Opinions on handgun refinishing please

C

CBH

New member
The photos below are the two Beretta handguns I bought several weeks ago; in pieces and covered in light surface rust. I soaked them in Kroil; had the #70 .32 a.c.p. working in a few days but just got the #71 .22 L.R. hammer and ejector unstuck last week. Both guns had clean bores. The .22 works now as well. The .22 will function with Aquila sub-sonic ammo as well as it does with standard and hi-speed fodder.

My problem is that both guns will deteriorate if I do not get some sort of finish on them to protect the metal. I have had estimates of $135.00 to $200.00 each to professionally refurbish them. On the cheaper end of the spectrum, there is Duracoat, Aluma-Hyde, and good old flat black grill paint.

If the Berettas were pristine and included the original boxes and papers, they would bring $400.00+ in a NY minute. Probably worth $350.00 with no box/papers in reasonable condition. I would like them to look good, but practically I can't justify spending good gun money on refinishing guns that came out of a junk box.

What do you think?

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We have a home in the mountains, I wanted to leave the .22 up there to use. I do not get up there every weekend.
 
I have to admit that when a gun gets to be that ugly, I find that they start to look really good to me. ;)
It's like walking in the rain when reach that eureka moment, and you suddenly realize that you are so soaked that you can't get any wetter.
So you relax and just enjoy the walk in the rain and quit trying to stay dry.

I'd just disassemble them completely and clean the bejeebers out of them until there isn't a speck of grime or dirt anywhere, and of course, replace any worn springs and/or parts to ensure that they are as reliable as when new.
Then oil them well and keep them oiled and enjoy the hell out of them.

When they look like that, they're not just a gun, they're a gun with a story (and if you don't know the story when your friends ask about it, make one up :D )
 
Birchwood Casey makes a Perma Blue kit that allows you to reblue them yourself for twenty dollars.

Heck,they could'nt look any worse.

I'd give that kit,availible probably at WalMart but definitely at your local gun store a try.

Just take your time and be ready for some buffing work before you apply the blueing.
 
"When they look like that, they're not just a gun, they're a gun with a story "


True story; these came from a junk box at a local shop. The .32 was all apart, scattered around in the box. The .22 was cocked, hammer, ejector, safety button and slide stuck due to light surface rust. I dumped the box out and slowly picked out the .32 pieces because I already had one and knew what to look for. I took the stocks off the .22 and soaked it in Kroil. Loosened everything up, cleaned it up, and shot it.:D

Both guns function well, have good, clean bores. The best part is I gave $25.00 for the pair.

Here they are with my other .32, which is nicer looking.

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The guns have alloy frames, so cold blue won't work there. Properly doing Duracoat requires polishing, sandblasting, Parkerizing, prior to painting. If you are really concerned about the looks, disassemble, degrease, and just paint them. It will wear, but you can just touch it up.
 
You know, the .22 magazine alone is worth about $75.00 from what I can tell. It shoots well, but the front sight is near impossible to see on any of these guns. I wonder if the front sight could be drilled and a gold dot or night sight embedded in it?
 
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I have one of the Beretta M71 .22LR pistols, good little plinker strip the pistol coat the frame with alumma black from Birchwood Cassy and blue the slide and barrel. You will get many years of use from that gun. if you dont want to do that send it to me I can always use it for parts LOL.
 
Why cant i find deals like that ast my local gun stores?

and you could take gecko45's advice and let em sit in salt water (if you dont know google mall ninja)
 
EEZOX, which you can order online, will dry coat and preserve them for years under most conditions. I would get some, spray them inside and out, let it dry and then reassemble them. They will be protected.
 
I work near a shop that often buys LE agency trade-ins, confiscations, evidence firearms. These two Berettas came out of a junkbox from one such sale. Along with this Astra A75L 9mm and Ruger P95DC 9mm:
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The Astra cleaned up a bit.
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The bores/chambers of all these handguns cleaned up fine. The Astra was mostly nasty on the RH side, got a good bit of the rust off with a brass brush and a fine file. Cold blued the grip screws, hammer, trigger, decocker, and mag release button. Polished up the barrel and sprayed flat black grill paint on the slide to keep it from rusting until I could bead-blast it clean and have it parkerized. I have fired about 300 rounds through this gun and the paint is still on it...so I may just wait on parkerizing.

The Ruger was another story. It appeared to be covered in dust, either kaolin or drywall type. Turned out to be paint and it was in every nook and cranny. I got enough dried paint material out of the inside of the gun to make an object the size of a quarter, and there was plenty more inside. The trigger stopped resetting too. I gave up, and shipped it back to the factory in AZ...it arrived there APRIL 1. I hope that is not a omen.:eek: The gun should be back around the end of May.
 
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