Plum Brown redo?

[ShutEyeHunter]

I need to refinish a TC "Hawken" barrel done with BC Plum Brown circa 1980. Some patches have worn off & it's a bit splotchy in other spots.

It's got 30 years of hunting and shooting wear on it that I'd like to keep so I don't want to do any more sanding or polishing than necessary.

Not looking for a perfectly uniform finish. Mottling etc is fine as long as it's on a dark background and doesn't jump out at you

Thought of:
New coats of Plum Brown over existing
Rust brown over existing
Chemical clean back to white and then rust brown

Any experience or preferences?

Thanks!

[PPatch]

1. Plumb brown over existing

Doing this will be sure to provide that mottling effect you speak of.

2. Rust brown over existing.

Same answer.

3. Back to "in the white" (completely refinish).

You'll lose all that wear and tear you like, you will end up with a (mostly) uniform finish.

Suggestion: try the plumb brown, option 1. If you hate it then go with option 3. Soon enough, with use, the barrel will look like its at home.

dave

[ShutEyeHunter]

Thanks, good advice.  I'm old enough that it's unlikely I'll put another 30 years of use on it .  Just want it to look well enjoyed for the grand kids. (I restyled a lot of the TC ugly out of the stock and made a new triggerguard a few years back and it's a nice looking, if unauthentic, half stock hunting rifle to my eyes)

Some of the missing Plum Brown is sharp edged, looks more like a  like flaking paint pattern than wear. If it wasn't for that I''d leave it alone.   I think I'll feather it out those,spots a bit with 800 grit or so.

Bottle of Plum Brown on the way.  I'll give it a re coat and see how it goes.

Thinking about it some more, I'll take some "before" pix-I can always polish off the new finish to match the current honest wear.  I'll leave the dings that the metal got  when I fell down rocky stuff in the Colorado mountains 

[Scota4570]

If you leave your plumb brown job to rust for a few days before you card and oil it, it will look more old timie.