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Marvin Kells
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| Joined: | Mon Jun 18th, 2007 |
| Location: | Atlanta, GA |
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 12:59 pm |
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| Thanks Frank. I was really very lucky to have found it. Haven't seen another DT A-1 Special....
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Albert Zinn
BBS Member
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 04:02 pm |
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Russ:
I would bow to Bill Murphy on this - he knows a lot more about this than I do. Original Parker case coloring is a lot more durable that the Repro's coloring, so you have an advantage there.
Still, a coating as Bill is suggesting can only help. With the Repros's you can only delay the inevitable - the coloring is very fragile.
Regards,
Al Zinn
____________________
Albert E. Zinn
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Marvin Kells
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| Joined: | Mon Jun 18th, 2007 |
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 04:54 pm |
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Frank DAmico wrote:
Wow! What a nice gun. Puts my BHE repro to shame. Whis I'd held out for splinter and DT's now.
Frank,
BHEs are beautiful, and rare, as well. Besides, there is no harm in owning more than one Parker Repro. Right?
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David Hamilton
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 04:57 pm |
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| Marvin, get a soft pair of shooting gloves as sweat will accelerate the case color fading. David
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Dean Romig
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| Location: | Andover, Ma |
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 05:30 pm |
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| It is known that the A-1S Reproductions received very special treatment as is evidenced by the hand-engraving done by such artists as Geoffroy Gournet, the "machine finish" given to water tables, hand-selected wood, and so on . . . so, the next obvious question would be what was the method used to case color these rare beauties? Was it done as other repros were done, chemically or was a more durable case color process used such as cyanide with heat. . . or even bone charcoal? It looks chemically done but does someone know for certain?
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Bill Murphy
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 05:37 pm |
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| The guns engraved by Geoffrey Gournet are a different bird entirely. They were started from white guns and did not have the same finish on the receiver that other guns had from Japan. I don't know who colored Geoffrey's efforts, many are not case colored. I can just say that I doubt they were sent back to Japan for finishing after being engraved. Maybe we will ask Geoffrey about this this weekend at Pintail Point.
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Bill Murphy
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 05:40 pm |
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| Al and Russ, I have no experience protecting case colors, only happened to remember the product that Oscar recommended years ago, although I misspelled the name. I hunt the colors off my guns at a pretty rapid rate. My Repro has about 100 rounds through it and is getting white on the bottom. I should really put something on it if I plan to shoot it much more.
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Peter Clark
Member
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 06:09 pm |
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Gents,
I guess I'm in the let it wear camp. I spent enough on my 3 repro 2 barrel sets to get a really good (or 2) original gun. However, being a user, I opted to go the repro route so I can blaze away with abandon. If I find the soon to happen loss of color objectionable, I can always get them done properly, but then I might want to refinish the stock, chase engraving, etc., etc. and Holy Cow, there goes a bunch of cash! Rather than plan, I believe I will just see what happens and not worry beyond the next hunting trip. Heck, no matter what you do some folks will never accept them into the fold. Me, I like to shoot and love my clones to death. I have a "real" Elsie and my Grandpa's "C" grade 1894 Remington (Turnbull restored) if I need a made in USA fix. What's not to like about any shotgun, painted ones excluded? We only have to please ourselves.
Peter
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Bill Murphy
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 07:46 pm |
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| If I ever wear the color off my Repro, I would like the refinsih to look like the VH I just got back from Turnbull. I have one painted gun, The Lovely Linda's late husband's duck gun. I hunted with him carrying that gun and couldn't stand the non-walnut wood stock and forend. When Linda gave me the gun, I immediately sprayed it OD and stencilled black doves and sticked curlews on it. There's nothing like sitting in a marsh, waiting for ducks, cradling your late best friend's bird gun. Last edited on Wed Sep 26th, 2007 07:48 pm by Bill Murphy
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Dave Fuller
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 08:01 pm |
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When my 20 Ga Repro gets a bit more worn I'm going to send it off for recoloring and an oil finish (plus general clean and lube). I can't wait... I be carrying it by the receiver with bare sweaty hands all season.
I have a theory that that they changed the coloring process somewhere along the line (but not much data to support it). I have one 13XX numbered gun that started losing its colors after one round of sporting clays and I have a 20XX gun that went on dozens of hunting trips before I noticed much wear at all.
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Marvin Kells
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| Joined: | Mon Jun 18th, 2007 |
| Location: | Atlanta, GA |
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 08:18 pm |
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Dave,
When you send it for that oil finish, best be prepared. I checked with Turnbull on just such work and they said that was not their most favorite thing to do because the original stock finish is very hard to remove. And then the checkering would have to be recut. Therefore their rough estimate was $2,000 to $2,200 (at least on an A-1 Repro). I'm thinking I could get it restocked for close to that ....
Marvin
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Joe Bernfeld
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 08:46 pm |
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I can vouch for what a pain in the ass it is to refinish a Repro! I am just completing a refinish on my 28 ga. Repro with the broken wrist (repair is nearly invisible-yay!). They aren't the easiest guns to get the metal off of (see my 2 threads asking how to do it). The finish took 3 coats of Strip-Eze and a scraper (!) to remove. The wood, although gorgeous, had a lot of grain to fill (many coats of finish steel wooled off) and of course the checkering had to be re-cut. My guess is 1 hour removing the metal parts, 2 hours stripping, 2 hours sanding, at least 8 hours oiling and steel wooling, 2 hours cleaning oil out of the inletting and putting the metal back on, and maybe 8 hours to recut the checkering (D grade; I'm slow...but this would be a real bear on an A-1 special and could easily take twice as long). So what's that, 23 hours or so (maybe more, I didn't keep close track)? I don't know what gunsmiths charge per hour, but it could add up. Also there are pontential wood to metal fit issues since the wood is not too proud on my Repros and the original finish is pretty thick. All that said, I am very pleased with the result but probably would not have done it if I hadn't broken the wrist (wish I could post pics...no camera  ). Sorry if this is a thread hijack; someone else brought up the oil finish idea and I thought I could shed some light on it.
Joe
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Marvin Kells
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 09:05 pm |
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Joe,
Not much of a hijack because the discussion has really been all about keeping our Repros beautiful.
After considering all the information and advice on protecting the case colors, I've decided to join the "let it wear" camp advocated by you and Peter.
It just fits my life style better. 
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Trigg Davis
PGCA Member
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 09:11 pm |
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Geofroy Gourmet did my 20 gauge A-1 reprotwo barrel set. I also had another 20 gauge two barrel set Geofroy did. He indicates that the guns were sent to Turnbull for case coloring after he enraved them.
Trigg
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Marvin Kells
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 09:15 pm |
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Peter,
I really appreciate your feedback on the case color issue and agree wholeheartedly with your "why worry beyond the next hunting trip" perspective. Besides, as long as I'm the one wearing the finish down to silver, it will serve as a constant reminder of all the good times spent shooting and hunting.
Marvin
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Bill Petersen
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 09:56 pm |
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Just my 2 cents...
Connecticut Shotgun produces the limited production of the high grade Parker 28 bore...it might be worth a phone call to Lou to see if the will case color your gun. They have done fantastic work on my high grade Foxes.
Bill
Attached Image (viewed 429 times):
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Peter Clark
Member
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Posted: Wed Sep 26th, 2007 10:12 pm |
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Marvin,
Thanks for the feedback. My repros are no where near as pretty as your new one but they're still pretty neat and I feel privileged to have them. I plan to drag the 20 ga out in the marsh this weekend for the duck opener (where's Destry?). Perhaps pictures will be forthcoming. I also have hay I need to put up but with any luck it won't be dry until Monday! Windrower is just starting to make the rounds. What kind of farmer am I? If I can get the stuff baled by Tuesday, I plan to drag the 12 ga out for a turn on Wed. Stay tuned!
Peter
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Dave Fuller
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Posted: Thu Sep 27th, 2007 12:37 am |
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| Here's my 20/16 combo on opening day this year. It was first hunted in about '92 and the colors look pretty darn good. I have another that has been shot far less and looks worse - go figure. Attached Image (viewed 393 times):
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Bill Murphy
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Posted: Thu Sep 27th, 2007 12:53 am |
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| Trigg, I figured that the GG guns may have been hardened at Turnbulls. No surprise there. I also agree with those who say that different vintages of Repro wear differently. My 28 is wearing fast. It is 28-3284 I think, a late one. I bought it from Guns Unlimited during the closeout for $2795 for a beavertail two barrel set. Yup, only bought one!! My latest invoice from a "real" gunsmith was $85.00 an hour. I think some are more than that. Anyone care to comment?
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Dave Fuller
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Posted: Thu Sep 27th, 2007 01:02 am |
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| In his new book Steven Dodd Hughes says $80-100 per hour for a guy who knows what he's doing. That gets you to $2000 for a refinish pretty quick.
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