Refinishing Or Restoration?

When a customer comes in your door toting Pap’s old smokepole and tells you he wants to have it restored, does he really? Maybe he just wants to get the stock touched up or the piece reblued. Maybe he just wants to be able to shoot it. Or, maybe he isn’t sure what he wants. A few questions are in order. Does he know the difference between refinishing and restoration? Refinishing means just that, stripping the old finish off and applying new.

There is nothing wrong with this and it has been bread and butter for a lot of us. I personally take a lot of pride in transforming an old clunker into a handsome, functional piece. Recutting checkering, polishing and rebluing the metal and applying a pleasing finish to an old chunk of walnut are all jobs I enjoy, but that is not restoration. Restoration is returning a firearm to its original condition, that is, new from the factory condition. Not an easy task when your gun may be 100 years old.

Refinishing can be accomplished in most of our shops, and prices are reasonable and in the reach of almost anyone. Restoration is a specialized process that requires expertise, applied knowledge and the wherewithal to do this kind of work. It also takes years of study and more than a good deal of dedication to the craft. We have to determine what the customer wants and what we can do. There are very few actual restoration experts in the country. One of the finest and most established is Doug Turnbull.

The guns coming out of his shop are truly works of art and fully functional as well. He works his magic on about any type of firearm, but his shotguns and lever actions are truly a sight to be seen. I am the first to say that I can’t do what he does. Many different factors go into restoration. Color case hardening is an art form not practiced by Without proper tools, you will only be messing things up, be it restoration or refinishing.

Have good padding and make sure you don’t crush any delicate parts like shotgun barrels. With a big vise like this one it’s easy to do. many nowadays, but there is more than one way to do it. This process was used by the old firearm’s makers more than it is today, and often had subtle differences from one run of manufacturing to another, even on the same gun from the same manufacturer. Turnbull has studied these types of things and will make sure your gun is historically accurate.

Another area is wood finishing, also a challenge because of the many techniques and different grades of stocks that could be fitted on the same gun. Subtle color differences between parts of fine guns, how screw heads look and fit, engraving, are all challenges for the restorer. If you think you can do it and want to save some money, Turnbull has a video on how to prepare your gun to send to him for the final restoration process. Some questions need to be answered. Can your gun be restored?

There are other brands but these work as advertised. Study old examples. Are parts missing? Is the wood so damaged that it can’t be brought back to life? Parts can sometimes be found. Wood can be replaced, but neither will be original, though (if done properly) it would take an expert to tell the difference. Also, a heavily engraved or otherwise unique firearm is best left to the professionals from the get go.

If you want to try your hand at doing some of the metal polishing—this can be a time consuming (expensive) process when actually doing it by hand—go for it. Be aware that not all guns were polished the same and can vary considerably from year to year. Study original condition firearms like yours before starting the polishing project. Some guns were polished mirror bright and some to as little as 120 grit. The lines of polishing can also differ.

When you are ready, some of the tools you will need are safety mask and glasses, assembly/disassembly books and schematics, vise with padded jaws, pin vise, ball peen hammer, files with safe edges, needle files, screwdrivers and punches, abrasive cloth in 80-600 grit, 0000 steel wool, oil, Happich Simichrome Metal Polish, Acraglas gel and release agent, wooden dowels and sanding blocks, bench grinder holding a 0.0025" wire brush wheel, degreaser, and bluing solvent.

A rock-solid vise is mandatory to hold parts when polishing. Be careful because many parts, including shotgun barrels, are easily crushed by a powerful vise. Always use pads to protect your work. The barrel is 400 grit. The action was left in the white and I blued the barrel. I like the way it looks and it was mine, so I suited myself. Never again. You’ll only do more harm than good. Engraving complicates the polishing process. You don’t want to sand these areas.

Cover the pretty stuff with masking tape to protect it. Before you do, make what is known as a "pull." Coat the engraving with inletting black using a cotton swab. Take apiece of clear tape and press over the engraving. Transfer that tape to a sheet of good white paper and you will have a clear picture for the engraver who may have to recut or otherwise touch up the engraving. The pull will be a map for the professional showing how to proceed on your particular firearm.

If you can, make jig to hold the parts for polishing; the steadier the better for this process. Using Acraglas to make holders for unusual shapes can be a big help. Screws are another matter. Some old screws aren’t available new and must be handled with care. Others are highly engraved and should be left alone for the restorers. Some can be restored even if damaged.

See my article in the August 2010 issue of this magazine, "Repairing Damaged Screw Heads." Don’t do anything if it will be different from factory screws and distract from true restoration. If you’re not sure, leave it to the professionals. It goes almost without saying to use the proper fitting screwdrivers, but, there, I said it anyway. I guess I’m getting tired of having guns brought into my shop with boogered up screw heads. To recap and enhance a few points: 1. 2. Clean all screw slots.

Take pulls of any engraving and stamped areas. Protect all engraved or stamped areas with tape. Have safe storage for parts. Watch out for captive springs in magazine tubes and holding firing pins, etc. Some of these are darn near irreplaceable. Do not remove barrels without proper tools. If you’re not sure or haven’t done it before, leave it to the restorer. After disassembly, degrease and clean all parts. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. Finish removal 1.

Before doing any metal polishing determine the final direction of the original finish. Use a padded vise and make sure 2. Co. Co. you do not crush fragile barrels as on shotguns. Rotate your sanding blocks around the barrel frequently to prevent flat spots. Use degreaser and bluing remover, such as from Birchwood Casey, to remove bluing and rub off with steel wool. Rinse with hot water. Usually you can start the polishing process with 120 grit paper, however, each gun is a law unto itself.

Some are final polished to 120 grit and some on up to 600 grit. Lever actions are usually polished about 240-320 on parts and sometimes up to 600 grit on the actions. Take care and do not polish bearing parts as this could be detrimental to critical function of the firearm. Stay away from the sear area of the trigger. 3. 4. 5. Some parts are fitted together. If so, polish them together to keep the lines properly in sync and aesthetic.

Co. Turnbull recommends polishing the curved surfaces before the flats and to polish towards the flat. I have done it differently in the past, but I won’t go against the experts. When polishing screw holes make sure you polish the entire area, not just to one side. Nothing looks worse than messing this up. These are just common sense guidelines, and all of us should understand these techniques. On a highly polished area use a final polish of Simichrome on a 0000 steel wool pad.

It will really touch up the work and make it shine. Using a wire wheel of the six-inch diameter 0.0025" variety is another option (Brownells # 360.164.581WB for the two rows size and 360.164.631WB for the four rows.) This wheel is very fine. If a matte finish is called for, a light coat of oil should be applied to the part before final polishing. Finally, there is no sense in polishing brass parts of a gun if you want to preserve its color. After all this is done, wrap all parts so they can’t touch each other.

Include in your package your name, daytime phone number, type of firearm, what you want done, and a list of parts enclosed as well as the insurance value of your piece to Turnbull Manufacturing Company turnbullmfg.com). You may want to ask yourself if you want to do this. If you feel competent and have the resources and time, why not? I have done some metal polishing in my day. It is a good skill to possess and you will learn something as well.

I’m not sure how much money you will save by doing this work yourself but it is probably substantial since this is a labor intensive job. If you have a customer with a firearm that’s worth trying to restore I would go for it. AG Co.