Can anyone give me some advice on a way to clean and remove the pitting from this revolver. I was told it left factory in 1927. Not sure what the finish is. Can I strip and blue the trigger and hammer? I don’t want to restore but I want it as good as I can get it in terms of aesthetics. Also any other information on it would be greatly appreciated.
Only way to strip nickel without further damage to steel is by reverse-electrolysis. Don't let any incompetent hack tell you it can be done with acid; too bad I don't still have the gun that was ruined that way, or I'd show you the results.
This piece, in my opinion, is worth spending what it costs to do the job right.
The "blue" on the hammer and trigger are the remains of color case hardening. You don't want to remove that.
A decent plating shop should be able to strip, polish and replate the nickel parts of the gun. You don't want to plate the hammer, trigger or ejector star.
Yes, but where do you find one? I specifically asked the rotten SOB who ruined my gun with acid if he used reverse-electrolysis, or I'd never have sent it to him in the first place; bastard probably said "yes" because he had no idea what I was talking about. And this was a shop that advertised in the Gun List as specializing in gun work of all kinds! Don't remember the name of this SOB, but it's probably good that he was in Fl, too far away for me to get my hands on him, otherwise I might be sitting in a cell right now.
The gun is going to have to be completely polished anyway (hopefully, by someone who knows HOW), so I'd just have it blued; re-plating just introduces another level of complexity. As far as originality goes, that can't be recovered, whatever is done.
Thanks adirondacker, so best to have it professionally done? Do you have any more info about this particular piece? Or know where I can find it? Having trouble on internet. Also have a large dent in cylinder cheek. Can this be repaired? Will any of this decrease value of the gun? Thanks a lot!
Thanks delcrossv, I have already soaked trigger and hammer in hops no.9. Is this ok? Should I re-blue? Will refinishing hurt value of gun if there’s any value at all? Greatly appreciate your advice.
Not a lot of collector value in that condition, so if you want to have it replated, go for it. Hopps 9 won't harm the hammer or trigger, but nickel doesn't like the ammonia in it. I'd just clean and oil the trigger and hammer.
ATF works better for removing rust. Soak, then rub with bronze (not steel) wool.
If it were a blued gun, that's what I'd say too; but there's nothing uglier than deteriorating nickel-plating. One thing for sure: either spend the money for a 1st class refinishing job, or leave it as is; have the work done by the neighborhood gun-butcher, & not only have you lost whatever that job cost, but you end up with a gun worth LESS than it's worth right now.
That "dent " is normal.
It is supposed to be there and is in fact a guide for the cylinder pin to ride in when closing.
With the cylinder reinstalled you will immediately see it's purpose . It just looks funny when the cyl. is removed.
In getting you guys advice. I’m thinking That I’ll have it refinished. It’s an heirloom so I’m not going to risk ruining it myself try to strip and re-finish and not gonna pay someone to do a crap job. Does anyone know a reputable place that I can ship too? I’m in Charleston sc.
If you do a serious clean job on this gun you can then give it a good polish with Mothers Mag Polish. When you clean the rust off and just have nickel and shiny steel the gun won't look near as bad. A refinish in nickel wil lower the value a bit, bluing the gun will really kill any value. I would wait until the gun is clean and working before making any decisions.
Soaking in ATF and going to just polish the hell out of it. All internals are cleaning up nicely. Do any of you guys know how to remove the barrel? I got the pin out. Don’t know what’s next. Knock it or twist it?
Once nickel is in that kind of shape there is no cleaning or polishing that will make it look better. Just like a old chrome bumper, once that outer layer is gone it's gone and the corrosion occurs underneath the rest of it.
It will cost a LOT of money to restore it. That is you decision on how much you want to pay.
Only way to know is get an estimate.
I’ve taken a Brillo pad to the screws and they look great. It’s getting the tarnish off. But there’s a lot of tarnish on the frame, plate and cylinder. I got a bronze wool as on of you suggested but it’s scratching it. The Brillo pad is also a rating it. Will this polish out? Or should I try something different? Also I got the barrel out. Just like to make sure things twist off before I twist them off!
Are you using it with oil? Have to do that with either steel or bronze wool, along with a light touch. Brillo may be OK for screws, but not frame & brl.
Not pot scrubber kind but not quite as fine as the steel wool that you can catch fire to. Grabbed it from a neighbor so don’t have the packaging. But I chunked it anyways. Guess I should have made sure. Will a Brillo pad be ok? Or is that still too abrasive?
Yes, MMO and ATF mix. As delcrossv said, I should have got the 0000. ( like he told me to!!). Where can I find that stuff? A hardware store? Also how long should I soak parts. 24 hrs and scrub? Or is it the longer the better?
24 hrs minimum. Longer is better. Won't hurt the metal to leave it in there.
Fine bronze wool is available at hardware store, Home Depot, or Amazon. Make sure there is a coating of oil on the surface before you use it. Per my p.m. I wouldn't recommend using any polishing items on the hammer or trigger
Yea a little too late series guy! But there was a bunch of rust between barrel and frame so I would say it was necessary. At least for my version of clean. And it actually came off with and unbelievably small amount of torque. Don’t think I could have hurt anything. And I found an old crown pin punch that nock the pin right out with two taps of a hammer. I’m assuming damage to the frame would be twisting? Guess I’ll know when I put it all back together. Nonetheless, thanks for the advice.
Surprising & interesting, esp. if there was rust involved. A job I've never tried or even thought about doing, but makes me wonder if the reason for using the pin in the first place was because the fit of the barrel in the frame was not, nor was it supposed to be, excessively tight. Reminds me of an early Colt Woodsman I once had, the barrel of which I one day discovered could be unscrewed by hand; not pinned, obviously.
It had been soaked in a mild solvent which I’m sure helped. And I’m not quite sure what the pin was for. It didn’t seem to contact the barrel anywhere to retain it or stop it from turning. Would you advise using any type of thread locker or anti seize when I re install? Or just lightly oil and leave it be? Thanks for your advice
If it were me, I'd solvent wash the threads and install it dry. Just make sure it indexes correctly (sights aligned). There should be an indent in the threads for the pin.
Alright, everything’s soaking and I’m gonna take them out, scrub, wipe clean, and re-soak for another 24 hrs. I think I’m gonna leave alone after that. Just a light polish and then take her out back and put some holes in something. just to reiterate delcrossv, light scrub with mineral spirits on the stocks, then Polish with a paste wax? Will I need to re-oil with linseed or something?
I'd stick with wax. Linseed oil gets sticky when it dries.
Go easy on the spirits, just wet the toothbrush and give 'em a little scrub on the outside. Wipe dry and wax.
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