God help me! I just ruined my new Uberti 1851 Navy

Jay27 · June 25, 2019, 05:30 PM

Oh man! I am so heart broken....Got my brand new Uberti 1851 Navy and took it out to shoot today. It shot fantastic. The beauty of it was so gorgeous.

I took it home to clean it. I used boiling water, dish soap, a splash of murphys oil soap and a splash of vinegar. The finish is now gone.....The bluing is toast and so is the case hardened. I'm sick to my stomach. I don't even want the thing anymore its so ugly. I don't know what to do. I am so mad and upset I even went out to get a pack of smokes and want to hit the bottle...

Maybe I should just brown it? Try to reblue it?

I want to quit shooting for the rest of the year as punishment. Im just sick.

10-96 · June 25, 2019, 06:12 PM

My heart goes out to ya man. Vinegar is bad juju for blue.

jmr40 · June 25, 2019, 06:48 PM

Cerekote it. In bright pink

A pic might help. If you look at many/ most of the original guns from the 1800's they have very little finish left on them. In many ways having the finish gone helps make it look original.

mehavey · June 25, 2019, 08:10 PM

Let it grow old w/ natural patina.....

bedbugbilly · June 25, 2019, 08:46 PM

#1 vinegar s the best thing to remove blue- andI did it to y Uberti '51 on purpose

#2 s you use and shoot your revolver, it's going to get dinged - in the field during he Civilwar, revolver ws subject to many things that would quickly affect the finish - snow, rain, humidity, etc. - I know you liked the way it looked, but it will still shoot just the way you want it to and you'l enjoy it

I have antiqued a number of C & B through the years - on my Uberti '41, I stripped it and browned it with plum brown - washing to put wear on the high spots, etc. but I liked it browned so much, I put left it that way - the browning will get wear to it just as much as the blueing would have and that's fine with me.

Sorry for what happened to yours but look at it as a "learning experience" and move on and just enjoy it. You have the options of blueing, browning or just leaving it bare and letting it age with use. You didn't "ruin" it - you gave it "character".

Centurion · June 25, 2019, 09:45 PM

I love my "ruined" 1860 Army...

Ricekila · June 25, 2019, 10:09 PM

Ceracoat it ?

Polish the brass --

Nodak1858 · June 25, 2019, 11:49 PM

If you want a finish verses letting a patina a build on its own, rust blue it. Go pick up a bottle of Mark Lee Express blue. Easy to use and you get very nice results if you take your time with the prep. I've slow rust blued a number of rifles and hand guns but the Mark Lee is much faster. Ends up with a nice dark blue finish

l.cutler · June 26, 2019, 03:58 AM

I have to ask, where did you get the idea of using vinegar? Warm water and a little dish soap will do just fine.

Jay27 · June 26, 2019, 04:24 AM

Well, I decided I'm going to do this:

https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...finish.344567/

It will be my pimp gun! LOL

**4V50 Gary** · June 26, 2019, 07:42 AM

Repolish and Express blue it.

Oliver Sudden · June 26, 2019, 11:42 AM

This can serve as a lesson for all the concoctions that people dream up for cleaning black powder. It isn’t that hard, water with a dab of soap, dry then oil! Safe and effective.

TruthTellers · June 26, 2019, 12:43 PM

I've never read anywhere to use vinegar to clean black powder guns. What I do (when I remember to do it) is spray the bore, cylinder/chambers down with Ballistol at the range immediately after finishing shooting, then go home and clean do a proper clean.

maillemaker · June 26, 2019, 01:21 PM

Your only options are do an "antique" look or reblue.

Man. Next time ask on a forum before doing something.

Steve

John E.B. Rawton · June 26, 2019, 05:40 PM

I have admired a few “antiqued” models on these forums. I’ve been thinking that I might want to learn how to do that antiquing and give one of mine a face lift. Although none of mine show great wear that needs addressed.

mehavey · June 26, 2019, 08:16 PM

Just shoot it,
and let it grow old gracefully....

TXAZ · June 26, 2019, 09:15 PM

+1 for reblue.
Then we want to see pictures!

T. O'Heir · June 29, 2019, 12:58 PM

It's the vinegar that stripped the bluing. Strips whatever it is Ruger uses on GP 100's(bluing it ain't. More like paint.) too. Did it to mine with home made, vinegar based, leather dye when I wet formed a holster.
"...so is the case hardened..." Not if it was real. Case hardening is literally the metal hardened to about 50 thou into the steel. It doesn't wear off.
Your options are rebluing by a $mithy. Or cold bluing(Birchwood Casey makes a Cold Browning and a faux colour case hardening(in a kit $30.51US on Amazon) product too. Don't think U.S. Civil War kit was browned though.) the whole thing. Even though cold bluing isn't made for whole firearms and doesn't provide much protection, it's better than bare steel.
Keep in mind you need to refinish the insides of the frame(assuming it's steel) and its internal parts too.
"...just leaving it bare and letting it age with use..." That equals rusting.
Ceracoat or Duracoat certainly are options. Don't think either is cheap though.

mehavey · June 29, 2019, 03:12 PM

Quote:

"...just leaving it bare and letting it age with use..." That equals rusting.

No. Countless Civil War Springfields -- left finished in the white -- still exist/are used by N-SSA shooters. My own 156-year old`63 Colt's Special contract is one.

Shoot/clean/wipe it down w/CLP and/or silicone cloth like you would any other blued firearm and it will grow old gracefully just fine.

Hawg · June 30, 2019, 04:11 AM

Quote:

so is the case hardened..." Not if it was real.

Case hardening on Italian guns and Rugers is an acid wash. Real case hardening will fade in time and exposure to sunlight and will eventually patina to the same color as the rest of the gun.

denster · July 1, 2019, 06:27 AM

Case hardening on Italian guns is true color case hardening. They use cyanide salts as a carburizing agent rather than bone charcoal pack and they use a rolling quench rather than an aerated one although they are getting better at it it's still not as good as the pack method aerated quench colors. Either method the colors are fragile and is the reason they are usually protected by a coat of laquer. Vinegar will erase them in short order.

jaguarxk120 · July 1, 2019, 07:06 AM

Any acid or rust remover will take off bluing or case hardening and leave bare metal behind. Please note Coke or molasses will also remove bluing or rust.

Please note old engine restorers use molasses solution to remove rust from
old engines. The solution will not remove any paint or etch the base metal.

gwpercle · July 1, 2019, 06:50 PM

Just exactly where did you get that "formula" for cleaning blued black powder guns ?

Vinegar is a rust remover and a splash isn't a precise measurement .

Buy a commercial BP cleaner.

I bet his formula involved some U-Tube expert .

A brown finish looks good as will just shooting it and letting it develop it's own patina "finish".

I don't like using water around my BP guns ...just seems like putting water with steel is encouraging rust to develop somewhere you can't see it .

Gary

Hawg · July 1, 2019, 07:25 PM

Quote:

I don't like using water around my BP guns ...just seems like putting water with steel is encouraging rust to develop somewhere you can't see it .

Water is the best cleaner for bp fouling there is. Somebody once asked me if I had a high end Sharps would I put it in water. I said yeah I would but since I didn't have a high end Sharps I proved it with my USA made Weatherby MK V Deluxe.

mehavey · July 1, 2019, 08:19 PM

Quote:

Buy a commercial BP cleaner. . . .
I don't like using water around my BP guns ....

Aaaaaahh.... and what is that "commercial BP cleaner" ? (hint... water, a squirt of dishsoap, and maybe a dash of cutting oil)

Bottom Line for muzzleloaders:
- Scrub the gun inside and out like you would a dirty dish -- hot soapy water -- to dissolve & wash the fouling salts away.
- Oil & protect it like you would any clean piece of metal
Takes less time than a smokeless cleanup.

Bottom line for three high-priced Sharps, two Rolling blocks, and a handful of `73s... .
- Scrub the bore out with soapy patches/witch's milk* ... our just plain spit patches
- Oil & protect it like you would any clean piece of metal

*

June 25, 2019, 06:48 PM	#3
jmr40 Senior Member Join Date: June 15, 2008 Location: Georgia Posts: 10,811	Cerekote it. In bright pink A pic might help. If you look at many/ most of the original guns from the 1800's they have very little finish left on them. In many ways having the finish gone helps make it look original. __________________ "If you're still doing things the same way you were doing them 10 years ago, you're doing it wrong" Winston Churchill

June 25, 2019, 08:46 PM	#5
bedbugbilly Senior Member Join Date: November 19, 2009 Posts: 3,287	#1 vinegar s the best thing to remove blue- andI did it to y Uberti '51 on purpose #2 s you use and shoot your revolver, it's going to get dinged - in the field during he Civilwar, revolver ws subject to many things that would quickly affect the finish - snow, rain, humidity, etc. - I know you liked the way it looked, but it will still shoot just the way you want it to and you'l enjoy it I have antiqued a number of C & B through the years - on my Uberti '41, I stripped it and browned it with plum brown - washing to put wear on the high spots, etc. but I liked it browned so much, I put left it that way - the browning will get wear to it just as much as the blueing would have and that's fine with me. Sorry for what happened to yours but look at it as a "learning experience" and move on and just enjoy it. You have the options of blueing, browning or just leaving it bare and letting it age with use. You didn't "ruin" it - you gave it "character". __________________ If a pair of '51 Navies were good enough for Billy Hickok, then a single Navy on my right hip is good enough for me . . . besides . . . I'm probably only half as good as he was anyways. Hiram's Rangers Badge #63

June 25, 2019, 10:09 PM	#7
Ricekila Senior Member Join Date: May 25, 2017 Location: Lawnguyland, NY Posts: 169	Ceracoat it ? Polish the brass -- __________________ NRA Instructor / RSO & NRA Life Member / S.A.F.E. Armorer / 03-FFL / Moist Nugget gun nut / Ammosexual / COR of a Venturing Crew / And a right wing Republican Jew with guns Μολών Λaβέ

June 25, 2019, 11:49 PM	#8
Nodak1858 Senior Member Join Date: September 7, 2009 Location: N. Dakota Posts: 435	If you want a finish verses letting a patina a build on its own, rust blue it. Go pick up a bottle of Mark Lee Express blue. Easy to use and you get very nice results if you take your time with the prep. I've slow rust blued a number of rifles and hand guns but the Mark Lee is much faster. Ends up with a nice dark blue finish __________________ We've all heard that a million monkeys banging on a million typewriters will eventually reproduce the entire works of Shakespeare. Now, thanks to the Internet, we know this is not true.

June 26, 2019, 04:24 AM	#10
Jay27 Junior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Posts: 12	Well, I decided I'm going to do this: https://www.thehighroad.org/index.ph...finish.344567/ It will be my pimp gun! LOL __________________ "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."---Jesus Christ (John 3:14-21)

June 25, 2019, 05:30 PM	#1
Jay27 Junior Member Join Date: January 29, 2000 Posts: 12	God help me! I just ruined my new Uberti 1851 Navy Oh man! I am so heart broken....Got my brand new Uberti 1851 Navy and took it out to shoot today. It shot fantastic. The beauty of it was so gorgeous. I took it home to clean it. I used boiling water, dish soap, a splash of murphys oil soap and a splash of vinegar. The finish is now gone.....The bluing is toast and so is the case hardened. I'm sick to my stomach. I don't even want the thing anymore its so ugly. I don't know what to do. I am so mad and upset I even went out to get a pack of smokes and want to hit the bottle... Maybe I should just brown it? Try to reblue it? I want to quit shooting for the rest of the year as punishment. Im just sick. __________________ "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life."---Jesus Christ (John 3:14-21)

June 25, 2019, 06:12 PM	#2
10-96 Senior Member Join Date: October 19, 2005 Location: Tx Panhandle Territory Posts: 4,160	My heart goes out to ya man. Vinegar is bad juju for blue. __________________ Rednecks... Keeping the woods critter-free since March 2, 1836. (TX Independence Day) I suspect a thing or two... because I've seen a thing or two.

June 25, 2019, 08:10 PM	#4
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,903	Let it grow old w/ natural patina.....

June 25, 2019, 09:45 PM	#6
Centurion Senior Member Join Date: May 9, 2016 Posts: 270	I love my "ruined" 1860 Army...

June 26, 2019, 03:58 AM	#9
l.cutler Senior Member Join Date: October 18, 2005 Posts: 275	I have to ask, where did you get the idea of using vinegar? Warm water and a little dish soap will do just fine.

June 26, 2019, 07:42 AM	#11
4V50 Gary Staff Join Date: November 2, 1998 Location: Colorado Posts: 21,848	Repolish and Express blue it. __________________ Vigilantibus et non dormientibus jura subveniunt. *Molon Labe!*

June 26, 2019, 11:42 AM	#12
Oliver Sudden Senior Member Join Date: January 7, 2017 Location: Colorado Posts: 272	This can serve as a lesson for all the concoctions that people dream up for cleaning black powder. It isn’t that hard, water with a dab of soap, dry then oil! Safe and effective.

June 26, 2019, 12:43 PM	#13
TruthTellers Senior Member Join Date: October 22, 2016 Posts: 3,889	I've never read anywhere to use vinegar to clean black powder guns. What I do (when I remember to do it) is spray the bore, cylinder/chambers down with Ballistol at the range immediately after finishing shooting, then go home and clean do a proper clean. __________________ "We always think there's gonna be more time... then it runs out."

June 26, 2019, 01:21 PM	#14
maillemaker Senior Member Join Date: August 30, 2010 Posts: 1,635	Your only options are do an "antique" look or reblue. Man. Next time ask on a forum before doing something. Steve

June 26, 2019, 05:40 PM	#15
John E.B. Rawton Member Join Date: September 22, 2018 Posts: 68	I have admired a few “antiqued” models on these forums. I’ve been thinking that I might want to learn how to do that antiquing and give one of mine a face lift. Although none of mine show great wear that needs addressed.

June 26, 2019, 08:16 PM	#16
mehavey Senior Member Join Date: June 17, 2010 Location: Virginia Posts: 6,903	Just shoot it, and let it grow old gracefully....

June 26, 2019, 09:15 PM	#17
TXAZ Senior Member Join Date: September 5, 2010 Location: McMurdo Sound Texas Posts: 4,322	+1 for reblue. Then we want to see pictures! __________________ Cave illos in guns et backhoes

June 29, 2019, 12:58 PM	#18
T. O'Heir Senior Member Join Date: February 13, 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 12,453	It's the vinegar that stripped the bluing. Strips whatever it is Ruger uses on GP 100's(bluing it ain't. More like paint.) too. Did it to mine with home made, vinegar based, leather dye when I wet formed a holster. "...so is the case hardened..." Not if it was real. Case hardening is literally the metal hardened to about 50 thou into the steel. It doesn't wear off. Your options are rebluing by a $mithy. Or cold bluing(Birchwood Casey makes a Cold Browning and a faux colour case hardening(in a kit $30.51US on Amazon) product too. Don't think U.S. Civil War kit was browned though.) the whole thing. Even though cold bluing isn't made for whole firearms and doesn't provide much protection, it's better than bare steel. Keep in mind you need to refinish the insides of the frame(assuming it's steel) and its internal parts too. "...just leaving it bare and letting it age with use..." That equals rusting. Ceracoat or Duracoat certainly are options. Don't think either is cheap though. __________________ Spelling and grammar count!

July 1, 2019, 06:27 AM	#21
denster Senior Member Join Date: April 24, 2010 Location: Ohio Posts: 581	Case hardening on Italian guns is true color case hardening. They use cyanide salts as a carburizing agent rather than bone charcoal pack and they use a rolling quench rather than an aerated one although they are getting better at it it's still not as good as the pack method aerated quench colors. Either method the colors are fragile and is the reason they are usually protected by a coat of laquer. Vinegar will erase them in short order.

July 1, 2019, 07:06 AM	#22
jaguarxk120 Senior Member Join Date: February 28, 2008 Location: Michigan Posts: 2,620	Any acid or rust remover will take off bluing or case hardening and leave bare metal behind. Please note Coke or molasses will also remove bluing or rust. Please note old engine restorers use molasses solution to remove rust from old engines. The solution will not remove any paint or etch the base metal.

July 1, 2019, 06:50 PM	#23
gwpercle Senior Member Join Date: November 30, 2012 Location: Baton Rouge, Louisiana Posts: 1,752	Just exactly where did you get that "formula" for cleaning blued black powder guns ? Vinegar is a rust remover and a splash isn't a precise measurement . Buy a commercial BP cleaner. I bet his formula involved some U-Tube expert . A brown finish looks good as will just shooting it and letting it develop it's own patina "finish". I don't like using water around my BP guns ...just seems like putting water with steel is encouraging rust to develop somewhere you can't see it . Gary Last edited by gwpercle; July 1, 2019 at 06:56 PM.