Rust and pitting removal

[KimberPB]

I've lately been messing around with fixing up old C&R rifles as well as touching up some SIG P225/P6's a friend of mine got in. So far everything has turned out really nice and I enjoy doing it. Well, today a friend gave me an old Smith and Wesson .357 mag revolver that has a nice bit of rust and minor pitting down one side. As well as small amounts of surface rust here and there. He told me he was going to get rid of it but thought he'd see what I could do with it first. This one is without a doubt the worse one I have attempted. I plan on using some oil and 0000 steal wool to remove all the rust, degrease it and see how things look at that point.

I'll post some pics when I get home to show the damage. But I figured someone on here may have experience with rust removal and smoothing out the pits. Any little tips or trick would be very helpful.

After it’s all cleaned up I thought about trying my hand at parkerizing.

Thanks guys and gals

 

[festus]

As far as the finish...

once you get the rust off, if the pitting is more than a few thousands of an inch deep, Parkerize it. a good Park job will hide almost all shallow rust damage. A good park job x 2 will give a very durable finish to a gun that would other wise be a boat anchor.:58:

 

[Red Hat]

+1 on the Parkerizing. If the rust is heavy use Navel Jelly on it and it will dissolve all the rust. Clean it, dry it and sand blast the whole firearm then Parkerize it. Believe me it works great!

 

[KimberPB]

Thanks alot guys. Here are a few pics of what I have to work with.

 

[Red Hat]

That's an old Dan Wesson not a S&W. It doesn't look too bad just a lot of surface rust. You probably could buff it out and reblue it.

 

[KimberPB]

That's an old Dan Wesson not a S&W. It doesn't look too bad just a lot of surface rust. You probably could buff it out and reblue it.

Ya I saw wesson when I picked it up and just assumed smith and wesson. After I took the pics I realized it was a Dan Wesson.

I got all the rust and blueing off. The pitting is not horrible but the barrel has a nice frosted look to it. Not sure if I'll be able to get it smooth enough that the blueing will look decent. It was hard to get a decent pic of the pitting but what do you think?

 

[boris]

if it shoots good,

you can send it to ol'boris!!!:bigsmile:{no, really!}

 

[Red Hat]

You need to find some one with a buffing machine to get that out. A few strokes over a buffing wheel and that will disappear. If you have a grinder you can get a cloth wheel and some rouge for it. Take the guard off the grinder and buff away.

 

[KimberPB]

you can send it to ol'boris!!!:bigsmile:{no, really!}

LOL nice try but the guns not even mine. Its actually a friend of mine. Other then the rust issue everything else looks good. Barrel appears to be in good shape, chamber locks in with very very little play, and the trigger is smooth and crisp. I may have to take it to the range after I get it all back together and make sure it still fires correctly! :icon_cheesygrin:

 

[KimberRB]

You need to fine some one that can cut and polish it. That is some one with a good knowledge of buffing. A custom shop that may do chrome plating. After you buff it will look like a new one. If you do not know any one I do.

 

[KimberPB]

Thanks Red Hat and KimberRB. I've polished a couple sportbike frames so I had an extra cloth wheel and some Rouge laying around. I went over it quickly last night with it attached on my cordless drill and it already made a big difference. I'll use the grinder this weekend and it should turn out spotless. Thanks again guys.

 

[Red Hat]

Post some pics when you get it done...

 

[KimberPB]

Will do. I did some work on it today. It looks 100 time better but I still have some pitting to clean up. Can not wait to see the look on my buddies face when I take it back to him.

 

[KimberPB]

Thanks again for all the help guys. It's turning out really nice! I'm going to look at it tomorrow in the sun and see if there are any spots I missed. After that I'll reassemble it. The bluing turned out so nice I think I may go ahead and refinish the grip as well. Here’s a few pics of how it looks so far.

I'll post one more set of pics once I get the grip done and it's all reassembled.

 

[KimberRB]

Nice Job

That is outstanding. It dont even look like the same gun. The person that owns it should be as happy as a pig in Sh^%T.

 

[Red Hat]

It's looking great! You'll have to try Hot bluing some day.

 

[KimberPB]

It's looking great! You'll have to try Hot bluing some day.

Thanks Red Hat. I'm going to let my buddy know that I only cold blued it and that it will not be as durable as a good hot blue. I figured he can send it in and get that done if he wants to.

 

[KimberPB]

It's looking great! You'll have to try Hot bluing some day.

I was going to ask if you have any links to site explaining how to do the hot bluing. I saw some kits at midwayusa for $1200.00 just not sure if I want to drop that kind of money yet.

 

[Red Hat]

I did it for a while back in the 80's and it was a pain. You have to use bluing salts and dissolve them under high heat. It becomes a caustic soda solution. It's very dangerous and will eat through leather and skin. High heat and caustic chemicals are not fun to play with. Here are a couple articles I found.

http://yarchive.net/metal/bluing.html

http://www.finishing.com/0800-0999/982.shtml

 

[KimberPB]

I did it for a while back in the 80's and it was a pain. You have to use bluing salts and dissolve them under high heat. It becomes a caustic soda solution. It's very dangerous and will eat through leather and skin. High heat and caustic chemicals are not fun to play with. Here are a couple articles I found.

http://yarchive.net/metal/bluing.html

http://www.finishing.com/0800-0999/982.shtml

Thanks Red Hat