clear finish

J

JackHurst99

Inactive
I recently bought a Winchester 94 30-30 with the receiver covered thickly with rust. I took the rust off down to the bare metal. The gun functions perfectly and I like the way it looks with the bright metal and did not want to blue the gun however I know that I need some kind of finish to protect from rust. Just curious as to whether there is a clear finish to add.
 
You can always just keep it lightly oiled. 'Armory bright' was the firearm finish from the Sprongfield Arsenal for many years. Blueing military arms really started after the Civil War. Springfields percussion and early Trapdoors are bright. Later .45-70 Trapdoors are blued.
 
Lauer's clear coat

You could have it sprayed with the lauer's clear coat which would give it a good rock hard finish. I would suggest having it polished first before the clear so the gun itself wouldn't show the inperfections. Good luck in your choice.
 
Where can I find lauer's clear coat? Google doesn't come up with anything and my local shop hasn't heard of it.
 
Brownell's also sells a wide variety of spray-on and oven-bake finishes in clear and various colors. I have heard many good things about the results one can get with these finishes.
 
Put a coat of linseed oil on it and let it dry. May take days, but I guarantee you it will never rust. I had a small motorcycle trailer that had set out till it got pretty rusty. I scraped the excess off with a wire brush, slopped some linseed on and after it dried, painted it. No rust has yet come thru a year later. Have also used it on an old antique shotgun that was down to bare metal. Many years went by and it never rusted. Nice part about it is if you don't like it, take it off with acetone.

I went the other way. Had a Win 94 that I wanted to antique. See my ad in the classified section.
 
Many clear finishes will add a very faintly yellow color to the metal as they age. More so if you spend a lot of time outdoors with the gun. If you wouldn’t be opposed to a yellower, brighter color, but want better corrosion resistance in a white finish, consider electroless nickel plating. You can buy solutions for the process from Brownells, but ought to be able to get it done somewhere if you don't want to get that involved with chemistry.

On the other hand, I have had a Swedish '96 for years that was made "in the white". No more rust care has been required for it than for any blued gun. I use LPS 2 on it for regular storage. LPS 1 is a clear synthetic for uses like WD40, but 2 and 3 have the same chemical smell that Birchwood Casey Sheath has (I think I read they just changed the name recently, but I don't recall to what?), but costs a lot less to buy from a tool supply house (I get gallon jugs to refill spray pump bottles from MSC Industrial (http://www1.mscdirect.com/CGI/NNSRIT?PARTPG=NNSRAR2&PMPXNO=5334636)). I use LPS 3 for 1 and 2 yr storage and LPS Hardcoat for multi-year storage. I haven't tried their Procyon multi-year product.

I have also used the more expensive Boeshield T9 in place of the LPS 3. They both seem to work about as well, but the T9 is clear where the LPS 3 is brown. If you are looking for a rust inhibitor that doesn't have an odor (after the solvent evaporates) and looks clear for display, T9 is my choice (http://www.boeshield.com/index.htm). It leaves a clear soft wax-like finish. You could buy it at Woodcraft stores the last time I looked.

Nick
 
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