the best way to get rid of pitting on a project rifle

[valboskie]

What is the best method or products to get rid of pitting on the action of a rifle.
Im trying to restore a 1965 webley Falcon for my son as an open sight plinker.
I sanded the bluing off with 80 grit wet and dry nearly 4 hours of sanding and the whole
Action looks leopard print it feels smooth in places but there are darker grey marks and a few small holes.
I know a few on here have restored rusty pitted rifles.How did you solve the problem.I want to blue it so any advice would be brilliant.
Atb
David

[Hsing-ee]

What is the best method or products to get rid of pitting on the action of a rifle.
Im trying to restore a 1965 webley Falcon for my son as an open sight plinker.
I sanded the bluing off with 80 grit wet and dry nearly 4 hours of sanding and the whole
Action looks leopard print it feels smooth in places but there are darker grey marks and a few small holes.
I know a few on here have restored rusty pitted rifles.How did you solve the problem.I want to blue it so any advice would be brilliant.
Atb
David

If it is a cheap old plinker, some kind of hard paint done in several thin coats would smooth it out eventually.

The other thing you could think about would be getting it plated with nickel or chrome. Colin Malloy at Manchester Air Guns can do this or you might be able to get a local plating firm to do it for less money. Just make sure they don't plate the bore or inside of the cylinder. I've never done this but a think enough layer of plated metal will cover up the problem.

[Weasle]

I've had Mr Colin Malloy recue some almost 'scrappers' by his polishing techniques then re bluing.

Contact Colin and see what he thinks.

Cheers

Steve ( ;-)>

[Rickenbacker]

What is the best method or products to get rid of pitting on the action of a rifle.
Im trying to restore a 1965 webley Falcon for my son as an open sight plinker.
I sanded the bluing off with 80 grit wet and dry nearly 4 hours of sanding and the whole
Action looks leopard print it feels smooth in places but there are darker grey marks and a few small holes.
I know a few on here have restored rusty pitted rifles.How did you solve the problem.I want to blue it so any advice would be brilliant.
Atb
David

80 grit sounds ever so coarse... are you using it with oil, or dry?

I've always used oil, but its a long & messy job for sure.

Maybe its time to try an area with 120 >> 240 >> then 400 grit. To see how it comes up?

Always use a block on flat surfaces to keep the edges sharp.

You're going to have to take all the pits out, as blue doesn't fill anything.

Phil

[Papa g]

What is the best method or products to get rid of pitting on the action of a rifle.
Im trying to restore a 1965 webley Falcon for my son as an open sight plinker.
I sanded the bluing off with 80 grit wet and dry nearly 4 hours of sanding and the whole
Action looks leopard print it feels smooth in places but there are darker grey marks and a few small holes.
I know a few on here have restored rusty pitted rifles.How did you solve the problem.I want to blue it so any advice would be brilliant.
Atb
David

I start with a fine file on pitted metal work, gently does it don't dig in to deep, file lightly & evenly around any circumference & then lenghtwise once you've got rid of any pitting switch to emery cloth in strips, start with 80grit & use it in a shoeshine fashion, then lengthways again, keep working in this way from 80 to 120 to 240, 360, 400 then finally 0000 steel wool with solvol autosol, I've used this method many times on old guns & it brings them up a treat, it usually takes about 5 hours per gun if it's pitted but serviceable, less if there's no pitting, once you've got it to a good finish( no sanding marks, nice gleaming s
hine get it hot blued for a fraction of the normal price as all the hard work been done!
Regards Graham oh & as been mentioned before, use a block with you emery on flat/square areas.

[valboskie]

Thanks for all the great tips.
I was going to either cold blue it or try rust bluing with brick and mortar cleaner. .
I have a webley vulcan that is pitted as well to do next .
Its been in a loft for 27 years.
Both the vulcan and falcon have their open sights so they are for a bit of fun.
I have ordered some birchwood casy blue & rust remover

I will take some pictures to let you guys see what the pitting looks like
Atb
David

[Rickenbacker]

Cool, the BC blue/rust remover works really well... just don't get it on a good gun via your rubber gloves! (I did that once).

And one time, I wasted BC spot remover on my dog - now he's gone...

[air-tech]

As previous, basically you can't get pitting out, you just remove the surrounding metal until it is level with the bases of the pits!

However... On a gun that has been blued properly, the pits become practically unnoticeable or at least very tolerable.

[solutrim]

I start with a fine file on pitted metal work, gently does it don't dig in to deep, file lightly & evenly around any circumference & then lenghtwise once you've got rid of any pitting switch to emery cloth in strips, start with 80grit & use it in a shoeshine fashion, then lengthways again, keep working in this way from 80 to 120 to 240, 360, 400 then finally 0000 steel wool with solvol autosol, I've used this method many times on old guns & it brings them up a treat, it usually takes about 5 hours per gun if it's pitted but serviceable, less if there's no pitting, once you've got it to a good finish( no sanding marks, nice gleaming s
hine get it hot blued for a fraction of the normal price as all the hard work been done!
Regards Graham oh & as been mentioned before, use a block with you emery on flat/square areas.

I'll second this.

I've done a couple of rifles and a pistol that have been badly pitted, you'll get no where fast by sanding.

It feels wrong when you first use this method, but you'll be glad you did !!


Regards

Kevin

[RichardH]

Start by draw filing if its bad then through the grades of emery.

You can plate heavily with copper then rub back prior to nickel or chrome plating which works like high build filler which is quicker if you like the shiny look.

Either way its a bitch of a job and I've done more than a few

[vbull]

Is there a difference between emery paper and normal B&Q type papers if so what is it ?

[valboskie]

Thanks everyone for all the help
Is this tbe type of files I need they are for sale on flebay item number
221014078531
Cheers
David

[oliver13]

Is there a difference between emery paper and normal B&Q type papers if so what is it ?

Emery, which is Corundum, which is Aluminium Oxide is generally for metal - but it can do wood or plastic if needed.
It can be waterproof i.e. Wet & Dry - the water helps with the products cutting action.

B&Q type papers - I assume you mean Glass Paper? are for wood & are a lot weaker, they are crushed glass powder stuck to paper - it's a long time since sand paper was actually made with sand.
In theory you could use it to finish metal, polish out pitting etc. but you would get through an immense amount compared to Emery, & you couldn't use it wet.

If B&Q do an Emery Paper, Wet & Dry etc. then it will probably be as competitve with any other brand of Emery Paper as anything else that B&Q does.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emery_%28mineral%29