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Old April 5, 2012, 09:56 PM   #1
troopcom
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VZ 24 Mauser

So I have this VZ 24 Mauser that is in pretty good condition. It has an excellent bore and the lion crest is still in tact. There was some pitting under the wood about half way on the outside of the barrel. I scrubbed it with a wire brush and a littel steel wool, but rubbed the bluing off of it.
A guy told me I should bead blast and Sera Coat it (blue of course).
Should I do this? Would it hurt the value? And are there any other options I could do to preserve it and keep it from rusing any further?
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Old April 5, 2012, 10:48 PM   #2
James K
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Any refinish is going to hurt the value, and Czech issue VZ 24's are getting scarce. If not too much blue has been rubbed off, that is probably a place where cold blue will do a good enough job. I depends on what you want to do with the rifle. If you are going to sporterize it anyway, any finish will be fine. If you intend it as part of a collection with little use, the cold blue idea might work fine.

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Old April 6, 2012, 06:40 AM   #3
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If you are keeping this rifle in mil-surp condition I would just cold blue the barrel, it's under the hand guard so it's not visible. If you're going to sporterize it then the skies the limit.

The VZ 23's and 24's are very nice rifles, fewer and fewer show up for sale as the years go by.

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Old April 6, 2012, 06:57 PM   #4
troopcom
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what is the best cold blue to use on my rifle?

what about black engine paint that would withstand heat from firing?

I have a nice Yugo k98 that needs a touch of blue in a few spots where the metal touched the wood.
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Old April 7, 2012, 07:25 AM   #5
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The best cold blue I have used is Oxpho Blue from Brownells. It can be a bit spendy. Any of the small bottle/tube cold blues well do a reasonable job. The metal needs to be rust and oil free. I heat the metal with a heat gun to just over 100* and apply several coats, steel wool the surface between coats.
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Old April 7, 2012, 07:36 AM   #6
troopcom
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[QUOTE][Any refinish is going to hurt the value, and Czech issue VZ 24's are getting scarce. /QUOTE]

can i just blue a small spot or do i have to blue the whole barrel?
the areas i am concerned about are probably no larger than dime or nickel sized.

Also can someone tell me why rebluing an old Mauser would hurt the value? Does this not further preserve the rifle for future generations?

Last edited by troopcom; April 7, 2012 at 07:42 PM.
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Old April 8, 2012, 08:23 AM   #7
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Doing a touch up cold blue on any surface under the wood well not hurt value. It's not a 100% gun to begin with. Just touch up the bare spot. You really don't even need to do that. If it under the wood just smear a very light coat of grease over the bare spot and it well not rust.

Personally I leave the bare spots, part of the rifles personality and history.

These old mil-surps are worth more in the original issued condition then in a refinished condition, that is to most people. I've seen some pay top dollar for a tarted up Piccadilly whore (reblue and refinished wood)
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Old April 8, 2012, 08:55 AM   #8
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Quote:
Also can someone tell me why rebluing an old Mauser would hurt the value? Does this not further preserve the rifle for future generations?
While refinishing (of any kind) does preserve the rifle, what collectors are interested in, and paying for is the original, unaltered condition of the rifle. Complete with all the dings, scrapes and bare spots the rifle has aquired during its service life.

Reblued, repaired or altered, unless done by the maker/user nation's arsenals, during the time of service, lowers its collector value. Collectors like nice, pristine working examples, BUT, a rusted battlefield pick up gun is worth more to them than a cleaned up reblued, restocked gun, or any sporterized modified rifle. Its about the history of the piece, first, and its function second.

You, I, and a lot of others see a gun with historical signifigance. Collectors see a historical artifact, that happens to be a gun. And they pay for that diffference, sometimes handsomely.

That $15 military surplus rifle in 1957, built into a beautiful sporter in the early 60s worth $3-400, AND it was a better rifle for hunting use.

Today, that same sporterized gun, is still worth $3-400 (or less, depending on the job done, and the local market), but an original unalterd issue condition gun can be worth 2-3x that to a collector. Really badly beat up GI issue condition guns are going for $7-900 or more, depending on the scarcity of the model, simply because there are so few left in original GI issue condition.
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Old April 8, 2012, 12:03 PM   #9
troopcom
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My VZ 24 is mismatched (bolt, etc.) the only thing that matches is the barrel, receiver and stock. I had a gunsmith try to get me to cera coat the rifle. But, now I'm having second thoughts and will consider just touch up buing the bare spots.
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Old April 8, 2012, 12:50 PM   #10
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TroopCom

Its good that you took care of the rust, I would finish with some fine steel wool, to smooth it out and then use some birchwood casey to reblue the bare metal. The VZ 24 is a great rifle, and to have one with a good barrel is very nice.
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