Rusted pistol refinish

[abunaitoo]

Friends old rusted pistol.
Not worth much.
Want to try and refinish it.
Has lots of pit, so bluing is out.
Would parkarizing cover some of the pit????

[johnson1942]

could you wire wheel brush it to clean it well and then smooth out the finish with 250 grit emery paper then glass bead blast it. that might get it ready for a matte finish. i have done a lot of rust bluing in the oven after bead blasting metal and it turns out to be a better finish then hot bluing. lasts forever and really looks good. the final process is boiling it in water with baking soda in the water to stop the acid process. then washing it good and soaking it in oil for several days. you wont believe the results. if interested/ pm me and ill explain the process in detail. it isnt rocket science, just simple steps.

[bob208]

why try to make it look new? just finish it with a distressed finish. like even some here have done to new guns.

[Plate plinker]

How about a before picture so we can speculate.

[jonp]

I'd like to see a picture of the pistol to see how bad it is before commenting

[merlin101]

I had a super black hawk that had some fairly deep rust pits from being left in a wet leather holster. I sent it out and had it hard chromed, all but one of the pits is filled and invisible and that one is just a small speck. The hard chrome isn't buffed and polished it looks kinda like dull and slightly textured stainless steel. This was done well over ten years ago with no signs of wear. Now I would consider some of the DIY spray on finishes. BTW back then it cost about $100 and was done by a company in FL.

[abunaitoo]

I have it soaking in oil.
I'll post some pictures later.
I now have two pistols to do.

[pill bug]

Anything other than a buffed, shiny blue black refinish. I once passed on a rare navy luger at a very attractive price that had been treated to such a finish.

[myg30]

A co-worker has had good success with the spray n bake finish. He said you can spray, sand, spray, sand till you build up the pits. Then bake.
I bought a rusted, pitted S&W revolver and decided to bead blast it clean. Then figured it's use and didn't need a beauty queen so cold black it is. It sits in a holster as a home defense bac up.

Mike

[RayinNH]

You ever consider Bondo?

[Greg S]

Without a pic and based on pit depth, wet/dry 120/220/320 then blast with 80-120 garnet abrasive and parkerize.  After parkerizing, you can either oil or use it as a base for your preferred coating.

[woodbutcher]

Many moons ago,maybe 50 yrs,I got a 93 Mauser in 7MM that was just nasty outside.But the inside was almost cherry.The outside was painted and pitted.Had a friend that was a machinist,and he took a very fine cut on the outside of the barrel for cleanup and he followed the conture.Then I sent it to Mt Dora gun shop in Mt Dora Fl for a brushed nickle finish.Had to look close for any pits.How did it shoot?1" or less all day long at 100 yds off of a sandbag with 120 grn Sierra pills.I paid $12.00 for it.
Good luck.have fun.Be safe.
Leo

[pete501]

Is it pits or is it texture?

[Echo]

I had a 22 Ruger that stayed in it's case, encased in sponge rubber, that rusted like a champ. gave it to my smith and he put an epoxy finish on it that looked great! Might check with you smith to see if that would be appropriate.

[Walkingwolf]

How about a before picture so we can speculate.

I second that.

I have two guns that are flaking, and pitted chrome, and one that has a brown patina. The break action IJ .32 sits in a display case, the Colt Police Positive in 32-20 is usually on my wife's hip, both are flaking and pitted. My Star Super A which I love to carry is one of my favorite open carry guns.

[modified5]

I did a "smython" for a guy a few years ago that was heavily pitted.
I soaked it in phosphoric acid to remove all blind, followed by a soak in acetone.
Then it got painted in matte durabake and cooked.
After reassembly I cycled the action 50 times and it never even marked the cylinder.
Customer was happy, I made a few bucks, life was good.

[abunaitoo]

Pictures of the two.
They were worse before I oiled and steal wooled them.
Still "Not Good"
Attachment 189896Attachment 189897

[jonas302]

looks like great case for blasting and duracoat

[knifemaker]

If you want to use one of the spray & baked on finishes, I would use "Gun Kote" over duracoat or cerakote. Gun kote is more resistance to abrasion and if you use the dark grey, it will come out looking a matt black after baking. I use it on my 0-1 carbon steel tactical knives to protect them from rust and to darken the blade steel.

[retread]

If you want to use one of the spray & baked on finishes, I would use "Gun Kote" over duracoat or cerakote. Gun kote is more resistance to abrasion and if you use the dark grey, it will come out looking a matt black after baking. I use it on my 0-1 carbon steel tactical knives to protect them from rust and to darken the blade steel.

Do you sandblast with Aluminum oxide before coating as stated in Brownell's literature?