Newbie rebluing question

[jeffkinser]

If a Parker has had its receiver blued, can it ever be restored to correct case colors or is it forever damaged?

thanks,

Jeff

[wayne goerres]

It is not ruined. It can be case colored again.

[John Campbell]

The "bluers" who visited this travesty upon Parker guns in the past often polished the heck out of the frames, etc. before they applied that glossy hot blue. Result: corners were rounded, engraving wiped off, and screw holes dished out. If yours has been polished, that is also an issue to correct before re-case.

[jeffkinser]

Thank you for the replies. I ask because several times I have run across guns either on the internet or in person that have had their receiver blued. Even the Parker newbie that I am knows that that is not correct. I always wondered though that if I wanted to buy a gun and have it restored (not for investment reasons, but for enjoyment of looking at it/shooting it reasons) did I need to cross these guns off the list from the start or if they were still to be considered if they were cheap enough.

thanks,

Jeff

[Dean Romig]

Be very careful - those guns may also have hot-blued barrels and that process can wreak havoc on a good set of barrels.

[wayne goerres]

If they hot blued the barrels and loosened the ribs it cost close to 1000.00 to fix properly.

[Brian Dudley]

Blued frames being made right is really dependant on the way they were polished before bluing. As Mr. Campbell stated, poor quality methods could have been used to prep the frame for bluing.

Removing bluing, polishing and case coloring is surely an option for any frame.

Another route is simply removing the bluing. Usually doing this will leave a matte gray finish on the frame which, although not great looking it is better than bluing. If a gun is not worth the expense and time to put back to 100% right, sometimes just removing the bluing makes things look a lot better.

[will evans]

Be very careful - those guns may also have hot-blued barrels and that process can wreak havoc on a good set of barrels.

X2 - That is my first thought when I see blued receivers. A blued receiver makes me far more wary than a re-case colored receiver.

There was 16ga VH on 'broker out of Florida recently which sat for weeks at $700. Reblued barrels and blued receiver. It had a few other issues, including a replacement stock with improper checkering and slightly shortened barrels, but with remaining open choke that I find nice for brush shooting. I had thought a set of 1 frame 16ga VH barrels with complete forend, even shortened a little, would still be worth $700 to someone. I'm convinced the blued receiver is what delayed the sale of that gun.

Jeff, I'm not too far from you up in Atlanta. I'm also a newbie to Parkers, gaining interest just a couple of years ago. I follow a LOT of guns online just to see how quickly/if they sell. Many that I think are good values, which is somewhat confirmed when they don't last long. I am happy to let them slide to someone else for now as I learn a little with each gun. I've found that method to be one of the best ways to learn about the value while living in a Parker-poor area(Georgia). I know that the knowledgeable folks here are also looking at the same guns.

There was another nice gun which turned up close by up in Acworth a few weeks ago. A 12ga GH that I drove up to inspect. Nice bores which measured at .735. Some finish had been added at one time to the damascus barrels, but that was the only thing wrong I could see. Rather than give the guy the $1350 he wanted to walk out with it that day, I decided to see if I was correct that it was a decent buy in that condition. Sold the next week, and I'd wager dollars to donuts a member here picked it up. I didn't kick myself for not buying it. I praised myself for learning a little bit more. Just being able to handle the gun one time was enough for me.

-Will

[jeffkinser]

There was another nice gun which turned up close by up in Acworth a few weeks ago. A 12ga GH that I drove up to inspect. Nice bores which measured at .735. Some finish had been added at one time to the damascus barrels, but that was the only thing wrong I could see. Rather than give the guy the $1350 he wanted to walk out with it that day, I decided to see if I was correct that it was a decent buy in that condition. Sold the next week, and I'd wager dollars to donuts a member here picked it up. I didn't kick myself for not buying it. I praised myself for learning a little bit more. Just being able to handle the gun one time was enough for me.

-Will

I followed that one as well. I almost drove up there to inspect it since it was so close. We seem to be doing the same thing with sites like Gunbroker. I try to watch lots of guns and figure out either why they are getting bids or why they are not. I have become friends with Greg Phillips who is another member here in the Atlanta area and he has been very helpful in explaining what he sees in some of these guns as well. I couldn't imagine trying to get into this game without having a site like this forum. Tidbits of information fall like rain at times and I am trying to soak them all up :)

Do you do any trap shooting with your guns locally?

Jeff