Should I get it restored?

[Kev18]

I have my Winchester 1886 mfg 1888-89. Its my favorite rifle, and the first one I bought. Il hopefully never sell it. So monetary value isnt super important although id like it to remain the way it came out the factory. Even if they are a few pits left on it after restoration I really wouldnt care.
I bought an extra lever and forend cap so that I could add a sling mount and make a large lever loop. I didnt want to touch any factory parts.

My question is. do you guys think its worth restoring? Just looking for different opinions. Im not a fan of the super new looking restorations. I would just like abit of pitting gone and rust to disappear. Im not sure how it would look all blued and fancy. I dont like that look, most 1886 iv'e seen have been restored with a CCH. But my rifle didn't have that option when it came out the factory.

[ascast]

my $0.02 shoot it as is. You will never get all the pits out or filled. The case hardening is already compromised by the polishing. It is generally 20 to 40 thousands deep. You might have it re-hardened. I would shoot as is.

[Winger Ed.]

How much something is worth doesn't matter until you sell it.

That's one I'd never sell either, so it's monetary value is sort of off the table.
I'd take care, and baby it along just like it is.

Even if you planned to fix it up and sell it-
It's like a $500 car that needs new tires.
After buying new tires, its still only worth $500.

[GBertolet]

If you want to spend the money, send it to Doug Turnbull Restorations. He can work wonders, and have it look better than new. You will have a real heirloom then.

[Mk42gunner]

To me that rifle is in the "Shoot it as is" category.

I don't think you could get rid of much of the pitting without totally ruining it.

Robert

[Scrounge]

Personally, I wouldn't bother having it restored until and unless it breaks badly. Maybe then. I would shoot the heck out of it, clean it properly, love and shoot it some more.

I have a Steven's Favorite 22LR that was my dads first rifle, and old when he got it. It is now shot out. You can't quite drop a .22LR shell down the barrel, but it's pretty loose. It could be restored with a barrel liner, but my dad didn't want that done to it. My plan is to make a copy of it once I finish my machining class. If I live long enough, anyway.

[Kev18]

Im conflicted. I dont mind how it looks now, its just that maybe restoring the wood and abit of work on the metal? I don't know. That's why I asked. I would like to pass this rifle on someday or atleast keep it til I die. It would be nice to have it in decent quality/shape.

[salpal48]

Some good advise with antiques. They are what they are. they all have some sort of History and I do not think they should be restored. Sometime if not everytime there worth less on the open market when restored than if left alone .

[porthos]

there is nothing wrong with restoring a gun. this one is really in bad shape. why people want to keep things "original" is beyond me. i believe doug turnbill will give you a quote for restoration at no charge. it will cost only shipping. but, your pockets may not be deep enough. you could sent pictures and maybe get a rough estimate

[Kev18]

I dont mind the look of it, I actually like the look of the un-blued patina receiver. I dont mind doing abit of work myself. But its the bluing that bothers me. I would of buffed out some pits in the barrel a long time ago but I dont have what it takes to reblue.

[RKJ]

You might take a look at Brownell's Oxpho-blue. https://www.brownells.com/search/ind...blue&ksubmit=y
It comes in a paste and liquid. It is easy to use and if you don't polish it it maintains a nice dark color. I've done 2 pistols with it and while they're never going to be mistaken for Turnbull's work, they look good to me.

[Kev18]

You might take a look at Brownell's Oxpho-blue. https://www.brownells.com/search/ind...blue&ksubmit=y
It comes in a paste and liquid. It is easy to use and if you don't polish it it maintains a nice dark color. I've done 2 pistols with it and while they're never going to be mistaken for Turnbull's work, they look good to me.

Is it better then birchwood?

[Silvercreek Farmer]

A couple thousand miles in a scabbard would polish it up nicely! Joking aside, I'd just love it as is. I'm a big fan of "stabilizing" vs restoring.

[nicholst55]

A full-up restoration, complete with filing and hand polishing to remove the majority of the pitting and re-engraving the markings would cost a great deal of money. The hammer is pitted too badly to restore, IMHO. No idea of how the wood looks - are there any cracks? If you just want to protect the metal from further rust pitting, there are numerous options. Having the metal just degreased and dropped into a bluing tank is one idea. Two things that I personally would absolutely NOT do to that rifle are spray paint it (Cerakote), or cold blue it. But, that's just me. It's your gun. I think I would limit things to a detailed disassembly and cleaning, maybe apply some tung oil to the wood, a liberal coat of wax on the metal, and reassembly.

[Bazoo]

I say of you're going to do anything, go the Doug Turnbull route, otherwise leave it alone.

[oldred]

Well for sure restoring it would not hurt the colectiability (SP??) of it since it looks as if it has already been sanded unmercifully and a couple of spots look as if they possibly have even been hit with a grinding disc. Plus when looking at the wood (Worn away around the tang, heavily worn grain in the same area) it seems likely that replacement would be the best, and likely only, option for a restoration of Turnbull quality. A lot of smaller metal parts (that hammer for example) would probably be replaced so when it's finished just how much of the original gun would you have left? Of course things like that hammer could be saved but repairing that much pitting on even a part as small as that would likely cost many times what a new replacement would cost. Besides while Turnbull does outstanding and beautiful work he is not exactly cheap, his work is definitely worth every cent but you better be sitting down when you get that quote!

Now from your description of what you said you wanted a Turnbull type restoration doesn't seem to be what you want anyway but it's about the only practical way of actually "restoring" the rifle so that leaves just freshening up a bit or just leaving it as-is. Personally I would just leave it alone, not because I might think of it as hopeless (I certainly don't!) but rather it speaks of history, some new and some very old, and every scratch on it is the result of something that happened to it in it's lifetime. There is a kind of beauty in that sort of "finish" that comes only with age and in this case you are looking at well over a hundred years worth of events that will be erased forever if the rifle is to be restored or even heavily refinished.

A few things to consider, rust damage can not just be removed as those pits represent missing metal that has already been removed by oxidation. There are only two ways to repair pitting like that, welding in new metal (a huge and generally expensive undertaking in this case but still possible) or by sanding/milling away the surrounding metal by a depth equal to the depth of the pits which may not be possible without totally ruining the gun. Take for example the side of the receiver, the entire side would have to be thinned by an amount equal to the depth of the pits so that is a LOT of metal to remove. There's certainly nothing wrong with refinishing that rifle to your tastes but to remove that much pitting requires either adding metal back by welding or removing what could very well be so much metal that it could make it worse than what you have now.

[Texas by God]

I would use Birchwood Casey Plum Brown to make the action and custom lever match the barrel’s patina. No polishing, just degrease and apply till you get the color you need. I’d file the pits from the sides of the hammer, though.

[trails4u]

My .02. Keep it....take care of it the best you can, and enjoy it for what it is. If you change it, you can never go back to what you had. It don't have to be pretty to be perfect. And I think what you have is perfect.

[ulav8r]

As deep as many of the pits are, welding would be required to do a decent job. It would be very expensive but would allow restoration to look new, as Turnbull would do. It would not be necessary to do CCH on any parts if so desired. The finish could be blued, browned, or worn looking. My personal taste would be the worn look after filling all (most) of the pits. A few small pits left would add to the look.

If not restored, I would use a rust remover to chemically remove rust from the pits, then apply the desired finish and keep it oiled and waxed to preserve it.

The stock looks quite acceptable so far as I can see.

[Bazoo]

One thing to cover the pits would be engraving. Course, having it engraved and restored would be very expensive. If money isn't an issue, that's a route that would make a real heirloom.