AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Antique Gun Collecting => Topic started by: jdm on August 14, 2013, 02:17:23 AM
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I have a 1840's period rifle. The brass cap box and other brass parts were polished bright sometime before it came into my hands. Real bright! I am looking for ideas on how to dull it down with out hurting the integrity of the rifle.
Help from the experts would be appreciated.
Thanks JIM
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rub with BP residue should dull it and help it look aged
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Ottawa, Thanks for the advice. I'll give it a try.
JIM
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Ottawas' right, that'll work fine.
John
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What is BP residue bat @#$%/!!? Seriously what is it?
Buck
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Has hydrogen sulfide in (rotten egg smell). One of the greatest tarnishing aids.
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BP residue = Black Powder residue...the stuff you dont want in the barrel.
tc
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Over thought that one (duh!). Thanks TC.
Buck
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Over thought that one (duh!). Thanks TC.
Buck
Haha! I'm sure there's no BP residue on any of you guns, so how would you be expected to know! ;D
John
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John it's been 25-30 years since I've shot black powder, I am way out of the loop on that.
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I ran across an old can of black powder in an ammo can under my work bench the other day, dated 1983, so it's been a while for me as well. Although I did have a good time shooting my 1874 Sharps 44-77 a couple months ago!
John
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Amonia vapors will patina/oxidize copper/brass... on a warm day (outside) using a plastic bucket...
I would dismount the brass items from the firearm as it also effects wood.
Place a cotton rag in the bottom of the bucket and splash some amonia on it.
Suspend the item in the bucket (like hanging it off crossed sticks).
Cover the bucket with another piece of cloth or black trash bag.
Wait about 15 minutes... check... wait... check.... wait. Might take 15 minutes to several hours to achieve the patina you are looking for. (don't let it go too long it might oxidize it too much ie pit the item).
To develop deeper color patinas you can wash/brush off some of the green with water and diluted vinigar...
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Chris, Thanks for the idea. That sounds like you could get great color using that technique .I may try that on something else. This particular rifle is not worth that much work.
Buck We have some bats living under our back deck. If you need some BP I can send you some.
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Jim,
Thanks for extending the hospitality, normally I would pass but if that is what it takes to get you back to the Prairie Show then I would say yes, but it has to be hand delivered.
Buck
John,
1983 is about right for me also, the Old Man remarried in the winter of 82 and that was it. He picked it back up around 88 when they divorced, by that time I was too busy chasing cars and women.
Buck
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Next time you clean a muzzle loader after a trip to the range, take one of the used cleaning patches, dampen with a little tap water and place it over the patch box. Re-position every few minutes for about 20 minutes total. Next day wipe with a piece of clead mattress ticking.
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Buck We have some bats living under our back deck. If you need some BP I can send you some.
Odd that you would mention bat @#$%/!!. After all, a prime source for the potassium nitrate used in BP manufacturing was collections of bat @#$%/!! (Guano) in caves...
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If you leave brass in ammonia overnight it will crack.
Look up "Season Cracking", problem the Brits had when storing .577 Snider cartridges in horse barns during monsoon season.
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Excessive exposure to ammonia also results in zinc deterioration. You can end up with a splotchy copper mess.
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I had a rifle with the same issue and I tried pearl of sulfur, it didn't do much of anything.
Buck
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that is why you only want to expose it to amonia vapors for a short amount of time...
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I had a rifle with the same issue and I tried pearl of sulfur, it didn't do much of anything.
Buck
I'm not sure what pearl of sulfur is, but in an art class in high school we antiqued brass, copper and silver
jewelry in liver of sulfur. Needs to be done hot and OUTSIDE!
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Dogshirt,
Liver of sulfur (I'm batting a thousand) is what it was.
Buck
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Liver of Sulfur I have,,, I'll send you some Buck!
I tried it once and it didn't do much, but, I didn't try it Hot! Ohhh puke, I can only imagine the stink!
So how Hot is hot enough?
John
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Here is a how to video youtube link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b160j_DXgRw
Liver of sulfur can be had on line or hobby shops like Hobby Lobby.
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John,
I still have a full bottle of it in the garage. Some Guano and Liver of sulfur, I appreciate the generosity but I'll have to pass. Thanks John. ;D
Buck
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We used to put it boiling water and simmer the metal to be aged.
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a whole slew of different Patina Formulas for Brass, Bronze and Copper, giving several color ranges that aged brass may turn to..
http://www.sciencecompany.com/Patina-Formulas-for-Brass-Bronze-and-Copper-W160.aspx
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Great ideas guys! I went to the web sites they have some neat stuff. The liver of sulfur works pretty neat in the video and that science store has some interesting things. The methods shown require dipping the item. The problem with this rifle is the heads on the cap box screws are bad. The slots are gone or worried out so bad they can not be removed easily. I can remove the other parts but the cap box stays. The concern is damaging the wood around it. Thank you for all the ideas. JIM
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Why not just leave it alone? No matter how much polish has been done to it, it will get a dull patina on it after a few months.
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Thanks for the temp info Dogshirt.
Jim, if you don't want to mess around with try to remove the box, the BP residue way will work great.
John
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Ammonia..........strange, I have been using ammonia for years and never had a problem. I have some plastic coffee cans
that I use. I place a paper towel, folded so that it fits, and another plastic lid that I place over the paper towel. Pour the
ammon the towel, follow that with the smaller plastic lid. You don't want the parts to be in touch with the ammonia. I
usually leave it overnight and it comes out kind of green. I then rub the parts with 0000 steel wool, this just shines the piece,
but, don't rub it that hard that it will remove all of the tarnish...........Don