Cera coat blueing etc

L

Lhigginsqrb

New member
I inherited some old guns. So I don’t wanna mess them up. The blueing has been worn off from handling in places and on others there is pitting.

I cold blues the Winchester 22. It’s a range gun so it won’t see field use. I reworked the wood. The old wood has figure.

I’m looking at the Remington pump. Cold blue isn’t good enough for what we put field guns through. What kind of prices could I get a hot dip blueing done for? Pretty much every metal thing on the gun is steel. I would also consider a Cera coat if it could be done without taking away the old look of the gun. I’m not sure if they offer that, to where it Matches a blue look more or less.

The last gun is in octagonal barrel 3030. It’s a replica of something from the late 1800s. But it’s fully functional and we’ve been hunting with it for a long time. This one in particular I don’t want to devalue. Probably not gonna shoot it anymore since I have newer guns. I had considered rust blueing or something like that to give it an authentic look. I don’t think it’s super valuable But I know it has some collectible value which I’m not trying to take away.
 
Home refinishing of guns will only decrease their value. Bluing offers very little, if any protection to the metal. Cold bluing can actually promote rust.
There is nothing wrong with honest use on guns. Far too may have been devalued or ruined trying to make them look new.
Leave them alone.
 
I believe you can get some of the fancy finishes like cera coat in gloss clear. You could just put a clear coat over it to preserve and protect the original finish, wear and all.
 
Hot salt bluing is expensive these days, and you have to be careful who you trust to do it and not over buff it and have it coming out looking like a used bar of soap with no definition of the edges and the stamps buffed away.

95% of a good blue job is in the hand polishing done before the actual bluing operation and that takes real talent and experience not to botch it up.
These days you can get good bluing or crappy bluing..... chose ONE, and the price is no indication of which you get.
The price also varies depending on what level of polishing you want, with a "factory level" being about the lowest unless you go with a cheap bead blasted finish.

So, you might as well pick a good service.
Here's the good one's...........

https://apwcogan.com/

https://fordsguns.com/

http://www.gunbluing.com/ "Probably" the very best.

https://precisionbluing.com/

For a professional Cerakote finish, again, you have to be careful about who does it to insure a durable finish.
There's a LOT more to a good Cerakote finish then you might think.
Here's some who offer it to Cerakote company standards........

https://apwcogan.com/refinishing/

http://www.paintwerkz.com/site/

You can also check the providers list on the Cerakote site.
 
Got a tank big enough to immerse the barrel in? You can consider Express Blue and it's more durable than hot salt blue but it's slow like the rust blue process.

Polish. Boil, apply express blue, card off, boil. Rinse repeat until desired blue is reached.
 
That might be the route I go eventually. I’m seeing 300 or more per gun. These probably aren’t worth much more than that. It isn’t practical to pay that kind of money aside from the heirloom aspect. My octagonal lever might be worth it. Maybe the Remington sportsman. But the Winchester 22 I doubt it. I already cold blued it. And I don’t regret it, that gun had actual paint on the barrel so no harm done.

I’m going to keep looking. I make a set up later and run several at once. It doesn’t seem worth it for one gun. I believe I’ll practice on some cheap barrels when the time comes.
 
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