Refinishing services?

[K9346]

Anyone know of a shop or smith that might offer re-finishing services? Preferably w/in driving distance of the Lancaster/Reading area. I just inherited an older pre-lock S&W revolver that has some significant surface rust, and I would like to get the whole thing re-finished. Any suggestions would be helpfull and welcome.

[aubie515]

You could refinish the firearm yourself. I personally would use a thermal cured product such as Norrells Moly Resin or KG Gunkote. You spray the product on with an airbrush and bake it in your oven for an hour. I would advise to sand blast the old finish/rust off...that will give the Moly Resin or Gunkote something to cling to during the finishing process. Here are some pictures of what I have done with some of my firearms.







The entire process is not very difficult. You could also use Duracoat...which does not require baking, but it's not nearly as durable as KG or Norrells.

[Average Baer]

The above is good advice, but you have to understand the nature of rust, in order to defeat it.

Rust, is a spore. It infests ferrous metals and imbeds them. It chews away at the metal, using air and water as its catalyst. You cannot kill it by bead blasting. You cannot kill it with vinagar, steel wool, or solvents. You could move to a desert state, like AZ and starve it to death. But, the only way to kill it, is with phosphoric acid.

Personally, rather than refinish a gun myself, I would rather send it off to Walter Birdsong, for his Black-T coating.

Mr. Birdsong's coating is required for all FBI firearms, all US Navy deck guns and myriad other Defense Dept contract weapons. To say that he knows what he's doing and knows how to obliterate rust issues, is tantamount, in terms of understatement, to Noah, looking up and saying, "looks like rain".

He will refinish the entire gun, 2 mags and an extra spring kit, for $170, shipped.

Beat that!

[Mtdew]

The above is good advice, but you have to understand the nature of rust, in order to defeat it.

Rust, is a spore. It infests ferrous metals and imbeds them. It chews away at the metal, using air and water as its catalyst. You cannot kill it by bead blasting. You cannot kill it with vinagar, steel wool, or solvents. You could move to a desert state, like AZ and starve it to death. But, the only way to kill it, is with phosphoric acid.

Actually there is another way that does not use acid, and will not harm the parent metal.. It is also used in restorations

Electrolysis.... It converts "rust" at the molecular level

http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/andyspatch/rust.htm


http://antique-engines.com/electrol.asp

[Average Baer]

Actually there is another way that does not use acid, and will not harm the parent metal.. It is also used in restorations

Electrolysis.... It converts "rust" at the molecular level

Good point, although I'm guessing that it's likely beyond most people's interest level to construct such a device.

No matter what one uses to remove rust, it's important to realize that if you remove one rust, you remove all rust. Bluing is a form of rust. Both electrolysis and phosphoric acid (naval jelly) will remove bluing.

[smoke-wagon]

http://www.locksgunshop.com/

this shop refinishes if your ever in the philadelphia area.