win 94 rust

[1rst pilgrim]

I have a winchester model 94 that from day one started rusting in the reciever. I have always cared for this the same way I care for all my guns. I oiled it regularly cleaned it regularly but it still rusted. Not much but enough so it showed. I lent the gun to my son so he could hunt vermont and when it came back it was worse. i called a gun smith and he said that in the 80's they made recievers that were laminated so they cannot be blued. Does anyone know if this is true. What can I do to fix the problem.

 

[Scorch]

Receivers made from 1964 until the Angle Eject was introduced were made of siliceous steel which could not be blued. They were black iron oxide plated from the factory. The finish is tough, but once it starts rusting it is almost impossible to stop. It is also only about .003" thick, so once it starts to go, it's history. If you remove the "bluing" you are in real trouble.

Lots of different solutions for the problem have been tried. You can re-plate the receiver with black iron oxide, but they can turn out a little funny looking from what I have heard. You can black chrome the receiver, it looks pretty good but it will always look a little silvery greyish. Or you can have the receiver painted with GunKote Midnight Blue color, and it will look pretty darn good and be tougher than the original finish.