...and finally
 

As Rod Serling used to say, "Submitted for your approval" here is one of the Vs and my 20 ga reproduction, as redone by Mr. Bachelder, cheek by jowl with the real McCoy. You be the judge but by George I think he's got it. At least I am happy and my other two are in his shop as I type this. :)

Color Loss
 

My own theory on color loss is quite simple. Guns that retain color inside, but are near silver outside, were wiped down with anti rust oils.

Best, Austin

You know Austin I had heard that before too and I also heard that Hoppes 9
was also bad for case colors, not sure if it is true but.....

In keeping with a recent thread, return to top. Correct case colors are a recurring issue for those who are concerned about originality or restoration to original colors.

Had I viewed the V grade pictured in the opening post in person, I would have incorrectly concluded that the colors were not original and passed on it, assuming it were priced as an original. I have never seen a Parker with case coloring on the triggers, even the protected areas inside the frame. That would have led me to believe that the case coloring was not legit, especially considering the somewhat spotty color pattern on the belly of the frame.

VH 16 1926

http://i78.photobucket.com/albums/j1...psf82c7409.jpg

It might just be the light but I dont believe there are any case colors on those triggers. I am with you Justin, I have never seen color case hardened triggers except for aftermarket single triggers. The Parker Story might point out a few occurrences on high grade customs but the majority of those were usually high polish, plated triggers. Most triggers are well used so the only way to tell if they were color case hardened is to pull the bottom plate off and examine the hidden portions of the trigger like the blades.

If I remember correctly the Parker Story describes the factory heat treatment process for small parts like triggers but it isnt traditional color case hardening. I thought it was more or less heating up the parts on an old hand file followed with a quench in whale oil. This process would have also given the components a dark finish similar to bluing, although not as durable. On a lower grade production gun I would imagine this would have been "good enough" to get shipped out the door at the time.

Just like today - time was money in those days and if I had to guess the factory probably didnt encourage extra time being spent on the repolishing and charcoal bluing of these small parts after the heat treatment was done, especially not on lower grade standard production guns.

It doesn't take much use for the colors on the triggers to wear off. This is a new in the box Trojan. Middle and high grade guns had nickel plated triggers, very high grades sometimes gold plated.

That's very interesting...the better restoration artists like Turnbull and Brad B take great pride in returning Parkers to original factory condition in every minute detail, but I can not recall ever seeing one of their restorations with case colored triggers. They are always either blued or polished to a silver color.

The issue is whether the lower grade triggers are blued or are they case colored. They are dark. I'll check TPS.

On small parts, bluing and case colors look almost alike and when worn, I can't tell.