870 Wingmaster

[XD Gunner]

So, I just acquired my second 870 Wingmaster. It is a 30" full choke model. It seems to have been refinished in black coating, instead of the nice deep polished Remington bluing. There seems to be some rough areas, although nothing that can't be smoothed out with some 1000 grit. Any feasibility in having this gun re-blued? The furniture is beautiful, very deep gloss, good character. There are areas on the gun, such as the magazine and the trigger guard that are still blued, but the barrel and receiver are coated black.

I bought this gun for $225, it shoots great and the action is smooth as butter.

 

[olddrum1]

The problem with rebluing the 870 is that you will have more money in it than what its worth.

 

[the rifleer]

its a shotgun. its kinda like freaking out when you get a dent in your work truck...

i scratched my new mossberg not too long after i bought it, its a pretty noticeable scratch, but i don't really care, its a work horse, not a show pony.


if you want it to look good ( i dont blame you if you do) then you can send it off, just google shotgun reblue.

 

[b.thomas]

I wonder if somebody just put on a coat of paint on it!
I've seen it happen with a model 12 once.
A little paint stripper on the metal and refinish on the wood..........the shotgun was gorgeous!

 

[Lee Lapin]

Your gun, your money, your choice.

IMHO if I wanted pretty, I'd have bought pretty in the first place and been done with it.

It'll almost certainly take more money to "restore" a workhorse shotgun to anything like original condition, when added to the original cost of the gun, than it would have cost to buy a much nicer used Wingmaster to start with. And when you're finished refinishing the beater, all you'll have is a refinished Wingmaster to boot. Refinishing diminishes value as a rule, it doesn't add value.

But it isn't my gun- it's yours. And it isn't my choice- it's yours. Best wishes no matter what you decide to do,

lpl

 

[zippy13]

Your gun, your money, your choice...
...Best wishes no matter what you decide to do

+1

 

[XD Gunner]

Well, I appreciate the honest answers, and I guess this is more of a sentimental, or personal preference kind of thing. I have another wingmaster that is MUCH more "experienced" and I would like to have this one look like it's new. I know that's a bit of a stretch though.

I have only seen a few of these guns (not wingmasters themselves, but ones like this one) It is a 30" "strait" barrel, no ribs, full choke. Does anyone know anything about this particular model? I can't seem to find it on Remington's Website.

 

[justbill]

XD Gunner,

You're describing a member of Remington's "Express" value line normally sold through big box stores like Wal Mart and large sporting goods chains. The Express line has a matte, almost rough dark gray/black finish reminiscent of military Parkerizing. (It may be actual Parkerizing for all I know.) It covers some of the final polishing left off the exterior of these guns, thus reducing cost. Examples with natural furniture have impressed checkering on walnut-finished hardwoods as opposed to cut checkering and real walnut on Wingmasters. Many Express guns have synthetic furniture as well. Don't let that discourage you, the Express guns are as flawlessly reliable as their finer finished Wingmaster brethren.

 

[XD Gunner]

XD Gunner,

You're describing a member of Remington's "Express" value line normally sold through big box stores like Wal Mart and large sporting goods chains. The Express line has a matte, almost rough dark gray/black finish reminiscent of military Parkerizing. (It may be actual Parkerizing for all I know.) It covers some of the final polishing left off the exterior of these guns, thus reducing cost. Examples with natural furniture have impressed checkering on walnut-finished hardwoods as opposed to cut checkering and real walnut on Wingmasters. Many Express guns have synthetic furniture as well. Don't let that discourage you, the Express guns are as flawlessly reliable as their finer finished Wingmaster brethren.

This is a Wingmaster. It has HIGH gloss Walnut Furniture, deep glossy bluing (on the parts that are still blue) and WINGMASTER engraved on the reciever. It is identical to the other Wingmasters that I have owned aside from the barrel configuration. The barrel and reciever have been coated (over the Blue, or by stripping the blue the re-coating) a medium gloss black. It looks to be a "dura-coat" or "armor-kote" type coating, maybe even high-temp ceramic engine enamel. It does not resemble Parkerizing. Hell, the gun may have just been rusted hard, and this was the easiest way to make it "pretty".

It is not an Express. I have another Wingmaster exactly like it only MUCH older with the factory bluing still mostly intact. I will provide pictures of the "black" Wingmaster soon.

 

[Sarge]

The pretty factory polish and blue of the old Wingmasters was nice to look at but it rusted easily. My guess is that your aftermarket finish was added to cover some rust. I'm not a metal finisher but I'm guessing you're looking at a substantial prep charge, in addition to the costs of bluing, if you want to match the original finish.

Talk with a couple of gun finishing outfits and see what they have to say.

 

[XD Gunner]

Pics!

Not the greatest camera in the world, but hopefully one can tell the places that are black, and then the ones that still retain their bluing. The difference is fairly noticeable in the last picture.

 

[XD Gunner]

The pretty factory polish and blue of the old Wingmasters was nice to look at but it rusted easily. My guess is that your aftermarket finish was added to cover some rust.

Yeah, that is what I was assuming. My other Wingmaster is OLD, probably a late 60's early 70's gun, and it is very "experienced". It's somehow made it's own camouflage, rust brown, wood brown, and ancient blue.