Rifle Re-Bluing?

[bigred1]

Hi All,

I have a HW90 that has recently gained some serious sentimental value, the action has lost a lot of its bluing and I'm torn as to what to do, so I would greatly appreciate any thoughts and/or advice on the following:

If I leave as is but maybe treat it to a frequent oily wipe down would I be able to conserve its current condition or is the process of degradation inevitable, how much worse could it get?

How much would a full re-blue likely cost (ball park) and does anybody have any recommendations for gunsmiths in the south west who could do a good job?

And finally, given the sentimental value... restore to its former glory or leave as is, what would you do?

Thanks in advance,

Richard

[angrybear]

Much of the sentimental value will be due to the patina imparted by years of use.
If it's restored all that gets lost so you might as well just buy a new one.

How it further degrades depends on how you now look after it, but that's just the next chapter in its history.

[Neil54]

A wipe over with an oily rag now and again.
Avoid WD40 and anything acid based.

Restoration is a personal choice.
I learnt to shoot with a Meteor MK1. I acquired one which I restored. It have a soft spot for the rifle but not really sentimental. Just good memories.

[rapidresponse1]

as above i just use a oily rag

[Travis299]

Ballistol is your friend.

[Mark Palmer]

Paul Chell is your man for a top end reblue, I'm guessing in the ball park of £120-150 for better than new finish, but I believe he has personal issues and it'll be a while before he takes on any more, there are various cold blue options if you wish to have a go yourself, search the forum, there should be plenty of advice as to how to go about it. I've had reasonable results myself with a few cold blue systems