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...

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[Idaho45guy]

This is the worst part of it...

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[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)

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[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]

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[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.

https://i.imgur.com/S43lMta.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/a8dqvU9.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/XHvrOgq.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/GL2VLgz.jpg


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

[John Taylor]

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

My "thing" is making/ restoring barrels. Thanks for recommending me. I do get a few model 70's in for filling holes where there should not be a hole. These are usually sent in by other shops that restore model 70's. Try Wrights gun shop, 229-322-8351, he specializes in refinish of model 70's.

[akajun]

My "thing" is making/ restoring barrels. Thanks for recommending me. I do get a few model 70's in for filling holes where there should not be a hole. These are usually sent in by other shops that restore model 70's. Try Wrights gun shop, 229-322-8351, he specializes in refinish of model 70's.
Yeah I saw the screw hole work you do, Figured you would know a good bluing guy if you didn't do it yourself, and I was right!!!

[wapiti22]

Check out Glen Rock Bluing at gunbluing.com

reasonable prices and good work

[Ernest]

I have some stainless steel wool that really works well to remove rust. I would rub it down with that then oxphoblue it, oil it down and enjoy it for the rest of your life.

[huntnman]

Look up Anvil on Utube. He shows about boiling in water to change rust into black oxide then removing black oxide with oil free steel wool or a cording wheel. Episode 035 & 036, To blue or not to blue.

[samari46]

Any of the pre '64 actions a far as I know did not have the gloss finish that the later ones have. I at one time or another had about 6 of them. All had the matte finish and ever my post '64 M70 match rifle the action has the matte finish. Although the barrel does have a higher polish than let's say my 1949 M70 standard in 30-06. I would never have done a high polish on a pre'64 action. Very find glass beads and lower air pressure to get a matte finish. Color match might be difficult to get though. Couple years back I had a chopped 1917 in '06 D&T for scope bases. Then bead blasted and blued. Both barrel and action came out almost black. Now if I send out another firearm I'm getting the same treatment as I like it. One smith with whom I spoke with does bead blasting with an iron oxide finish, he claims it matches the matte finish on old M70's. Ever seen the iron oxide finish on hand wrenches?. Armstrong used to do it. Then there is a iron oxide finish exactly like the finish on Armstrong wrenches. You'll have to google it as I don't remember who was selling it. As best as I can remember its a two part process. clean the part down to bare metal, put in plastic tub add solution #1 let sit the required time. Stick it in another tub and add solution #2 let sit the required time.. I still go by very fine glass beads with reduced air pressure. Some smiths are artists with glass bead guns. Frank