To Restore or Not?

[zooma]

I have often been a little confused about when to restore a classic airgun and when to just to leave it as it is.

Some years ago I bought a Mk 1 Airsporter that had a 3 piece stock, it was complete and shot OK but had very little blue left on it and the stock had seen better days.

The decision to restore it was taken and the metal work was sent to Collin Malloy who polished it beautifully ( avoiding any factory markings) and then gave it a nice new blue finish.

The stock was stripped and I carefully steamed out any small "dings" and then built up a good walnut oiled finish and then gave it a clear Briwax finish to complete it.

The trigger bock was professionally re-coated black as like many Airsporters of its age it had lost its original black paint and been polished.

During reassembly the rifle was carefully lubed and a new spring (of the correct type) fitted and after everything was put back together again it now looks (arguably) better than it did when it left the factory as a new air rifle - mainly due to Collins superb workmanship with his polishing and bluing and the hand finished stock - both given more care than a production line rifle could expect to receive.

...and yet the rifle will not appeal to everyone as it is not in its original "aged" state.

If it was a classic motor car that was looking a bit shabby and had seen "better days" that was painstakingly restored to concourse condition then just about everyone would agree that this was a good project to do and it would be applauded by most - but a restored classic airgun does not seem to gain this same degree of appreciation.

For me the rifle is now a thing of beauty and it can be shot with confidence and enjoyed. It looks good, the woodwork is easy to maintain if it should ever get scratched and it is a joy to admire.

I paid £175 for the rifle when I bought it about 5 years ago and now after making the effort and spending a lot of time and cash on it some would argue it is worth even less!

I am left with the conclusion that the pleasure of seeing something brought back to superb condition can only be seen by the owner and the cost and time spent is lost forever.