Bluing discoloration Problem -Fixes ???

M

Metal god

New member
Hey guys , I have this issue with a couple revolvers that sat for like 20 years . They sat out open in the safe with just some Pledge on them as a preservative .

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These are two different firearms and before doing anything about this I thought I'd ask here first . I'm a SS guy and have very few blued firearms and shoot none of them . I really like the look of a nice blued revolver but I simply like the lower maintenance of a SS firearm more haha .

I gave them a quick wipe and that did nothing , Is this a big deal or a little polish/rubbing and all is good ?

Thanks MG
 
R

RickB

New member
Pledge?
"Although furniture products like Pledge are good at cleaning furniture, the oils quickly evaporate, leaving little to no protective coating on the furniture finish."
If a solvent cleaner doesn't work, try Flitz polish.
 
M

Metal god

New member
Old pledge had wax in it or wax like substance , not sure what’s in it now . It’s why water would beed up on it for awhile . It’s an old trick from the 70’s . I do not recommend it now .

Maybe I should spray some more pledge on them lol
 
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4

44 AMP

Staff
Clean the metal, remove all old oil, wax, grease, solvent carrier, degrease it....

(including under the wood)

then oil and rub a bit see if the old finish doesn't return....

I've had guns stored in foam lined cases show discolored finishes, where the foam has, over time, "sucked" the oil off the metal, leaving the blue finish uneven to the eye.

Re-oiling restores it, or, has for me, so far, so try that and see..
 
R

rodfac

New member
Clean the metal, remove all old oil, wax, grease, solvent carrier, degrease it....
(including under the wood)
then oil and rub a bit see if the old finish doesn't return....
I've had guns stored in foam lined cases show discolored finishes, where the foam has, over time, "sucked" the oil off the metal, leaving the blue finish uneven to the eye. Re-oiling restores it, or, has for me, so far, so try that and see..
Click to expand...
Good advice...has worked for me. Rod
 
J

jetinteriorguy

New member
Metal god said:
Thanks guys ? I’ll give those a try . Wait what breaks down wax but not the finish on the firearm ?
Click to expand...
If you can find it 3M wax and grease cleaner. An easier one to find is 3M adhesive remover, it’s very similar to the wax and grease cleaner, also very mild solvent that hasn’t ever messed up any of my blued revolvers.
 
4

4V50 Gary

Staff
Once the wax is removed, another vote for Renaissance Wax if you're not going to chute it. If you're going to chute it, use RIG gun grease (cheaper cost). Apply and rub in with clean cotton cloth.
 
M

Metal god

New member
Haven’t got to them yet , been very busy and became less concerned after reading comments in this thread . But point taken , I’ll see how cleaning them works this weekend.
 
M

Metal god

New member
UPDATE

Simple wipe down with CLP collectors cleaned them right up . Thank you everyone for playing :)

Instead of starting new thread I'll just ask here . A buddy of mine inherited a bunch of revolvers that have been sitting in a safe for many years , some maybe 30yrs without any real attention .

I helped him out the other day and is why I know the CLP works haha . Anyways all of the firearms are in pretty good shape but several were .... slow and sluggish . Cylinders did not spin freely or close smoothly and those were pretty easy to get working nicely again However there were a few that the inner workings felt just like those sluggish cylinders . I did not feel like opening them up and start cleaning them . Some of these firearms are really nice never been fired and if they had , not many times . We are talking Colt snakes ( all of them ) to include doubles in sequential serial # order . Single action army etc . I really don't want to be taking these things apart , hell I was a little unsteady even handling them . I mean these are high dollar guns that aren't mine so I freed up the ones I could by simply removing the cylinder and cleaning that area but what do we do about the others ? Nothing , just leave them in the condition they are in ? To be clear they all seem functional but a few feel just a bit sluggish inside .

Oh and on a side note , after checking out some single action army revolvers . I now know Baldwin is full of crap , he totally pulled the trigger .
 
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4

44 AMP

Staff
Remove the grips then dunk 'em or spray flush them. There are commercial products that work well for that, many different ones.

Afterwards (and after any needed drying /flushing of the cleaner), spray a good lubricant into the action, and cycle it a few times. There should be no need for any disassembly other than keeping wood or rubber grips out of the cleaner.

And, DO use a correct size screwdriver for the grip removal and reinstallation! Hollow ground "gunsmith" screwdriver if possible.
 
J

jcj54

New member
Soaking

As a gunsmith, I have used a 9X13 metal baking pan and placed the handgun in it after removing the grps then filled to cover the handgun with ordinary paint thinner and let sit for a day or more depending on how gummed up it is. It works very well at removing anything gumming up the action and removes old oil. Also it is a lot less expensive than many of the products like gun scrubber and will not harm metal finishes.
 
R

Ricklin

New member
A dunk is effective!

In many if not most cases, just a liberal application of good penetrating oil may be all you need to free it up.
I do agree that a dunk, flush and proper relubrication is the right way. I just might get it dirty at the range before I do that.
 
S

Skans

Active member
If none of the above help the situation, I personally would try some extra-fine steel wool and some cold-blue paste. I've had good results doing this for tiny touch-up areas on some of my firearms. It's a bit risky, though.
 
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