Pre-`64 action restoration?

[Idaho45guy]

My dad gave me one of his custom rifles as he is getting too old to maintain all of them and I took it apart tonight and discovered a fair amount of rust. I scrubbed it clean as best I could with a brass bristle brush and CLP and installed the action in a composite stock he also gave me for it.

This is a rifle I will keep until I die, then gift to a grandson. I'd like to have the action restored and either re-blued or coated in a tougher finish.

I have no experience in this or idea what the cost is or who to have do it. Would like some suggestions.

After scrubbing...

Attachment 254311

Attachment 254312

Attachment 254313

[Idaho45guy]

This is the worst part of it...

Attachment 254314

[Idaho45guy]

I did browse the Turnbull website, and they do the level of work I like, but at $2000, I can buy a complete pre-`64 action already restored and finished.

[M-Tecs]

Personally I would leave it as is, however, for a coating Cerakote covers rust damage very well.

https://www.cerakote.com/

[Idaho45guy]

Not looking to cover it up with paint. Would like a quality job that removes the rust and refinishes the metal.

I'm not opposed to cerakote on defensive pistols, but this is a classic rifle and cerakote is blasphemy, lol.

[M-Tecs]

https://pre64win.com/pages/services

[Texas by God]

I believe steel wool and oil will clean that right up.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G930A using Tapatalk

[akajun]

contact John Taylor on this site, pre 64' model 70's is his thing

[gnostic]

I'd call that 'patina' and leave it alone. Old guns deserve appreciation in spite of some insignificant battle scars...

[pietro]

I'm not opposed to cerakote on defensive pistols, but this is a classic rifle and cerakote is blasphemy, lol.

FWIW, a composite stock ILO the custom wood stock puts into shooter category - so, I would either use it as-is, or have the barreled action reblued, and call it good. (YMMV)

.

[Winger Ed.]

If I wasn't going to have it professionally reblued, I'd leave it as it is.

[Tripplebeards]

I’d send it in and get it professionally re-blued and finished if it were me. I did completely re-blue and old 303 sporter with oxford blue last year and posted it here. You plan on keeping it in passing it down and got it for free so I’d tell you to spend a couple hundred dollars on it and make it look like brand new again. The bluing job I did imo on the 303 looks better than a factory finish on a Remington. I cleaned it up with steel wool and used rust and bluing remover first. If you don’t like your results after a $20 bottle you can still always send it in and get it professionally done.

[22cf45]

Sending it in for a hot, caustic blue will look like socks on a rooster. However, it you are dead set on re-blue, make it a rust blue. I personally would just leave it alone since you are not using a original stock and restoring it. It will look just fine in your replacement stock.
Phil

[M-Tecs]

Bluing with a standard buffing wheel polish is going to run you $200 to $350. Add hand polish to prevent rounded corners and washing out roll marks the price goes up and the value of the firearm generally goes down.

https://precisionbluing.com/service-pricing

https://gunbluing.com/price-list/

https://www.simmonsguns.biz/product/blueing-services/

[country gent]

There were several version of the pre 64 model 70, pre war post war ect. All are slightly different and command different values. I believe I would clean it u carefully and see what it looks like. As long as you save the original stock it can go back and forth, so that isnt a permanent change really.

[Idaho45guy]

Bluing with a standard buffing wheel polish is going to run you $200 to $350. Add hand polish to prevent rounded corners and washing out roll marks the price goes up and the value of the firearm generally goes down.

https://precisionbluing.com/service-pricing

https://gunbluing.com/price-list/

https://www.simmonsguns.biz/product/blueing-services/

Thank you! Exactly what I was looking for.

There is nothing original left about this rifle. It has been re-barrelled with a newer XTR Featherweight barrel in .30-06 Ackley Improved. The wood stock for it is custom and is beautiful. The composite stock is just for hunting season as it is a full pound lighter and I don't have to worry about it getting wet and banged around. Takes me ten minutes to swap stocks.

[Idaho45guy]

Attachment 254352

Attachment 254353

[bdicki]

I'd leave it as is.

[Texas by God]

Electroless Nickel plating would really pop with either stock

[Tripplebeards]

Here’s the gun I did completely an oxpho blue to give you an idea. First gun, with the second time around I ever tried it. I didn’t clean it off good enough between coats and had blotches the first time around so I stripped it down and re-did it.










It was one of those things on my bucket list. I always wanted to figure out how to cold blue a gun properly.