Refinishing Uberti Hombre

[whtsmoke]

I am wanting a Uberti Hombre in 45 Colt , this is the one that has a matt blue/black finish on it and was wanting some thought on how to make it look older just for the sake of looking better. I have pondered the idea of just bead blasting it to remove most of the blueing and also maybe applying mustard to the outside afterwards as we did with some of the muzzleloaders years ago to give it a mottled effect. What do you all say I am open for any thoughts or ideas.

[Der Gebirgsjager]

If you haven't bought it yet I believe that they make some that are pre-aged. Mostly silver colored with lots of little nicks and scratches, mechanically new.

[DougGuy]

Uberti Old West model, made 2006. VERY authentic looking finish, done with cyanide and some other things. You would be better off hunting one of these up rather than devaluing a new one because unless you do a thoroughly professional job on aging and distressing, it will lose 50% of it's resale value in less than an hour..

I owned a genuine 1st generation Colt 45, 4 3/4" barrel, it had documentded cowboy history behind it with nicks on the bottom of the ejector rod housing that got there from knocking out a window to shoot at cattle rustlers in Wyoming before 1910, it was carried by a member of the posse who brought them in, and it looked *EXACTLY* like the newly made Uberti in the photo below. it is UNCANNY how realistic their Old West model is, and I can tell you from owning the real McCoy, I was impressed the first time I laid eyes on one and even more impressed after owning and shooting one.

http://i1202.photobucket.com/albums/bb374/DougGuy/Guns/DSC03760crop768_zpsxo4wirjx.jpg (http://s1202.photobucket.com/user/DougGuy/media/Guns/DSC03760crop768_zpsxo4wirjx.jpg.html)

[whtsmoke]

Thank you for the sugeestions, it does look very nice at that.

[bedbugbilly]

I have "aged" a number of cap & ball revolvers over the years and the process would be the same. Everybody does it differently.

I've seen the Hombre but I don't really know just what the finish is on them. On a blued revolver though, I disassembel and soak the parts in a pan of vinegar overnight - that will remove the blueing. I then wash in hot soap water, rinse and dry with a hair dryer. I use very fine grit paper to remove any blueing that is left - then wash down with denatured alcohol.

When everythingis bare, I then apply Birchwood Casey "Plum Brown" - easy to do - het the parts up with a propane torch lightly so they are warm and use a cotton ball to rub the Plum Brown on the metal - follow the directions. You basically end up with a "browned" finish. Then . . . you make it look worn to suit your taste. Hit the areas that would receive the wear from a holster and normal use over a long period of time. You can fine steel wool it all over or just hit the wear spots. I re-did a Uberti '51 Navy and I liked the browned finish so much that I didn't do anything to it - it will get wear over time.

Or - strip the finish off and wrap it in a wet paper towel over night - remove the damp towel and let sit so it gets some light rust - then work it with fine steel wool and repeat as you want to - several treatments will give it a used and well worn, exposed to weather look. Just remember to age you grips as well. I don't know what they use on the Hombre grips - on the c & b, they sometimes have a reddish stain - which a lot of folks don't like - but originally, Colt used a red dye on their grips - some say it was nothing more than red document ink but nobody knows for sure from what I've read over the years.

I have a Uberti 7 1/2" 45 Colt Cattleman - one of the best SA I've owned in over 50 years. Accurate and well made. I want another Uberti only a 4 3/4" 45 Colt and I will probably go with an Hombre as they are a good value. If I do, I know I'll be redoing the finish to "age" it. Good luck!

[Texas by God]

I discovered that cold bluing will age brass frames & grip frames on C&B revolvers and use Plum Brown on the bare steel after using the bluing remover. Nothing ages wood grips like a torch and a light nail scratch or three. Best, Thomas.