1858 peitta refinishing?

N.Burnham84 · August 9, 2011, 11:21 PM

hello all i am new to the forum and i have a 1858 remington with alot of scratches and tool marks from the factory i am thinking of sanding it down with 400 grit to get it smooth and re blue it any ideas comments is this a bad idea thanks

Bill Akins · August 10, 2011, 03:10 AM

It would depend on how deep the scratches were on your revolver as to what grit of sandpaper you would use. If the scratches are slight and not very deep, I wouldn't use sandpaper at all but use a buffing wheel instead with some rouge. Even if you use 600 grit sandpaper that will not get you the high polish shine you really want. And the better your bare metal preparation (in this case the buffed high gloss shine)....the better it will look when you re-blue it. It's kind of like body work on a car where the job will only look as good as your base preparation. Only more so in this case because bluing does not cover imperfections nearly as well as a thicker coat of auto paint since bluing has practically no thickness at all and the revolver's finish is wholly dependent upon your surface preparation before re-bluing.

If you have one or have a friend who has a bench grinder, you can quickly put a buffing wheel pad on it and using some rouge on the spinning wheel to do the job. Even if you have to use a file in some spots or heavier grit sandpaper to get all the scratches out, you would still be best served to use the buffing wheel as a final operation to mirror polish the bare metal before re-bluing. Actually before you touch it with sandpaper, try a buffing wheel first. Start with a heavier grit of rouge and then go to a smaller grit. You may find you don't even need any sandpaper to do the job. But again, that depends on the depth of the scratches.

Just be VERY careful of the flats on the barrel and other angled parts of the revolver that you do not wear them down and thus round them off with the buffing wheel.

.

madcratebuilder · August 10, 2011, 09:22 AM

Get some Belgian Blue from Brownell's. It works great. Strip the old blue with naval jelly or vinegar. Sand the metal with 320 or 400 to start and finish off with 600. I do the final sand/polish with a worn piece of 600. Scrub the metal with hot water and a lot of soap, it must be oil free. Follow the instructions on the bottle.

This is the results.

Avoid using 1000 grit paper, this leaves to fine of finish and the blue does not take as well. The finished job is a tough as any hot blue job.

N.Burnham84 · August 10, 2011, 09:32 AM

hey thats great thank you both very much i like both ideas maybe i will sand the barrel and polish the rest of the parts

August 9, 2011, 11:21 PM	#1
N.Burnham84 Junior Member Join Date: August 6, 2011 Location: i live in ca but im a tenneseeian!! Posts: 6	1858 peitta refinishing? hello all i am new to the forum and i have a 1858 remington with alot of scratches and tool marks from the factory i am thinking of sanding it down with 400 grit to get it smooth and re blue it any ideas comments is this a bad idea thanks

August 10, 2011, 03:10 AM	#2
Bill Akins Senior Member Join Date: August 28, 2007 Location: Hudson, Florida Posts: 1,135	It would depend on how deep the scratches were on your revolver as to what grit of sandpaper you would use. If the scratches are slight and not very deep, I wouldn't use sandpaper at all but use a buffing wheel instead with some rouge. Even if you use 600 grit sandpaper that will not get you the high polish shine you really want. And the better your bare metal preparation (in this case the buffed high gloss shine)....the better it will look when you re-blue it. It's kind of like body work on a car where the job will only look as good as your base preparation. Only more so in this case because bluing does not cover imperfections nearly as well as a thicker coat of auto paint since bluing has practically no thickness at all and the revolver's finish is wholly dependent upon your surface preparation before re-bluing. If you have one or have a friend who has a bench grinder, you can quickly put a buffing wheel pad on it and using some rouge on the spinning wheel to do the job. Even if you have to use a file in some spots or heavier grit sandpaper to get all the scratches out, you would still be best served to use the buffing wheel as a final operation to mirror polish the bare metal before re-bluing. Actually before you touch it with sandpaper, try a buffing wheel first. Start with a heavier grit of rouge and then go to a smaller grit. You may find you don't even need any sandpaper to do the job. But again, that depends on the depth of the scratches. Just be VERY careful of the flats on the barrel and other angled parts of the revolver that you do not wear them down and thus round them off with the buffing wheel. . __________________ "This is my Remy and this is my Colt. Remy loads easy and topstrap strong, Colt balances better and never feels wrong. A repro black powder revolver gun, they smoke and shoot lead and give me much fun. I can't figure out which one I like better, they're both fine revolvers that fit in my leather". "To be sure of hitting the target, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target". Last edited by Bill Akins; August 10, 2011 at 03:18 AM.

August 10, 2011, 09:22 AM	#3
madcratebuilder Senior Member Join Date: November 2, 2007 Location: Northern Orygun Posts: 4,923	Get some Belgian Blue from Brownell's. It works great. Strip the old blue with naval jelly or vinegar. Sand the metal with 320 or 400 to start and finish off with 600. I do the final sand/polish with a worn piece of 600. Scrub the metal with hot water and a lot of soap, it must be oil free. Follow the instructions on the bottle. This is the results. Avoid using 1000 grit paper, this leaves to fine of finish and the blue does not take as well. The finished job is a tough as any hot blue job.

August 10, 2011, 09:32 AM	#4
N.Burnham84 Junior Member Join Date: August 6, 2011 Location: i live in ca but im a tenneseeian!! Posts: 6	hey thats great thank you both very much i like both ideas maybe i will sand the barrel and polish the rest of the parts