Antiquing "How-To"

[Mean Bob Mean]

I saw a nicely antiqued Cimarron 1878 shotgun Saturday.  Shooter said he did it with a fast light vinegar wipe. 

[Lord Eoin MacKenzie]

This might be "Off Topic"    I have an older west German made SAA clone with Aluminum Gripframe, trigger guard and ejector houing...Also the previous owner sprayed the entire gun with a flat black paint that lasted until I got home.  I know the gunfight grips have to go, for both groups.
What can I used to strip off the paint without affecting the aluminum pieces?

[yahoody]

I did my USFA Rodeo start to finish while watching Monte Walsh last night.  Only a few pauses throw in for refreshements and pee breaks  .



Little more white than I originally wanted on the barrel sides.  Spent most of the time on the frame with the gun stripped down.    Only things used were a new B-C Lead & Polishing Cloth (the majority of the effort btw), a tiny bit of JB Bore paste and a few swipes of white wine vinegar, undiluted, which was used very sparingly on a paper towel as a wipe.   The visual effect now is a well worn carbonia blue I think.  More so than a  gun in the white to my eye.  Surprised actually at just how nice it did come out.

either way a lot more authentic than this imo...
and a might purtier

[yahoody]

It would Still have the Majority of its Finish & Not look 200 years old. 

Ya, imo, there is a lot of speculation in this thread on gun finish.

I own a gun 1911 Colt Bisley that I know its entire history from a new purchase @ Blish-Mize-Silliman hardware in Atchison KS to date.  It has been passed through 4 generations of my family.  Of those 103 years I know exactly where it has been for 70.  It was pampered for that 70.   The majority of the holster wear came between 1913 and 1922 doing Colorado ranch work when a side arm might be required.  But no question, this one was an expensive piece of property that was taken exceptionally good care of.  This was a gentleman's target gun and point of pride.   The purchase was never intended to be a cowboy's everyday range tool.  A couple of hard years, 1942-3 saw the same gun in the holster again on a cow pony.  The owner already 50+.  Game, but city soft and getting a little long in the tooth to be a cowboy again.  You can compare the results of what 11 years of actual documented holster wear and the elements do to a gun in the photo.  I still have the original holster as well.  I suspect finish damage was at best an equal combination of holster wear and harsh cleaning techniques.  BP cleaning even harder yet on the finish.   

[willcarter]

Great idea Marshal. The cheapest and ugliest holster will be transformed into very special tool.
But please don´t try this job with the cylinder in only one  position, unless you want a very funny wearing pattern.

[Baltimore Ed]

Here's my Colt 1911/Essex.The slide is original 1911 with the small sights and correct roll marks with 100 years of wear and tear. The frame is a 70ish Essex. The problem was that they didn't match at all. The frame, slide, small parts sans the bbl and internals were put in a cloth bag with a bunch of screwdriver bits and ball bearings and then shook and rattled for a while. Then I used browning solution. Luckily the old slide and modern frame and bbl were a good fit. It turned out fine and is 100% reliable. The walnut double diamonds are modern but were also distressed by sanding down the points and staining with dark stain and some ink.

[Forty Rod]

Mighty fine job and one of the few I've seen that actually match the"real" antique original finish.

Well done, sir.

[Baltimore Ed]

Here's the Colt before.

[ToryBlaker]

That is a great how-to,  and I used basically the same method when I redid my Uberti Cattleman.  I just had to do something to get rid of that "matte blued" finish!

The only real difference that I did was that I used Flitz polish in the very end.

Here is a pic of the completed Uberti:

great work, you are quite an artist if i may say so