts | | | | recommend supplementing them with a few items |
| by hand, and their time is reflected in the | | | | that have proven invaluable over the years. |
| quality and cost of their product. | | | | |
| | | | One of the lessons you quickly learn when |
| What has revolutionized the realm of | | | | using cold blues is that all steels are not |
| refinishing is modern chemistry. No longer do | | | | the same and react quite differently to |
| we have to deal with hot bluing or boiled | | | | various formulas of cold blue. Similarly, |
| linseed oil. Cold blues have improved to the | | | | when you are retouching worn spots on areas |
| degree that they can be used to blend | | | | like floor plates, frames or barrels, the |
| imperceptibly into existing finishes or even | | | | color of the original bluing can vary |
| blue a complete firearm. There are now hard, | | | | greatly. |
| durable, epoxy and teflon/moly metal finishes | | | | |
| that can be sprayed on and bake hardened in | | | | To handle these variations, I would recommend |
| the kitchen oven. | | | | adding three great bluing solutions from |
| | | | Brownells to your basic kit. They are 44-40, |
| Off-the-shelf stock finishes now range from | | | | Oxpho-Blue and Dicropan T-4. Solution 44-40 |
| fast drying linseed oil based products to | | | | has been around for decades and was |
| spray-on epoxies. There are even | | | | originally sold by Numrich Arms. It has the |
| ready-formulated oil finishes that duplicate | | | | reputation of being the most aggressive cold |
| the warm red-brown hues found on pre-'64 | | | | blue on the market. It will blue steels other |
| Winchester Model 70 stocks. If you can | | | | solutions won't touch. |
| imagine it, you can find it. | | | | |
| | | | Most of the bluing you will be doing is by |
| Sources Of Materials And Instruction | | | | nature "touch-up" work, and having an |
| | | | assortment of solutions ready at hand will |
| The bible of the gunsmithing trade and the | | | | eliminate frustration and insure a quality |
| wish-book of the amateur is Brownells' | | | | outcome. |
| 444-page mail order catalog of tools, parts, | | | | |