Radical Refinishing

Having served in the Army for 26 years, one of my many job tasks was as the Unit Armorer. I also served for 17 years in Army Civil Service as— you guessed it—the unit armorer. Technically, I was the supervisor for the arms room, but not having an assigned unit armorer made me it. I was around when the Army "force fielded" (the process of taking away old equipment and replacing it with the latest and greatest of what the Army had to offer) the Beretta M9 9mm semi auto pistol.

I was there for the force fielding of the M9 to replace the M1911, the M16A2 to replace the M16A1, the M249 to replace the M60, the M4 to replace the M16A2, and the M17 to replace the M9. As for the M9, I found the Beretta factory bluing on the barrels does not hold up well to moisture and readily rusts. Over the years I have attempted several different methods of rust mitigation on barrels and have handled countless thousands over the years.

One of the reoccurring maintenance issues was rust forming on the barrels of the M9 and the similar civilian Model 92FS. One of the better methods I used was to scrub the rust off using a green scouring pad and then to use a cold blue. Afterward I would liberally coat the offending part with molybdenum disulfide grease and bake it for an hour at 275 degrees. This method proved to be better than others but rust would eventually return to haunt me.

I used the baked moly grease method for several years until I tried Parkerizing the barrels. This has proven to be a far superior method. The Parkerizing holds oil and prevents rust while also lending itself to visual aesthetics. If you find yourself with a firearm that has a reoccurring rust problem, consider Parkerizing it. While it takes longer to bring the solution up to temperature than it does to apply the finish, the process is easy and takes less than 15 minutes.

Here’s a summary of the procedure as I do it for M9 barrels. Place the barrel assembly on a soft surface. With a 1/16-inch punch, lightly tap out locking block plunger spring pin. Remove the locking block plunger from the rear of barrel, then remove the locking block by sliding the locking block out of either side of the retaining notch. Reassembly when finished is simply reversing this procedure. Prepare your Parkerizing solution.

Kits are available from Brownells, Lauer Custom Weaponry Duracoat Firearm Finishes (DuracoatFirearmFinishes.com, Allegheny Arsenal (MG34.com), Amazon, and other places. Follow their instructions. Using either rubber stoppers or corks, plug both ends of the barrel and apply some silicone grease to the feed ramp. This will help to prevent the finish from forming on the feed ramp from the Parkerizing solution.

If any finish does form, use a rotary tool with a felt spindle and some fine diamond paste to polish the finish from the feed ramp. Parkerizing is a favorite finishing method and I think you’ll like it as well.

Dangerous Restoration A few months ago, a friend brought in a Ruger New Model Blackhawk Revolver chambered in 45 Colt (popularly referred to as the 45 Long Colt) that a friend of his had found in one of his fields. Based on the serial number, the revolver was made circa 1974, however, my attempt to raise the serial number using a strong acid solution failed to reveal the last two digits as they were obliterated by rust.

I estimate that it had been laying in that field for at least 40 years as it was completely rusted and the wood grips had disintegrated. To add to the excitement, the revolver was still loaded and was rusted to the point of being inoperable, making the standard unloading procedures impossible. His friend had taken the revolver to three different gun shops to be rendered safe and all three refused to allow it into their shops.

The goal was to turn this into a decorative wall hanger so my friend brought it to me because he knew I love a good challenge. I am no stranger to dangerous situations having spent 26 years in the Army, A small rubber hammer was used to remove the cylinder. A brass punch was used to drive out the cartridges. including time as an armorer and conducting demolitions with explosives. After a thorough examination, I decided the first course of action was to remove some of the rust in a safe manner.

I accomplished this by submerging the revolver in a bath of salt and 9% vinegar and using my car battery charger to accelerate the chemical reaction. I attached the positive terminal to a steel welding coupon to act as the cathode and the negative to the revolver so it was the anode and applied 40 amps. After about an hour, I removed the revolver, rinsed it under running tap water, then allowed it to air dry.

Once dry I applied a penetrating oil to the base pin and the base pin retainer button, allowing this to work over night. The next day I used a brass punch and hammer to apply a fair amount of "percussive persuasion" to compress the button and break the bond formed by the rust. Then I removed the screw and was able to remove the retainer button. Next, I used a small piece of scrap leather and a pair of pliers to grab the base pin and aggressively tapped the base pin out.

Again, using a smaller brass punch I tapped open the loading gate. The cylinder was still being retained by the rust. With the application of a rubber hammer and some considerable force I was able to remove the cylinder. The cartridges were also corroded in place. The process of rendering the cartridges safe was to take the cylinder to my drill press and drill a small hole in each projectile.

I used my black powder revolver loading press as a holding jig tightened in my drill press vice and a 1/8" bit to drill the holes. I wrapped the cylinder in another piece of scrap leather, put it in my bench vice, and used a one-pound dent puller to extract the projectiles. I could have used a needle oiler and penetrating oil to deaden the powder and primers, but curiosity had the best of me. I dumped the powder out and took it outside to see if it would burn, which it did.

Again secured in the vice, I used a brass punch to remove the cartridges. I then removed the primers from the cartridges and then seated them in some new, unused brass so I could fire them. Of the six primers, one was dead, three fizzled and two fired normally. I tossed the six cartridges into my case tumble for cleaning.