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Thread: Interesting Mauser Gewehr 98

  1. #41
    Boolit Mold
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    Making some progress on cleaning up the rust on some of the components. Not an easy task at all!!!

    It doesnt seem like the bolt was ever blued? Did they blue that part of the gun or was it just left metal? Did they blue the bolt’s back in the day? I am wondering if I should just clean it up and leave the bare metal or blue it along with the other parts?

  2. #42
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    Never say never.....but usually the bolts were left "in the white". Sometimes you'll encounter them that were blued later in their lives, like an arsenal rebuild. Folks making sporters usually don't blue the bolt either because it's inevitable that portions of the bolt will rub on the inside of the receiver when operated and you'll end up with white streaks in the blue.

  3. #43
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager View Post
    Never say never.....usually don't blue the bolt either because it's inevitable that portions of the bolt will rub on the inside of the receiver when operated and you'll end up with white streaks in the blue.
    Absolutely makes sense...Most of the photos I have seen online show the bolts un-blued but I have seen a couple that were...

    The bolt handle thing was probably the most rusted part of the gun and this would likely be the reason why I presume, I got the bolt to a kind of dull matte grey but it doesnt seem to want to really shine. I think it looks pretty good compared to what it was...

    I user Birchwood Casey Rust and Blue remover and 400 steel wool. There is some little pitting but nothing I am too concerned about....Very excited toget this back together but I am little nervous doing the blueing to be completely honest, especially on the barrel which is in excellent shape in some spots but has a few little rust spots in other areas....If I remove the rust and "spot" blue just the areas that are rusted, how hard is it going to be to get the blueing to match the existing good area's of the barrel and receiver?

  4. #44
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    A good question. The answer is, "virtually impossible." The technical, scientific reason is that rust bluing, found on many Mausers, or hot bluing on many of the later ones is done by a different process than cold bluing. For example, hot caustic bluing is done with alkali salts, and cold bluing is usually an acid. In chemistry class they'll teach you that the two, acid and alkali, are opposites and don't coexist well. If you put a drop of cold blue on a hot blued gun you will get a visible, differently colored ring where the two meet. The only way to get a flawless blue job, where everything looks the same, is to strip off the old finish down to the bare metal and then refinish with one of the bluing methods; or, as is now days becoming more and more common, one of the spray on finishes. Probably, the practical thing to do in your situation is to spot cold blue.

    The purpose of any of these methods is to protect the metal from rusting. In actual fact, bluing processes are rusting processes that produce a blue or black oxide coating that is more pleasing to the eye than is brown or red rust. However, once some of the bluing is scraped off from a given spot it is unprotected and prone to rust red. Prolonged exposure to droplets of water or high humidity without the protection of some sort of protective coating like an oil or wax will cause the existing blue to begin to rust even without an imperfection in the surface.

    But, you probably don't want to completely refinish the rifle. I would suggest buying the smallest possible bottle of Oxpho Blue from Brownell's and following the directions. A little prep with some rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip, apply some with another Q-tip and rub it a little, wipe it off with an oily cloth. Very easy to use with a minimum of preparation, and usually more difficult to see the repaired area than, for example, Birchwood Casey cold blue or 44.40 Blue where you're almost certain to see a ring. However, the pits will remain under the blue and be visible. Pits result beneath the rust because the metal has been oxidized into the form of rust and now is gone. Unless one is careful to get all the rust out of the bottom of the pits, given the opportunity they will continue to rust. The only way to get rid of the pits is to polish, sand, or file them out. That brings you back to the complete refinish job again. You can try filling the pits with various substances, but it is always visible. That is one reason that the spray on, bake on, finishes have become popular, because the substance fills and conceals the pits in most cases. It is also true that almost all of the modern finishes are more durable and rust resistant than is bluing.

    A visual example here, which I've posted before on other threads. Honest, fellows, I know this isn't a Mauser rifle! I have a large accumulation of firearms acquired over about 62 years of active gun fanaticism. Among them is a small assortment of Star Model B pistols. One I purchased over the internet out of Kansas from a junk shop. It was rusty throughout, and especially so under the grips. I detail stripped it and cleaned it, started carrying it under my coat in the winter, and in short order all the rust came back. Gave it the same treatment, and the rust returned again. This is because previously rusty items like to rust some more, but also probably due in part to my warm body and the cold outside air creating condensation. One of the things that irritated me the most, and was the most difficult to clean, were the grip screws that seemed to show rust almost daily. I gave up and decided to paint it with AlumaHyde II, a Brownell's product in a rattle can. The pits were filled up and sealed against further rust by the paint. I replaced the ever-rusty grip screws with stainless screws purchased on e-bay. My personal taste prefers a nicely blued pistol as shown in the first photo, but the paint job in the second photo is now about 7 years old, and has proved very practical.
    Click image for larger version. 

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    Somehow this Llama snuck in......?
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails IM001997.jpg  
    Last edited by Der Gebirgsjager; 09-14-2020 at 02:41 PM.

  5. #45
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Der Gebirgsjager View Post
    A good question. The answer is, "virtually impossible." The technical, scientific reason is that rust bluing, found on many Mausers, or hot bluing on many of the later ones is done by a different process than cold bluing. For example, hot caustic bluing is done with alkali salts, and cold bluing is usually an acid. In chemistry class they'll teach you that the two, acid and alkali, are opposites and don't coexist well. If you put a drop of cold blue on a hot blued gun you will get a visible, differently colored ring where the two meet. The only way to get a flawless blue job, where everything looks the same, is to strip off the old finish down to the bare metal and then refinish with one of the bluing methods; or, as is now days becoming more and more common, one of the spray on finishes. Probably, the practical thing to do in your situation is to spot cold blue.

    The purpose of any of these methods is to protect the metal from rusting. In actual fact, bluing processes are rusting processes that produce a blue or black oxide coating that is more pleasing to the eye than is brown or red rust. However, once some of the bluing is scraped off from a given spot it is unprotected and prone to rust red. Prolonged exposure to droplets of water or high humidity without the protection of some sort of protective coating like an oil or wax will cause the existing blue to begin to rust even without an imperfection in the surface.

    But, you probably don't want to completely refinish the rifle. I would suggest buying the smallest possible bottle of Oxpho Blue from Brownell's and following the directions. A little prep with some rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip, apply some with another Q-tip and rub it a little, wipe it off with an oily cloth. Very easy to use with a minimum of preparation, and usually more difficult to see the repaired area than, for example, Birchwood Casey cold blue or 44.40 Blue where you're almost certain to see a ring. However, the pits will remain under the blue and be visible. Pits result beneath the rust because the metal has been oxidized into the form of rust and now is gone. Unless one is careful to get all the rust out of the bottom of the pits, given the opportunity they will continue to rust. The only way to get rid of the pits is to polish, sand, or file them out. That brings you back to the complete refinish job again. You can try filling the pits with various substances, but it is always visible. That is one reason that the spray on, bake on, finishes have become popular, because the substance fills and conceals the pits in most cases. It is also true that almost all of the modern finishes are more durable and rust resistant than is bluing.

    A visual example here, which I've posted before on other threads. Honest, fellows, I know this isn't a Mauser rifle! I have a large accumulation of firearms acquired over about 62 years of active gun fanaticism. Among them is a small assortment of Star Model B pistols. One I purchased over the internet out of Kansas from a junk shop. It was rusty throughout, and especially so under the grips. I detail stripped it and cleaned it, started carrying it under my coat in the winter, and in short order all the rust came back. Gave it the same treatment, and the rust returned again. This is because previously rusty items like to rust some more, but also probably due in part to my warm body and the cold outside air creating condensation. One of the things that irritated me the most, and was the most difficult to clean, were the grip screws that seemed to show rust almost daily. I gave up and decided to paint it with AlumaHyde II, a Brownell's product in a rattle can. The pits were filled up and sealed against further rust by the paint. I replaced the ever-rusty grip screws with stainless screws purchased on e-bay. My personal taste prefers a nicely blued pistol as shown in the first photo, but the paint job in the second photo is now about 7 years old, and has proved very practical.
    Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IM001989.jpg 
Views:	19 
Size:	80.6 KB 
ID:	267722 Click image for larger version. 

Name:	IM006464.jpg 
Views:	25 
Size:	47.9 KB 
ID:	267721

    Somehow this Llama snuck in......?
    I saw the DuraCoat spray/hardening stuff on Amazon I was thinking about that as well...

    Here is the one I was considering buying, will this work do you think?

    https://www.amazon.com/Duracoat-Aero...0190128&sr=8-5

  6. #46
    Boolit Bub Flophound's Avatar
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    Neat!
    I've never seen one of them before. Happy to have seen it now. Thank you for sharing!

  7. #47
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    I have no experience using DuraCoat. I have used baking lacquer as applied with an air brush, and Alumahyde II as described above.

    Spray finishes can be tricky to apply and a little practice is in order before applying it to a treasured firearm for keeps. You have to keep the air brush or can at an approximate distance from the work and keep moving. Too close or too slow gets too much of the product on the work and produces blobs, runs, and drips. It is best to suspend the parts with thin wire from an overhead rack so that they may be turned and the material applied from all angles. My experience has been that it is best to apply several thin coats, allowing drying time in between.

    I am not trying to discourage you from trying the DuraCoat product, but in reading over the specifications I see that once you activate the hardener in the can it has a 48 hr. life. So, depending on the drying time and how many coats you require, and also allowing for a little practice on something else, you might need more than one can.

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check