Antiquing "How-To"

[Snake River James]

For those interested in antiquing a USFA Rodeo, here's how mine turned out.  I stripped the matte blue with vinegar then used a combination of cold blue and plum brown to get the effect I wanted.  Add a set of vintage stag grips and it looks pretty good.  Some use will add to the look by creating uneven wear.  Couldn't bring myself to antique the color cased hammer though.  Maybe later...

               

       I'm not sure the photo image will post so here' the link just in case   http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e184/srjames/MyRodeo1.jpg

[Irish Dave]

Very nice, SRJ.

[Dalton Masterson]

Heres my Walker and runt 51.
Walker: Used BC Plum Brown pre directions, then took some cold blue over that. Shot it a few years, washed it once in dishwasher (oops, wife is still mad there), carded off the orange color. Then added salt to a wet gun, let dry repeat. Added nice mottling to finish. Polished very lightly with green pad. Whacked with a hard object a few times to add character dents. Lightly polished down the case colors so they looked faded, and added antiqued ivory grips. The wood grips I had were antiqued by stripping finish, taking a few pieces out (ala, dropped on barfloor), and colored broken parts with leather dye. I DID NOT remove any markings. When I shoot it people have asked why I would shoot an original.

runt 51: Swapped a preantiqued cylinder in and did a bad cold blue on the barrel
DM

[Rube Burrows]

My question is on the third page it shows the gun really rusted. Does that normally happen? Was that his second method?

[Cimarron Lawman]

I believe that is a normal part of plum browning. The "rust" is then carded off and you are left with a pleasing, rust-resistant brown patina.

[andy42s]

Yankee John, did you use the Radio Shack juice that jiminy criquet was talking about on your cattleman? I like the look of your finish a lot, would like the same effect for my vaquero

[Ten Wolves Fiveshooter]

For those interested in antiquing a USFA Rodeo, here's how mine turned out.  I stripped the matte blue with vinegar then used a combination of cold blue and plum brown to get the effect I wanted.  Add a set of vintage stag grips and it looks pretty good.  Some use will add to the look by creating uneven wear.  Couldn't bring myself to antique the color cased hammer though.  Maybe later...

               

       I'm not sure the photo image will post so here' the link just in case   http://i39.photobucket.com/albums/e184/srjames/MyRodeo1.jpg
[/quo   Snake River James
         I never liked the Rodio much , I always thought it was the ugleast gun out there, that mate finish is bad I don't know why USFA, would choose matte for a gun like the rodio. Anyway I think you did an A-1-OK job on this gun it looks the way it should look, and the grips really sets it off. GOOD JOB, MY HATS OFF TO YA

                                           TEN WOLVES FIVE SHOOTER            PS if that hammer is case harden leave it alone,it looks right just the way it is....

[andy42s]

Here's my newly old Ruger New Vaquero. I need to age the brass as well

[Anontex2]

I have an Win 1866 that I have been trying to "distress" or "antique" a bit. Have been working with ammonia as recommended by numerous postings on the net, but could not get it right...splotches, cloth used left pattern, etc.  Today I tried something new and...bingo!  I poured about a cup of ammonia in an oblong shaped crockpot,  laid the brass receiver (still on rifle) across the opening at top and then fabricated a hoop frame of wire coat hangers within the crockpot and arching over the receiver.  I then used Glad ClingWrap to construct a "tent" over the hoop frame, with the bottom edges of the wrap readily clinging to the hot sides of the crockpot, sealing it somewhat.  I then turned the crockpot to "high" and as soon as the ammonia solution heated up, the patina developed right in front of my (watering) eyes.

[Highlander999]

As to why...  I 'd agree with a few of the other posts, the weapons used then got lots of use and holster wear.  When I did miine, i tried to make it look a lot like the gun John Wayne carried in many of his movies.

But, like the old Cavalry guns, most were worn out by the 1890's when they were repaired and retro-fitted with the 5 1/2" Artillery bbls...

My effort was more to "replicate" considerable holster wear and use.

[Virginia Gentleman]

How do you make holster wear?  Make lots of passes through the holster until the metal starts showing?

[Marshal Will Wingam]

That is one way to do it but I think you'd loose interest after a while. You could put jeweler's rouge or polishing compound on a piece of leather and rub the high points until it shows the same amount of wear you would find on an old pistol. A couple photos of old guns would let you know where to do this to really look authentic. A little care would produce a good result. If you have a holster you don't want to use again, you could put the polishing compound all over the inside and start in but that would still be doing things the hard way.

[Delgado]

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.

Delgado

[Daniel Nighteyes]

I've posted these pics on SCORRS, and thought they might also be appropriate here.  I started with a pair of Uberti New Model Armies with that butt-ugly Millennium finish.  I dissassembled them, then degreased thoroughly with brake cleaner. I removed the finish by soaking them in white vinegar and wiping off with a series of paper towels.  By the way, I discovered that part of the Millennium finishing process involved bead-blasting the metal.  Next came a thorough soaking in a baking-soda/water solution, and an even more thorough rinsing under running tap water.

The moment they hit the air, they started oxidizing, so I rubbed them down really well with lots of oil.  I thoroughly swabbed out and oiled the bores too.

Next came the fun part -- using and shooting them in matches and, with reasonable care, letting them age on their own.  Several times I've been asked if they're originals, which pleases me greatly.


Here's how they looked shortly after I finished them, but before installing  "aged ivory" grips and the "antique finish" R&D conversion cylinders.  Note that I did not strip the finish from the percussion cylinders:




Here's how they looked with the new grips/cylinders and a few months of handling and use:



And here's how they look today, after better than a year of handling and use:

[Jubel]

Well here's my nickels worth, I purchased a Richards Mason that came from the factory antiqued it was the only
one in 45 Schofield I could find locally. It had the standard 8"  1/2 bbl. I purchased a 5 1/2 BBL from Cimarron and I
followed the directions for antiquing using white vinagar until I matched the new BBL to the rest of the revolver. I
then used the polimar gun cleaner and protectant by Sweet Shooter as directed and so far rap on wood, no rust or
discoloration. This was two (2) years and many rounds ago.

[IE300]

Here's my Pietta Remington 1858 nice and pretty from the factory.

[IE300]

Here's my Pietta Remington 1858 after I destroyed it. Well, I'm not quite finished destroying it yet, I have a few more adjustments to make before I head into the sunset. Or maybe I'll just let time and wear take it from here.
I won't detail my metal finishing here. Suffice it to say that I did a bunch of experimentation, and ended up doing some variations on what you read about other peoples techniques on this site. It was all fun.
I cut the barrel to 5.5", cut the loading lever to match (although it has no latch to keep it from flopping around, so I'll probably never use it. I sanded the grips and finished them using USMC leather die, worked great on the wood! The cylinder pin retaining block (that's what I'm calling it, anyway) I fabricated from a scrap drillbit and some 1/4" steel I had. I drilled and tapped it to accomodate the retaining screw with the knurled brass button shown in the photo detail. I silver soldered a piece of square steel to the bottom front of the cylinder pin, just to fill the small space below it which would have been exposed. This was just cosmetic, but I like the result. The brass trigger guard I gave a slight copper plating to using some old jewelers pickle. Copper ages faster than brass, so I figured I'd give it a try. I fabricated the 2 crosses for the handles from a little scrap sterling, and affixed them with JB Weld, after degreasing the handles. I buffed the handles with the crosses on a buffer, hit them both again with the dye and hand rubbed them. I'll be the first to admit that my gunsmithing is primitive, but this project came out about as I would have hoped for. I finished it with a holster kit I bought from Tandy Leather. Nothing fancy, but I wasn't going to put my creation in a holster I didnt at least put together myself. Unfortunately, now I got the bug and I'm afraid there will be more such projects in the near future.

THE CROSSES ARE A TRIBUTE TO CLINT EASTWOOD
THE NAME OF THIS PISTOL IS "THE PREACHER"

[/b]

[Curley Cole]

I got this Dakota years ago as a kit so it was in the "white", so I wanted to finish it to look well used. Well, that and using it for 25 some years has made it come true....

The gun in the book under my gun is Doc Hollidays and it looks very much similar...(pix doesn't do it justice.)

good shootin
curley

[Curley Cole]

Sorry gang, didn't realize I had already posted to this thread....my apologiezs...

curley

[olered54]

I am looking at purchasing a Stoeger Silverado. This is a used SXS and  the owner will sell it to me for a very good price. It is in excellent condition and has the brushed nickle finish. Is it possible to remove that finish as easily as removing bluing? The finish is in really good shape but, I would prefer to making the gun look older and more used. Brushed nickle is not my favorite for long guns. Please let me know about removing this finish. Thanks