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06-02-2012, 10:10 AM | #13 | ||||||
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I just completed another damascus barrel refinish. This gun, a Lefever Arms HE grade double, was supposed to have fluid steel under the old rust bluing that was turning plum brown, according to the seller when I bought it about a year ago. I stared at the barrels under bright light from several angles and concluded the same. Imagine my surprise when I pulled the tube set out of the steel white bath and saw all that damascus pattern staring back at me! In any event, I was having trouble getting an even finish from the baking soda rub, so I recalled this thread and tried liquid hand soap instead. I am pleased to report that the soap worked quite well and proved more controllable in terms of slow and even removal of the rust bluing. I should note that the hand soap that I applied directly to the barrels as the carding and neutralizing agent was not the type that had any moisturizers in it. Its not a Parker, but here's a few hastily snapped photos of the results of that unanticipated damascus restoration....
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The Following 3 Users Say Thank You to Justin Julian For Your Post: |
06-02-2012, 12:59 PM | #14 | ||||||
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As a P.S. to my post above, this is what the Lefever damascus barrels looked like prior to being stripped with Brownell's steel white. This experience sure left me wondering how many guys are out there shooting hot shells through old fluid steel that are actually damascus hidden under a reblue? But for the restoration, I could have been one of them...
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06-02-2012, 07:27 PM | #15 | ||||||
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justin that sure is a pretty pattern on those barrels.... a job well done.... charlie
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06-03-2012, 07:41 AM | #16 | ||||||
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Well done. How long to you allow the barrels to rust between boiling/carding?Did you use a damp box? I think my acid bath has been too strong.
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06-03-2012, 11:17 AM | #17 | ||||||
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Ed,
I used the Pilkington's at full strength and let it sit for an hour. Then I add another coat cut with water to 50% and let it sit 3 more hours. By then it has a thin layer of orange "rust", which is actually more of a discoloration than what I'd call rust, and do the boil and card. The rest of the rusting solution is applied at 50% strength and the tubes allowed to sit for 4 to 12 hours to develop an even orange film. My garage is unheated and it was raining all week, so I did not need to use a damp box this time. I previously tried calculating the strength of the etchant solution and gave up on that. This time I just added some etchant to the water until I got the results I wanted after a 5 second immersion, which was when the white strands in the damascus pattern started to visibly brighten. When the solution is at that strength, its color reminds me of Lipton's iced tea. I etched for the first time after doing 3 boil and card cycles, when the metal had a nice even black to it. After that, I did the etch bath every other boil and card cycle. I'm not claiming to be an expert; this was only my second set of damascus barrels, and quite by accident, as I said previously. But I'm reasonably happy with the results, considering that I'm still learning the nuances. Good luck. |
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06-05-2012, 09:38 AM | #18 | ||||||
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That is the same damascus pattern on my C grade Remington. Very nice job. Paul
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Paul Harm |
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