Ageing a 1866

triple w · December 30, 2009, 08:06:49 PM

Howdy Everyone. I have a replica 1866 rifle that I would like to try ageing. Have any of you got photos and ideas you'd share? Sure would love to see what ya got! Thanks Guy's
TW

Montana Slim · December 30, 2009, 09:37:15 PM

Degrease & polish until bright & shiny...then shoot only genuine black powder loads through it. Continue.
To speed things up, wipe down the brass with used cleaning patches from the bore.

Slim

Sgt.Jake · December 30, 2009, 10:57:49 PM

I have to second Montana Slim sugestion ,because it works. After shooting mine for four years with nothing but BP,its got that nice brown patina,I have access to a original 66 third model carbine and mines almost there,and besides shooting BP out a 66 will put a big smile on your face. Adios Sgt.Jake

triple w · December 31, 2009, 08:23:33 AM

Well at least I'm on the right trail. It was made in 1981 and has definitely been shot with black powder over the years, but the receiver has not really aged all that much. I'll be shooting black power, so I'll wipe her down with the patches when I swab her out. I was hoping for something that might work a little faster though as I don't really get to shoot all that often any more. If anyone knows of a way to get faster results, I'd sure like to hear from ya!

TW

Will Ketchum · December 31, 2009, 08:28:37 AM

I would think wiping the frame down with vinegar, keeping it away from the blue parts would do it.

Will Ketchum

Johnny McCrae · December 31, 2009, 09:09:00 AM

I stripped the original Reddish Orange Varnish finish off of the wood and applied several coats of Tru Oil. Boiled Linseed Oil will work also. I did the same to my pistols.

Joe Lansing · December 31, 2009, 09:48:25 AM

We humans are strange creatures. If this was, say 1870 or there abouts, we'd be asking how to keep our guns looking new.

J.L.

James Hunt · December 31, 2009, 02:21:21 PM

Most of the above - although I have no experience with vinegar. Ridding your piece of the red Italian finish and using stain and oil is a mandatory first start, although what you find underneath that stain seldom looks like walnut. An easy gentle fix for the blueing is to steel wool it, taking it down to what you feel is appropriate. And although I prefer the natural black powder effect on the receiver (as described, using your used bore patch to rub it down works wonderfully taking only a couple of cleanings to get the well used effect) I have seen guys use brass black (a birchwood casey product - amongst others) to antique the brass on long rifles. It works well and you just use steel wool to bring it back to a level you want (although some feel it leaves a bit of a copper color to it).

www.birchwoodcasey.com/sport/blueing_index.asp?categoryID=1&subcat=5&prodcat=87

My suspicion is that there were few "gun nuts" on the frontier, firearms for most were tools with little emotion attached and as such got beat up rather quickly. Clean and oiled for function, their external appearance was probably less than important. It would take us many Saturday afternoons to achieve the appearance of what may have been common west of the Missouri. My hats off to you for attempting to affect an accurate portrayal.

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x80/Jhunt67/Henry2.jpg

http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x80/Jhunt67/66winrepro.jpg

River City John · December 31, 2009, 05:13:41 PM

Sometimes the brass is lacquered to keep it shiny longer from the manufacturer. Keeps a protective seal against corrosive effects of handling and airborne particles. At least 'til sold and fired, then the lacquer begins to wear away.
By stripping the lacquer off you will expose the metal and it will tarnish down quite rapidly, and evenly, with use. My receiver has that dark mustard brown look of old brass after a decade of shooting BP through it and wiping it down with dirty patches after cleaning. Wipe the wood down too at the same time and it will develop character.

Now, if I had one of those purty engraved rifles, I'd probably be all worked up about keeping it reasonably polished . . .

RCJ

Silver Creek Slim · January 01, 2010, 08:59:15 AM

This is my Henry's receiver after several years of shooting BP.

Slim

pony express · January 01, 2010, 10:49:19 PM

Johnnie McCrae, That's ssure some nice looking grain in that stock!Did you use any stain, in addition to the tru oil?

Johnny McCrae · January 02, 2010, 01:42:47 AM

Howdy Pony,
Thanks for the kind words. No stain was used. I just stripped off the old finish and used Tru Oil.

Charlie Bison · January 02, 2010, 02:12:48 AM

Quote from: Johnny McCrae on January 02, 2010, 01:42:47 AM
Howdy Pony,
Thanks for the kind words. No stain was used. I just stripped off the old finish and used Tru Oil.

How did you go about stripping of the finish? I want to do the same thing, but have no idea how to?
Thanks

Dirty Brass · January 02, 2010, 07:41:57 AM

I did a few guns some time ago, just to see if I could. I stripped the wood with a gel stripping solution (it required many applications to get through the hard layers of Italian varnish), and then did a couple with BC Gunstock Finish, and a couple with boiled linssed oil. You can see the differences by gloss effect. I really like the linseed oil finish best. The brass framed rifles and pistols were then aged with that brass black solution. I have to admit it took some playing and redoing a few times, as that stuff likes to leave blotches here and there. I'm guessing some spots had slight coatings of varnish left, causing that. It's a trial and error thing for me - I don't mind redoing until I'm satisfied - (the Henry still needs some darkening).... The pistola on the top photo right is untouched, just to show the contrast from aged to new looks...anyway, just thought I'd toss a couple of pics in for comparison......

Silver Creek Slim · January 02, 2010, 11:03:50 AM

Quote from: Charlie Bison on January 02, 2010, 02:12:48 AM
How did you go about stripping of the finish? I want to do the same thing, but have no idea how to?
Thanks

When I was going up, my dad always used Zip-Strip to strip paint, varnish, etc from furniture. Pretty potent stuff, nasty fuses. In recent years, I've tried less toxic stripper but it takes a lot longer, more stripper, and doesn't do as good of a job. I'm gonna stay with Zip-Strip. Make sure ya use it outdoors or under a vent hood.

Slim

Delmonico · January 02, 2010, 11:21:05 AM

Quote from: Charlie Bison on January 02, 2010, 02:12:48 AM
How did you go about stripping of the finish? I want to do the same thing, but have no idea how to?
Thanks

I've found out that a couple razor blades as a scaper will take that Italain finsh off quicker than any chemical. But to be honest it's not a method for someone that is all thumbs and hand handed. Took about a 1/2 hour to do both pieces for my Sharps.

Added note: If you are scared to shave with a straight razor I would not try it, but it is fast and non-toxic.

Johnny McCrae · January 02, 2010, 11:31:27 AM

I used Zip-Strip also. One coat did it. Like Slim said, it's nasty stuff. Wear rubber gloves and have good ventilation.

After the Zip-Strip dried I used various grades of sandpaper and finished with extra fine steel wool.

pony express · January 02, 2010, 01:30:35 PM

Dirty brass, is that a REPRODUCTION trapdoor? From the pic, the wood could pass for an origional. And the stock on the Henry looks really close to how my two 100 year old model '94's look!

Dirty Brass · January 03, 2010, 09:48:44 AM

Zip Strip probably would be a better (stronger) alternative. Scraping never was my kind of method, too many scratches and "scrapes" to reshape/finish afterwards. Besides that, I work indoors a lot, and fumes were a factor....

pony express - it is an original trapdoor, but not an original carbine. I cut it down, redid the stock, milled the sling ring off the TG, and made a SR bar for it. Turned out OK - I was satisfied.....

triple w · January 03, 2010, 02:28:31 PM

Thanks for all your input. Some great looking guns everyone. Now I wonder if anyone out there can hook me up with some brass filler screws? The 66 had a receiver sight on it when I picked it up, which I removed. It takes regular filler screws, but I would love to replace them with brass if I can locate some.

TW