Reblue Old Remington Model 8?

[veprdude]

I picked up a Model 8 this past weekend. Internals seem to be in good condition but exposed blueing is probably at 1%. There is still some left under the handguards and inside the chamber area. No major rust.

Given its current condition would reblueing devalue it at all? And how easy/hard is it to get good results with the Birchwood Casey Cold Blue stuff?

[Scorch]

Doing it right will make all the difference in the world. Rust blue is the proper bluing method to return it to factory finish. Cold blue, Birchwood Casey or any other, will devalue the gun to anyone who would want to buy it. Hot bluing would be OK, but rust blue would be the proper method for preserving the rifle.

[Wyosmith]

Yup...what Scorch said

[T. O'Heir]

Cold bluing is really for touching up small spots not whole firearms. It doesn't give good rust protection either.
Any rust is bad. Moreso if there's pitting as well.
If you opt to re blue it, send it to a professional. It'll be expensive, maybe more than the thing is worth. They run from $500 to about a grand on Gunbroker. Mind you, the dealers(most Gunbroker sellers are FFL guys.) there think they're going to get rich selling guns on auction sites.
It sounds like it's current condition is such that it would not be of interest to any collector. Lotta that would depend on its age and chambering though. So I kind of doubt it'd matter if you have it professionally blued.

[Bill DeShivs]

ANY cold bluing will make the gun look like poop.
Most hot blue that is done today is done by people who will just wheel polish the gun shiny, and then throw it in the blue tanks. If you know nothing about these older guns, you'll think it looks brand new. Far from it.
The gun should be rust blued-which gives a "soft" matte blue.

[Don Fischer]

As other's have said, cold blue is for touch up. But if it's all you can afford then it's probably better than nothing! Don't worry about devaluing it, shoot it. I think people are nut's buying guns in hopes the value will go up. Just might but gonna take a long time and then you have to find someone willing to pay the price. I have a 1903 Springfield built in 1945 by Paul Jaeger. It was appraised in 1993 at $5700. I'm the second owner and wouldn't take $5700 for it which is alright. I don't know anyone that would pay that kind of money for it. I like shooting it, it's my elk rifle! The stock was worn and maybe 10 yrs ago I re-finished it myself, so much for $5700 but you still couldn't buy it from me for that. BTW, I wouldn't pay that much for another exactly like it!

[veprdude]

Is rust blue like Russian corrosive bluing?

[veprdude]

I guess I'll post some pictures. Why not?

[Maynard Shooter]

How does it shoot? What round does it take?

[darkgael]

I have an old Parker SXS that was in need of some attention. The finish was gone, prone to flash rust on the exposed parts. I decided to refinish it.
I went with Laurel Mt. Barrel Brown and Degreaser.
The stuff worked marvelously well. I wish that I had before and after pictures.
The finish turned out as a deep rich brown..quite dark and uniform.
The process is slow as it is a rusting process and requires multiple coatings, cleanings and recoating. The results were well worth the effort for me.
Pete

[veprdude]

It's 35 Remington. Haven't shot it yet. I don't have that ammo!

[Dfariswheel]

Rust bluing is pretty much what it sounds like.

The clean metal is covered with a chemical that causes rust.
The process uses boiling water and the chemical to cause light rust which is then is buffed off with steel wool cleaned of all the oil used to prevent it from rusting or a fine wire brush, leaving the metal slightly dark.
As the process is continued the metal gets darker and darker blue.

Rust bluing is said to be more durable then modern hot salts bluing, but it's very labor intensive.
There are a few professional gun refinisher services that offer rust blue, but again, due to the labor costs it's expensive.

Some people do rust bluing at home with success, but it's rather messy.
Brownell's sell rust bluing chemicals.

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...-prod8795.aspx

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...-prod9815.aspx

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...-prod7604.aspx

https://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-t...prod22820.aspx

If you look on gun book sellers or on eBay you can still find the book "Firearms Bluing and Browning".
This gives formulas for the chemical and how to do it.

However, if you just want the rifle blued so it's protected and looks good a modern hot salts blue job will do the trick.
Note that even gun butcher bluing is expensive these days.
About 95% of a blue job is in the hand labor polishing and no one works for minimum wage.
Be aware that you can get lower cost bluing or good bluing,... chose ONE.

Too many people doing bluing are gun butchers that ruin guns by poor quality polishing that destroys the lines of the metal, rounding off sharp edges and leaving ripples in the flats.

Here's some of the top gun refinishers who don't ruin guns. Prices vary, usually depending on what level of polish you want. A factory level polish is usually the lowest cost option.

http://www.apwcogan.com/

http://www.fordsguns.com/

http://www.gunbluing.com/

https://precisionbluing.com/

[Jim Watson]

A nice reblue would really emphasize the ugly stock.

A lot of work involved to get it to look halfway decent.

Contrary to Internet Wisdom, the guy who refinished my guns after The Incident could get quite a nice job with Oxpho Blue.

[J.G. Terry]

My Model 81 appears to have a rust blue finish. That rust blue remains on the take down lever and other parts covered by the forend of your rifle. Those I have seen hot blued really do not look right. This is especially true of Bubba Custom Work where there are ripples and dished out screw holes. It looks like the blue has been stripped off as there very little left in protected places on the receiver. You may find a restoration to cost more than the rifle is worth. See if the rifle is a good shooter. I hope you are able to find a suitable way to getting this old rifle back into shape.

Added: What is that piece of metal at the rear of the receiver. I'm not sure of having seen such before?

[Satchmoeddie]

Take it apart, drop all the metal in a deep fryer filled with water and ALMOST boil all the water off, then card it, and it will START to have a new rust blue finish. After you get the gun to that point all the old dried oil n crud will be gone and the rust pitting will be addressed. NEVER take a wire wheel to a gun to remove rust. 99.8% of any bluing, plating, or other finish job is in the prep work. A piece of 6 inch PVC pipe with a cap on one end, and a screw cap on the other makes a sufficient rust bluing chamber. Use a pressure cooker or a tea kettle to make some steam. Back in the day, the old factories just used the steam from their steam donkey engine(s) to rust blue their guns. When you card the gun, boil it and recard it (over and over) the rust is eventually converted into ferric oxide black. A carding wheel is a super ultra fine specialized wire wheel for a bench grinder type stationary power tool. Done right and that gun has some potential to look pretty decent again. There is some minor pitting, but it's gonna have to be what it is. NO STEEL WOOL EITHER! In the interim wipe down with Ballistol and or shoot it with some Boeshield rust preventative.

[J.G. Terry]

Just wondering not suggesting: With the surface condition of the rifle would
bead blasting and hot blue be a choice? Finishing out the metal before bluing is going to be a real problem. Most of us have seen hot blue over pits. Not pretty. Could bead blasting come close to the original look of the Remington? I'm just asking.

[Remington74]

With the existing stock and forend and the receiver being drilled and tapped for that side mount I don't think it has much value right now.
If you go to the trouble and expense of a re-blue you should also replace or maybe refinish the wood and lose that recoil pad
Next either put a better scope on it or remove that side mount and use filler screws for the mounting holes.
In the end you will have a better looking rifle but I doubt it will rise in value to the amount you will have invested.
BUT it should be an interesting project.

[T. O'Heir]

1,280px is too big.
That one's been rode hard and put away wet, often. I really don't think the thing is worth the money it'd cost to refinish.
The surface condition of the rifle is pitted. Nothing fixes pitting.
Bead blasting is the same thing as sand blasting but uses fine glass beads instead of fine clean sand. It'll take off the rust but will not do anything for the pitting.
"...NEVER take a wire wheel to a gun to remove rust..." A light touch with a fine, brass, wire wheel in a bench grinder works just fine for removing surface rust. It's steel wire wheels you don't use.

[J.G. Terry]

n suggesting the bead blasting the idea would be to get that eggshell finish prior to hot bluing. Hopes are to make the pitting less of a problem/eyesore. No, it will not take the pits away. We are not talking about Turnbull here.

I'm still trying to figure what that metal piece is at the rear of the receiver. That's an add-on of some sort.

I'd suggest to OP to see if the gun functions before making plans for refinish. Work on the inside first. I agree, take that Simmons scope and mount off the gun!

[veprdude]

I'm still trying to figure what that metal piece is at the rear of the receiver. That's an add-on of some sort.

It's a Redfield rear sight base.

[J.G. Terry]

Thanks for the sight information. Sure enough, found more info and it is a Redfield base. Most of the other tang sights were contoured to fit against the back of the receiver with the hinged staff. Glad it was not some Bubba work that had to be dealt with.

Added: If you can, how about letting us know how the gun shoots.

[Remington74]

If you wanted to keep it vintage could you find the parts to resurrect that Redfield sight?

That should make it a little unique and add some character to it.

[J.G. Terry]

Yes the old sight would be very appropriate on the gun. Period sights have become more expensive in recent years. To me, the old sights would be a plus. Hope OP has other parts of the sight. Looks like the barrel sight is not attached. I know of individuals who have bought entire guns for correct period sights.

[Picher]

If money or access to someone to do hot-dip bluing try this:

I really like Brownell's Oxpho-Blue and Dicropan T-4, both available from Brownell's 200 South Front Street, Montezuma, IOWA 50171. Oxpho-Blue lasts longer, but Dicropan T-4 sometimes works better on certain steels.

Some sporting goods stores carry one or both of these Brownell's products.

*Again...They're not as good as hot-dip bluing, but will protect steel until you can get the gun(s) polished and hot-dip blued.

[J.G. Terry]

Personal Opinion-Shoot first: My hopes are that the pitting looks worse in the pictures than in real life. The edges look sharp. I'd be very selective about who did the bluing. The rifle has sharp edges and the screws look good. Ripples and dished out screw holes will make rifle worse. I would not use that cold blue stuff on anything as rifle would be better left in the white. One aspect that has not been discussed is the ruined wood. Getting the stock and forend replaced will make OP's rifle look 100% better.