Just finished conversions

[Don Nix]

I just finished converting my Navy Arms 1858's. I got a couple of Kirst kits fron Raven and spent the next week installing them.
let me say that it doesnt take a week to install the conversions but it took me a week to cut the loading notches. i had the poorest excuse for a dremel tool known to man and it took forever. Afyter i burnt it up I went and bought a 3 speed tool nad it only took a couple of hours to finish the job. I had on accident where I let it get away from me and the sanding drum ran down the frame, but it will soon fade away as it just looks like a btight shiny spot. It fact i am thinking of polishing the entire surface area.
I also want to completely clean up the guns by removing the made in Italy but I need to do a little more research before I do that. if anyone has suggestions please send them my way.

[Major 2]

Nothing but thing to defarb the Remingtons ...it's quite easy, nothing really to research.

I used to do it for film props and sometimes for folks gratis....

[Flint]

If you want to defarb the guns, draw file with a fine mill bastard file.  Carefully drag it over the lettering with the file held sideways, not lengthwise down the flats, keep the file clean with a wire brush.  When the lettering is gone, polish with wet or dry sandpaper backed up with a flat piece of wood or similar using 320 down to 600 grit.

I cut the loading ports with a rat tail file which runs cooler than a sanding drum, and finished/polished with a Dremel drum only at the end of the process.  One should avoid using a Dremel tool on a firearm, or anything else that's valuable without extreme care, a tight grip and some years of experience.

[schizuki]

Just make sure you leave the serial number intact.

[Abilene]

A little cold blue on those shiny spots shouild hide them pretty well.  On the other hand, if you like shiny guns then yeah you you could polish the whole gun.  I know a guy who polishes all his blued cowboy guns, including long guns, so they look almost nickled.  He uses flitz to polish them.

[hawkeye2]

      Start removing the lettering by draging a smooth hard round bar over the lettering using as much downward force as you can muster.  This forces some of the raised area around each letter back down into the stamping and means you will have to remove less metal to make the stamping go away.  The shank of a drill bit is ideal, the larger the diameter the better.  While they are ugly and always stamped in a prominent area I would leave the proof marks.  In Europe you can't shoot a gun without proofs on a range and I would be somewhat curious as to why the firearm I was being offered in a sale hadn't been proofed.  I have dressed stamped info that I wanted to retain down with a smooth stone just taking it down flush with the surrounding surface and that alone will do a lot to hide it.

[Hoof Hearted]

Just make sure you leave the serial number intact.

Unless you live in a state the feels that a Cap & Ball is a firearm, you do not have to leave the Italian Serial number on the pistols.
When you convert the non-firearm Cap & Ball pistol into a firearm you have the opportunity to serial number, name and model it whatever the HELL you want to. It is perfectly legal to build your own firearm.

[StrawHat]

     Start removing the lettering by draging a smooth hard round bar over the lettering using as much downward force as you can muster.  This forces some of the raised area around each letter back down into the stamping and means you will have to remove less metal to make the stamping go away.  The shank of a drill bit is ideal, the larger the diameter the better.  While they are ugly and always stamped in a prominent area I would leave the proof marks.  In Europe you can't shoot a gun without proofs on a range and I would be somewhat curious as to why the firearm I was being offered in a sale hadn't been proofed.  I have dressed stamped info that I wanted to retain down with a smooth stone just taking it down flush with the surrounding surface and that alone will do a lot to hide it...

Burnishing is an excellent way to remove makers names and warnings from the firearm without removing metal.  All the wording is stamped in and move metal around.  By burnishing you are moving it back into place.  Drill rod or a harden smooth round rod will work.  If you are only doing one, a screwdriver will work but it is rather soft.

I feel the same about proof marks.  If I see a gun without them when I think they should be there, it tells me it is a kit.  Or someone trying to pass an Italian as a real one = fake.    Same with the serial number, without one it is a kit and I price them way down.