I'm trying to work up the enthusiasm to tackle a little Webley Senior refurb.
Its well worn with some metal damage, some pitting and most of the original finish is gone.
Its been on the back burner while i round up some missing parts, (still needs a left hand grip and the little barrel release stop screw, if anybody can help please drop me a pm).
Anyway now that its all mostly there im thinking about the finish.
The owner wants it tidied up and working, the budget won't stretch to a professional job and im not sure it would be worth it anyway, so im thinking just dress any major dings or damage, rub it down and hit it with some cold blue.



I tried some Phillips cold blue yesterday on a couple of parts i made, i didn't spend any time prepping, just degreased and gave it two applications, it turned out ok, a reasonably dark and even finish.
It seems to be better than the Birchwood Casey Perma Blue Paste or Liquid Gun Blue.
Anybody tried cold blue on an old Webley with any success ?
Or tried anything better than the Phillips solution ?



Obviously cold blue is not going to hide much but the knurling on the little thread protector looks better than the flat sides on the hex bar so im wondering if a slightly rougher or textured finish might work better to blend in the pitting.
Not blasted but is it worth maybe etching lightly before the cold blue rather than applying to a polished finish ?